What are Magickal Tools and how do you use them?

When performing magickal rituals, you are often required to use a magickal tool to aide you in the performance. However, for beginners this can be a bit confusing when starting out. This blog will give a brief introduction to what are magickal tools used for and some information about each one! You can take this information later on and apply it in our T is for Tools Magick Rituals!

Magickal tools do have immense power if formed and used correctly. In fact, most magickal tools are simply extensions of the self so whereas you can do many of the same procedures with your bare hands, using a magickal tool extends the reach or adds more force. Many magickal tools could serve double duty as ordinary objects -- such as a Chalice that resembles a wine glass or an Athame that looks like a hunting knife. There is a special tool for each of the 4 elements that conducts the energies of that element.

• The Air element tool is the Wand, a stick or rod thought to have magic properties, held by a magician, fairy, or conjuror and used in casting spells or performing tricks.
• The Fire element tool is the Athame which 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.
• The Water element tool is the Chalice, when we talk about chalices in witchcraft and magic, we generally mean ceremonial goblet used in rituals and spells. Although often silver, you can use a wine glass, ceramic drinking vessel or even something carved from stone.
• The Earth element tool is the Pantacle or Plate is a talisman that is used in magical evocation, and is usually made of parchment, paper, cloth, or metal (although it can be of other materials), upon which a magical design (usually a protective design) is drawn. However, a plate will usually suffice.

About Magical Tools

Firebowl: 2 Element Cleansing Tool

The Firebowl is an essential altar item and magical tool for any magician or shaman. Used primarily to cleanse people, areas, sacred space and tools, the Firebowl can also be used for divination, finding lost people or objects, and meditation.

Although almost any bowl will do for a Firebowl, most traditional Firebowls are made of brass, ceramic, cast-iron or hardwood. Except for special bowls used for specific rituals, the bowl should be light enough and small enough that you can carry it in your hand.

To make a working Firebowl, put about two inches of fire clay (unscented cat litter will do), rice or beans in the bottom of the Firebowl to prevent the bowl from getting to hot. Put self-lighting mini-charcoal tablets on top of the fireclay, then add any resins or botanicals you want to burn.

Choose your resins and botanicals based on what you want to do with your Firebowl. For instance, if you want to meditate, use a Water element botanical to help you get in touch with Spirit. If you want to "see" a lost object, you might use an Air element botanical. Here's a short list of resins and botanicals, listed by element, to get you started:

All Purpose: Sage, juniper, copal and frankincense.
Air: Sandalwood, sage, mint and sweetgrass.
Fire: Pine, juniper and frankincense.
Water: Gardenia, lotus and rose.
Earth: Musk, mosses and myrrh

If you have difficulty quieting your mind during meditation, you can use the Firebowl. Simply light the charcoal tablet with paper or wooden matches until it starts to spark, then put a Water element botanical on top. When the combination begins to smoke, focus on the column of smoke. Having a visual focus that is irregular and difficult for your mind to follow will occupy your mind while you meditate. Good luck!

Wand: Magical Air Tool

The Wand is an essential magical tool and a crucial part of any magical altar. Like most magical tools, the Wand is an extension of our own energies, amplifying and extending those energies for psychic communication, healing, protection and energy balancing.

The most common misconception about the Wand is that it is a Fire tool. The Wand is actually an Air tool for the simple reason that it is made out of wood, which burns easily when in contact with Fire energies. While popular movies, such as Harry Potter, often portray the Wand as a multi-purpose tool that can handle Air and Fire energies, it is actually the Athame, or magical knife, that can handle multiple types of energy.

Wands should be made from the limb of a live tree (with proper permission from and thanks to the tree) or recently fallen from a live tree, preferably of a light-colored wood, since Air colors are clear, white and sky blue. The limb should be between ¼ and 3/8 inch, and be no longer than from the bend of your elbow to the tip of your middle finger.

While some Wands are carved with various patterns and designs, we find that a smooth surface with no carving produces the greatest and most effective flow of Air energies. The Wand should be pointed at one end and notched at the other.

Like most magical tools, your Wand should be "keyed" or personalized to your own energies. Keying aligns the flow of the Wand from base (notched end) to tip, and ensures that only you will be able to use it. If you're a beginning practitioner, the Wand is an excellent first tool, allowing you to practice the major techniques of sweeping, pulling, flowing and flaring without endangering yourself or others.

Athame: Magical Fire Tool

The Athame, or magical knife, is one of the most powerful of the magician's tools. As a Fire tool, it has the characteristics that are most often attributed to the Wand in popular movies and TV shows, including blasting, fireballs, lightning bolts and shields. Just as the Wand could not possibly be a Fire tool since it is made of wood, the Athame must be a Fire tool since it's forged in Fire. In addition to Fire energy, the Athame can also handle some Water and Earth energies. That makes it one of the most versatile of the magician's tools.

