Wicca (5 page)

Anyone can practice magic—within a religious context or not. If certain words or gestures pop into your mind while performing a spell, and they seem right, by all means use them. If you can’t find a ritual to your liking or that fits your needs, create one. You needn’t write fancy poetry or choreography for thirty singing incense bearers and thirteen singing priestesses.

If nothing else, light a candle, settle down before it, and concentrate on your magical need. Trust yourself.

If you truly desire to know the nature of magic, practice it! Many are afraid of magic. They’ve been taught (by nonpractitioners) that it’s dangerous. Don’t be scared. Crossing the street is dangerous too. But if you do it properly, you’re fine.

Of course, the only way you’ll find this out is to cross that street. If your magic is infused with love, you’ll be in no danger whatsoever.

Call upon the Goddess and God to protect you and teach you the secrets of magic. Ask stones and plants to reveal their powers—and listen. Read as much as you can, discarding negative or disturbing information.

Learn by doing, and the Goddess and God will bless you with all that you truly need.

4
Tools

IN COMMON WITH
most religions, certain objects are used in Wicca for ritual purposes. These tools invoke the deities, banish negativity, and direct energy through our touch and intention.

Some of the tools of the Witch (the broom, cauldron, and magic wand) have gained firm places in contemporary folklore and myth. Through the popularization of folktales and the work of Disney studios, millions know that cauldrons are used to brew up potions and that wands transform the drab into the beautiful.Most folks, however, don’t know the powerful magic behind such tools and their inner symbolism within Wicca.

To practice Wicca, you may want to collect at least some of these tools. Search through antique and junk shops, swap meets, and flea markets for these treasures. Or,write or email occult suppliers (addresses in appendix I). Though difficult to find, your ritual tools are well worth any efforts expended to obtain them.

These tools aren’t necessary to the practice of Wicca. They do, however, enrich rituals and symbolize complex energies. The tools have no power save for that which we lend to them.

Some say that we should use magical tools until we no longer need them. Perhaps it’s better to use them as long as you feel comfortable in doing so.

The Broom

Witches use brooms in magic and ritual. It is a tool sacred to both the Goddess and God. This is nothing new; pre-Colombian Mexico saw the worship of a type of Witch deity, Tlazelteotl, who was pictured riding naked on a broom. The Chinese worship a broom goddess who is invoked to bring clear weather in times of rain.

Then too, probably because of its phallic shape, the broom became a powerful tool against curses and practitioners of evil magic. Laid across the threshold, the broom halted all spells sent to the house or those resident within. A broom under the pillow brought pleasant dreams and guarded the sleeper.

European Witches became identified with the broom because both were infused with magic in religious and popular thought. Witches were accused of flying on broomsticks, and this was considered proof of their alliance with “dark powers.” Such an act, if it could be performed, would indeed be supernatural and, therefore, of the Devil in their eyes, in contrast to the simple healing and love spells that Witches actually performed. Of course, the tale was invented by Witch persecutors.
*

Today the broom is still used in Wicca. A Wicca may begin a ritual by sweeping the area (indoors or out) lightly with the magic broom. After this, the altar is set up, the tools carried out, and the ritual is ready to begin (See chapter 13, “Ritual Design”).

This sweeping is more than a physical cleansing. In fact, the broom’s bristles needn’t touch the ground. While brushing, the Wiccan visualizes the broom sweeping out the astral buildup that occurs where humans live. This purifies the area to allow smoother ritual workings.

Since it is a purifier, the broom is linked with the element of water. Thus it is also used in all types of water spells, including those of love and psychic workings.

Many Witches collect brooms, and indeed their endless variety and the exotic materials used in their manufacture make this an interesting hobby.

If you wish to make your magic broom, you might try the old magical formula of an ash staff, birch twigs, and a willow binding. The ash is protective, the birch is purifying, and the willow is sacred to the Goddesss.

Of course, a branch from any tree or bush can be used in place of the broom (while cutting it, thank the tree for its sacrifice, using such words as will be found in the “An Herbal Grimoire” section of
The
Standing Stones Book of Shadows,
section III). A tiny broom of pine needles can also be used.

In early American slave weddings, as well as Gypsy nuptials, the couple often ritually jumped a broomstick to solemnize their union. Such marriages were quite common until recent times, and even today Wiccan and pagan handfastings often include a broom leap.

There are many old spells involving brooms. In general, the broom is a purificatory and protective instrument, used to ritually cleanse the area for magic or to guard a home by laying it across the threshold, under the bed, in windowsills, or on doors.

The broom used for magic, as with all magical tools, should be reserved for this purpose only. If you decide to buy a broom, try to find a round one; the flat Shaker-type brooms just don’t seem to have the same effect.
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Wand

The wand is one of the prime magical tools. It has been used for thousands of years in magical and religious rites. It is an instrument of invocation. The Goddess and God may be called to watch the ritual with words and an uplifted wand. It is also sometimes used to direct energy, to draw magical symbols or a circle on the ground, to point toward danger while perfectly balanced on the Witch’s palm or arm, or even to stir brew in a cauldron. The wand represents the element of air to some Wiccans, and is sacred to the God.

