CHAPTER I — WHAT IS ENERGY, REALLY?

Physical laws, spiritual beliefs, invisible impressions, and why your favorite armchair might have more emotional baggage than your last situationship.

Welcome to the World of Energy

Welcome back, little witches, curious souls, and people who have looked at a perfectly ordinary room and thought, "Something about this place feels... different."

Today, we're talking about energy.

Not just the kind that keeps your phone alive, powers your computer, or mysteriously disappears the moment you actually need to get something done. We're going deeper into the different ways people understand energy: physically, emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually.

Because before we start cleansing objects, exploring energetic connections, working with mirrors, or attempting to send someone a little love through meditation, we need to understand what we mean when we say energy.

And no, the answer isn't simply "everything is energy, therefore my ex can still feel me thinking about him at 2:17 a.m."

Slow down, darling. We'll get there.

First, we need a foundation.

Throughout this lesson, we'll explore energy as a scientific concept, as a spiritual belief, and as a way of describing experiences that can be difficult to put into words. These perspectives sometimes overlap in everyday language, but they aren't interchangeable.

You can explore spiritual practices without pretending that every belief has been scientifically proven. You can respect your intuition without treating every feeling as a supernatural message.

And you can be a witch without declaring war on a perfectly innocent sofa.

Let's begin.

The Energy We Know — The Scientific Foundation

In physics, energy is the capacity to do work or bring about change. It appears in different forms, including thermal, chemical, electrical, kinetic, and potential energy.

Energy can be transferred and transformed. It plays a role in the movement of objects, the functioning of living organisms, the light coming through your window, and the electrical impulses involved in your nervous system.

Your body uses chemical energy to function. Your phone converts electrical energy into light, sound, and heat. Sunlight carries energy that plants use during photosynthesis.

All wonderfully real. All measurable in appropriate ways.

But here's where we need to be careful.

When someone says, "This room has bad energy," they generally aren't claiming that a scientific instrument has detected a specific form of negative energy floating between the curtains and the coffee table.

They're describing an impression.

Perhaps the room feels tense. Perhaps something happened there that left a strong emotional association. Perhaps the lighting is harsh, the air is stale, the temperature is uncomfortable, or the environment reminds them of a difficult experience.

Or perhaps they interpret the feeling through their spiritual beliefs.

Those possibilities deserve to be explored separately rather than squeezed into one explanation.

Scientific energy is measurable physical energy. Spiritual energy is a concept understood through particular beliefs and traditions. Emotional atmosphere describes how a person experiences a place or interaction.

They may all be discussed using the same word, but that doesn't mean they're the same phenomenon.

And if someone tries to convince you that a crystal has scientifically measurable negative spiritual energy because it was sitting near a rude person at brunch, you are allowed to request something more convincing than a dramatic statement and a suspiciously expensive cleansing service.

The Energy We Don't Always Have Words For

Now that we've established the scientific foundation, let's talk about the experiences that inspire people to explore energy spiritually.

Have you ever walked into a room and immediately felt uncomfortable, even though nothing obviously seemed wrong?

Have you met someone who made you feel relaxed almost instantly?

Have you spent time with a person who left you feeling emotionally exhausted, even though the conversation itself seemed perfectly ordinary?

Have you entered a house and felt an unexpected sense of familiarity, as though the place carried a story you couldn't quite identify?

These experiences can feel powerful.

Sometimes we recognize subtle cues without consciously noticing them: someone's tone of voice, facial expressions, posture, the atmosphere of a room, or the way people interact with one another.

Our brains constantly process information, much of it outside our immediate awareness. Memories and expectations also influence how we interpret what we encounter.

And sometimes, we simply don't know why we feel a certain way.

Within spiritual traditions, people may describe these impressions as sensing energy, reading a space, or noticing an energetic atmosphere.

You don't have to dismiss that personal interpretation to remain grounded. You simply need to remember that an experience can be real without your first explanation for it necessarily being correct.

Feeling uneasy is a real experience.

Concluding that a hostile entity is hiding behind your curtains is an interpretation.

Those are two very different things.

The first deserves your attention. The second deserves a little investigation before you start pricing exorcisms on the internet.

The Spiritual Understanding of Energy

Across various spiritual and religious traditions, energy is understood in different ways.

Some traditions describe vital forces associated with life and well-being. Others explore subtle bodies, breath, life force, spiritual presence, or the relationship between a person and their environment.

In contemporary spiritual and witchcraft practices, people may use the word energy to describe the atmosphere surrounding a person, the feeling associated with an object, the intention behind a ritual, or the sense of connection experienced during meditation.

