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For whosoever pullth this sword from the stone shall be king of England.
American Wicca teaches that you should be careful who you allow to touch your magickal tools. In this tradition, we don't have this restriction for other Wiccans. Several coven members use the same sword to cast the magick circle. However, this restriction does apply to non-Wiccans! A non-Wiccan may not respect the sacredness of the tools and weapons; even Jesus said, "Cast not your pearls before swine."
Traditionally, tools during consecration should be presented by a member of the opposite sex. In the sacred lore, King Arthur received his sword excalibur from the Lady of the Lake. Llew Llaw Gyffes received his weapons from his mother, the Goddess Arianrhod.
Spear: can be viewed as a staff or wand. Staffs and wands have a renowned magickal history. Jews in Hosa 4:12 used staffs for divination, Moses turned his staff into a serpent, Merlin's staff spouted out dragon's fire. However, staffs can be heavy and awkward to handle, so the wand was invented as a down-sized version of the staff.
Sword: has a legendary magickal history. The ultimate symbol of God. Singing swords, swords of power, truth, and justice litter the myths. Ancient tales say that magickal swords were marked or engraved with runes and named. Ritual swords and weapons can be used to compete in the Plenary Ritual. I know of covens who place the sword upright in a stone when not in use. So they have their own sword in the stone. Excalber (the famous sword of King Arthur) means from the magick circle. Swords are expensive and many can't afford to buy them. So the dagger (athame to American Wiccans) is a down - sized version of the sword.
Stones: this is a primary magickal tool that others of the Craft have moved to the general studies of magick. However, the magick of stones is a primary tool for Old English Wicca. For Stone age Wiccans built many stone circles found all over Europe and of course Stonehenge.2 The average stone is approximately 4 billion years old! There is a saying that "the older something is the more magickal it is." So stones are the oldest magickal tool we have.
Stone magick exists in all cultures. Even the bible's Joshua used stone magick, Joshua 24:27. Jewish kings and priests used stones called urim and thummim in Numbers 27:21 and I Samuel 28:6. And Christians can't even begin to explain why a white stone is given to certain people in Revelations 2:17. There are the stones of Easter Island. The Celts had a great black meteorite in Diana's Temple at Ephesis.
Stones have a strong electromagnetic fields and this stone power can be used for magick.
Cauldron: usually an iron pot but can be of any metal. Symbolic for the womb and life- after - death. Used for cooking and as a dish. Used in spells were items are burned inside or filled with water in other magicks.
In some myths the cauldron provides an inexhaustible food supply. It can hold the cakes for the libation ritual.
The Gundestrup Bowl (ancient artifact) shows a man casting another into a cauldron. Scholars have mistakenly identified this act as human sacrifice. In the Mabinogian, Bran the Blessed had a magickal cauldron that could restore the dead to life when placed into the cauldron. Therefore the cauldron is a symbol of rebirth.
Holy Grail: The ultimate symbol of the Goddess. A goblet or cup usually holding liquid. Posidonius wrote the Celts had small cauldrons that drinks were served in. The Holy Grail likely evolved from the magick cauldrons discussed above. The Nazi SS during World War II made a great effort to find the Holy Grail, they failed. The grail appears on the tarot cards. The Eleusinian mysteries also used a holy chalice for their rituals.
Our holy grail has many uses. In cakes & ale, the grail is passed around the circle for coveners to drink from. Filled with water and staring at the reflection of the moon in the grail is called, scraying (a form of divination).
The Christian Church bitterly opposed the Holy Grail and sought to suppress stories about the grail like the King Arthur myths. Why? The Church was aware of the Pagan origins of the grail. The grail's ability to heal and provide a limitless food supply is simply a repeating of the Celt's magick cauldrons. Also in the myths, women (really Goddesses) were associated with the grail - the early Church viewed women as unholy (see rev 14:4). Women's (Goddesses) close connection with the holy grail opposed Church dogma.
The quest for the grail in the Arthur myths is the search for the lost Goddess! The grail being lost in Arthur myths also symbolized the Wicca going underground in the burning times. The grail inside the circle symbolizes that we have found the Holy Grail and she is the Goddess.
Water: the Celts placed their religious sites near wells and streams because people got thirsty and needed a drink. Water is considered magickal because it comes from the underworld (underground). They also provide a source of food - fish.
Other tools: Wicca is not a stagnant religion it grows and changes as the people change. These other magickal tools were included when new magicks were discovered or learned from others (like the Egyptians or Greeks) and from technological advancements (Bow & Arrow). There are many tools not included on this list, but you can use anything ancient or modern for a magickal tool. The tools listed below are either historic or in common use with Wiccans.
Pentacle: a disc of metal, ceramic or wood with the pentagram or other symbols inscribed on it. Items being blessed are placed upon it. It's used in rituals of protection as a magickal shield.
In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain's shield has a pentagram on it. Some traditions claim the pentagram was Morgan La Fay's heraldic symbol or the Goddess Cerridwen's symbol. However, the pentagram is far older.
The pentagram is very likely to be the star mentioned in the bible books Amos 5:26 and Acts 7:43.
