Altars and Ritual Tools
© 2005 GypsyJaguar
For a solitary practitioner it can be overwhelming to learn about all of the various tools and rituals designed around them. These are usually for group rituals, designed for a High Priestess and High Priest (or Priests, especially for Oak/Holly King rituals), sometimes in addition to Maiden, Mother, and Crone characters. These rituals originated from ceremonial acts of mythological stories of deities, bringing the group together in the energies of the God(s) and Goddess(es).
You can perform magic without the use of any tools. Tools are simply objects to focus your power and intentions through, which are symbols representing your goals. The true power comes from the energy you put into your task, not the tool. A tool is powerless without cleansing and empowering it with your own energy first.
Your implements for an altar or magical workings are whatever tools, visual aids, etc. that you use and feel are right for you. There are several lists out there of suggestions for specific layouts for each spiritual following, but what is important is that you feel a need for it and use it. If it comes to you, then you are meant to have it and when your need or use for that item is over you will know, as it will leave your possession, whether you give it away, it suddenly becomes "lost" or stolen, the family pet runs off with it, or you accidentally drop it in an inconvenient place. If you are meant to practice without the use of tools you will know that too. Follow that inner voice.
An altar is your workspace, where you perform your empowering, prayer, magical works, where you hold your tools. There are several different forms of altars. Basically it needs to be a flat surface you can work on. It can be made out of any surface or material. It can be inside or outside or you can have both. You can also make a visual altar (non-working) to display items you wish others to see. Originally the altar was a female body.
Most tools can be split into one of two categories...Masculine (phallic) and Feminine (womb-like). The left side of the altar is generally reserved for feminine symbols and the right side, for masculine symbols.
Masculine/Phallic Symbols
Sword
The sword represents manlihood and virility. Swords generally measure between 2 to 6 feet. In rituals, the sword is often placed into a feminine symbol like a chalice, cauldron, or bowl, symbolizing the union of male and female. Many creation myths talk about a sword, spear, or lance plunging into the sea, earth, or other womb-like vessel. Many hero swords begin their stories embedded into stones, a source of water, or a tree. Some famous hero's swords are Arthur's Excalibur, Lancelot's Arondight, Beowulf's Hrunting, Charlemagne's Flamberge, and Paracelsus's Azoth. A sword was usually buried with its owner, or heaved into the water, returning it to its feminine origins. Odin was stabbed with a spear as he hung on the World Tree. Balder, Odin's son, was also sent to his death with the thrust of a mistletoe spear or sword. Swords were often symbols of death. The ceremonies of knighthood symbolize this by placing the sword from one shoulder to the next, as in a mock beheading.
Knife, Dagger, Athame
A knife or dagger was a shortened version of the sword, generally measuring between 6 to 20 inches. It was tradition for Celtic women to carry knives or daggers on them at all times. These were used for protection, as well as for magical purposes. It was said that a knife could be used to detect poisons, especially if made out of rare materials. The dagger or knife was generally strapped to a belt, which is still seen in many wedding traditions to this day.
The word athame [pronounced: ath'-ah-may] is supposedly taken from al-dhamme, a sacred knife used by Morrish-Arab-Andalusian moon worshiper cults in ritual scarring ceremonies. They were known as the Double-horned Ones. They would also use these knives to draw a protective pentacle into the ground at their outdoor meetings.
Knives, daggers, athames, and/or swords are often interchangeable and used for casting or banishing circles, directing power, invoking higher energies and used in rituals of consecration as mentioned above.
The word athame [pronounced: ath'-ah-may] is supposedly taken from al-dhamme, a sacred knife used by Morrish-Arab-Andalusian moon worshiper cults in ritual scarring ceremonies. They were known as the Double-horned Ones. They would also use these knives to draw a protective pentacle into the ground at their outdoor meetings.
Knives, daggers, athames, and/or swords are often interchangeable and used for casting or banishing circles, directing power, invoking higher energies and used in rituals of consecration as mentioned above.
