The word “vampire” continues to be scary across cultures. The word vampire means someone who is dangerous and alluring, all at the same time. In the spiritual community, energy vampires are thought to be just as dangerous or bad as other vampires.
Before diving into energy vampires, I want to say that I truly believe that every myth and legend has a root in reality.
Of course, pop culture twists folklore tales and turns them into something else entirely, but for every legend and fairytale, there is typically a real-life origin. I have found this to be true whether we’re talking about fairies, ghosts, or even vampires.
Although some practitioners believe that there are many different types of vampires, today I’ll be specifically talking about energy vampires.
These are the types of vampires that I have personal experience with, but energy vampires are also the most common type encountered in regular life.
What Are Energy Vampires?
The definition of an energy vampire is simply: someone or something that steals energy from you.
This is a pretty broad definition, but that’s because there are many different types of energy vampires who possess different strengths.
An energy vampire can be on the physical plane or in the spiritual realm. This means that your friend or neighbor can be an energy vampire, but you can also have entities that attach to your energy field and act as energy vampires over time. Astral energy vampires are much more common than we realize.
Some energy vampires know that they’re stealing energy from you and do this intentionally to gain power. Others do it unconsciously or subconsciously.
I find that most human beings don’t realize that they’re energy vampires, but about 50% of entities do realize what they’re doing.
Energy vampires need energy to function appropriately. They usually have a stunted or damaged energy system. They can’t generate enough energy themselves, so they must source external energy.
This doesn’t mean that every energy vampire is “evil.” In fact, some people drain the energy of others without even realizing it. They might have been born with a damaged energy system or they sustained trauma to their energy system during this life.
Other energy vampires have entities attached to them draining their energy, so they unconsciously drain the energy of those around them to try and replace their own power. It’s a negative cycle that is hard to break out of.
Sometimes, a person becomes an energy vampire because of physical ailments. They don’t have the right body chemistry to sustain energy levels over time, so they must take energy from other people.
Others do realize that they’re draining energy. These types of energy vampires use their energy-draining skills to gain power. In some darker occult practices, this was a common way to boost your own power or prestige.
Luckily, the energy system can always be healed. If you think that you may be an energy vampire, scroll to the bottom where I’ll discuss methods for grounding and healing your energy system.
Keep in mind that human beings always exchange energy on some level. When you greet someone and give them a huge, there is a brief exchange of energy.
Just being around another human means that you each pick up on some of each other’s energy. Sometimes, you can exchange energy with another person if you’re not even physically around them because you have psychic cords.
So, what’s the difference between natural human energy exchange and human energy vampires?
Any energy vampire will take a lot of energy and give very little in return. I don’t classify someone as an energy vampire unless the exchange is way out of balance.
Keep in mind that not every toxic person you know is an energy vampire. It’s possible to be toxic, narcissistic, sociopathic, etc. without actually draining the energy of other people. This is a really specific classification. I’ll go over how to tell the difference later in this blog post.
Ultimately, someone is only an energy vampire if they physically steal your energy.
There is a whole spectrum of energy vampires. Some people will become vampiric for just a short period of time (such as after a breakup when energy levels are extremely low) while others might be chronic energy vampires. Some are physical, some are spiritual, and some are simply thought forms.
Types Of Energy Vampires:
There are many different types of energy vampires, because they exist on a spectrum. However, for the purpose of this post, I’ll separate energy vampires into 3 distinct types and talk about the differences within each type.
The Human Energy Vampire
The well-known definition of the energy vampire is human. Most spiritual communities fear human energy vampires more than entity energetic vampires.
Even in psychology and science, the human energy vampire has a distinct classification.
Human energy vampires are pretty common. Many humans have damaged energy systems to some degree, so they need to steal energy from others.
Some human energy vampires steal energy just from being around you without actually doing anything. However, it’s more common for human energy vampires to take energy through words or actions. This is an easier way for energy vampires to gain energy.
Some of the most common ways for human energy vampires to take energy include:
1. Praise. These types of energy vampires will praise people to either get what they want or to make the other person feel indebted to them. This praise is not genuine and is accompanied by a vague, ugly feeling.
2. Intimidation. Many energy vampires gain energy through intimidation. They put someone else down, even very subtly, and gain energy through the exchange.
3. Guilt. This can be subtle or covert. These types of energy vampires will make someone else feel guilty and draw on their energy. They are effectively getting the person to lower their shield so that they can “steal” their source.
