Ritual tools are not strictly necessary to work magick or to honor the Gods and Goddesses, but most of us have them. Tools commonly used in witchcraft are wands, athame/ritual knife, candles/incense(and dishes to burn them in), pentacles, images of Gods/Goddesses, Book of Shadows; plus other cool and fun stuff like crystals, divination devices(for example---magickal mirrors, tarot cards, runes, crystal spheres, pendulums), herbs, oils, powders, spell materials, offerings, wine & cakes(or equivalent), pyramids........the list goes on & on!

Personally I found my altar grew and began to naturally extend and separate itself, so that now I have 3 "official" altars and shrines, and other informal areas that serve as altars when needed.

For the altar itself, flexibility rules! It can be a permanent area in your home, or can be set up on any flat surface when needed; I've even seen one made for a briefcase for use by a witch who travels a lot. Picnic baskets, boxes, lengths of cloth etc., can be used to carry & store portable altars.

Sometimes the best tools are the "found" objects......for example, my current wand is made from a birch twig(important to me with the Celtic alphabet birch=beth thing!), which I found in a friend's yard; I then wrapped it with leather and gemstone chips, with a quartz point on the end; and several leather stringers at the holding end that have charms, etc., tied into them. Ginger's wand is a copper lawn ornament, 4 feet long, with a lacy spiderweb and spider. Go with what feels right to you, and if you follow a tradition-----by what it requires. In Faery work, metal(especially iron) is a no-no. Handle and use the prospective wand, get to know it before ritual use.

The athame, or ritual knife, is another commonly used tool. What type varies widely by tradition, and some trads require novices to make their own. Mine happens to be bought, a curved-blade, 6 inch long dagger with a black handle(embossed with a spider); I use it for circle-casting, on the occasions I have a formal circle. Many witches also use a boline, or utility knife; traditionally this is white handled, and used for cutting herbs, twine, etc., for workings.

Candles are great, as they can give light enough to work by at night! I always have 1 candle each to represent the goddess and the god, one for each element in the 4 directions, then whatever else I need for a ritual/working..........candle magick is my primary method of working, so I have candles everywhere. If you plan to work outdoors, use a mason jar or lantern-type holder to keep the candles from blowing out. Experiment with various colors and styles, beeswax or parrafin. Ginger often uses birthday candles for time reasons---birthday candles burn down rapidly, important for the quicksilver magickal workings of children.

Incense is nice to have also.........most witches have their favorites, and any type will do. I prefer to use small amounts that I grind in a mortar and pestle for each ritual and burn on charcoal; leftovers are given to the Earth as an offering. For charcoal, be sure you have a heat-proof container filled with salt or sand to absorb the heat------to avoid messy broken containers as the charcoal heats up! (my personal fave is a blend of Dragon's Blood, frankincense, and myrrh). There are many references that discuss correspondences for incense....one example is sage and cedar for purification and protection.

Pentacles have always been a part of my altar.....most often, handmade. They are available in metals, wood, and anything else you can imagine! Mine is made of modeling clay, a disc of clay with a metal pentacle pressed in, then baked and glazed. It can be as elaborate as a large disc of precious metal, or as simple as a drawing on paper; you can even place a necklace or other pentacle jewelry on your altar for a working.

Salt and water are also used in many rituals; the form is personal preference. Some use sea or kosher salt, others plain old table salt. Water should be charged and consecrated for altar use; I usually use bottled water, and keep my salt and water in pretty glass bottles, replentishing each as they are used.

God and Goddess images can be drawings/photos/etc; or you can sculpt your own, or buy them. Museum stores often carry affordable reproductions of ancient sculptures. I've seen nice figure-shaped candles as well.

Your Book of Shadows is another essential item---I see BOS as a work-in-progress! I feel strongly that each witch should start a BOS immediately, and add/subtract/change things as often as necessary. It can include your personal list of correspondences, rituals that have worked well for you, really anything you find important to your practice. It can be a very personal diary of your life as a witch, and on the occasions where you can't recall what you need from memory, you can use it as a witch's' reference that is already personalized.

Other items used by some witches are small brooms(to "sweep" your space or use in banishings), an iron cauldron(small ones are available), candle-snuffer, bells, rattles, drums........the list is endless!

All kinds of things can be included in altars------the important thing is to find tools you are comfortable with, and which feel good to you.

There are several ways to consecrate tools. A common way is to charge the item in sun- or moon-light; also cleansing with consecrated water and salt(obviously don't use this method on tools that could be water damaged!), burying for a time(the recommended time varies among trads) in earth(I recommend in an indoors planter, if you have no secure location outdoors); also you can do visualization cleansing, then charge the item with 3 exhaled breaths onto the item.