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The Altar and the Tools

The tools are not the magic. They are the handles by which you take hold of the magic. A witch with a kitchen knife, a wine glass, a saucer of salt and a candle has a complete set, and most of the old ones had exactly that.

The altar

An altar is a working surface and a place of honour at once. It can be a table, a shelf, a windowsill, a tray that lives under the bed and comes out at night, or a cloth spread on the ground. Many Wiccans place it in the north, the direction of Earth, or in the east where the light comes from; many more put it where it fits. On it, traditionally, go representations of the Goddess and God, which may be statues, candles, a shell and an antler, or two stones; symbols of the four elements; the working tools; and whatever the season has brought in. Ours are never tidy. A tidy altar is an altar nobody is using.

The tools

Athame (ATH-ah-may)

The witch's knife, traditionally black-handled and double-edged, and never used to cut anything physical. It directs energy: it casts the circle, draws the pentagrams at the quarters, and in the symbolic Great Rite is lowered into the chalice. Most traditions give it to Air or Fire; the argument has gone on for seventy years and will not be settled here.

Wand

A length of wood, ideally cut with permission from a living tree at the right season, about the length of your forearm. Where the athame commands, the wand invites. It is used for invoking, for blessing, and for workings that call for gentleness. Fire or Air, depending on whom you ask.

Chalice

The cup, representing Water and the Goddess. It holds the wine or juice for cakes and ale, the water for blessing, and the mystery of the womb and the cauldron. Any cup you love will do. Ours is a pottery goblet with a chip.

Pentacle

A flat disc of wood, clay, metal or wax marked with a pentagram, representing Earth. It sits at the centre of the altar and things are placed on it to be blessed and consecrated. The salt dish often stands on it.

Cauldron

Iron, three-legged, and the single most recognisable object in the Craft. It represents the Goddess, transformation, and the womb of rebirth; practically, it is for burning things safely, for scrying with water, for brewing, and for holding the Beltane fire when you are indoors. A cast-iron pot from a charity shop is perfect.

Besom

The broom, used to sweep the circle clear of unwanted energy before casting, and jumped over at handfastings. It is kept by the door, bristles up, and is not used for the floor.

Candles

Working candles for the Goddess and God, usually silver or white and gold or red; quarter candles in the colours of the elements; spell candles for workings. See Candle Magic.

Salt and water

Earth and Water, blended for the cleansing of the circle and of everything in it. Sea salt, spring water, and a bowl for each.

Censer and incense

Fire and Air together: charcoal in a dish of sand and loose resin or herbs on top, or a stick of incense if your smoke alarm is sensitive. Frankincense for consecration, juniper or rosemary for cleansing, mugwort for divination.

Boline

The white-handled knife, often curved, that does the actual cutting: herbs, cords, candles, bread. The athame's practical sister.

Bell

Rung to mark the stages of a ritual and to clear the air. A small brass bell, or a singing bowl, or a spoon on a glass.

Cords

For knot magic, for binding workings, and in initiatory traditions as a measure and a sign of degree. Nine feet of red cord is the traditional length.

Book of Shadows

Your own record. See The Book of Shadows.

Consecrating a tool

A new tool is cleansed and dedicated before use. Pass it through incense smoke for Air, over a candle flame for Fire, sprinkle it with water for Water and touch it to the salt or the pentacle for Earth, saying at each what you intend: I consecrate this blade to the work of the Craft, in the names of the Goddess and the God. Let it serve me well and harm none. Then use it. A tool is consecrated by being used far more than by being talked at.