Most forms of Neopaganism use ritual tools to one extent or another, and a great many are similar across traditions. The nice thing about that is once you are familiar with the standard tool set and the general outline of Pagan rituals you can attend a Circle with just about any group and at least have a pretty good idea what’s going on.
Like most baby Witches I used to be really into the tools of the Craft (Except wands. I always felt silly using a wand.). Altar-building was and still is one of my favorite forms of sacred art. Taking down, cleaning, and rebuilding my altar is a very important ritual in my personal tradition (I even managed to make a video about it once!)…but now, in my 30th year as a Witchy type (holy smokes!), there are only a handful of tools I use, and most of them are only glancingly similar to the traditional Wiccan toolkit.
Most particularly I have left off the use the ritual blade common to most Neopagan trads, most often referred to as an athame. I have one that I have loved for decades, with a black blade and an ebony handle, but I just don’t use it anymore, mostly because I don’t do a lot of full-out ritual. I work in my bedroom, in a corner where my altar is a folding desk (in deference to my bad back and knees); I don’t usually cast a Circle any bigger than where I’m sitting. I can do that just fine without waving a knife around.
To me an athame is a fantastic tool for groups – it helps them focus energy, visualize the Circle, and be aware of the dual nature of power and responsibility. But as I practice 99% solitary my old pointy friend is currently wrapped up in my box full of old ritual cords, pendants, and other objects I’ve gathered on my spiritual travels.
I only have a few tools that I really use. What I do have a lot of are pretties – Goddess statues, including my collection of small figures that I call my Wee-ities; natural objects; altar cloths I change out seasonally (or whenever I feel like it), symbols of my particular brand of divinity; divinatory toys and accoutrements; and a framed image of Kore/Persephone by Anette Pirso that I turn depending on the season.
My Current Tool Lineup
Prayer Beads – I have two sets that I use, one for the darker half of the year and one for the lighter, although sometimes I just grab the strand that calls to me at the time. I made one and purchased the other online. They’re a powerful meditative tool for me and I have a number of prayer cycles, gathas, and mantra-type recitations that I use. I loosely based the original design of my handmade set on the Catholic Rosary – it has different sized/styled beads and several divisions to make counting easier rather than being a strand of all the same size like many malas. They’re also not loops – I don’t wear them or anything like that – just a straight line.
Chalice – but not one for drinking out of. It has a candle in it which I light every time I sit down at my altar (and sometimes just for comfort). The flaming chalice is the primary symbol of Unitarian Universalism. It has different meanings to different people; I think of it as the light of justice and knowledge held in the palm of the Goddess (since the chalice usually is treated as a feminine tool in the Craft), and looped in by diversity. (The two circles represented the Unitarians merging with the Universalists.)
I have two on my altar right now: One that my church gave me when I became a member, and a vintage one I bought that is the centerpiece of the altar. I do sometimes drink things in ritual but I’ll bring in a different vessel for that.
Pentacle – Mine is a flat wooden disk with the symbol painted on along with representations of the Elements and the Triple Moon. I made it myself from a plain wood piece. I use it primarily as a focus during spellwork; I place whatever I’m charging onto it and channel energy into the object through the pentacle. I also consider it the anchor point of my Circle, like its center of gravity.
Incense Burner – I am not a fan of charcoal tablet incense; it’s very evocative but it’s also high maintenance. I prefer sticks most of the time and have a small plant pot full of sand into which I stick a whole mess of sticks in different scents that I can just spark up whenever I want just to make the room smell and feel good. I also have a variety of purpose-made sticks for magical work.
Divinatory Tool – Most often I keep my Light Seer’s Tarot near to hand but sometimes I switch it out for the Shadowscapes deck.
Candles – There is a novena candle on either side of my altar that’s really just there for light. Those along with the light in the chalice are usually plenty to see by.
Dragon – The unsung hero of Pagan life: The long-necked lighter. I have one that hangs on the wall next to my altar at all times.
Bell – A dear friend gave me a gorgeous metal bell many years ago that has the loveliest tone; whenever I’m doing something a bit more formal or am cleansing my altar I hold the bell over the surface and ring it once. That baby vibrates energy like nobody’s business!
And that’s pretty much it aside from whatever magical or seasonal accoutrements I have around the altar. The decorative items are very important in their own right; I can change the whole mood of my room and myself just by shifting the colors or seasonal objects. I’m always fiddling about with what’s there.
I suppose I should include my chair as a vital ritual tool since it holds the most important part of all: My big ol’ Witchy booty. After all, tools are only as good as the person using them. A stick is just a stick until you choose to dedicate it as a wand.
And here’s the video I made a couple of years ago showing all my altar stuff. It looks a bit different now but the layout is still the same.
