The Practical Witch's Spell Book

CHAPTER

Essential Tools for Making Magic

YOUR MAGIC BEGINS AT YOUR SACRED SPACE, WORKING WITH YOUR hallowed tools. To be fully imbued with energy, your tools of magic and ritual should reside on your altar. Always cleanse and purify your newly acquired tools, whether they are antique or brand-new. Think of these tools as energy conductors that absorb and project the energy of the environment and the ritual work you perform. So, keep them clean, clear, and positive.

Every ritual tool is sacred to the individual who is performing the ritual act. Over the years, I have gathered a collection of implements that I treasure. With each use, I feel more connected to my tools and our energetic connection grows. I am very fortunate to have been gifted with some magical tools, some new and some wonderful antiques that have a history attached to them; I handle them all with care.

Let your altar become your personal power center, and your tools will assist you in your magical workings. Whether you find your tool in a store or it is given to you as a gift, each tool should hold special meaning and should feel absolutely perfect to you as you use it. Choose your tools wisely and they will serve you well.

The Practical Witch’s Toolkit

ATHAME

Pronounced “a-THAW-may,” this is your magical knife. It may also be a ritual dagger or sword, and I have even seen a Tibetan dorje (the thunderbolt of the Gods) used as an athame. The athame represents and contains yang energy, or the male aspect of the Gods. Ritual knives are also associated with the element of fire. For these two reasons, your athame should be placed on the right side of your altar. The athame is used to direct the energies raised in your ritual. Because it is not used for cutting, but rather for directing the forces involved in the work of enchantment, an athame is usually a dull blade. Some Wiccan traditions specify that the handle of the athame should be black or very dark in color, since black is the color that absorbs energy. A dark-handled knife thus becomes quickly attuned to the one who wields it.

BOLLINE

The bolline is a knife, preferably white-handled, that is used for creating other tools and for cutting equipment, such as candles, ribbons, cords, and herbs, within the magic circle. You can create your magical wand, for example, by cutting off a tree branch with your bolline. This increases the energy held within it and creates a magical tool through the use of another magical tool. You should also use your bolline for carving symbols and names into your candles and wands, as well as on your other tools. A bolline generally has a curved blade and a white handle to distinguish it from the athame. It is similar to the athame in that it also embodies the yang—or male—energy.

BOOK OF SHADOWS

Your Book of Shadows is your record of ritual work. At its finest, it should be a history of all your rituals, energy management work, circles, spells, and all the magic you have manifested. It should be a journal of all that you have practiced and wrought. In your Book of Shadows, you should keep a record of your research and the lore you have discovered. Is there a particular phase and sign of the moon that works especially well for you? Document it here, and you will be building a practice that you can use as a reference so you can bring this wisdom to future rituals. All the astrology, herb lore, crystal discoveries, and knowledge that I share in this book come from the detailed notes I keep in my Book of Shadows. Through trial, experimentation, and much practice, you will discover secrets of the universe for yourself and record what you learn in your own Book of Shadows. This should also be a book of inspiration, filled with your own thoughts, verse, and observations. Most importantly, it should be a record of results, a book you turn to again and again. It can be a gorgeous, handcrafted volume of handmade paper and ribboned bookmarks or a simple three-ring binder. Just make sure it appeals to you so that you will use it often and well.

BROOM

As a magical tool, the use of the broom was born of the practical magic of sweeping the ritual area clean before and after casting a spell. With focus and intention, you can dispel negative influences and bad spirits from the area and prepare a space for ritual work by sweeping. In bygone days, pagan marriages and Beltane trysts took place with a leap over the broom, an old traditional element of the pagan wedding tradition of handfasting. While this happens more rarely now, the broom has captured the popular imagination as the archetypal symbol of witches.

Your broom is an essential tool for energy management. Obtain a handmade broom from a craft fair, not a machine-made plastic one from the supermarket. A broom made of wood and woven from straw will be imbued with the inherent energies of those natural materials. If you treat your ritual tools with the utmost respect, they will serve you well. Over time they will become deeply charged with magical energy through exclusive use in your workings. The Wiccan tradition holds brooms in high regard, and some witches have an impressive collection of brooms, each named to distinguish between their various roles as “familiars,” or kindred spirits. Once you have found your preferred broom, I recommend that you break it in with the following spell.

Sweeping Change Spell

Say this chant aloud as you harness the power of your magical broom:

Banishing Broom Spell

After a negative event in your neighborhood or home, sprinkle salt outside your front door and pray aloud:

POWER UP YOUR PURIFICATION BROOM

You can amplify the effectiveness of your broom for rites of purification by adding major mojo to a store-bought broom. Find thin wire, ideally Venus-ruled copper, and place beads made from the following crystals—which are excellent for space clearing and purification—on the broom: jet, hematite, onyx, tiger’s eye, turquoise, and clear quartz.