Most often used for self defense and shielding, the Athame is also a powerful healing tool. For instance, a skilled magician can use a beam of Fire energy from the Athame to seal or cauterize a wound that won't stop bleeding. This tool is also used to create full-cast circles, invoke deity beings during ritual and release psychic "ties" to other people.

Athames should be made of high carbon, nickel alloy, or chrome alloy steel. In addition, it should have a full tang, which means that the steel goes all the way through handle, and not be a folding knife. Finally, beginners should start with a single-edged blade with a straight edge (it's harder to control Fire energy through a double-edged or curved blade).

Like the Wand and other magical tools, the Athame should be "keyed" before use. Keying clears the tool of junky energies, aligns the energy to flow from handle to tip, and personalizes the Athame so that it is in tune with your own energies. Finally, you should store your Athame in a sheath or wrap it in a natural material such as cotton, wool, leather or silk.

Chalice: Magical Water Tool

The Chalice is often called the magical tool of the Spirit, since the Chalice is the magical Water tool and Water is the language of the Spirit. Most often used for divination, psychic communication and blessings, the Chalice is also used for protection of sacred objects, self-defense and healing.

The Chalice is associated with the West, and is the tool of feeling, emotion and connection. Goblet-shaped chalices work best, and should have a bowl that is large enough to store small magical objects (storing objects in your keyed chalice keeps them clear of unwanted energies). Chalices should be made of a single material, such as glass, ceramic, silver, pewter or copper. With the Chalice, as with all magical tools, you need to consider the characteristics of the element you're working with to determine what materials will work. Wood chalices, for instance, don't work well because wood doesn't flow Water energies well.

To work with your Chalice, you'll need some additional items, such as spring water (don't use chlorinated water, which has some unhealthy energies), rock or sea salt (don't use iodized salts) and an all natural material in which you can wrap your Chalice. For the most effective use, you'll also want to "key" your Chalice to personalize it to your own energies and set the Chalice energies rotating in the correct clockwise direction.

Plate: Magical Earth Tool

The Plate, also known in magical circles as the Shield or Pantacle, is the magical tool of the element Earth. Associated with the direction North, the plate is primarily a tool of protection and healing. Magicians and shamans often use the Plate to protect magical operations, such as divination or spellwork, from outside interference. Plates are also useful for storing magical objects you want to protect, similar to the chalice, and for self protection.

Ideally, Plates should be round in shape to produce the strongest energy vortex and beam, and should be of earth-colored material, which include greens, browns and blacks, or have plant-based designs on them. Ceramic, wood or porcelain Plates work well, as do metal and glass Plates. Avoid Plates that are too heavily carved with designs or patterns, since this can interfere with the Plate's energy flow and pattern.

To key or personalize your Plate for magical use, you'll need rock salt, non-chlorinated water and a pure cotton cloth. You'll also need a Firebowl and a spare Chalice. Keying ensures that the energy in your Plate flows in the appropriate direction for protection, healing and spellwork.

A little known fact about the Plate is that it is an important tool for simulacra or "voodoo" type magic. In addition, the Plate is also a "broadcaster," meaning that you can use it to broadcast certain energies into your environment.

If you are interested in expanding your magical "reach", then using magical tools will help you do that. You can find ebooks for each tool separately on our website, or just get some specific ways to use magical tools with our Kindle book, Learn How to Do Witchcraft Rituals and Spells with Magical Tools.

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Step 2 on the Magical Path: Magical Tools

Ever wanted to learn how to really use the Firebowl, Wand, Athame, Chalice, and Plate? Then Basic Magic 2 is for you. This 10-lesson course covers the basics of each of these magical tools, from choosing or making the perfect tool to personalizing, using, and storing that tool. The information is simple yet effective, and builds on the knowledge from Basic Magic Part 1, which covers the four magical elements of Air, Fire, Water, and Earth.

Once the use of the four elements is mastered with hand magic, magical tools can be used to extend our "reach," since they can handle more energies than we can handle with our hands. Each of the four magical elements has its own corresponding tool, as follows:

• Air element = Wand
• Fire element = Athame
• Water element = Chalice
• Earth element = Plate

By using magical tools, magical practitioners can affect situations on many levels, ranging from the personal level to the global level. For example, it is easy enough to put up a personal shield around your body with your hands, but for a larger shield such as around your entire property, a magical tool such as the Wand or Athame makes the job much easier. Along with the magical tools associated with each element there are other useful tools such as the Firebowl, pendulum, dowsing rods, sun crystal, tarot cards and more that are needed for such magical techniques as spellwork and divination.