Scythe
A scythe [pronounced: sīth, or sī ] is an agricultural tool with a long curved handle with hand pegs and a curved blade attached at an angle. Scythes were not broadly used until around the 8th century in Europe, when reaping hay became more widespread. Scythes are actually considered a feminine symbol because of the curved blade, representing the crescent moon. Named after the Scythian Goddess Gaia, Artemis, or the Crone, the scythe became synonymous with death, as all creatures return to the Mother, in their time, where they originated. Later the scythe was associated with the spouse of the Mother, known by names as Cronus, Saturn, Father Time, and later still, the Grim Reaper. The Grim Reaper came about by a medieval mystery play, in France he was known as Macabre. This death figure wore a skeleton costume, a mask, and carried a scythe and/or hourglass representing dwindling time. The high point of this play was known as the Danse Macabre, an illustration of our inevitable demise.
Bolline
A bolline [pronounced: bōl-ēn'] is a working knife. As the sword/dagger is not used for cutting, the bolline is. The bolline is a smaller version of the scythe, but with more of a curve to the blade. It can also be a straight-bladed knife, which can be decorated with a white handle to distinguish it from the athame. This knife is mainly used to harvest herbs, cut cords, or carve symbols into candles. The Druids used a golden sickle, or bolline, to harvest mistletoe from oak trees.
Wand, Club, Scepter, Rod, Staff
The wand symbolizes fertility, as many stories of the wand, rod, club, or scepter are told describing how kings or other leaders were discovered by their wand which flowered or budded. Wands were ritualistically broken at the end of the leader's rein to signify their loss of virility, or in a sense castration. As the length of leadership became longer in later years, the strength of the wands became somewhat unbreakable, leading to the more ornate design of what we think of today as 'scepters' of metals and jewels. The word scepter is, in actuality, another word for wand or staff regardless of the material it is made out of.
Wands are used to direct power or energy. Nowadays we use the word 'wand' as meaning a tool generally the length of the practitioner's forearm from the elbow to the end of the longest finger, but can be as long, or longer, than the height of the person wielding it. We tend to refer to these longer ones today as a rod or staff (like the walking stick), even though all of the words were once used interchangeably.
A common custom using wands or rods is beating the bounds. This consists of walking the perimeters of one's property and ritualistically beating fences, walls, trees, hedges, and other objects as a means of imprinting and securing the boundaries. This was usually repeated every seven to ten years.
A wand can be used to invoke higher energies, such as Gods and Goddesses. It can also detect danger by balancing it across your arm or opened palm.
Wands are used to direct power or energy. Nowadays we use the word 'wand' as meaning a tool generally the length of the practitioner's forearm from the elbow to the end of the longest finger, but can be as long, or longer, than the height of the person wielding it. We tend to refer to these longer ones today as a rod or staff (like the walking stick), even though all of the words were once used interchangeably.
A common custom using wands or rods is beating the bounds. This consists of walking the perimeters of one's property and ritualistically beating fences, walls, trees, hedges, and other objects as a means of imprinting and securing the boundaries. This was usually repeated every seven to ten years.
A wand can be used to invoke higher energies, such as Gods and Goddesses. It can also detect danger by balancing it across your arm or opened palm.
Candles
Candles represent light within the darkness of the womb. Candles used to be ritualistically thrust into a womb-like vessel as if to fertilize the womb with the sacred flame. They have come to be known as a symbol of peace and healing, reverence and honor. Candles create a warm and soothing atmosphere which aids in relaxing and calming us. They are a perfect enhancement for spiritual work and meditation. The dancing of the flame within a darkened room is a mesmerizing reminder of the spark of life and the ever-changing powers of energy. To this day, we still set candles out in reverence of passed loved ones. Candles have always been a tool to ask for what we wish to achieve or receive as well. From birthday wishes to magic spells for love or money. Many people use specific colors of candles to represent their desires or goals. This is a wonderful way to focus on your task at hand, but not entirely necessary. If you do wish to work with colors, see our page titled "COLORS and their energies".
Broom, Besom
The broom, or besom [pronounced: bē-zəm], is a symbol of protection, purification and fertility. Ancient Roman midwives had special brooms to sweep out negative energies from the threshold of the home of new mothers and their babies. We still use our magical brooms to symbolically sweep away negative energies and astral debris before our rituals. Brooms were also used to protect homes and ward off evil influences by laying them across thresholds, windowsills, under beds or on doors. It was a common pagan wedding custom to jump over a broom to symbolize a sexual union blessed with fertility. In some cultures brooms were ridden like a hobby-horse through the fields to bring fertility to the crops. The higher they jumped in the air, the higher the crops were believed to grow. It is possible that customs like this are what led to the popular image of the witch riding a broomstick through the air. Included are tales of witches straddling broomsticks anointed with a hallucinatory "flying ointment", used to reach a heightened state of sensuality in order to astral travel and manifest their desires. Some witches still utilize similar methods today.
