![RWS Tarot 01 Magician](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/RWS_Tarot_01_Magician.jpg)
In the
neopagan religion of
Wicca
Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and w ...
a range of magical tools are used in ritual practice. Each of these tools has different uses and associations and are commonly used at an
altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
, inside a
magic circle
A magic circle is a circle of space marked out by practitioners of some branches of ritual magic, which they generally believe will contain energy and form a sacred space, or will provide them a form of magical protection, or both. It may be mark ...
.
In the traditional system of Gardnerian magic, there was as an established idea of
covens which were groups composed of initiated members that conducted rituals involving magical tools and secret books (Book of Shadows). These tools were predominately kept within a specific coven because they were considered sacred. These items were owned and used by individual Wiccans, but could also be used collectively by the coven.
This practice may derive partly from
Masonic
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
traditions (such as the use of the
Square and Compasses), from which Wicca draws some material, and partly from the rituals of the
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn ( la, Ordo Hermeticus Aurorae Aureae), more commonly the Golden Dawn (), was a secret society devoted to the study and practice of occult Hermeticism and metaphysics during the late 19th and early 20th ...
. The latter made much use of material from medieval
grimoire
A grimoire ( ) (also known as a "book of spells" or a "spellbook") is a textbook of magic, typically including instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans and amulets, how to perform magical spells, charms and divination, and ...
s such as the
Key of Solomon
The ''Key of Solomon'' ( la, Clavicula Salomonis; he, מפתח שלמה []) (Also known as "The Greater Key of Solomon") is a pseudepigraphical grimoire (also known as a book of spells) attributed to Solomon, King Solomon. It probably dates ba ...
, which has many illustrations of magical tools and instructions for their preparation.
Usage
In Wicca, magical tools are used during rituals which both honour the deities and work
magic
Magic or Magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
* Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic
* Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
. The general idea is that the tool directs psychic energies to perform a certain action.
In modern-day Wicca, there is an encouragement of solitary practice of rituals and study. Covens are still a part of Wicca and related doctrines but there is now insistence that solitary practice is permissible. The allowance of solitary practice is clearly an important factor in terms of the growth of adherents, as the requirement to join a coven would involve transaction costs of locating fellow members and/or being initiated.
In
Gardnerian Wicca as laid down by
Gerald Gardner
Gerald Brosseau Gardner (13 June 1884 – 12 February 1964), also known by the craft name Scire, was an English Wiccan, as well as an author and an amateur anthropology, anthropologist and archaeology, archaeologist. He was instrumental in bri ...
, someone who had been initiated in the first degree had to create (or, alternately purchase and then engrave) their own ritual tools. One of the requirements for being initiated into the second degree is that adherents had to name all of the ritual tools and explain what their purpose and associations were.
Consecrating tools
Before tools are used in ritual they first are
consecrated. In the Gardnerian
Book of Shadows
A Book of Shadows is a book containing religious text and instructions for magical rituals found within the Neopagan religion of Wicca. Since its conception in the 1970s, it has made its way into many pagan practices and paths. The most famous ...
, there is a section based entirely on consecrating ritual items.
The Book of Shadows states items must be consecrated within a magic circle, at the centre of which lies a pentacle (or
paten
A paten or diskos is a small plate, used during the Mass. It is generally used during the liturgy itself, while the reserved sacrament are stored in the tabernacle in a ciborium.
Western usage
In many Western liturgical denominations, the p ...
). Each item that is to be consecrated is placed upon the pentacle, sprinkled with salt and water and then passed through some incense. This is followed by the declaration,
Aradia and Cernunnos, deign to bless and to consecrate this ool that it may obtain necessary virtue through thee for all acts of love and beauty. Aradia and Cernunnos, bless this instrument prepared in thine honour.
The Primary tools
Various different tools are used in Wiccan ritual. Chief amongst them in importance are the pentacle (or paten), Athame (or sword), wand, and chalice, each of which represents one of the four elements of earth, air, fire and water.
Pentacle (or Paten)
The
Pentacle
A pentacle (also spelled and pronounced as ''pantacle'' in Thelema, following Aleister Crowley, though that spelling ultimately derived from Éliphas Lévi) "The Pantacle of Frater V. I. O." is a talisman that is used in magical evocation, and ...
(or
Paten
A paten or diskos is a small plate, used during the Mass. It is generally used during the liturgy itself, while the reserved sacrament are stored in the tabernacle in a ciborium.
Western usage
In many Western liturgical denominations, the p ...
