Top 9 Tools Of The Craft

When people first discover Paganism or Wicca, they often
rush to go buy every single magical tool they can find.

collections, and it is fairly easy to make your own besom if
you dont wish to buy one. The traditional magical formula

After all, the books tell us to buy this, that, and the
kitchen sink, so you better hustle on over to Ye Local

includes a bundle of birch twigs, a staff of ash or oak, and
a binding made from willow wands.

Wytchy Shoppe and get stuff!

6. Censer

But once you get it, what do you DO with it?

In the Catholic church, it's not uncommon to see a priest

It is important to understand that magical tools have an
actual purpose, before you go out and grab one. Tools are

swinging a censer full of incense during mass. In Wicca, the
censer is used in a similar fashion. The censer is used to

often representative of one of the four classical elements,
which may help you select the tool you need for your

hold smoldering incense during a ritual or ceremony. It can
either swing from a chain or sit on a table. The censer

purpose.

doesn't have to be fancy or high-tech or expensive. A bowl
of sand, a seashell, a small plate, or a cup of salt will

Most Wiccan and Pagan traditions use the following tools in
some capacity.

hold your incense just fine. In most Wiccan traditions, the
incense represents Air, and can be burned in the form of

1. The Wand.

sticks, cones, or raw materials placed upon a disc of
charcoal.

Cliched as it may sound, the wand is one of the most popular

magical tools in Wicca, as well as in some ceremonial magic
traditions. It has a number of magical purposes. A wand is

* Incense 101

used for the directing of energy during a ritual. Because
it's a phallic symbol it is used to represent male energy,

* Winter Nights Incense
* Litha Fire Incense

power, and virility. Representative of the element of Air
(although in a few traditions it symbolizes Fire), the wand

* Imbolc Incense
* Samhain Spirit Incense

can be used to consecrate a sacred space, or invoke deity.

7. Bell

2. Cauldron

Hundreds of years ago, rural folks knew that loud noise

The cauldron is a symbol of the Goddess, and it's all about
femininity. The cauldron is the womb in which life begins.

drove away evil spirits, and the bell is a prime example of
a good noisemaker. The ringing of a bell causes vibrations

Although it usually represents the element Water, the
cauldron is an interesting tool because it can tie in to all

which are the source of great power. Variations on the bell
include the shaking of a sistrum, a ritual rattle, or the

four elements. You place it upon the Earth, heat it with
Fire, fill it with Water, and send the steam up into the

use of a singing bowl. All of these can help bring harmony
to a magical circle. In some forms of Wicca, the bell is

Air. In Celtic legend, the goddess Cerridwen possessed a
cauldron of immortality and inspiration.

rung to begin or end a rite, or to evoke the Goddess.

In some traditions, a cup or chalice is used in place of a

In ceremonial magic, the pentacle is used as a protective
talisman. However, in most Wiccan traditions it is seen as

cauldron, and in others the cauldron and cup are used
together. A cup is just a small cauldron, and can be made of

representative of the element of Earth, and can be used on
the altar as a place to hold items that are going to be

any material.

ritually consecrated. You can make your own, or buy one
commercially.

3. Knife

8. Candles

Often referred to as the athame (pronounced a-tha-may) in
Wiccan traditions, the magic knife is not used for cutting

No Wiccan ceremony really feels complete without the use of

but for the directing of energy and manipulation of power.
In some branches of Paganism, a sword is used in place of

candles. In some traditions, a candle is used to represent
the God and another used for the Goddess. In others, a

the athame. The traditional athame is double-edged and
although the tip is usually pointed, the edges of the blade

candle is simply used to indicate the element of Fire.
Candles are often a tool in sympathetic magic rites, and can

are often dull. After all, it's a ceremonial knife rather
than a practical one. Commonly linked with the element Fire,

be used to symbolize people, concepts, and emotions. A
simple candle magic spell involves selecting a candle based

the athame is a phallic symbol and is often used to
represent the God. The athame is used for casting a circle

upon color correspondences, then inscribing it with sigils
and anointing it with the appropriate oil.

or for the direction of energy.

4. Pentacle

* Mabon Prosperity Candles

Nearly every tradition of Wicca (and many Pagan paths) uses
the pentacle as a symbol. Not to be confused with the

* Pumpkin Candles
* Imbolc Ice Candles

pentagram (a five-pointed star), the pentacle is a flat
piece of wood, metal, clay, or wax inscribed with magical

9. Book of Shadows (BOS)

symbols. The most commonly seen symbol, however, is the
pentagram itself, which is why the two terms are often

Despite popular movies and television shows, there is no one

confused.

single book of shadows. A book of shadows, or BOS, is a
Wiccan or Pagan's notebook of information. It usually

5. Broom

contains spells, rituals, correspondence charts, information
about the rules of magic, invocations, myths and legends of

While it comes in handy during a good game of Quidditch, the
broom - or besom - is also useful for sweeping a ceremonial

various pantheons, etc. Sometimes information in a BOS is
passed along from one Wiccan to another (and in a coven

setting, there may be a coven BOS as well as individual
members' books), but you can create your own with a little

may have accumulated in the area since the last cleaning.
The broom is a purifier, so it is connected to the element

bit of effort. A BOS is a very personal thing, and should
contain the information you find most important.