Some of your magical tools you will be able to make yourself like the Wand and Firebowl and others such as the Athame and Chalice you will need to select and purchase. The pendulum is one of your magical tools that you can choose to buy or that you can make yourself. In the Basic Magic 2 course you will not only learn what tools to get or make and techniques to use them for, but also how to turn simple things such as a cup or plate into magical tools. This is done by keying, charging and/or training the tools. In the case of the pendulum, here is an exercise you can try out to make a pendulum yourself and then train it for magical use.

Making a Pendulum
To make a pendulum you will need a lightweight object and a chain or some type of string to hang it from. You can use a paper clip, small rock, earring, pendant, small medallion, crystal, talisman or other similar small object. If you use a crystal, use an amethyst, and store it in a pewter box to protect it from negative energy. Don't use Aurora crystals, which have been treated with petroleum. If you hang your pendulum on a chain, use a silver chain as it is more stable energetically. You can also hang your pendulum on any kind of natural fiber such as cotton or silk, horse or human hair or leather. Make sure the pendulum is on a long enough chain or string to swing freely.

Training Your Pendulum
Once you've made your pendulum your next step is to train it so that it answers your questions quickly and accurately. Here's how:
1. First cleanse your pendulum with smoke. The smoke from burning pine resin and sage works well. Just hold the pendulum over a column of smoke from your firebowl until the smoke begins to "stick" to it.

2. Next, your pendulum needs to be keyed so that it responds to your energies. To key it, hold your pendulum in your dominant hand (the hand you write or point with). Flow energy into the pendulum for a minute or two, or until it grows warm and tingly.

3. Begin training your pendulum by establishing its yes and no directions. Decide if you want your pendulum to indicate "yes" with a vertical or horizontal swing. The "no" indicator will be the opposite of the "yes" indicator (if "yes" is a vertical swing, then "no" is a horizontal swing). Hold your pendulum suspended from your dominant hand. Rest your elbow on a table or your knee to stabilize your hand and swing your pendulum in a gentle clockwise circle telling it, "Show me yes." Wait for the pendulum to settle into the proper swing (whatever direction you chose). If it doesn't, ask again. Once your pendulum consistently swings in the proper direction for "yes," use the same process to ask it to show you the proper swing for "no."

4. Now you are ready to start training your pendulum to give you actual answers by practicing asking questions about short futures. Ask yes/no questions that can be verified in a 15 to 30 minute time frame. For instance, at the end of the work day you might ask your pendulum, "Will my roommate be home in the next 20 minutes?" Verify the correctness of your pendulum's answer, and then ask another question. In the beginning, it doesn't matter whether your pendulum gives you the correct answer or not, this is just the practice period and giving your pendulum a lot of practice is the important thing right now. The more your work with your pendulum, the more accurate it will become. Don't get obsessed with the "rightness" of the answers during this training period.

Try making your own pendulum and practicing with it. Then when you are ready to move on to other magical tools, the Basic Magic 2 course is waiting for you online to take in your own time on your own schedule.

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Ask Alan: Why Use Magical Tools?

We just got an email that raises an interesting question. The author of the email says, "We don't need any sticks or wands or anything. We have the powers in are hands just as well in are head."

This raises an interesting question:

Why use magical tools?

This is a great question, and the author of the email is right. Everyone possesses and can channel magical energy using their hands, directing the energy with their intention (head). In fact, most magicians learn to handle the four elemental energies-Air, Fire, Water, and Earth-bare-handed, without the benefit of tools. It is best when you are first starting out in magic to handle these energies directly, with your hands, and throughout your body. We call this hand magic, or the direct handling of elements.

Magical Tools Give You More Reach
However, as you advance your skills, the use of magical tools is important. Magical tools extend our "reach," since they can handle more energies than we can handle with our hands. This greater level of energy means that we can reach further with the elemental energies to accomplish more.

For instance, you can easily to put up a personal magical shield around your body using your hands. It is simple to summon and direct enough energy through your hands. However, if you wanted to shield a house or a large property, you can do it much more easily with a tool, like a Wand. With the use of a properly made and keyed Wand, you can easily shield a property that includes many acres. It's possible to do the same using just your hands, but the level of force is much greater. The Wand saves you quite a bit of exertion.

Each of the four magical elements has its own corresponding tool, as follows:

Air element = Wand
Fire element = Athame
Water element = Chalice
Earth element = Plate

By using magical tools, experienced practitioners can affect situations on many levels, ranging from the personal level to the global level.

Learn more about Tools.

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