) is a disc-shaped altar consecration tool with a
sigil
A sigil () is a type of symbol used in magic. The term has usually referred to a pictorial signature of a deity or spirit. In modern usage, especially in the context of chaos magic, sigil refers to a symbolic representation of the practitioner ...
or magical symbol engraved or inscribed upon it. The most common symbol is a
pentagram
A pentagram (sometimes known as a pentalpha, pentangle, or star pentagon) is a regular five-pointed star polygon, formed from the diagonal line segments of a convex (or simple, or non-self-intersecting) regular pentagon. Drawing a circle arou ...
within a circle, specifically a
pentacle
A pentacle (also spelled and pronounced as ''pantacle'' in Thelema, following Aleister Crowley, though that spelling ultimately derived from Éliphas Lévi) "The Pantacle of Frater V. I. O." is a talisman that is used in magical evocation, and ...
, although some other symbols may be used such as the
triquetra
The triquetra ( ; from the Latin adjective ''triquetrus'' "three-cornered") is a triangular figure composed of three interlaced arcs, or (equivalently) three overlapping '' vesicae piscis'' lens shapes. It is used as an ornamental design in ar ...
. The disc is symbolic of the
element of earth. It is typically used during evocation as a symbol which blesses items, as well as magically energizing that which is placed upon it.
[ Page 201][ Page 1]
Sword and knife
A sword or a ritual knife, commonly known as
Athame
An athame or athamé (, or ) is a ceremonial blade, generally with a black handle. It is the main ritual implement or magical tool among several used in ceremonial magic traditions, and by other neopagans, witchcraft, as well as satanic traditi ...
, is often used in Wiccan ritual. In
Gardnerian Wicca these are symbolic of the element of
fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products.
At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames a ...
.
Athame is elemental in nature while the sword is planetary in nature.
Athame is traditionally black-handled and usually inscribed (sometimes in the
Theban alphabet
The Theban alphabet is a writing system, in particular a substitution cipher of the Latin alphabet, used by early modern occultists and popular in the Wicca movement.
Publication history
It was first published in Johannes Trithemius's ''Polygra ...
). It is used to direct
energy
In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of hea ...
for the casting of
magic circle
A magic circle is a circle of space marked out by practitioners of some branches of ritual magic, which they generally believe will contain energy and form a sacred space, or will provide them a form of magical protection, or both. It may be mark ...
s, controlling of spirits and other ritual purposes.
Gerald Gardner
Gerald Brosseau Gardner (13 June 1884 – 12 February 1964), also known by the craft name Scire, was an English Wiccan, as well as an author and an amateur anthropology, anthropologist and archaeology, archaeologist. He was instrumental in bri ...
described it as "the true Witch's weapon" in the
Bricket Wood
Bricket Wood is a village in the county of Hertfordshire, England, south of St Albans and north-northeast of Watford.
History
The area of Bricket Wood was mostly occupied by farmers until Bricket Wood railway station was built in 1861. In 18 ...
Book of Shadows
A Book of Shadows is a book containing religious text and instructions for magical rituals found within the Neopagan religion of Wicca. Since its conception in the 1970s, it has made its way into many pagan practices and paths. The most famous ...
,
something which he has been criticized for, by
Frederic Lamond believing there should be no "weapons" in Wicca.
In some traditions, it is never used under any circumstances to draw blood, becoming tainted and requiring destruction if it does.
The term "Athame" in its modern spelling first appears in Wicca, but it originates from words found in two historical copies of the ''
Key of Solomon
The ''Key of Solomon'' ( la, Clavicula Salomonis; he, מפתח שלמה []) (Also known as "The Greater Key of Solomon") is a pseudepigraphical grimoire (also known as a book of spells) attributed to Solomon, King Solomon. It probably dates ba ...
''. The version currently held in the
Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal
The Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal (''Library of the Arsenal'', founded 1757) in Paris has been part of the Bibliothèque nationale de France since 1934.
History
The collections of the library originated with the private library of Marc-René, 3rd ...
,
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, uses the term "arthame" to describe a black-handled knife. This was adopted by
C.J.S. Thompson in his 1927 book ''The Mysteries and Secrets of Magic'' and by
Grillot de Givry in his 1931 book ''Witchcraft, Magic and Alchemy''. The historian
Ronald Hutton
Ronald Edmund Hutton (born 19 December 1953) is an English historian who specialises in Early Modern Britain, British folklore, pre-Christian religion and Contemporary Paganism. He is a professor at the University of Bristol, has written 14 b ...
theorized that Gardner got it either directly or indirectly from one of these sources, although with a modified spelling.
Wand
In Gardnerian Wicca, the
wand
A wand is a thin, light-weight rod that is held with one hand, and is traditionally made of wood, but may also be made of other materials, such as metal or plastic.
Long versions of wands are often styled in forms of staves or sceptres, which ...
is symbolic of the element of air, though in some traditions it instead symbolizes fire.