4. Focus On Self. If you’ve ever been sucked in by someone talking about themselves incessantly or complaining about their problems, then you know what this type of energy vampire sounds like. As you listen, they are actively sucking your energy out of your field.
5. Touch. Although we all exchange energy when we touch, an energy vampire will take a lot of energy through physical interactions. In fact, you may feel depleted after you hug or even brush against this person.
Some types of energy vampires do these things in the short term only. For example, if a friend breaks up with her boyfriend, her energy system may go off, forcing her to steal from other people. She might complain quite a bit and want more touch than usual. She probably doesn’t even realize she’s doing this, but she will naturally “right” her energy system over time.
Other energy vampires steal energy over the long-term. These are the relationships that tend to feel one-sided.
If you have a mutual give and take in a relationship with someone then it is almost guaranteed that they aren’t an energy vampire. One-sided relationships will drain you and are more likely to be relationships with an energy vampire in them.
The Entity Energy Vampire
One of the other common types of energy vampires is the entity. The term entity is relatively broad, but it generally refers to a negative spiritual being that hangs out in your energetic field.
Although not all entities are energy vampires, most of the entities who attach to you will steal energy in some way.
Initially, the entity energy vampire will attach to you because of the state of being that you’re in. This means that you weren’t warded and had an emotionally “low” moment. Your vibration was low enough that the entity could successful attach to you.
From thereon, the entity hangs out in your energy field and drains you. The longer the entity is attached to you, the stronger it becomes. For this reason, it’s ideal to get rid of entities right away.
If you have entities attached to you, it’s common to feel tired or drained. You may also have negative dreams or nightmares. Some people even feel different emotionally or start wanting things that are out of character for them.
Some entities simply hang out; you may barely notice them. Others can be powerful energy vampires and drain a lot of energy out of you. Just like other types of energy vampires, there is a broad spectrum with entities.
Over time, powerful entities can even draw so much energy that their host becomes physically ill. However, this is rare.
It’s extremely common to have astral attachments or entities. They’re like spiritual parasites. Just like we need to cleanse our bodies every so often, we must do the same for spiritual attachments.
I regularly cleanse my entities using the pendulum. I also ward myself and actively work to keep entities from attaching to my energy field in the first place.
The Vortex Energy Vampire
The vortex energy vampire doesn’t have a true name. It’s not well-known in the spiritual community, but I have personally encountered this type of energy vampire, so I wanted to include the categorization.
The vortex isn’t a human or an entity. It’s simply a ball of negative energy manifested by your own thoughts or actions.
When this energy gets strong enough, it takes on its own form. It hangs out in your energy field and sucks energy out of you, leaving you drained and tired.
The longer you continue to feel or do whatever it is that created the vortex, the stronger it gets.
For example, people in abusive relationships often have energy vortexes attached to them. When they ignore the abusive actions of their partner and stay in the relationship, the energy vortex gets stronger and drains more of their energy.
A simple way to get rid of this energy vortex is to change the feelings or actions that created it in the first place.
However, this can be relatively difficult. A short term solution is to clear the vortex using the pendulum or by doing a simple meditation. In the long term, it’s much more effective to get to the root of the problem, or you may have to clear the vortex over and over.
Energy Vampires Symptoms:
When you first meet an energy vampire, you typically won’t be repulsed by them. If you feel yucky around someone right away, this just means that they have negative energy.
Energy vampires are much more difficult to spot. Unless you’re energetically sensitive and do energy work quite a bit, you probably won’t notice that your energy is being drained until enough time goes by.
The energy of the person can feel positive or negative. However, your own energy will feel depleted over time.
Energy vampires can act totally normal, or they can be super toxic personalities. Although new age spiritual gurus tell us that energy vampires are just toxic people, I don’t find this to be perfectly representative. After all, someone can be a terrible person without actually stealing your energy.
Here are some of the things you may feel when you’re around an energy vampire for too long:
Lethargic, Tired, or Calm. These types of energy vampires suck the energy out of you just by being in the same area. If you find yourself wanting to fall asleep every time you’re around a specific person, then this is a clear sign that they’re an energy vampire. This can also be a constant feeling for an entity energetic vampire.
Migraines or Headaches. Unusual migraines or headaches, if you don’t commonly have head pains, are almost always related to energy. When I cast a spell and forget to pull enough energy from the elements, I immediately get a migraine. It’s also a tell-tale symptom that you have an energy vampire around you.
Heavy Cloud of Depression. This will come out of nowhere. You will suddenly feel like there is an oppressive cloud holding you down. You may feel less enjoyment doing your usual activities or feel that the world is less colorful.