CAULDRONS

Though they are important tools used in magic rituals, cauldrons are typically iron kettles. You can make a symbolic cauldron, however, out of any concave or bowl-like object, such as a large stone or a crystal geode. The cauldron represents the Goddess, its round basin symbolizing the womb. Usually, cauldrons stand on three legs for practicality and mobility. You can place a cauldron on your altar if there is room, or on the floor to the left of the altar. Cauldrons are very useful for mixing your herbs and essential oils, though you must be sure to clean them before and after each use. You can scry with a cauldron full of water to foresee the future by reading images on the surface of the water. You can use this magical tool to burn paper upon which you have written your intentions or spells. In doing this, you can send your wishes to the Gods and Goddesses through the flames. A cauldron is not the easiest magical tool to find, as they are not nearly as commonplace as one might think. I advise you to wish and wait patiently, and the cauldron of your dreams will arrive in the most enchanted manner.

MAGIC CORD

This rope binds magic to you and is ideally made from strands of red wool or ribbon. Nine feet long (measured after braiding), the magic cord is braided and tied into a loop at one end to represent feminine energy and left loose or frayed at the opposite end to signify the complementary male energy. Crystal beads woven onto the strands of the rope can enhance its magical quality. I recommend that you use clear quartz crystal beads, which are energy amplifiers, but you can use special stones for various effects: rose quartz for love, amber for grounding, jade for prosperity and success in work, lapis lazuli for creativity, and amethyst for improved intuition and psychic ability.

Ritual Knotting: Cords to Strengthen Your Life’s Energy

New moon is the optimal time for this spell practice. All you need is a paper scroll and a length of red thread or cord. The color red signifies life and active energy. After you feel that you have fully focused your energy on the scroll, upon which you have written your intention, roll it up. Now, proceed to tie knots in the order of the following traditional chant:

When you have completed the knots, tie the cord around your scroll. Note in your Book of Shadows when the power of this spell unfolds. This will be very useful for future knotting work.

BLESSING BOWL

While a bowl is not a tool in and of itself, you can utilize bowls in your spellwork often and any time you are inspired to do so. Three simple ingredients—a red rose, a pink candle, and water—can bestow a powerful blessing. The rose signifies beauty, potential, the sunny seasons, and love for yourself and others. The candle stands for the element of fire, the yellow flame of the rising sun in the east, harmony, higher intention, and the light of the soul. Water represents its own element, flow, the direction of the west, emotions, and cleansing.

Sunrise Spell

This ritual can be performed alone or with a group in which you pass the bowl around.

Float the rose in a clear bowl of water and light a pink candle beside the bowl. With your left hand, gently stir the water in the bowl and say:

Keep the blessing bowl on your kitchen altar for three days and three nights. Dry the red rose and keep it on your nightstand or desk where it will always fill your heart.

WANDS

I see many gorgeous, crystal-encrusted wands for sale in metaphysical shops, and I am sure they are superpowered. Bear in mind, though, that it is a wonderful thing indeed to make your own wand. Start with a tree branch that has fallen to the ground on its own. Sand and polish the rough edges, as it is a wand, not a weapon. Then give it a good smudging. Hot-glue a large quartz crystal onto the wand near the handle, and hot-glue on any crystals that have properties that will complement your magic. Citrine makes an excellent pointer tip for your wand and aligns your self-identity with your spirit.

CRYSTALS AND GEMS TO ENHANCE YOUR TOOLS

Here are stones I recommend for harnessing various powers with wands:

Charging Your Ritual Tools with Magic

You should consecrate each of your magical tools. In essence, in this ritual you are dedicating yourself and your tools, and setting a foundational intention for your good magic workings. Every time you acquire a new tool or treasure, perform this rite. As you grow in experience, you can embellish the ritual.

Is there a certain phase of the moon that brings you more clarity? Should you use corresponding colors, crystals, essential oils, incense, and herbs for your own astrological sun and moon sign? Is there a specific deity with whom you feel an affinity? Use these correspondences to begin designing the rituals of your dreams. The more associations you learn and use, the stronger your power will grow.

You will need an object to represent each of the four elements—air, fire, water, and earth. For example, you could use incense for air, a candle for fire, a cup for water, and a bowl of salt for the earth.

Take the new ritual tool and pass it through the scented smoke of the incense and say:

Then pass the tool swiftly through the flame of the candle and say:

Sprinkle the tool with water and say:

Dip the tool into the bowl of salt and say:

Hold the tool before you with both hands and imagine an enveloping, warm white light purifying the tool. Now say:

Place the cleansed tool upon your altar and say:

Other tools you will use in ritual are more intangible. These include your breath, your intuition, your psychic powers, and your ability to focus your mental powers and spiritual intentions. Because they are intangible, only your intention can purify them. From time to time, you will use colors, herbs, oils, crystals, and numbers in your spellwork. Many of these ritual correspondences and associations have been passed down through the centuries, whereas others have been invented by modern practitioners.

Your tools will collect and hold the magic that lives inside you. They will become infused with your energy while stored at your altar or in your sacred space. They will become your power source and will magnify the strength of your ritual work. Your altar should be a place of peace and meditation, where your spirit can soar. Adorned with your treasured objects and the tools of your practice, it is a place of focus where you can enrich your life through ritual. Using your tools and your altar, you can create a wellspring of spirit so you can live an enchanted life every single day.

SOLO SPELLS FOR BUSY WITCHES^*

Sun Moon Spell

Light a candle that will conjure the energy you desire in your life, and hold it in your hand as you say aloud: