Witch's Tools

There are certain tools that a witch might want to use in their spells and rituals. You don't necessarily NEED every single one of them, but you might want to have them. And they don't have to be the exact thing that many of the books or other witches say that you need. For example, many books I've read say you need a silver chalice. Who's got the money to spend on all of these tools, especially something so elegant as a silver chalice. Mine is glass. And I got it almost twenty years ago and hardly ever used it, except for decoration, and now it decorates my altar. You will likely be able to find something around your house that you can use instead and just dedicate it to your craft instead. Here are some of the tooks that you might want to get.

The Athame (pronounced ath-uh-may):

1. Element: Fire.
2. Direction: South.
3. Color: Red.
4. Gender: Male.
5. The athame invokes and banishes energy. It also tends to unseen entities and forces. Holds negative spirits at bay to keep them from wreaking havoc with spellwork, and attracts and invites entities who possess vibrations that are beneficial to the tasks at hand.
6. Ensures that everything runs smoothly.
7. Traditionally a double-edged blade with a black handle, because black is the absence of color. This means it’s capable of grabbing negative forces and strips them of their power, transforming it into harmless energy that dissipates quickly into the universe.
8. The double-edged blade reminds us that there are two sides to the magical coin. Life (positive) and Death (negative). It is up to us to choose which side of the coin we will play. We can use magic to defend and protect and work toward the good of all, or we can go to the dark side.
9. The blade is usually made of steel.
10. Should never be used to draw blood. If used to draw blood, it should be destroyed so it will never be used again.

The Besom (aka Witch's Broom):

1. Known as the witch’s broom.
2. Can be used interchangeably with the wand in the circle.
3. Used especially in the Imbolc Ritual where we sweep away the old (winter) to make room for the new (spring).
4. You can make your own with a tree branch and some herbs and twigs, but a regular store bought broom works just as well.
5. Perform a blessing/consecration ritual.

The Black Mirror:

1. Used for scrying and divination.
2. Traditionally constructed from a piece of concave glass (glass that curves outward like the surface of a sphere).
3. Most are purchased from specialty stores or made from a plain piece of glass held in a picture frame.

Candles:

1. Candles are a symbol of all of the elements. The wick is for Earth/grounding. The wax is for Water/transformative. Air is required to keep it burning. The flame is fire. When you charge the candle you bring spirit into the elements of the candle. All five elements together makes it a very powerful tool of magic.
2. When doing candle magic, it helps to choose the right candle color to align with your intentions.
3. You can create even more abundant power in your candle by anointing it with sacred or magical oils and scents to carry your message even further. It will give your candle magic more power when combined with all of the elements and color magic and with the enhancement of power through oils and herbs.
4. When anointing a candle, the way you apply the oil can be important. To draw things to you (prosperity, love, success, etc) anoint from the top of the candle to the middle, and from the bottom to the middle, pulling energy inward. To banish or remove things (negative energy, bad habits, anxiety, etc) anoint from the middle to the top and from the middle to the bottom, pushing energy outward.
5. Candles allow us to bring the power of color into our spellwork and craft.

The Cauldron:

1. Represents Akasha/Spirit, the mover and shaker of the Elements.
2. Symbolizes the point of metamorphosis or transformation that occurs during the magical process.
3. When used in ritual, it is placed at the center of the circle, because it is known as the “Womb of the Goddess”, the source from which all magic flows, and all magic flows from the circle’s center.
4. In ancient times the cauldron held fire, so was usually cast iron.
5. In modern times the fire it contains is either a candle, incense, or paper requests burned on smoldering herbs, so nearly any metal will do.

The Cup/Chalice/Goblet:

1. Element: Water.
2. Direction: West.
3. Color: Blue.
4. Gender: Female.
5. Spirit of the Goddess.
6. Traits: abundance, fertility.
7. The ritual cup, or chalice, is used as a drinking device during both personal and deity libations. It takes on many roles in rituals and spells.
8. Seen as an offering or way to give gifts and libations to your deities.
9. It also acts as a magical container for any substance, mundane, psychic, or otherwise, that the practitioner deems necessary, and keeps it there until the time comes to release it.
10. It is to gather, hold, and disperse energy.
11. It is traditionally cast of sterling silver, which is the metal of the moon. that’s because its ruling element is water and the rise and ebb of the ocean tides are ruled by the moon.
12. Because sterling silver is expensive, it can be plated or another silver-colored metal, or whatever you want it to be. Some practitioners can use other cups made of pottery or glass, but silver cups have been used since the beginning because it represents the Goddess of the Moon.
13. Can hold water, wine, ale, tea, kombucha, essences, potions and more.
14. Can also be empty as a symbolic gesture in some spells or rituals, denoting openness to receive abundance to be poured into the cup from the spiritual plane.

