Tools of the Trade. Cont.
The Bolline: The bolline is the magickal working knife used for culling and cutting herbs, inscribing candles, cutting cord etc.  Depending on  one's magick practice, the bolline can strictly be used for these ceremonial type activities, or it can be used (by Kitchen Witches for example) for ordinary daily activities, such as food preparation. It usually is curved with a white handle.
The Incense Burner: The purpose of the incense burner is to clear and purify space in order to make it a sacred working area. It helps the Witch to acheive a higher state of consciousness, and is frequently used in meditation or divination. I like to make my own incense from powdered herbs. I have a lovely burner made of pottery, given to me by friends and lovingly filled with gravel from their alley way to support and act as a filter for the charcoal burner. Cones and sticks are readily available from shops and have I find, a much more perfumed and sweeter scent than my own home made "brew". I use them for general "lets make the house smell pretty" cleansing and my own mixes for real magickal workings.

The Cauldron: The Cauldron is the sacred symbol of the Goddess. It is a symbol of spirit, magick, and transformation. In Celtic Mythology it is said to bring the dead back to life.  The Cauldron can be used for brews, remedies, scrying with water, spell working, incense burning, combustable spell working. Cauldrons can be purchased in all different shapes and sizes. I have one large decorative one for spell working that sits beside my fire place, and one small one for use upon my altar. I am currently in the market for a medium sized one that I can use on the top of my stove. It is thought that the search for the Holy Grail was not the search for a cup, but perhaps the search for the lost Goddess religion, and the Cauldron was the original symbol, christianized into a cup.

While I have listed the basic tools, I have in my Witches cupboard many other valuable working tools. One of which is my Mortar and Pestal. I use it to grind herbs for teas, incenses, and medicines. It  too is a symbol of God and Goddess unity. I have a clay bowl which I use to mix various bath salts, several Books of Shadows, one for recipes, one as a journal, and one which to record spells and rituals. Ritual tools can also include cloaks, costumes, jewelry, (particularly necklaces and rings), divination tools, stones, inks, pens, and even feathers. The possibilities are as endless as there are individuals.

Your Homework this month is simply to contemplate upon the different tools available to you. Visualize them in front of you, visualize your hands touching them, feeling their shape and their weight. How do their energies feel to you, which are you most attracted to?  Choose one tool to which you seem to be most attracted then send out a "call" to that tool. Ask it to make itself known to you, and ask the Goddess to help you locate it's where abouts. Should you feel the pull to visit certain stores or places in search of this tool, don't discount it even if it seems strange to you. After all...who would have ever thought I'd have found my special Chalice in a hardware store?
Recommended reading: To Light A Sacred Flame by Silver Ravenwolf
                                   Book of Shadows by Phyllis Currot
                                   The Witch in Every Woman by Laurie Cabot
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