Magical tools in Wicca
The latter made much use of material from medieval grimoires such as the Key of Solomon, which has many illustrations of magical tools and instructions for their preparation.
The allowance of solitary practice is clearly an important factor in terms of the growth of adherents, as the requirement to join a coven would involve transaction costs of locating fellow members and/or being initiated.
In Gardnerian Wicca as laid down by Gerald Gardner, someone who had been initiated in the first degree had to create (or, alternately purchase and then engrave) their own ritual tools.
[5][6] The Book of Shadows states items must be consecrated within a magic circle, at the centre of which lies a pentacle (or paten).
This is followed by the declaration, Aradia and Cernunnos, deign to bless and to consecrate this [tool], that it may obtain necessary virtue through thee for all acts of love and beauty.
Chief amongst them in importance are the pentacle (or paten), Athame (or sword), wand, and chalice, each of which represents one of the four elements of earth, air, fire and water.
The Pentacle, or paten, is a disc-shaped altar consecration tool with a sigil or magical symbol engraved or inscribed upon it.
[14] The term "Athame" in its modern spelling first appears in Wicca, but it originates from words found in two historical copies of the Key of Solomon.
The version currently held in the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, Paris, uses the term "arthame" to describe a black-handled knife.
[15] It can be made from any material, including wood, metal and rock, and Wiccan wands are sometimes set with gemstones or crystals.
Frederic Lamond states this referred to elemental spirits, who were traditionally believed to be scared of iron and steel.
A Kirfane which is a white handled knife is used for inscribing candles with symbols or sigils, or cutting ritual cords and often mistaken for the Boline.
[citation needed] It is often used for making brews (such as oils), incense-burning, and can be used to hold large, wide pillar candles depending on how small it is.
In the various forms of British Traditional Wicca, cords, known as cingulum, or singulum (which literally translates as "girdle" or "belt" from Latin), are worn about the waist by adherents.
[16] In many traditions of Wicca, the colour of a person's cingulum indicates what rank of initiate they are; in several Australian covens for instance, green denotes a novice, white denotes an initiate of the first degree, blue for the second and a plaited red, white and blue for the third, with the High Priest wearing a gold cingulum (symbolising the sun), and the High Priestess wearing silver (symbolising the moon).
Frederic Lamond said that whilst Gardner never told his Bricket Wood coven which element this was associated with, he believed that as an "instrument for exercising power over others" then it should be Fire.
Being representative of the "gifts of the Goddess," the scourge standing for sacrifice and suffering one is willing to endure to learn, the kiss being the blessings of abundance in all life's aspects.
