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The Tools and Trappings of Witchcraft

March 6, 2010 by admin  
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The tools and trappings of Witchcraft are many and varied.
While many of them, such as the broomstick and the witch’s
cauldron, are very familiar among most of the population,
most magickal tools used by practitioners of Wicca and
Witchcraft are either unknown or vastly misunderstood. This
article will address the uses of many of the most popular
magickal tools out there, and, hopefully, banish some of the
misconceptions out there.

The specific tools addressed are:
- The Athame
- The Wand
- The Cauldron
- The Altar
- Book of Shadows

<b><u>The Athame</u></b> The Athame is probably the most misunderstood of
all of the magickal tools addressed here. What is an athame,
anyways? It is a ritual dagger that utilized by witches
during rituals and ceremonies. It is generally a
double-edged blade made from steel, iron or, for the
wealthier wiccans out there, silver. The hilt of the blade
is most often black, and painted or engraved with a variety
of occult symbols.

Stories and movies, which often depict a witch as bad guy,
often glamorize the athame as a sinister weapon that is used
in sacrifices and other outlandish practices. <b>This could NOT
be further from the truth! </b> The true purpose of this tool is
as an aid for the practitioner to direct their will in
ritual. It is <b>never</b> used to cut anything physically, and if
it does, it is considered tainted and cannot be used until
some extensive ‘psychic cleansing’ can be done.

For those who practice Witchcraft, the athame is a
representation of the element of air and mental energy. It
is one of the most used, and often most cherished, of their
ritual tools.

<b><u>The Wand</u></b> The wand is another very common item used in
Witchcraft. The image it brings to mind is very accurate. It
is a length of wood, about the same length as the individual
witch’s forearm. It can be constructed from a variety of
materials, and the magickal properties of the tree from
which it is cut often plays a major role in its choosing.
The look and style of the wand is as varied as the people
who carry them. They are often decorated with crystals,
stones, feathers and ribbons.

The uses of the wand are very similar indeed to those of the
athame. It is used to direct ones will in ritual or
ceremony. However, the biggest difference with the wand is
that it is often the preferred means of repelling negativity
away from its user. As such, it is often the tool of choice
for rituals involving purifying and cleansing.

<b><u>The Cauldron</u></b> Now, this is a misunderstood tool indeed! When
one brings to mind the image of a witch’s cauldron, the
phrase, “bubble, bubble, toil and trouble…” is often right
there with it. People seem to think that witches like to
brew up some of the strangest things in their cauldrons.
Though the cauldron <b>is</b> used as a magickal mixing bowl, the
ingredients are often found in the average kitchen pantry.
For a witch, the cauldron represents the element of water,
and the energies of emotions and feeling. In ritual, the
cauldron often serves in preparing infusions for a magickal
bath, tinctures for a variety of uses, or simply a fireproof
container in which to burn a piece of parchment.

<b><u>The Altar</u></b> This is another tool that is often very
misunderstood. In the Hollywood version, the altar is the
creepy table decorated with skulls and black candles where
the victim is tied up helplessly. Try explaining that one to
the neighbors!!

In <i>real</i> Witchcraft, there are two main types of altars out
there: The functional, ritual altar, and the altar that
serves as a shrine to honor a specific deity. The
shrine-type altar is pretty self explanatory. It is a
special place to connect with a specific deity, and
decorated with items that either represent or are associated
with that deity.

A functional altar is one that is used during the majority
of Wiccan rituals, and is often the centerpiece of the
ceremony. It is the place where Wiccans do most of the
“dirty work” of burning candles, spilling ink, and burning
incense. It is a focal point for their ritual intent, and
the spot in the ritual circle where they connect and pray to
their Deity.

<b><u>Book of Shadows</u></b> This is the quintessential spell book
carried by every witch out there. There are so many ways to
describe this particular item. To begin, let us just say
that the Book of Shadows is a combination of a journal, a
how-to manual, song book, <i>and</i> spell book.

One of the most common things found in a book of shadows is
the Wiccan Rede. This is basically a code of conduct that
witches follow, and an empowering bit of prose. Also
commonly found within one of these books is a piece called <u>
The Charge of The Goddess</u>, or simple “The Charge”. This is a
very elegantly written piece of poetry that both empowers
practitioners of Witchcraft, and reminds them of their
common values and beliefs. Both of these items are often
included in Wiccan ceremonies.

Aside from that, the contents of a Book of Shadows can be
almost anything. Most witches include their favorite
rituals, incense recipes, correspondence charts and other
difficult-to-memorize magickal tidbits.

These are some of the most commonly found magickal tools
used for Witchcraft. There are many more out there. However,
it would take much more than a single article article to
encompass them all. The most important thing to remember is
that these are all <i>just tools</i>. To perform real magick, all a
good witch needs is their mind. Any tool you find is merely
of focus of your intent, and a signal to your subconscious.
The will and energy that you put forth is what really
counts. Yet, if you want to learn more about magickal tools
and their uses, please visit the site <a target=”_new” href=”http://www.squidoo.com/magick-tools”>Magickal Tools For
Witchcraft</a>. Thanks for reading, and Blessed Be!

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