Wands of Wonder: A Magic Money Tool

A wand is used for directing energy. It is best to make your wand from found wood and instill it with your personal energy. You can go out into a nearby park or the woods to find a suitable branch that has fallen. Never cut a wand from a tree as that energy will be retained by the wand. Allow Mother Nature to find choose on for you; she is always right. You might find the perfect weathered wand on a beach as driftwood. Each tree has its distinctive properties:

Ash: Ash grows fast and its seedlings root everywhere, so it's persistent. Use ash for prosperity, transformation, and self-improvement.

Birch:. Use a birch wand for healing spells, for calming situations, and for requesting a diplomatic solution or a good outcome for any business meeting.

Crab Apple: will provide bent and twisted, gnarled wands. Apple, as we know, is the tree of knowledge and wisdom and also represents plenty. They are wonderful tools for guidance.

Rowan or Mountain Ash: This is a “portal tree”, therefore when you want to undertake a journey or a guided visualization, keep your Mountain Ash wand close by.

Oak: is also good for healing and protection. It makes a good, long-lasting wand for intensely focused work. If you choose to use only one wand, make it oak.

Directing Your Destiny

By now, you may know exactly what kind of wood you want for your wand. Now, you can select the ideal crystal to power your tool of magic. Below is a guide to the magical powers inherent in different crystals so you can choose which ones to use in your spells and rituals. Abundance rites will be enhanced with bloodstone or citrine while calcite and chalcedony offer protection. See which stones work best for you.

Supernatural Stones

    * Amethyst for balance and intuition

    * Aventurine for creative visualization

    * Bloodstone for abundance

    * Calcite for warding off ill fortune

    * Chalcedony for power over dark spirits

    * Citrine for motivation and success

    * Fluorite for contacting fairies

    * Garnet for protection from negativity

    * Hematite for strength and courage

    * Jade brings powerful dreams

    * Moss agate for powers of persuasion

    * Quartz crystal for divining your dreams

    * Rhodochrosite for seeing life’s true purpose

    * Watermelon tourmaline for seeing the future

The Witch’s Toolkit: Everything You Need to Know for Making Fast Magic Part I

Your Essential Tools

Your altar is the center of your enchantments, your personal power space. A Wiccan altar is where you place symbolic and functional items for the purpose of spells and ritual work as well as a space for speaking chants and prayers. Your altar can— and should—evolve and change with the seasons.

Your Book of Shadows is a journal of your choosing in which you write down your magical workings and notes. When you track the effectiveness of a ritual, you can use this to refine your spellcraft in the future and your power will increase.

Candles are truly essential and contain all four of the elemental energies:

* Air—Oxygen feeds and fans the candle flame.

* Earth—The solid wax forms the candle.

* Water—Melted wax is the fluid elemental state.

* Fire—The flame sparks and blazes.

You can “dress” or anoint the candle with a couple of drops of essential oil on the side of the candle using a dropper or cotton ball. Go with your instinct on choosing sizes, shapes, and colors. I recommend keeping an array of options on hand. Different candle colors can enhance your spells and many of the rituals in this book suggest specific colors.

Magical knives: An athame (pronounced “a-thaw-may”) is your magical knife and should be placed on the right side of your altar. The athame is used to direct the energies raised in your ritual and usually has a dull blade. Since black is the color that absorbs energy, athames should have a dark handle. A bolline is a white-handled knife that is used for making other tools and for cutting materials, such as cords and herbs, within a magic circle. You can cut a branch to create your wand, for example.

Brooms (or “besoms”) have certainly captured the popular imagination as the emblem of witches. Using a broom as a magical tool came about from sweeping the ritual area clean before and after casting a spell. Now they’re mostly used in symbolic energy management.

Cauldrons represent the Goddess (also called Source or divine power), their round basins symbolizing the womb from whence all comes. A cast iron cauldron can hold fire and can even be used to burn incense or purifying sage. You can place a cauldron on your altar if there is room, or on the floor to the left of the altar.