You may hear terms such as:

• Personal energy: A spiritual way of describing your sense of presence, vitality, or inner state.

• Environmental energy: The perceived atmosphere of a room, building, or natural setting.

• Emotional energy: The intensity or emotional tone of an experience or interaction.

• Energetic residue: A spiritual term for the impression or association believed to remain after an experience.

• Energetic connection: A spiritual description of the bond someone feels with another person.

• Energy cleansing: A ritual intended to refresh a space, object, or person's spiritual atmosphere.

These terms can be useful within a spiritual framework, but their meanings vary. They don't all refer to established, measurable physical forces.

For this Grimoire, we'll use them as language for exploring spiritual practices, subjective experiences, symbolism, intention, and personal boundaries.

When we discuss a ritual, we'll explain how to practise it and what it is intended to represent. When we discuss an unusual experience, we'll leave room for different interpretations.

We are here to explore, not to manufacture certainty.

You are allowed to believe in something, remain curious about it, and still ask questions.

In fact, that combination is rather useful.

Especially when you're the sort of person who enjoys exploring the unknown but would also prefer not to be financially ruined by a woman selling haunted salt on the internet.

Does Everything Have Energy?

The short answer is yes, in the scientific sense that physical objects contain and transfer energy in various ways.

The more interesting question is what we mean when we say that everything has spiritual energy.

In many contemporary spiritual practices, people approach the world as though objects, spaces, and living things all have their own energetic presence. Some believe that the atmosphere of a place can change through human interaction, that objects can retain impressions, or that living beings influence one another energetically.

These are spiritual interpretations, not established scientific facts.

But there is another part of this subject worth exploring: the associations we develop with the things around us.

Consider an old necklace inherited from someone you loved.

The necklace itself is a physical object. Yet holding it might bring back memories, emotions, conversations, and a sense of connection that feels almost immediate.

Now consider a chair in which you once received terrible news. A perfume associated with a former partner. A gift from someone who hurt you. A childhood blanket that makes you feel safe.

The objects may be physically ordinary, but your relationship with them is not.

They have become connected to experiences that matter to you.

Some practitioners might describe this as energetic residue. From a psychological perspective, memories, learned associations, and emotional responses can explain much of the experience.

You don't have to settle every metaphysical question to recognize that your surroundings can affect how you feel.

And that gives us something practical to work with.

If an object makes you feel peaceful, you may choose to keep it somewhere meaningful.

If it reminds you of a painful period in your life, you might decide to store it away, give it away, or perform a cleansing ritual as a symbolic fresh start.

If you love an inherited object but dislike the memories attached to it, you might choose to create new associations with it over time.

The important thing is that you are allowed to decide what place an object holds in your life.

You don't need to prove that something carries negative energy before deciding it no longer belongs in your home.

And you don't need to throw away your grandmother's entire furniture collection because one drawer makes you feel a little strange.

Please. We have budgets.

Objects, Memories, and the Stories They Carry

Let's imagine you have just brought home a beautiful secondhand mirror.

It's old, ornate, and slightly dramatic. The kind of mirror that looks as though it should come with a mysterious family history and at least one suspiciously specific warning.

You place it in your bedroom.

What happens next?

Perhaps nothing unusual happens at all.

Perhaps you love it.

Perhaps it reminds you of a beautiful old house you visited as a child.

Or perhaps you begin wondering who owned it before you, what happened in their home, and whether it carries any spiritual significance.

That curiosity is understandable. Humans are meaning-making creatures. We naturally build stories around unfamiliar objects, especially when they are old, inherited, or connected to traditions we find intriguing.

In some spiritual practices, people choose to cleanse secondhand objects before using them. The ritual may symbolize releasing the past, establishing ownership, or preparing an object for a new purpose.

You can explore that practice without assuming the previous owner left something harmful behind.

The same principle applies to furniture, jewellery, books, clothing, gifts, and other belongings.

You might choose to:

• Clean the object physically.

• Open a window and refresh the room.

• Use a cleansing ritual that fits your beliefs.

• Set an intention for how you want to use the object.

• Reflect on whether keeping it feels right for you.

We'll explore practical cleansing methods in Chapter IV. For now, remember that a ritual can help mark a transition, even if you don't claim it has removed a measurable supernatural substance.

And if an object genuinely frightens you, you are allowed to put it away while you decide what to do.

You do not owe an antique rocking chair a chance to prove its innocence.

Living Things and the Energy Between Us

Now we move from objects to living things.

Plants, animals, and people all influence the environments they inhabit. Living organisms exchange energy with their surroundings through physical processes, and people influence one another through emotion, behaviour, communication, and shared experiences.

