Tools are a good part of Rituals, but remember, YOU CAN SURVIVE WITHOUT THEM! They build focus and symbolism. I, for one, have problems with visualization, even through efforts to enhance it. Tools help me see what I am trying to do, and make it fun. Author Silver Ravenwolf wrote that magick should be fun. All that "uptight" stuff is not for Wicca. Have tools, have only a few, have none at all. If you do have tools, take your time in aquiring them. They can be really expensive (and if you are a teen, almost impossible). You can find them at Pagan shops and new age stores. You may also pick them up at flea markets and garage sales. You can even use household items! They are described below.
Altar
This is the working station of your religion on magick. Sometimes it is a box, or table. If you are a teen or someone with limited access, the floor works fine, as long as you practice safety when you have candles burning. My altar is a storage box. I have my stuff inside, and I take them out when needed. It also makes for good traveling, especially since I have moved three times this year. Everything is done here. Magick, ritual, prayer, anything. Tools
There are a few ways to set up your altar. You can use the elements. Place an elemental reprsentaion at the corresponding spots on your altar. The next version is by Cardnial points. Wether you feel like pointing your altar to the East, or North, you should set up your altar to reflect that. I use Colored candles and the altar pointing North. You may also place symbols of the Lady and Lord on the altar. The Goddess is Water and Air, and sits on the left corner. My Goddess is a sea urchin I found in a tidepool. It reminds my the Goddess is beautiful and dangerous at the same time. The God is Earth and Fire, and sits on the right corner. My God is a pine cone. It reminds me that the God is full of fertilty, and close to the Earth. Finally, your workings are in the center. This can be a morter and pistle, ingredents for a spell, or a candle. Tools
This piece of fabric can be costly or cheap. Some of them have a pentacle sewn on them or painted. Most people can have a certain color reflect the Sabbat or Esabat. I have a heavy piece of Black cloth for the New Moon, and white for other times. Tools
Aside from the debate on how to pronounce it, everyone agrees that this knife/dagger is not for cutting the physical. Typically, it has a black handle to absorb energies. It has many uses. Most use it to cut the plane that exsist around your circle. This cuts a doorway to move freely without breaking your circle. It also represents the Fire element. As metal is forged in fire, it hones the energies found within the flame. My athame was bought at a specialty shop called Excalibur. It's orginal use was as a letter openener. It's handle is not black, but as soon as I held it, it flowed within my palm freely. It moves with my hand and becomes one with me. So what it doesn't have a black handle, it feels just right to me. A lesson that not everything with Wicca sticks to the rules. Tools
This is your standard broom, although it serves a more astral purpose. Your broom is used to cleanse the space the circle or ritual is to casted. It can be any length. Sometimes the broom is set outside the home to ward of negative engeries. My broom is hanging above my kitchen doorway. Tools
The name implies the secreacy involved with the book. In the old times nothing within the book was shared except by coven members. Solitaries have a choice.
It is like a workbook. For the Solitary, your BOS might have a journal, charts of correspondances, rituals, spells, and Divination readings. There are many formulas for the Book of Shadows. Mine starts with the Rede, my Oath to the Gods, and what my beliefs within Wicca are. The rest is spells, chants, prayer, poetry, tarot readings, and a small journal. How you put it together is up to you. I would reccomend a 3 ring binder with dividers. For teens and college students, use an old one from school. It is probably the most important tool you will ever own. Tools
A chalice can be made out of glass, pewter, gold, silver, be tall or short. My first one was my favorite coffee mug. The chalice I have now is a smoked blue goblet I got for a dollar at a second hand store. As long as it can hold juice, wine, or water. Tools
To me, it is important to have representations of the elements on your altar. It reminds us that the elements are unmoving by us and constantly around us. Going from North to West, clockwise( or doesil) Earth, Air, Fire, Water. These will be referenced more in color correspondances ,and in books about ritual forming. Tools
Another important tool, it also can be jewlery. It is a five pointed star with a circle around it. It a symbol of the Elements: lower left- Earth; lower right- Fire; left- Water;right- Air; top- Spirit over everything; Circle- The Divine around and surrounding all things. This is a symbol of our faith, just like the Star of David or the Cross. You may see an inverted pentacle, and this is usually used be Satanists, or people who want to intimidate others. Tools
This tool may or may not be used by you. It acts like a conductor of energy, or even a symbol of the Air element. Most times the wand is held in your receptive hand( usually the hand you write with, but experiment on which hand collects the most energies) during a spell to hone the energy you have brought forth. My wand is a very recent addition. Most wands I saw were elborate and expensive pieces of wood with a crystal on the top. My wand was found on my property, with a phallic knob ( like a walking stick) on one end. I have yet to really use it in ritual, so my personal opinion about this tool is limited. But, I do have a recipie for a healing wand using the Chakras.
ToolsThe rest of the tools. Bells, Cauldron, Candles, Incense, salt, crystals, others. Most of these tools are used by one Wiccan or another. Like I said before, you don't even have to use all of them. There are many books and sites that can give further detail on these and other tools. Top Tools
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