Making the Tools of the Magical Trade Part I

Just as you can design your own rituals, you can create your own ritual accessories and tools. Your intentions and personal energy are the driving forces behind the enchantments you create, and the same is true of crafting magical tools.

Charm Boxes

Native Americans, Greeks, Celts, and Egyptians all used magical boxes during ceremonies and for storing sacred objects. Christian religions followed suit—the famous biblical Ark of the Covenant was, in fact, a magical box. Spell work during medieval times involved boxes for love, health, fertility and home and in the fields, prosperity, and changes of luck. In more modern times, a young woman’s “hope chest” contained her wishes, intentions, and materials for a happy marriage.

You can make charm boxes, also known as spell boxes, very easily. A job spell box should contain aventurine or peridot stones, patchouli incense, green candles, and ferns. You can make a psychic spell box with cloves, rosemary, and amethyst and quartz crystals. A good love spell box contains a pink candle, rose petals, two pieces of rose quartz, and two copper pennies. These are just some of the examples; more suggestions are in the appendix in the back of this book.

Mirrors

Throughout time, people have been looking for answers in mirrors, gazing balls, pools, and even using bowls filled with ink to peer into another dimension. Primitive people used obsidian and other shiny rocks to communicate with spirits. Surfaces that are shiny, smooth, and reflective have always lent themselves well to scrying and other intuitive work. Because of their use in scrying, mirrors came to be seen as magical portals to promote psychic awareness to other worlds.

It is possible to create your own scrying mirror and empower it with energy and intention in a variety of ways. First, find
a round mirror with a frame that will make it easy to apply crystals or other objects with glue (I like to use wood or plastic). The frame should have a lot of surface area on which you can affix your magical objects. There are many objects that are suitable for your mirror. If you collect sea glass or shells and pretty rocks, those will suffice. If you don’t have any objects on hand, visit a rock shop or a New Age store. You can purchase seashells and fifty to a hundred small crystals. The crystals can be various quartzes and semiprecious stones of similar shape and small in size.

You can use a rainbow of colors or you can stick with just one kind of stone. I prefer to use all amethysts on my mirror; I feel more connected to this lovely purple gem because it is my birthstone.

Before applying the clear-drying glue to your frame, clean it with a soft, dry cloth. Take your crystals, shells, glass or other items and affix them one at a time, in any pattern you like. Some examples of mirrors I’ve come across featured concentric circles of color, following the spectrum from dark red garnet to clear quartz, and gorgeous spirals and paisley prints all across the frame.

Different kinds of questing and querying may call for several different magic mirrors. 

Different Gems to Use for Your Mirror

Peridot—Issues relating to self-image and matters centered upon you

Rough Rubies—Matters relating to love

Jade—Money matters

Sea Glass and Seashells—Effective for Water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces), especially if gathered during a walk on the beach while searching for answers

Anyone who feels drawn to the ocean will benefit from a seashell magic mirror. Many of us go for walks along the water to think. Using seashells on your mirror can help you be twice as effective in finding your answers. 

The Essential Toolkit: Everything You Need for Rites and Rituals Part III

 Cauldron

The cauldron represents the Goddess, its round basin symbolizing the womb. The cauldron can hold fire and represent rebirth—the phoenix rising from the ashes of the past. Usually, cauldrons stand on three legs for practicality and mobility. You can place a cauldron on your altar if there is room, or on the floor to the left of the altar. In spring, the cauldron can be used to hold earth or water. In winter, it can represent the rebirth of the sun and should hold fire. The form of the vessel may change. In the spring, the cauldron can be a rain-filled jar or flower-filled fountain. In the summer, it can be a cup, and at harvest, it can be a pumpkin or other hollowed- out gourd. You can play with this “vessel” concept in your own ceremonies. Cauldrons are very useful for mixing your herbs and essential oils, though you must be sure to clean them before and after each use. You can scry with a cauldron full of water to foresee the future by reading images on the surface of the water. You can use this magical tool to burn paper upon which you have written your intentions or spells. In doing this, you can send your wishes to the gods and goddesses through the flames. A cauldron is not the easiest magical tool to find, as they are not nearly as commonplace as one might think. I advise you to wish and wait patiently, and the cauldron of your dreams will arrive in the most enchanted manner.

