Wicca and Spiritual Tools of Trade

Tools are a valuable asset to most if not all trades, artists use many varied tools as do tradespeople, Doctors, lawyers Hairdressers and gardeners just to name a few. Wiccan, Witches, psychics, of all descriptions also have a varied array of tools at their disposal. The uses of these tools which include candles and herbs are as varied and individual as the person using them or needing them.

Mediums and some clairvoyants dont always need tools, some clients like to see tools used as it gives them something physical to focus on and helps them to feel at ease if they are a little nervous. I find for first time clients it is something visual that I can explain to them, it can be all about our own personal comfort zone too.
I thought it might be nice to write a few words about the types of tools used for wiccan practices and how those tools can be utilized and what functions they may hold for practice or ceremony. Some of the tools used by witches are also used by psychics like sage smudge sticks for energy cleansing etc.
Not all witches are psychic and clairvoyants and mediums are not always witches.

I will also mention some of the tools used by psychics and the varied uses for these items as well. I am quite sure I will miss out on a few tools in both categories although not intentionally.
Please feel free to email us with any questions or additional information you may have.

Spiritual Tools (used by Psychics and Clairvoyants etc)


Automatic Writing

Automatic writing is a psychic phenomenon in which discarnates, or spirits, purportedly communicate by controlling the writing hand of a human sensitive, or medium. It usually involves the sensitive, also referred to as an automatist, being in a disassociated state and delivering words not in his or her conscious or subconscious

Black Scrying Mirror
Mirrors both silver and black, water, spheres, and fire are some of the common elements used for scrying. By gazing deeply into the reflective surface images or visions will come to the scryer. Scrying takes time to learn but is well worth the effort. It can help you to understand the meaning behind many of your own life's mysteries & help to answer seemingly unanswerable questions. Ask your questions carefully as sometimes we do not always get the exact answer we seek, but the reality & truth of what we are asking.

Crystals
Stones & Crystals are Magickal batteries that contain & concentrate the earth's energies. Crystals & stones have long played a part in our Magickal lives, for centuries Witches, Wizards & healers have used Crystals & stones for many spells. Crystals themselves go so far beyond Magick though. They all have a unique quality & can be used to cleanse & keep negativity from your homes or business, they can help heal ailments, open Chakras & even help the user overcome a certain pain or blocks in their lives. The placement crystals around our home can assist the persons living there a wonderful change of luck, happiness & an all around good energy vibe. They basically can be used to improve your life, relationships & ourselves. Crystals can be programmed to do a specific task unique to it's owner. They are easily charged & easily cleansed.

copywrite Angela Maidman March 2010

Crystal Sphere
A sphere made from crystal used for healing, massage and decoration. Quartz is best for scrying

Hands of Healing
Our own hands are a conduit to energetic healing, the vibrational energy builds up in one hands and can be directed to an area of the body to help clear subconcious blocks and negative energy. This type of energetic healing can be used to cleanse and reprogramme crystals and to align the Chakra points on the body.

Pendulum
Pendulums can be made from many materials including Crystals, wood, metal and stone.
A pendulum may have many uses and respond well to yes/no type of questions. Pendulums have been used for dowsing for water to telling the sex of an unborn baby. Suspended from a string or chain questions are asked, one at a time, in such a way as to facilitate a definite yes or no replies.
Crystal Pendulums are excellent tools for healing, and clearing Chakras, they make excellent companion stones and should be used with care and respect for the pendulum, yourself and other people.

Oracle Cards
Oracle cards are a deck of cards not unlike Tarot Cards. Oracle cards often follow a theme like mermaids, unicorns, angels or animals. The cards often have a meaning printed on them and predicts a story to the reader by the way the cards are drawn.

Ouija Board
A Ouija board also known as a spirit board or talking board, is a flat board marked with letters, numbers, and other symbols, used to communicate with spirits. It uses a planchette (small heart-shaped piece of wood) or movable indicator to indicate the spirit's message by spelling it out on the board during a séance. The fingers of the séance participants are placed on the planchette, which then moves about the board to spell out messages.

Reiki Energy Healing
Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by "laying on hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one's "life force energy" is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.
The word Reiki is made of two Japanese words - Rei which means "God's Wisdom or the Higher Power" and Ki which is "life force energy". So Reiki is actually "spiritually guided life force energy."