Feeling Floaty/Not Grounded. If you feel a little dizzy or floaty then this can be a symptom that you have energy vampires around you.
Feeling Both Tired & Angry. I find that you need both of these symptoms together to determine that you were near an energy vampire. This indicator is more common around human types of energy vampires.
Sudden Nausea or Stomach Ache. If you feel a really unexpected stomach pain and can’t link it to a virus or other stomach bug, then this can be a clear symptom of an energy vampire.
Tightness In Chest/Shortness Of Breath. You may feel like you just can’t breathe the second you’re around someone. This is an indicator that you’re near an energy vampire. See if the feeling goes away when you remove yourself from the situation.
You generally need at least a few of these symptoms to say that you definitely have any types of energy vampires around you.
These symptoms will only show up when you’re physically around a human energy vampire. If you have a migraine for three days in a row, but only see someone on the 2nd day, they probably didn’t cause that symptom.
However, if you have an entity that is acting as an energy vampire, then these symptoms may be more consistent because they’re always in your energy field.
Make sure that the person or entity is actually stealing your energy. If you’re freely giving your energy away then they don’t really count as a true energy vampire.
For example, you may be the one putting yourself down or getting over-involved in other people’s problems. These are surefire ways to give your energy away. Try to keep energetic exchanges reciprocal in nature.
Keep in mind that most empaths or psychically sensitive people will be drained after being in a crowd. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you were around an energy vampire.
The more you learn about energy manipulation, the more psychically sensitive you become. This is a good thing because it means you’re getting stronger, but it also means that your energy will be drained more quickly around other people. Instead of assuming you were near an energy vampire, learn how to protect your own energy so that you don’t give it away.
I only conclude that I was around a human energy vampire if I feel at least 2-3 of these symptoms multiple times in a row. Alternatively, I sometimes feel like I’m coming down with the flu. If this happens multiple times around someone and goes away once we separate, that’s another clear indicator.
Entity energetic vampires are more difficult to spot because they’re always around you. It can be hard to tell if you have an entity attached to you or if you’re just sick. To determine this, I like to use my pendulum, but you can work with any type of divination that appeals to you.
How To Protect Yourself:
There are many ways to protect yourself from these different types of energy vampires. You simply need a bit of preparation.
If you’re dealing with a human energy vampire, it’s ideal to just separate from them if possible. Cut ties and see them as little as possible.
This isn’t always possible due to our relationships or ties with these people, so if you can’t separate permanently, there are other tactics you can try.
A cord cutting ritual is always a good place to start. There are many types of cord cutting spells online, but you can also just do a cord cutting visualization or meditation. Hopefully, this will dispel the energy and give you a chance to put up a shield.
Next, you need to call upon your protection skills. This will be essential for both human energy vampires and entity energy vampires.
Cleanse yourself (and your home, if necessary), then put up wards on both your home and your body. Reinforce these wards as needed.
With entity energy vampires, you may need to banish them. There are many different banishing spells you can try. Alternatively, you can use the pendulum to banish them through energy.
In the future, it can be helpful if you make a witch ball or talisman to keep energy vampires away. This will work for both types of energy vampires.
You can also carry crystals for energetic protection. I find that Onyx, Obsidian, Hematite, Clear Quartz, Selenite, and Apophyllite all work well.
Once you have adequately protected yourself and banished any negative energy, work on your chakras and energy system. When you generate more energy naturally, it will be harder for psychic or human energy vampires to attach to you.
Be careful with empathy. We are taught that empathy is good, but it’s also giving away your energy.
What If You’re An Energy Vampire?
No one wants to be an energy vampire. If you recognize yourself in a lot of these signs then this might be a good time to do some energy work.
Keep in mind that, if you are an energy vampire, you’re not truly replenishing your energy. You’re just trying to fill a void, but stealing other people’s energy only works temporarily.
You will feel much healthier mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and physically if you can heal your energy system.
The first step to healing if you think you’re an energy vampire is proper grounding. In fact, grounding is really important for everyone.
Sit in a chair with your feet flat on the ground. Picture a cord from the earth coming out of your feet or legs and tying you to the ground. You can also picture two cords; one grounds you to the earth while the other sends energy from the earth into you.
As most witches know, human beings can gather energy from the elements. For now, practice taking energy from the earth (which is the easiest element to start with) or from the flame of a candle when you’re feeling low. It can be especially helpful to do this before you’re around other people.
Long-term, you will want to work on your chakras and on healing your energy system. This is a great book for chakra healing with many valuable exercises.