[ Page 201] It can be made from any material, including wood, metal and rock, and Wiccan wands are sometimes set with gemstones or crystals.
In his
Book of Shadows
A Book of Shadows is a book containing religious text and instructions for magical rituals found within the Neopagan religion of Wicca. Since its conception in the 1970s, it has made its way into many pagan practices and paths. The most famous ...
,
Gerald Gardner
Gerald Brosseau Gardner (13 June 1884 – 12 February 1964), also known by the craft name Scire, was an English Wiccan, as well as an author and an amateur anthropology, anthropologist and archaeology, archaeologist. He was instrumental in bri ...
stated the wand is "used to summon certain spirits with whom it would not be meet to use the athame". Frederic Lamond states this referred to elemental spirits, who were traditionally believed to be scared of iron and steel.
Chalice
The
chalice
A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning.
R ...
, or goblet, is symbolic of the element of water. Many Wiccans do not consider it to be a tool, but instead to be a symbol of the Goddess, particularly her womb.
The chalice bears many similarities with the
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracu ...
, except for its symbolism used in witchcraft. Rather than being the blood of Christ, it is symbolic of the Goddess' womb. The chalice is traditionally used to hold wine.
Other tools
Boline
The
boline
The boline (also spelled ''bolline'', pron.: boh-leen) is a white-handled ritual knife, one of several magical tools used in Wicca, mainly for the cutting of herbs and inscribing candles.
Description
Unlike the athame, which in most traditions i ...
is a white handled knife, sometimes with a curved blade like that of a crescent moon. It is used for more practical uses than Athame, for instance harvesting and cutting herbs, inscribing candles with symbols or sigils, or cutting ritual cords. Unlike Athame, the boline is used in the physical process of magical works such as ritual cutting; the boline serves for the physical plane what Athame serves for work in the spiritual/
astral planes.
Censer and incense
The
censer
A censer, incense burner, perfume burner or pastille burner is a vessel made for burning incense or perfume in some solid form. They vary greatly in size, form, and material of construction, and have been in use since ancient times throughout t ...
is used to dispense
incense
Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also b ...
.
Scourge
The
scourge
A scourge is a whip or lash, especially a multi-thong type, used to inflict severe corporal punishment or self-mortification. It is usually made of leather.
Etymology
The word is most commonly considered to be derived from Old French ''escorgi ...
is a type of religious
whip. It is used in
Gardnerian Wicca to flagellate members of the coven, primarily in initiation rites. Frederic Lamond said that whilst Gardner never told his
Bricket Wood coven
The Bricket Wood coven, or Hertfordshire coven Page 289 is a coven of Gardnerian witches founded in the 1940s by Gerald Gardner. It is notable for being the first coven in the Gardnerian line, though having its supposed origins in the pre-Gardne ...
which element this was associated with, he believed that as an "instrument for exercising power over others" then it should be Fire.
The scourge stands in contrast to "the Kiss" in Gardnerian and other forms of Wicca. Being representative of the "gifts of the Goddess," the scourge standing for sacrifice and suffering one is willing to endure to learn, the kiss being the blessings of abundance in all life's aspects.
Cingulum
In the various forms of
British Traditional Wicca
Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and was ...
,
cords, known as cingulum, or singulum (which literally translates as "girdle" or "belt"), are worn about the waist by adherents. These are often given to a Wiccan upon their initiation, and worn at each subsequent ritual.
[''Cingulum'', an article in '' Pentacle Magazine'', issue 22, Autumn 2007, by an anonymous author] Traditionally they are nine feet in length (nine being three times three, the magical number), and are used to measure the circumference of the magic circle so that it can be set up correctly.
In many traditions of Wicca, the colour of a person's cingulum indicates what rank of initiate they are; in several Australian covens for instance, green denotes a novice, white denotes an initiate of the first degree, blue for the second and a plaited red, white and blue for the third, with the High Priest wearing a gold cingulum (symbolising the sun), and the High Priestess wearing silver (symbolising the moon).
Wiccan High Priest
Raymond Buckland
Raymond Buckland (31 August 1934 – 27 September 2017), whose craft name was Robat, was an English writer on the subject of Wicca and the occult, and a significant figure in the history of Wicca, of which he was a high priest in both the Gardne ...
stated the cingulum should not be worn, but kept especially for spellcraft.