Runes
Rune Stones are clay or wood discs with symbols etched into them. The symbols are ancient alphabet (Futhark) and were used to pass messages. Runic divination is a skill that takes much practice and devotion and in return gives great insight with age old wisdom.

Tarot Cards
The tarot is a deck of 78 picture cards that has been used for centuries to reveal hidden truths.

Five Card Spread
This tarot spread helps to determine a course of action in which the person consulting the cards wishes to decide upon.


Celtic Cross Spread
This is the most common of the tarot spreads used today. This layout is used to answer a specific question. You must remember to put some thought into the formulation of the question you ask due to the many variances of placement involved in the card layout.

Mirror Spread
This tarot spread works primarily on existing relationships, but can assess anything from a budding love affair to an established relationship. This spread layout consists of the placement of 8 cards.

The Mandala Spread
This tarot spread is used to asses one’s spiritual path. It can be adapted to address specific issues and questions, or an open reading with no overall question. This spread reveals strengths, weaknesses and desires which lead one toward a growth in spirituality. There are 9 cards used within this spread.

Relationship Spread
This tarot spread is also a 10 card spread and deal with matters of distant past, recent past, the present, future influences, external influences, the querents attitude, helpful energies, obstacles to overcome, hope and fears, and the final result.



Wiccan Tools ( used by witches, Wiccans, Casters etc)

Consecrating tools
Before tools are used in ritual, they first are consecrated. In the Book of Shadows, there is a section on consecrating ritual items. Altar items must be consecrated within a magic circle, at whose centre lies a pentacle. Each item that is to be consecrated is in turn placed upon the pentacle, sprinkled with salt and water, and then passed through some incense. This is followed by the declaration of:
Aradia and Cernunnos, deign to bless and to consecrate this [tool], 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.
This chant is from Gardnerian Wicca, other branches may have their own chants and concecration rites.

altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices and votive offerings are made for religious purposes, or some other sacred place where ceremonies take place. Altars are usually found at shrines and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship. Today they are used particularly in the religions of Buddhism, Hinduism, as well as Christianity, LaVeyan Satanism, Neopaganism Wicca and in Ceremonial Magic.

Altar cloth
An altar cloth is used by various religious groups to cover an altar.
Because many altars are made of wood and are often ornate and unique, cloth is commonly used to protect the altar surface. In other cases, the cloth serves to beautify and covering an altar with cloth may also be a sign of respect towards the holiness of the altar.

Athame
An athame can take many forms. It frequently has a double-edged
blade with a sharp point, and a handle which is often black.
The handle may be inscribed with particular symbols
dictated by the tradition and it s never used for cutting, only to direct energy.

Besoms
A witches Besom is used to ritually "sweep" the magic circle clean from undesirable energies.
You sweep to remove all negative energies within the place of magick.
It is a sacred tool of the Craft & can be one of the most important ones as well.
In Wicca, it is also used in handfasting ceremonies, when a couple jump over it.

Boline
The boline is a white handled knife, sometimes with a curved blade. It is used for more practical uses than the athame, for instance for cutting herbs or ritual cords.

Book of Shadows
The Book Of Shadows is a Witch's Greatest tool. It provides a place for Craft secrets, spell work, rituals, family traditions, otherworldly info & almost anything else a Witch can think. Ultimately your Book should be hand written by you & incorporate your beliefs & practices.

Candles
Candles are wonderful for spell work. They are easy to use and colour denotes meaning or intent. Great to inscribe your desire upon during a ritual or spell.

Cauldron
In Wicca, a cauldron can be placed in a sacred circle and used to burn items that will be set alight during a ritual. It is a symbol of the womb of the Goddess and rebirth as it was in ancient British Celtic religion and is sacred to the Goddess. In Celt mythology the cauldron is associated with the goddess Cerridwen.
Water can be placed into a cauldron for scrying or it can hold the ingredients necessary for a spell or incantation. Cauldrons can also be used as censors.

Charcoal Burner
A small metal or ceramic urn or cauldron used filled with sand and used to burn charcoal granules, powders herbs or incense sticks, cones. Used on an Altar or to catch the ashes of a smudge stick.