Censer

A censer, or thurible, is an incense burner and represents the elements of air and fire. Place your incense at the center of your altar. Incense can be used to purify your other sacred tools and to cleanse your ritual space. The evocative scent and smoke can also transport you in a sensory way. Always test your incense prior to ritual, however, to discover how much smoke is produced by your incense stick or herbal mixture. The purpose of incense is to release energy into the ritual space, not to create billows of smoke that can cause respiratory problems in the circle. If you or someone else finds incense smoke irritating or worrisome, consider using another symbol of air instead, such as potpourri, fresh flowers, feathers, or a fan. 

There exist an abundance of incense burners nowadays, so use your discretion and choose one that pleases you—perhaps a smoking dragon or a goddess to hold the fiery embers of your incense would add to the energy of your altar.

Incenses themselves contain inherent energies that you can use to further your intention and promote your purpose. I depend on Wylundt’s Book of Incense, which I consider to be the ultimate reference for excellent information about essences and properties of incense. It contains an enormous amount of information in regard to loose, cone, stick, and cylinder incense. It also tells you how to work with herbs, which part of a plant to use, and how to gather, dry, and store the plants. The following is one of my recipes for an incense to use to cast a circle.

Circle Incense

2 parts myrrh
4 parts frankincense 2 parts benzoin
1 part sandalwood
1 part cinnamon
1 part rose petals
1 part vervain
1 part rosemary
1 part bay leaf
1⁄2 cup orange peel

This incense will significantly aid the formation of the sphere of energy that is the ritual circle. A fine grind of all the ingredients is the key to good incense, so you should add a mortar and pestle to your list of tools if you intend to make a lot of incense. A blender or food processor is a more modern approach that may save on time and elbow grease, especially if you are making a large batch of incense for a group.

Clearing Incense

1 part sandalwood
3 parts myrrh
3 parts copal
3 parts frankincense

This is an optimal mixture of essences to purify your home or sacred working space. Negative energies are vanquished and the path is cleared for ritual. Open windows and doors when you are burning this clearing incense so the “bad energy” can be released outside. It is also advisable to use this clearing incense if there have been any arguments or other energetic disruptions in your home. You can recreate a sanctuary with this incense.

Dream Incense

2 parts rose petals 2 parts cedar
1 part camphor
1 part lavender

6 drops tuberose oil 6 drops jasmine oil

This mixture will bring on psychic dreams. If you set up a bedroom altar, place this incense in your censer and allow the scented smoke to imbue your sleeping space with its unique energy before you drift off. Prophetic dreams may come to you and, even better, you will remember them! 

Chalice

The chalice—another vessel symbolizing the feminine, the Goddess, and fertility—is a goblet dedicated specifically for use on your altar. Holding both physical fluid and the waters of our emotional body, it is connected to elemental water. Place your special chalice on the left side of your altar with all other representations of the energy of the female and the Goddess. A grail is also a chalice. Legend tells that the Holy Grail brought life back into the decaying kingdom of Camelot and restored Arthur and his people to health, giving rise to the rebirth of England itself. On your altar, your chalice can hold water, mead, wine, juice, or anything that has been blessed. It can contain holy water for consecrations and blessing rites. At the end of many ritual ceremonies and sabbats, it is customary to toast the deities with a hearty ale, cider, or wine and thank them for being present. After the circle has been opened, you can pour the contents of your chalice into the ground outdoors as an offering to benevolent entities.

Wand

A magical wand is a powerful tool used to cast the circle and invoke deities. Like an athame, a wand focuses, projects, and directs energy. Because it gathers and stores magical power, a wand is wonderful for healing and can also be the device with which you “draw” the shape when you cast the circle.