Incense (Sage, Palo Santo, or any other type of incense or herb bundle):

1. Used for smoke cleansing to clear away negative and stagnant energies.
2. Also used in divination, meditation, shadow work, spellwork, and spirit work.
3. Used in rituals and ceremonies.
4. Do not use if you have asthma, COPD, or other sensitive lung or sinus issues.
5. Please do not do around sensitive pets. Put them in another room and open a window or turn on air purifier. Their little lungs can’t handle the smoke.

Jars:

1. A witch can never have enough jars. 
2. You will use these for spells, containers to keep your ingredients in, and many other uses.
3. No need to buy special jars. I keep all of my spaghetti sauce jars and use those. But for spells I have gotten those tiny little spell jars from the dollar store. There are about 5 or 6 in the package for a $1 or so.

The Pentacle:

1. Element: Earth.
2. Direction: North.
3. Color: Green.
4. Gender: Male/Female.
5. The Pentagram is a five-pointed star with a five-sided geometrical shape in its center drawn with the point up. The Pentacle is a pentagram encapsulated by a circle.
6. It represents the five elements: Air, Earth, Fire, Water, and Spirit/Akasha.
7. Its basic function is to shield and protect.
8. It grounds all energies that we invite and direct, and keeps them from scattering aimlessly through the universe.
9. Works as a manifestation device.
10. There are two types of pentacles: The working pentacle and the ritual pentacle.
11. Pentacles are seen in tarot decks. They can represent money.
12. Pentacles symbolize the Earth and its bountiful richness and abundance. It can represent mind over matter, with the upper point representing the practitioner (aka Spirit) and the other four, the Elements.
13. It can symbolize the macrocosm of man, when we stand with our arms and legs outstretched in a star-like shape.
14. In the early days of Christianity, it represented the five wounds of Christ.
15. When reversed and the two points are up, it can be used to represent the Horned god used by Satanists. In this form it symbolizes matter, or basal instinct over mind.

The Pendulum:

1. Used as a form of divination.
2. Can generally get yes/no answers pretty quickly.
3. Can be used for healing (with the process of dowsing) to find and clear negative and stagnant energies.

Prophetic Dreaming:

1. Keep a diary. The dream diary is a very important tool as it brings insight to past and current events in your life.
2. It can also point out personal problem areas, damaging relationship patterns, and all sorts of other issues that can be dealt with easily if apparent at the onset.
3. Kept regularly, the dream diary relieves stress, and a healthy witch is a powerful witch.
4. You have to jot down your dreams as soon as you wake up from them. If not, specific portions of your dream can be forgotten.
5. Write down everything about your dream before trying to decipher them.

Tarot:

1. Used for divination and to contact spirit guides.
2. Also used for shadow work.
3. Some use it to ask questions about relationships, the future, and pretty much anything you can think of.
4. In my personal opinion, it is like a form of therapy. I get great insight about myself and it helps me become a better person.

The Wand:

1. Element: Air.
2. Direction: East.
3. Color: Yellow.
4. Gender: Male/Female.
5. It is probably one of the most important utensils in the witch’s toolbox.
6. It is an instrument necessary to manifest any number of supernatural phenomena in the physical realm.
7. It is an attractant, a repellent, and a director of energies. It divides the worlds during circle-casting, then connects again when the magic is done.
8. You can have a small and/or a large staff-sized wand. The small wand is used to conduct and direct energy. The large wand is used to attracting and repelling energy. They can work together or independently of each other to achieve the desired results.

The White-Handled Knife:

1. It’s probably the most frequently used of all craft tools.
2. Used to inscribe candles, carving runes, harvesting herbs and plant material.
3. Single-edged.
4. Nearly any type of cutlery will do, as long as it has a white handle. If you do not have a white-handled knife though, any knife will do. Mine is a black-handled steak knife that is now dedicated strictly to my craft.

Witch's Bells

1. Hang bells on your door, near the handle, to protect your home and ward off harm, negativity, and evil spirits.
2. Hang bells on doorknobs and say this:
 “Guard our home, bells on the door,
 let only blessings walk on this floor,
 block all evil and the dark arts,
 may only good approach our hearts,
 evil spells shall not be cast,
 and good fortune shall ever last.”