The Athame
The Athame - I was taught it sounds like "A-whammy" - is ritual knife, used for cutting the
non-physical. Also known as the Black Handled knife. Some Pagans use their athames to cut
only energy (as in creating a door in a cast circle) or for directing energy, and are horrified if
anyone uses theirs too cut anything else (in which case they would also have a Bolline, used for cutting herbs, etc.) Some Pagans use their athames
for not only energy direction and cutting, but also for all the uses of a Bolline as well.
There will always be the debate about whether the athame or the wand is used for directing energy, and about which one represents Air, and which one Fire. For myself, I use my wand for casting since I think it is a representative of Air, and my athame for cutting, because I believe that it's a creature of Fire.
NOTE! - In some states it is illegal to carry any knife, or knifes with double edges, or ones with blades over a certain length. Before you end up in jail and loosing your athame, know your state, county, and city/town ordinances!
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The Bolline
Also known as the White Handled knife. The Bolline is used for cutting in the physical. It's
used to harvest herbs, cut branches from trees or buses, carving into candles, cutting cords,
etc. as opposed to the athame, which is reserved for non-physical cutting. Again, some
Pagans use one knife for both. The choice is up to what is comfortable for you.
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The Besson or Broom
The magical Besson or Broom is used for the cleansing of an area on the non-physical plane.
In other words, when your sweeping with your Besson, your sweeping away all those
icky-little-negativeity-buggies that tend to accumulate over time. You don't actually touch
the bristles to the floor/ground, you hold the besson so that the bristles are a few inches up
off the floor. Then you sweep away all the negative energy that's in the space your cleaning.
This can be anything from your yearly rite (a.k.a. - "spring cleaning"), to preparing an area
for you to cast a circle, to ensuring that your resting place is free from negative energy.
One of the most common uses for a broom is during a handfasting, when the bride and groom "jump the broom." This jump signifies that they are leaving their parents house to start their own, and is still a part of Ethnical weddings all around the world.
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The Cauldron
The Cauldron is the symbol of the Goddess, woman, and the womb. Technically, a cauldron
is made of cast-iron, standing on three legs, with a lip/mouth/opening that is smaller than the
widest part (usually the middle.) Uses for the cauldron vary greatly from creating oils and
brew (you know, boil, toil, and all that,) to heating water, to holding liquid for scyring.
Unfortunately, large cauldrons also have a large price tag attached. I've seen them go up to
$800.00, and even then, it was "cash-and-carry"! I use a somewhat smaller one that
I bought in a thrift shop. No rule says a witch can't be practical too.
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The Chalice
The Chalice, to me, means fertility. And a place to put the non-alcoholic-bubbling-cider for
the cakes and ale part of our rituals. During ritual, a chalice is held while an athame is
lowered into it. This is the Great Rite, the union of the God with the Goddess. Make no
mistakes, although this version of the Great Rite is done fully clothed with no physical
contact, it is still just as powerful a rite as the "other" version of the Great Rite.
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Incense Burner
In order to burn incense, you need a safe, heat resistant place to put it. The style of your
burner depends on what type of incense you use. For stick form, you need a special holder
that will hold the stick and catch the ashes as the incense burns. For cone form, you need a
small dish with a flat bottom. If the dish isn't heat-proof, you can fill it with sand or salt. For
powdered, loose, or resin/rock/solid incense, you not only need a container to put it in, you'll
also need a charcoal brick to burn it with. (These forms of incense don't burn themselves,
you lit the charcoal briquette, and sprinkle the incense onto it, and the charcoal burns the
incense.) For charcoal, you really need to make sure that your container is heat proof,
because those little bricks get awfully hot. If your container still heats up on the outside,
again you can fill it with sand or salt. If this doesn't work, you'll need a new container.
With all the effort involved with using charcoal, your probably wonder why anyone even
bothers. There's a good reason for it though - the smoke and energy released from loose or
powdered herbs is absolutely unlike the stick or cone incense. There are no chemicals used
to hold the herbs together (although you can using resins) and imagine harvesting your own
herbs, flowers, plants, and trees, grinding them into a powder with a morter and pestle,
mixing them together by hand, all the while pouring your magical intent into them! That
charcoal doesn't sound to bad anymore...
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The Pentacle
The Pentacle (not Pentagram) is a flat disk with a magical symbol (usually a
pentagram) drawn, carved, or inscribed onto it. It is used for material things, empowering
rocks or crystals or jewelry, and protection. Pagans always use both the
pentacle and pentagrams with the star pointing up. In this position, it symbolizes the 4
elements plus the 5th, the Spirit, or the 4 directions, plus the 5th, inside.
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The Wand
The Wand is one of those things that seems to go to be true. And it is, in a way. I have yet to
figure out how to go "abracadabra" and have my house clean itself or make a million dollars
appear, but I do have a wand, and I do use it in my magical workings. And it does work. Just
not it the "poof-here-it-is" sense.
A wand is mainly used for helping you project your energy towards something. It becomes a focus point for your energy flow, a channel through which your energy will flow from you to the energy's destination. Most commonly made of wood, they can be topped with crystals, pine cones, acorns, shells, you get the idea. They can be wrapped with leather or suede strips, have feather, beads, shells, etc. tied to them, basically, you can personalize them any way you want.
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