Pentagrams have been discovered in ancient Israel and Sumer. The earliest known pentagrams can be found in the prehistoric caves of France dating to 45,000 B.C. They were the hand prints found on the walls of these caves. Each finger represented the five universal elements of: earth, air, fire, water, and the soul. Yes, the hand is a pentagram. Our custom of waving our hands hello or good-by is the little known pentagram blessing.
The Ice Man (c. 3300 B.C.) discovered in the Italian Alps Oct 91 had a small polished stone with a pentagram inscribed upon it. I was stationed in Germany at the time of the find and went to see the artifacts at a press release. I was surprised to find such a strong Wiccan connection to the Ice Man!
The Egyptians used the pentagram to represent the five elements and it took on other meanings. It symbolized the resurrection of Osiris. You can find it on many ancient Egyptian artworks.
The Celts use the symbol of the pentagram too. It's found in flowers, apples that were cut in half, and the Celtic cross. The cross and pentagram are just different symbols with the same meaning.
Please note that the Celts used the cross centuries before Christianity. The early Christians hated the cross because it was the instrument of the Lord's death. The Celtic cross was widely popular among the Celts so it was absorbed by the new religions.
The new religions also adopted the pentagram; one appears in Worm's cathedral located in Worms, Germany. Christians today often place a 5 point star (pentagram) on the top of the Christmas tree. Many story book illustrations often show a magick wand with the pentagram on it's tip.
The sheriff's badge or pentagram dates to old England and was worn for magickal protection.
Bow and Arrow: used for hunting and warfare. Used in projective magick and in a fire ritual honoring the dead. The fire ritual is shooting flaming arrows into a lake where they are extinguished.
Candles: were a necessary and safe means to light a household. Candles are considered keys to the other world and can open a doorway between the worlds. These are used frequently in spells. They may be anointed with oils and inscriptions may be carved on them.
Salt: a preservative, a seasoning, used for money, and is an antiseptic. Magickally, it's mixed with water then sprinkled over items to purify them.
Incense and Incense Burner: is used to sends prayers in smoke up to the Sky Gods. Early man reasoned that if incense smelled good to him so it must smell good to the Gods. Incense "are pleasant to Jehovah." Prov. 15:8.
Idols: "So the nations feared (did the will) of the Lord and served their graven images (idols)," 2 Kings 17:41. This passage poses significant problems for certain of the new religions. How could people worship idols and obey the Lord? That's easy - all Gods are one.
Idols have a long history. Egypt had them made of solid gold, silver, and gems. At the Temple of Ephesus, Diana's statue was one of the seven wonders of the world. Lucian tells us idols at Hieropolis broke out in sweat, spoke, and moved. Even today statues of saints sometimes cry or bleed.
Rituals are performed within the sight of the idol.
Other items: may include: crystals, herbs, colored rope, shells, bells, robes, jewelry, and just about anything you want.
CONSECRATION OF TOOLS: Consecration is a prayer to the Gods to make an item magickal and holy. Consecration is based on the ancient premise that the Gods will grant us what we ask for. Especially if it is used in their worship. "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them," Mark 11:24. Many other Gods and Goddesses have made the same promise. For example, "for the gods ever hear the prayers of him who has obeyed them." THE ILIAD, 800 B.C., by Homer, book I. Therefore, if we ask the Gods to make these items magickal and holy? They will do it!
I see consecration as giving the tool or weapon to the Gods, it is not ours but theirs.
The ritual: cast the circle on a full moon or in the morning before the sun rises. Have the tool given to you by a member of the opposite sex, pass it through incense smoke, through a candle's flame, and sprinkle with salt water. Go to each direction in the circle calling upon each of the four folk (elements) and say, "Oh ______, make this item magickal and dedicate it to the service of Goddess and God. Thank you." (Don't say thank you to the east).
Anoint the tool with oil1 or milk ( to reduce the electrical resistance between you and the tool). Then hold the tool over your head in the moonlight or as the first rays of the sun strike. Then yell with all your might pouring your personal power (virtue) into it. Christ also had personal power, he calls it virtue in Luke 8:46. For a coven tool or weapon both Priest and Priestess together virtue the item.
After the yelling is complete say, "Lady and Lord, I your child, give you this ____ (item). Bless it and imbue it with magickal power. Forever in your service from this very hour. Blessed be."
Then put the tool to use. If it is a cup, drink out of it, a sword, redraw the circle, a knife, cut something, not someone!
Stones especially large ones can't be consecrated as described above. I don't know of anyone that can lift a one ton boulder over their head. Jacob from Genesis 35:14 tells us how to consecrate stones. Pour a drink offering (milk) on the stone and anoint it with oil while asking the Gods to make it magickal. There are Pagans that charge stones instead of consecrating them.
Swords and daggers are named (like Excaliber) after they are consecrated.
You can consecrate wells and streams by placing coins, or flowers in them.
Idols are not consecrated - they are charged. Within the magick circle pray to the desired God/dess to possess the idol.
Place your hands upon the idol and pray, "Oh ___________ (name of God/dess), I your child ask that your spirit fall upon this image. Let it's ears hear as your ears. Let it's eyes see as your eyes see. Let it's mouth speak your words of guidance to me."
1. Exodus 40:9
2. Diodorus the Sicilian writing about Stonehenge called it a magnificent circular temple of Apollo, located in the center of Britain.
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