Tools of Magick

Casting spells often involves tools. Depending on your tradition, it might always involve tools. I have opinions about this, of course, and the strongest of these is this: You don’t need tools to do magick. You certainly don’t need objects set aside specifically for spellwork unless they’re things that aren’t really good for anything else, like my pendulum and probably most other divination tools.

That being said, if you belong to a tradition that says you have to have certain tools for ritual, do what they say, not me. I’m not in your tradition.I do know the names of a bunch of tools your tradition probably uses, and I’ll go over them so that you can feel confident discussing them with your fellows. Most of the specialized tools I discuss here have more detailed entries in the glossary.

Ceremonial Tools

Many magickal traditions have ceremonial tools or magickal weapons that they use to perform certain ceremonial tasks during any ritual I want to be very clear that these belong to specific tradtions. Magick and witchcraft does not require specialized tools. Witchcraft in particular came from the desire of peasant and slave classes to have some control over their situations and they used what they had. Ceremonial tools belong to ceremonial magick, which is often a religio-magical tradition with roots in the Golden Dawn, Spiritualism and other magicks of the middle and upper classes. Some of these have been blended with local folk traditions of various places to get the variety modern ceremonial witchcraft traditions of the day. But at its heart, Witchcraft, hoodoo, folk magick, etc. make due with what they have. And really that’s part of the magick.

But let’s talk about those Ceremonial tools, because you will encounter them. And if you like them and want them, by all means get you some.

Ceremonial Blades

Blades are often necessary for spellwork, for cutting up herbs, for carving sigils and names into things, for sharpening your pencil. Iron blades are used for protection from the fae and other spirit beings, by placing them under the front porch or under the bed of the one to be protected. Many witches are happy to use a kitchen knife for most uses (not for placing under the porch, that’s a good way to lose a good knife) and some find one they especially like for magical purposes, but some blades are more specialized.

Athame

An athame [ˈaTHəˌmā, əˈTHämā, əˈTHāmā] is a ritual knife used for directing energy. It is not used for cutting physical things, but may be used for symbolic and energetic cutting. It is often described as a double-bladed, black handled knife, but I have seen all sorts of knives used as athames, so I don’t think it’s a requirement. On the altar, the athame represents the element of fire (sometimes air) and is considered masculine and may be used to represent the male aspect int he Great Rite. In ceremony, it is often used for casting and opening the Circle, opening and closing gates, drawing pentagrams and other sigils in the air, etc.

Boline

A boline [boh-leen] is a sickle-shaped blade, quite sharp used for cutting cords, harvesting herbs, and other practical cutting purposes during ritual. It is sometimes used to represent the moon and the channel the energy of the moon.

Sword

A sword may be used in place of an athame by some magick-users. In other cases, rather than as a tool of directing and channeling energy, it is a tool of command and influence. The sword would be brandished while commanding energy and energetic entities. It also represents the male principle for those who find such things important and I have been told that in some traditions, a woman can wear a sword and then take the male part in a ritual. The sword can also be used in the Great Rite.

Containers

Containers come into play during spellwork quite often. In ceremonial magick, containers often represent the feminine principal, the womb, the element of water.

Chalice

A chalice is a large cup and corresponds to the element of Water. It represents the feminine principle and the womb and creation when joined with the athame for the Great Rite. The chalice may also used for libations and sharing a Simple Feast.

Cauldron

A cauldron is a large, fireproof pot. It’s generally cast iron in our imaginations, but ceramic is also popular. They also don’t have to be particularly large. The cauldron symbolizes the womb, birth and rebirth and transformation. Cauldrons have a lot of heavy history and folklore. It can represent the element of Water and the feminine principal in ceremony as well as the chalice. Some people use the cauldron as a fire bowl for burning spell ingredients as well.

The Censor

A censor is an incense burner. Generally it’s a bit bigger and hangs from a chain so you can swing it around dramatically while spreading the smoke for proper fumigation. But there are many types of incense burners and many types of incense and folks should choose the burner that best suits the type of incense they like to use.

Sticks

Ceremonial magick and modern witchcraft traditions often employ wooden rods or sticks for pointing and directing magick. These sticks bring to mind staves of office, the shepherd’s rod, etc. and may imply dominion over certain forces as well. What form this take varies by magick-user and tradition. Some traditions are very particular about the type of wood used, some use sticks of different types of wood for different purposes. That is more than I am going to get into here.

Wand or rod

A wand is a short stick. It is generally straight, but some curves and bends give it character. I was taught that a wand should be as big around as your thumb and as long as the distance from your middle finger to the inside of your elbow. I am sure there are variations on that teaching. Ceremonially, the wand represents the male principal and the element of air (or fire). It is used for directing energy, drawing sigils in the air, etc.