If possible, find your wand in a serendipitous manner. Draw it to yourself through attraction. A wand makes a mighty gift. It may, however, be more practical and expedient just to purchase your wand. When you do this, purify it, cleansing off the energy of the shop, so it is truly yours. Before you race off to the nearest metaphysical five-and-dime, take a walk in the woods. You may very well find the wand of your dreams waiting there for you on the forest floor. Some folks favor “live wood,” like cherry, willow, or oak branches that need to be cut off the tree. I prefer fallen wood that Nature has already harvested. Some folks like to ornament their wand with magical metals, such as copper, gold, or silver, and encrust it with gems and crystals. The most important determining factor for any wand is how it “feels” in your hand. You will know when you have found the right one. 

Mirrors of Mystery

Mirrors have been tools of magic since time immemorial. Shiny, smooth reflective surfaces have lent themselves so well to the imagination and intuition. It is little wonder that these portals to another world promote psychic awareness. Obsidian and other types of shimmering rocks and volcanic glasses presented themselves to primitive peoples as opportunities to communicate with unseen spirits, which is what we modern folk do when we are accessing energy.

When Harry Potter famously looked into his magic mirror, he awakened the masses to this tradition, and I have heard that sales of magic mirrors have skyrocketed. Throughout history, people looking for answers have used mirrors and even bowls filled with ink to peer into another dimension. Gazing balls and pools have also served for dealing with the divine.

You can make your own magic mirror and power it with crystals. First, get a round dime-store mirror, preferably with a plastic or wooden frame for ease of gluing appliqués. Make sure the frame has a lot of surface area on which to affix your gems. From any New Age store or rock shop, purchase fifty to 100 small crystals—various quartzes and semiprecious stones of a similar shape and small size. You can use a rainbow of colors unless you have a particular affinity for any certain stone. For example, amethyst is my birthstone, so I prefer to use an all-amethyst magic mirror. I simply feel more connected to this lovely, purple semiprecious gem.

Clean the frame with a soft, dry cloth and spread clear drying glue onto it. One at a time, place the crystal pebbles into the glue in any pattern you desire. I have seen lovely versions of concentric circles of color following the spectrum, beginning with deepest, darkest red garnet stones inside and circling out to the palest purple pebbles and finally a layer of the clearest quartz. I have seen gorgeous pebble spirals and paisleys, and so many other patterns.

I know some gem magicians who have several magic mirrors for different kinds of questing and querying. A mirror of peridot, the birthstone of Leo, is good for looking at issues of self-image and matters centering around you. A ruby mirror (made of the highly affordable rough rubies) is perfect for matters relating to love, and a jade mirror will aid in money matters. Water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces) would do well to make magic mirrors from sea glass and seashells they have gathered during walks on the beach. Anyone who feels drawn to the ocean will also benefit from a seashell magic mirror. Many of us go for walks on the beach or along water when we are searching for answers. A magic mirror of shells can be twice as effective at helping you find your answers!

Amethyst is still tops in my book, and I recommend a mirror adorned with this stone as a very dependable tool of magic. Amethyst is a good balancing stone and is also one of the most intuition-boosting of all gems.

Charm Boxes

Charm boxes, also known as spell boxes, are simple tools of magic you can easily make for yourself. Ancient cultures, particularly the Native Americans, Greeks, Celts, and Egyptians, used boxes for ceremonial magic and for the storage of sacred objects. Is not the famed biblical ark of the covenant a magical box? During medieval times, much spell work revolved around boxes. Even a young woman’s hope chest is a type of magical box, filled with the wishes, intentions, and materials for a happy marriage.

Gem-magic boxes can either contain crystals of special importance to you or be adorned with gems you affix to the outside of the box. You can create a job-spell box with peridot or aventurine stones, green candles, patchouli incense, and dried ferns placed inside.

Make a love-spell box with two pieces of rose quartz, a pink candle, rose petals, and two copper pennies. Fashion a psychic-spell box using amethyst and quartz crystals, cloves, and rosemary.

Tools of the Magic Trade

With crystal magic, you can make sure your own ritual accessories and tools as you wish. Your intentions and personal energy are the driving forces behind the enchantments you create. For many people, their most important tool is the wand, but don’t be afraid to experiment with new mystical implements. You’ll be amazed as the various crystal accoutrements hold and collect the energy of all your magical workings and your power grows.