Within spiritual practice, some people describe these interactions as an exchange of energy.

You might feel calmer when sitting beneath a tree, comforted by the presence of your cat, or energized after spending time with a friend who makes you laugh.

Those experiences can have several contributing factors: sensory stimulation, movement, attention, memories, social connection, and the physical responses associated with emotion.

Spiritual interpretations may add another layer of personal meaning.

For example, someone might feel that a beloved animal has a calming presence or that a particular tree feels spiritually significant. Another person might understand the same experience through sensory awareness, personal symbolism, or a connection with nature.

Neither person needs to turn their interpretation into a universal law.

The purpose of this lesson is to help you explore your experiences while remaining aware of what you know, what you believe, and what you are still trying to understand.

And let's be honest: sometimes your cat really does improve the atmosphere of a room simply by occupying the best chair and looking at you as though you're a deeply disappointing employee.

Science may not need a spiritual explanation for that particular phenomenon.

The cat certainly doesn't.

A Small Observation Exercise — The Living Atmosphere

For the next few days, notice how you feel in different environments.

Spend a little time outdoors. Sit quietly with a plant. Notice how you feel around a trusted friend. Pay attention to your surroundings after a stressful day compared with a restful one.

Write down what you observe.

Ask yourself:

• What changed in my surroundings?

• What was my emotional state before I arrived?

• Did anything about the environment influence my mood?

• What meaning did I give the experience?

• Is there another reasonable explanation?

You're not trying to prove that a tree sent you a message or that your friend's aura has excellent customer service.

You're learning to observe your experience with more care.

That skill will become particularly useful when we explore human connections later in this lesson.

Intention — The Beginning of Energy Work

If you've explored the previous lessons, you already know that intention plays a role in many spiritual practices.

In Lesson I, Protection & Boundaries, we discussed creating a deliberate sense of safety and using cleansing rituals to establish the atmosphere you want for a space.

In Lesson II, The Psychic Senses, we explored noticing impressions, recording experiences, and questioning our interpretations.

Now we're bringing those ideas together.

In contemporary witchcraft, energy work can refer to practices intended to focus attention, establish an intention, visualize a desired atmosphere, or engage with spiritual concepts of energy.

These practices may involve meditation, breathwork, visualization, movement, sound, prayer, crystals, or other symbolic tools.

For example, imagine wanting your bedroom to feel like a peaceful retreat rather than a command centre for overthinking.

You might tidy the space, change the lighting, open a window when appropriate, put away reminders of stressful situations, and spend a few minutes visualizing the room filled with a calming light.

You might also perform a cleansing ritual that represents releasing tension and welcoming rest.

What has changed?

Some changes are physical: the room is cleaner, the air may be fresher, and the lighting is different.

Some are psychological: you've deliberately shifted your attention and created an association between the room and relaxation.

Within your spiritual practice, you may also understand the ritual as refreshing the energy of the space.

You can acknowledge all three perspectives without claiming that a particular visualization has been scientifically shown to remove invisible negative energy.

And that is the heart of our approach.

Intention gives your practice direction. Your actions help make that intention real. Your interpretation gives the experience personal meaning.

A candle alone will not resolve every problem in your life.

But a candle, a clear intention, a thoughtful decision, and a willingness to change what needs changing?

Now we're getting somewhere.

The Difference Between Noticing Energy and Assuming You Know What It Means

This distinction is important enough to deserve its own section.

You enter a room and feel uneasy.

That is your experience.

You conclude that the room contains negative spiritual energy.

That is one possible interpretation.

You decide that an entity is present and intends to harm you.

That is a much more specific conclusion, and your initial feeling does not establish that it is true.

The same principle applies to people.

You speak with someone and suddenly feel sad.

You might interpret that as picking up their emotional energy. You might also be responding to their facial expression, remembering something painful, experiencing your own stress, or feeling an emotion without an obvious cause.

You cannot reliably determine another person's private emotional state or intentions from your own sensation alone.

This does not mean you should ignore your instincts.

If someone repeatedly behaves in ways that make you uncomfortable, you are allowed to establish boundaries. You do not need to prove that you have detected their energy correctly.

Likewise, if you feel uneasy in a place, you can leave, seek company, or make changes that help you feel comfortable without deciding that something supernatural is responsible.

Your experience deserves attention. Your interpretation deserves examination.

And your boundaries do not require supernatural evidence.

The Three-Step Rule

STEP ONE — NOTICE.

What did I actually experience? Describe the feeling, sensation, movement, sound, or observation without adding a story.

STEP TWO — INTERPRET.