Feminine/Womb Symbols
Cauldron, Bowl, Cup, Chalice
The cauldron, bowl, cup and chalice are all interchangeable, just as the wand, club, scepter, rod and staff. A cup or chalice is merely a smaller version of a cauldron or bowl on a stem. They all represent the womb of the Mother, or Goddess(es), of creation. Many ancient myths involve three figures and/or three cauldrons or bowls representing the transformative powers of the womb. These wombs gave birth to the universe and the gods and in many stories, men would drink or be anointed of the "life-giving liquid" from the bowl(s) or cauldron(s) or be sacrificed to the cauldron in order to be renewed and reborn to a higher self. One famous vessel of this sort is the Holy Grail. It is believed that the story of the grail actually derived from the earlier myths of the cauldrons and sacred life-giving properties they contained.
The cauldron, bowl, cup or chalice are symbols of the powers of creation, birth, rebirth and reincarnation. They may be filled with water, wine or likewise liquids to represent the life-giving blood or water of creation, filled with water to use for scrying, used to brew magical concoctions, or even to kindle a winter fire within the cauldron to represent the returning warmth and light of the God from within the womb of the Goddess.
The cauldron, bowl, cup or chalice are symbols of the powers of creation, birth, rebirth and reincarnation. They may be filled with water, wine or likewise liquids to represent the life-giving blood or water of creation, filled with water to use for scrying, used to brew magical concoctions, or even to kindle a winter fire within the cauldron to represent the returning warmth and light of the God from within the womb of the Goddess.
Basket, Nest
Baskets have been used for centuries to collect, carry and store items. Most commonly, they were used to collect harvested crops of many kinds. Many Goddesses carried baskets filled with grains, signs of the bounties she provides. Because of this, baskets are another symbol of a vessel that gives forth life. A basket is a reproduced image of a nest, another container of life. There are a handful of stories that tell of mothers placing babies in baskets and setting them adrift down a river or likewise waterway. These were symbols of the journey of birth from within the womb, represented by the basket, through the birth channel, represented by the river, a metaphor for the Goddess giving birth to the God.
Bell, Rattle, Sistrum
Bells and rattles have always been used to repel negative spirits. The clinking or clanging, repetitive noise was sure to drive any spirit away for as far as it could be heard. Some cultures used shells linked together or sewn into clothing to clink against other shells. A sistrum is an interesting contraption of looped metal bars sliding against a metal frame that ancient Egyptians used as a rattle to keep the evil spirits at bay. Many cultures have and still use bells, rattles or some form of clinking objects. This is where the idea of the baby rattle originated. It is also very popular to ring bells to represent beginnings and endings of meetings in schools and churches, which most likely originated from these ancient beliefs. Bells, rattles and sistra are often used during rituals as well as having forms of them sewn into clothing for everyday wear.
Cord
The cord symbolizes the umbilical cord. Most mystery religions had some sort of ritual symbolized by a journey along the cord, back into the womb to be reborn. Cords have also been used for healing because of the renewal symbolism behind them. Gypsies used to take a string or cord the length of the patient and steep it in a brew as a healing practice. Cords are still magically used today to bind, make circles of protection, create forms or figures and symbolically cut ties.
References:
Barbara Walker, The Women's Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects
Raven Grimassi, The Wiccan Mysteries
Janet and Stewart Farrar, A Witches' Bible
Silver RavenWolf, To Ride a Silver Broomstick
Scott Cunningham, Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner
Also see:
Protection - Herbs and Oils for Protection - Psychic Abilities - Symbolism - Colors - Psychic & Magic Etiquette - Recognizing a Charlatan - Live Love and Learn - The Grey Areas - Seek Truth - Magic - Wheel of the Year - Days of the Week - Elemental Correspondences - The Moon - The Sun - Altars and Ritual Tools - A Basic Spell - True Love Spell - Ideal Career Spell
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