Witchcraft Tools & Trinkets For Your Altar
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For those wondering what tools you can add into your practice and help adorn your altar, here’s a list of some witchy tools and trinkets. You do not by any means need to have all of these items, but hopefully this list helps you get started if you’re early on in your craft.
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ATHAME
An Athame is a knife that is used to focus our energy and intention. It should never be used for cutting or to cause physical harm. The athame represents masculine energy and the element of fire.
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WAND
A wand can be created in any material that you feel a connection to: wood, bone, or metal. Your wand should be personal to you, just like with any item you use for your path. A wand is used in much the same way as athame is used; to focus our energy and intention. It can represent the element of air.
CHALICE
A chalice can come in a goblet style or it can simply be any mug and cup that you dedicate as a ritual chalice. This is used to hold water or wine, which you can drink after you complete a ritual. The chalice on your altar can also represent the element of water.
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PENTACLE
On an altar, it can come in the form of either a pendant or a platen. The pentacle represents earth, and is used to cleanse yourself, your surroundings, and all other items on your altar.
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CAULDRON
Like the chalice, cauldrons can represent the element of water. A cauldron can hold many things like water, herbs, incense, and candles, and is very useful when it comes to rituals involving burning and creating small fires. The preferred material for the pot-bellied cauldrons is cast iron. This is mainly due to the fact that cast iron cauldrons can take the heat and don't crack under high temperatures.
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BELLS
Bells are used to mark passages in a ritual. Try taking a look at spells, you’ll notice most require you to ring a bell once or twice, and also ask you to ring your bell to mark the beginning and the end of a ritual. These can also be used for clearing your space of unwanted energies.
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CANDLES
Candles represent the element of fire. Candle colors are important in spells as well as providing a positive feeling to your space. Certain candles can be dressed in different herbs and oils to add to your spells that help strengthen the spell you’re working on. Candles also are a great way to seal a spell jar! If you don’t have a specific color candle, a white candle can be used in place of any color candle.
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BOWLS
Having a bowl on your altar can represent the element of earth. A bowl can hold water, sea salt, and oils. It is important to have a bowl that can hold sea salt, since a small bowl of sea salt on your altar can cleanse your other tools and crystals.
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INCENSE
Incense symbolizes the element of air. It is used to clear energy, cleanse, and welcomes positive energies & spirits to you.
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HERBS
Herbs have been used by witches for eons, Myrrh was burned on a daily basis by the ancient Egyptians, this was done as an offering to the gods, and there were many stories told about people and gods being transformed into trees.
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DIVINATION TOOLS
There are a variety of ways to use divination in your practice, it is up to the individual witch to choose what kind of tool best suits their needs. One witch may feel particularly connected to using\ tarot cards, another might prefer runes or even scrying. You do not need to know how to do all of these things, but it does help to identify the types so that way you as a witch can choose what divination style best suits you.
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CRYSTALS
Each crystal holds different energies and properties. Crystals enhance the power of your spells, and keeping a variety of crystals on your altar will help you in various rituals.
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BESOM (BROOM)
A broom is very symbolic of sweeping energy and keeping negative and unwanted energies out of your space.
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MORTAR & PESTLE
A mortar and pestle is a tool used for crushing and grinding herbs, seeds and other magical components in order to combine ingredients together. Mortar and pestles are especially good for creating your own herbal remedies, spell components, concoctions, incense and more.
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ABALONE SHELL
Abalone shells are often used as tools to perform smoke cleansing rituals. Their very practical use is as a bowl to catch hot cinders and hold what remains of the sage bundle after it’s burnt. Abalone shells are a gift from the sea and, thus, symbolically represent the water element while the unlit herbs represent earth, the lit herb represents fire and the smoke represents air. In this way, the act of smudging invites Mama Gaia into the center of the ceremony to hold space for any transformations that will occur—essentially when you have an abalone shell on your altar, you have all 5 elements represented.
I hope this has been a helpful list of items you can incorporate into your craft. Reiterating that you do not need all these things to have a fulfilling practice! As you try out different tools for witchcraft, really pay attention to what kind of tools are calling to you. And as we’ve said of the podcast, your powers and tools are only as strong as your intention. So keep discovering the witch within you and as always …
Stay witchy.