What do I think it might mean? Am I considering several possibilities, or have I already decided on one explanation?

STEP THREE — VERIFY WHERE POSSIBLE.

What information can I check? Is there an ordinary explanation? What do I know from observable behaviour, rather than assumption?

Not every experience will have a clear explanation. That's fine.

You are allowed to leave a question unanswered.

You do not have to turn every strange moment into a spiritual investigation with seventeen candles, three tarot decks, and a suspiciously exhausted raven.

Sometimes the correct answer is simply: I noticed something, and I don't know what caused it.

That is not failure.

That is discernment.

A Beginner's Energy Awareness Practice

Let's finish with a simple exercise you can use throughout this lesson.

You won't need a crystal, a pendulum, or an ancient scroll written in a language only your great-great-great-grandmother's ghost understands.

Just yourself, a few quiet minutes, and something to write with.

The Five-Minute Awareness Exercise

Minute One — Arrive.

Sit comfortably. Notice your breathing and the physical sensations you can identify. Are you tired, tense, relaxed, distracted, or restless?

Don't try to change anything yet.

Minute Two — Observe Your Environment.

Notice the light, temperature, sounds, smells, and objects around you.

Which details catch your attention? Is the space comfortable? Is anything distracting you?

Minute Three — Notice Your Associations.

Look around and choose one object.

What memories or emotions do you associate with it? Does it feel comforting, neutral, or unpleasant to you? Can you identify why?

If you cannot, that's okay.

Minute Four — Set an Intention.

Choose one quality you would like to cultivate in your space or in yourself.

Perhaps calm, clarity, creativity, confidence, or rest.

Say your intention quietly or write it down.

For example:

I want this space to support rest, honesty, and a sense of safety.

Minute Five — Choose One Action.

Do something practical that supports your intention.

Clear a surface. Put away an object that distracts you. Open a window if it is safe and appropriate. Turn off an unnecessary notification. Prepare your journal. Or simply take a few more quiet breaths.

When you're finished, write down what you noticed.

You do not need to feel dramatically different. You do not need to experience tingling, warmth, visions, or any other particular sensation.

The purpose is awareness, not performance.

There is no prize for being the witch who feels the most mysterious sensation in five minutes.

Trust me. The award ceremony would be exhausting.

Your Energy Journal

Throughout this lesson, I encourage you to keep a small journal of your experiences.

You can record spiritual practices, emotional impressions, cleansing rituals, and the ways different environments affect you.

For each entry, consider noting:

• Date and setting: Where were you, and what was happening?

• Your starting point: How were you feeling before the experience?

• Your observation: What did you notice directly?

• Your interpretation: What did you think it meant?

• Other possibilities: What else might explain it?

• Your response: What did you choose to do?

• Your reflection: Did the experience offer anything useful?

Over time, you may notice patterns in your environment, your emotional responses, and the practices that help you feel more grounded.

You may also discover that an impression you initially interpreted spiritually has an ordinary explanation.

That doesn't make your journal useless. It makes it more useful.

A good journal is not a collection of evidence proving that every suspicion was correct. It's a record that helps you learn about yourself.

And if you do find something you cannot explain, you can leave it open for further reflection rather than forcing an answer.

Curiosity does not require certainty.

When Energy Work Becomes Too Much

A final reminder before we close.

Spiritual exploration should not require you to live in a state of constant suspicion.

You do not need to inspect every object for negative energy, cleanse every room repeatedly, or wonder whether every uncomfortable feeling means something is wrong.

You do not need to fear mirrors, strangers, old furniture, or the memory of someone you once loved.

If a ritual brings you comfort, helps you focus, or gives you a meaningful way to mark a transition, it may have a place in your practice.

If it begins making you frightened, interfering with sleep, or convincing you that you are constantly under spiritual attack, take a step back.

Return to familiar routines, physical surroundings, and people you trust. 

You can approach spirituality with respect without allowing fear to dictate your life.

And you can practise protection without assuming that danger is hiding behind every reflective surface.

We'll explore these ideas more deeply in the chapters ahead, including cleansing practices, mirror folklore, energetic connections, and the emotional attachments people sometimes describe as energetic cords.

For now, let this foundation be enough.

ENERGY IS A WORD. EXPERIENCE IS AN EXPERIENCE. INTERPRETATION IS A CHOICE. LEARN THE DIFFERENCE BEFORE YOU START ACCUSING YOUR FURNITURE OF WITCHCRAFT.

Stay curious. Stay grounded. Keep your boundaries.

And remember: you don't need to understand every mystery in the universe to create a home, a practice, and a life that feel more like your own.

- Ravn 🖤