Besom
The
besom
A besom () is a broom, a household implement used for sweeping. The term is now mostly reserved for a traditional broom constructed from a bundle of twigs tied to a stout pole. The twigs used could be broom (i.e. '' Genista'', from which comes ...
or broom, is often associated with witches and witchcraft. The stories of witches flying on brooms originated from the besom. In Wicca, it is used in
handfasting
Handfasting is a traditional practice that, depending on the term's usage, may define an unofficiated wedding (in which a couple marries without an officiant, usually with the intent of later undergoing a second wedding with an officiant), a ...
ceremonies wherein a couple jumps over it. The besom is also used in seasonal fertility dances as a representation of a
phallus.
Cauldron
A cauldron is often associated with witches and witchcraft in western culture. In Wicca, it is sometimes used to represent the womb of the Goddess, like the chalice. It is often used for making brews (such as oils), incense-burning, and can be used to hold large, wide pillar candles depending on how small it is. A fire is often lit within the vessel and the flames are leaped over as a simple fertility rite, or at the end of a handfasting. If filled with water, a cauldron can be used for
scrying
Scrying, also known by various names such as "seeing" or "peeping", is the practice of looking into a suitable medium in the hope of detecting significant messages or visions. The objective might be personal guidance, prophecy, revelation, or in ...
. It plays a large role in Celtic magic in a similar fashion to that of
Cerridwen
Ceridwen or Cerridwen ( ''Ke-RID-wen'') was an enchantress in Welsh medieval legend. She was the mother of a hideous son, Afagddu, and a beautiful daughter, Creirwy. Her husband was Tegid Foel and they lived near Bala Lake () in north Wales. Med ...
's cauldron.
Spear
In the tradition of
Seax-Wica
Seax-Wica or better Seax Witchcraft is a tradition, or denomination, inspired by the neopagan religion of Wicca. Specifically the Seax Witchcraft is largely inspired by the iconography of the historical Anglo-Saxon paganism, though, unlike Theodi ...
, the spear is used as a ritual tool symbolizing the god
Woden
Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, victory ...
, who, in Seax-Wicca tradition, is viewed as an emanation of God in place of the
Horned God
The Horned God is one of the two primary deities found in Wicca and some related forms of Neopaganism.
The term ''Horned God'' itself predates Wicca, and is an early 20th-century syncretic term for a horned or antlered anthropomorphic god partl ...
. According to
Norse mythology, the god
Odin who is the Norse equivalent to the Anglo-Saxon Woden carried the spear
Gungnir
In Norse mythology, Gungnir (, "the rocking") is the spear of the god Odin.
Attestations ''Poetic Edda''
In the Poetic Edda poem ''Völuspá'', the Æsir-Vanir War is described as officially starting when Odin throws a spear over the heads of ...
. For the purpose of comparison it is notable Seax-Wica is not a part of traditional initiatory Wicca, nor is it substantially linked to the Gardnerian or Alexandrian traditions.
Other
*
Smudge Stick
Smudging, or other rites involving the burning of sacred herbs (e.g., white sage) or resins, is a ceremony practiced by some Indigenous peoples of the Americas. While it bears some resemblance to other ceremonies and rituals involving smoke (e. ...
Ritual
![Ritual implements](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Ritual_implements.gif)
There are elaborate rituals prescribed for the creation and consecration of magical tools. These often include the ritual passing of the tool through representations of
the four elements
Classical elements typically refer to earth, water, air, fire, and (later) aether which were proposed to explain the nature and complexity of all matter in terms of simpler substances. Ancient cultures in Greece, Tibet, and India had simil ...
. Some tools are ascribed correspondences to a particular element, one commonly cited correspondence being:
*Earth - Pentacle
*Fire - Wand
*Air - Sword
*Water - Chalice
These four tools may be seen in the occult
tarot
The tarot (, first known as '' trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play card games such as Tarocchini. From their Italian roots ...
deck designed by Golden Dawn members
A.E.Waite and
Pamela Colman Smith
Pamela Colman Smith (16 February 1878 – 18 September 1951), nicknamed "Pixie", was a British artist, illustrator, writer, publisher, and occultist. She is best-known for illustrating the Rider–Waite tarot deck (also called the Rider–Wait ...
, most obviously in the card known as
The Magician. Some practitioners distinguish High Magic and Low Magic. The former is based on
Ceremonial magic
Ceremonial magic (ritual magic, high magic or learned magic) encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic. The works included are characterized by ceremony and numerous requisite accessories to aid the practitioner. It can be seen as an ex ...
and may be more commonly practiced in
Alexandrian covens. The latter is more typical of the
Hedgewitch, who would be more likely to use everyday tools and utensils, rather than fabricating specially made magical tools.
[ Beth, Rae ''Hedge Witch: A Guide to Solitary Witchcraft'', (1992) London: Robert Hale.]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magical Tools In Wicca
Wicca
Formal insignia
Ritual weapons
Honorary weapons
Ceremonial weapons
Wicca
Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and w ...