There are traditional woods used for the wand, including willow, elder, oak, apple, peach, hazel, cherry, and so on. Some Wiccans cut it the length from the crook of the elbow to the tip of the forefinger, but this isn’t necessary.Any fairly straight piece of wood can be used; even dowels purchased from hardware stores work well, and I’ve seen beautifully carved and painted wands made from these.

New Age consciousness (and merchandising) has brought the wand into renewed prominence. Delightful, beautiful creations fashioned of silver and quartz crystals are now available in a wide range of sizes and prices. These certainly could be used within Wiccan ritual, though wooden wands have a longer history.

Don’t worry about finding the ideal wand at first; one will come to you. I used a length of licorice root as a wand for a while and had good results with it.

Any stick you use will be infused with energy and power. Find one that feels comfortable, and it’ll do just fine.

Censer

The censer is an incense burner. It can be a complex, swinging,metal censer like those used in the Catholic church, or a simple seashell. The censer holds the smoldering incense during Wiccan rites.

If you cannot find a suitable censer, make one. Any bowl or cup half-filled with sand or salt will serve well. The salt or sand absorbs the heat from the charcoal or incense and prevents the bowl from cracking. Incense sticks can also be pushed into the salt, or cones placed upon its surface.

Incense use in ritual and magic is an art in and of itself. When no specific incense is called for in rituals and spells, use your own intuition and creativity in determining which blend to use.

Stick, cone, or block incense can be used, but most Wiccans favor the raw or granulated incense, the type that must be burned on self-igniting charcoal briquettes, available from occult suppliers. Either is fine.

In ceremonial magic, “spirits” are sometimes commanded to appear in visible form in the smoke rising from the censer. While this isn’t part of Wicca, the Goddess and God can sometimes be seen in the curling, twisting smoke. Sitting while breathing slowly and watching the smoke can be an entrancing act, and you might slip into an alternate state of consciousness.

Wiccan ritual, when performed indoors, isn’t complete without incense. Outdoors a fire often substitutes, or stick-type incense is stuck into the ground. Thus, the censer is an important tool for indoor rites. To some of the Wicca, the censer represents the element of air. It is often placed before the images of the deities on the altar, if there are any.

Cauldron

The cauldron is the Witch’s tool
par excellence.
It is an ancient vessel of cooking and brew making, steeped in magical tradition and mystery. The cauldron is the container in which magical transformations occur; the sacred grail, the holy spring, the sea of primeval creation.

The Wicca see the cauldron as a symbol of the Goddess, the manifested essence of femininity and fertility. It is also symbolic of the element of water, reincarnation, immortality, and inspiration. Celtic legends concerning Kerridwen’s cauldron have had a strong impact on contemporary Wicca.

The cauldron is often a focal point of ritual.During spring rites it is sometimes filled with fresh water and flowers; during winter a fire may be kindled
within
the cauldron to represent the returning heat and light of the sun (the God) from the cauldron (the Goddess). This links in with agricultural myths wherein the God is born in winter, reaches maturity in summer, and dies after the last harvest (see chapter 8, “The Days of Power”).

Ideally speaking, the cauldron should be of iron, resting on three legs, with its opening smaller than its widest part. Cauldrons can be difficult to find, even small ones, but a thorough search usually produces some type of cauldron.A few mail-order houses stock cauldrons, but not regularly. You may wish to query these sources.

Cauldrons come in all sizes, ranging from a few inches in diameter to monsters three feet across. I have collected a few, including an old one reserved for ritual purposes.

The cauldron can be an instrument of scrying (gazing) by filling it with water and staring into its inky depths. It can also serve as a container in which to brew up those infamous Wicca brews, but bear in mind that a large fire and plenty of patience are required to make liquids boil in larger cauldrons.Most Wiccans use stoves and cooking pots today.

If you have difficulty finding a cauldron, persevere and one will eventually materialize. It certainly can’t hurt to ask the Goddess and God to send one your way.

Magic Knife

The magic knife (or athame) has an ancient history. It isn’t used for cutting purposes in Wicca, but to direct the energy raised during rites and spells. It is seldom used to invoke or call upon the deities for it is an instrument of commanding and power manipulation. We’d rather invoke the Goddess and God.

The knife is often dull, usually double-edged with a black or dark handle. Black absorbs power. When the knife is used in ritual (see
The
Standing Stones Book of Shadows
) to direct energy, some of this power is absorbed into the handle—only a tiny amount—which can be called upon later. Then again, sometimes energy raised within Wiccan ritual is channeled into the knife for later use. The stories of swords with magical powers and names are quite common in mythic literature, and swords are nothing more than large knives.

Some Wiccans engrave their knives with magical symbols, usually taken from
The Key of Solomon,
but this isn’t necessary. As with most magical tools, the knife becomes powerful by your touch and usage. If you so desire, however, scratch words, symbols, or runes onto its blade or handle.

A sword is sometimes used in Wicca, as it has all the properties of the knife, but can be difficult for indoor rituals due to its size.

Because of the symbolism of the knife, which is a tool that causes change, it is commonly linked with the element of fire. Its phallic nature links it with the God.