Chalice
In Wicca a chalice, as a feminine principle, is often used in combination with the athame (ceremonial black-handled knife), as male principle. Combining the two evokes the act of procreation, as a symbol of universal creativity. This is a symbol of the great rite in Wicca rituals. A chalice is also used in the small rite.

Cingulum
Cingulum are a type of belt or sash. These are often given to a Wiccan upon their initiation, and worn at each subsequent ritual. 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 initiation they are.

crystal sphere
A sphere made from crystal used for healing, massage and decoration. Quartz is best for scrying

Elements
The four elements are commonly represented by

Earth - Pentacle
Air - Wand
Fire - Sword
Water - Chalice
Grimoire

A grimoire is a book of magick that contains spells, rituals with directions on how to perform them. Charms, talismans and instructions on how to make them. In many cases the books themselves are also believed to be imbued with magical properties, a witches grimoire should be well protected and not fall into the hands of another.

Herbs

Herbs are used in magick for their vibrations or essences. Herbs, like people, have gender, are ruled by a planet, an element, and are often sacred to a God or Goddess. This is known in Wicca as the herbal correspondence, and it is an important element in Wiccan Magick Spells. Growing and nurturing herbs in your own magickal garden can give you the advantage of having your own energies already influencing the plant. A plant such as Angelica, ruled by the Sun, will then have all of the influence of the Sun and fire, along with your personal energies.

Wiccan uses of herbs

Charms and sachets - Fill a small bag, of the correct color or material, with herbs to make a charm or sachet. You can carry the charm with you, hang it in the house or car or bury or burn it, depending on the purpose, and the spell you are performing.

Incense- Herbs can be burned as a ritual incense, such as the sage smudge used to clear negative vibrations from a space.

Bath - Make a sachet, and place it in your ritual or healing bath. Fragrant herbs like lavender make a very relaxing bath, and you can use certain herbs to alleviate skin and other conditions, such as using eucalyptus in a bath when you have a cold or flu.

Oils - Place herbs in an oil, let them steep for a few days, then strain. You can make annointing oils for you ritual work, beauty oils for your hair, skin and nails (try coconut or jojoba), or flavor oils for cooking and seasoning, such as steeping rosemary in olive oil.

Pentacle - Pentagram
The pentacle, which is a pentagram engraved on an item, is symbolic of the element of earth.
A pentagram is the shape of a five pointed star drawn with five straight strokes.

Teas- Use herbs to make teas for healing illness. Some herbs can be used to mildly alter consciousness, such as valerian or kava kava which can facilitate trance like states.

Smoking- You can make herbal smoking mixtures which will also facilitate altered states of consciousness. (not recommended for the novice)

In spellwork, herbs can be sprinkled or placed around or within boundaries such as your home, altar, or magick circle to define a space for your magick to work. Always give all plant life respect, where ever you are. The word "weed" is simply a judgement! Dandelion, for instance, has many, many healing and nutritional qualities which are extremely beneficial not only to the wildlife which feeds on it, but to you, too! there are many wonderful herbs growing wild, which you can gather and use. Herbs are Nature's gift- use them with wisdom and joy!

Oils
Ritual oils are used for spell work and meditation, also lovely and relaxing in a bath. The oils can be purchased but are often made by the practitioner, crystals, frangrance essence or flowers can be used depending on the desired outcome, combinations of aroma essence oils in a blend of almond oil for example are commonly used and also work well in an oil burner.


Smudge stick
The burning of herbs for emotional, psychic, and spiritual purification is common practice among many religious, healing, and spiritual groups. The ritual of smudging can be defined as "spiritual house cleaning." The smoke attaches itself to negative energy and as the smoke clears it takes the negative energy with it, releasing it into another space where it will be regenerated into positive energy.

Statuette, Talisman and Amulet
The objects used in ritual or spell work will protect us and call on our chosen gods goddesses to help us with our work. Statuette's are usually of goddess, mother and nurturer. Talismans and Amulets like charms are as varied as their users. Ritualistic objects are imbued with magickal abilities.

Wand
Magic wands are thin sticks made of different materials, including wood or metal, and used as a conductor when practicing Wiccan rituals or other types of magical rituals. Wands have been around since Egyptian times and have always been associated with magical properties and religious connotations. Wands are best made by the person who intends to use them, although they can be purchased and cleansed ready for programming and use. Decorate you wand with love.