Staff or Stang

A staff is used much the same way as a wand but perhaps with more authority behind it. A staff is a more or less straight stick that has the added advantage of being useful as a walking stick. The top is generally blunt or may be decorated with a knob or carving at the top. A stang has a split top or antlers at the top. It is particularly popular among druid types. The staff (or stang) should be, as I understand it, about as big around as the user’s forearm at the spot where it will be gripped and equal to the user’s height, before decoration.

The Besom

The besom is a ceremonial broom. It is used to clear the ritual space of debris and unwanted energy. Small hand brooms can be used on an altar or full sized brooms can be used to cear a larger space. Brooms are also used in various sympathetic rituals and they’ve got a rich history that I did a deep dive into on my other website at The Dirt on the Besom.

Practical Tools

By practical, I mean “of practical use”- that is, tools you do physical stuff with. I’m not implying anything about any other tools.

Blades

Knife

You will need to cut things at some point in your magical work. You can use a kitchen knife, just wash it well before and after. Or you can get yourself a special knife that you only use for magick. Choose a good, sturdy knife that you find aesthetically pleasing, that feels good in the hand and that can be sharpened. You don’t want it to be too big, or it will get unwieldy when you’re trying to do small, fiddly work and is nice to be able to take it out with you when you’re working outdoors, so a folding knife that fits in your pocket, or a sheath that fits on your belt is a nice touch. Keep your knife clean and sharp. If it has a pointy tip, you can drag it along paper to make precise cuts (like an exacto-knife), or you will probably end up needing scissors at some point too. And no, using your knife for mundane purposes once in awhile will not break the magic.

If you’re a gardening witch and you don’t already know, you might want a hori hori knife. Look it up!

Needle or pin

A needle is incredibly useful and you should definitely keep one on hand. A needle can be strung on a thread to use as a pendulum. You can use it to scratch sigils and other things into candles. To poke poppets. And to stitch together sachets. And if you want to poke your finger to get some blood, a needle is your friend- properly sterilized, of course. If you’re not into stitching and you like the aesthetic, hat pins are also very cool. Again, you don’t need to have a designated needle or pin, but you can if you want to.

Nails

Nails, particularly iron nails, can be nailed into window frams and doorways to prevent unwanted spirit visitations. They can nail a piece of paper or a poppet to the wall in a binding spell. They can be added to protection spell jars. And they can be used like a pin to scratch words and symbols into things. Not everyone is going to have a special nail, so nails might best be called spell ingredients than tools, depending on how you use them. (See below about spell ingredients)

Containers

Jars

This is another thing that is sometime and ingredient and sometimes a tool. I use jars quite often. You can place a candle in a jar for safety. You can use a jar to house a jar spell. Jars are used to make and store potions, moon water and, of course, spell ingredients. I re-use canning jars, jelly jars, sauce jars. I have been known to choose to purchase a product because it was in a cool jar. And you can use jars for drinking, if you don’t mind sharing your libation in the most casual way possible.

Bottles

See Jars! Bottles are good too, but they have narrow openings so they aren’t as easy to clean and you might be limited to what you can jam inside. BUT you can usually jam a taper candle into the opening and, burning it, seal said opening for a cool effect and some divination as well. (See Ceromancy)

Offering Bowl

Or cup, or whatever. If you work with spirits at all, you will want a container to place offerings in. This can take whatever shape you like. A pretty tea cup and sauce is particularly charming. A plate from you regular dinner service works just fine. If you place your offering outside, you may wish something a little less delicate. I have a particular tree stump that receives my offerings just fine and somebody cleans them up overnight. But when I offer water (spirits of the dead), coffee (grandpa in particular), whiskey (a psychopomp of my particular affection) or cream (please house spirits, can I have my keys back), I like something a little fancier. Liquids go into the earth after.

Cauldron

See above under the ceremonial tools. It is also very practical. Depending on your practice, you may decide you need more than one. I have a cauldron for spells and a cauldron for potions. The potion cauldron is a dutch oven that can go over a campfire, a stovetop or in the oven. There is the electric cauldron as well, that’s my crock pot. I use that for acidic things long simmering because I don’t like putting those in cast iron and because I like to be able to set it and forget it. I broke the lid from my old slow cooker, and now I use it for melting wax. No, I don’t make my own candles. I make mushroom plugs in logs, but I’m apparently very bad at it because so far, no mushrooms are forthcoming. The spell cauldron is ceramic and I use it for holding spell ingredients for a designated period of time or dropping burning bits of paper in.

Mortar and Pestle

This is very useful if you make powders. It is very satisfying and energetic to grind up your own powders in a pretty, old fashioned mortar and pestle. Just remember to grind in a circular motion. Don’t try to pound dry things or you’ll just make a mess.

A Final Word About Tools

I cannot reiterate enough that you don’t need tools to do magick. I find so many people who want to learn witchcraft who opine that they can’t because they can’t afford the tools. Tools are specific to tradition and they are merely aids. You can do most things you can do with an athame or wand with our finger. When I cast a spell, and I do often, I use whatever comes to hand and often I use nothing but my own mind and body.

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