Altar Tools

We’ve covered what an altar is, but what goes on an altar? There are lots of tools and decorations that can be used.  

Wand 

A wand is just that. Wands are most commonly used for spell castings and are made of wood or metals. They represent the element air usually though they can represents fire. Wands are viewed as a gentler tool for inviting and encouraging. Your wand can be anything from a fancy made one, a Harry Potter wand, there are copper wands with crystals, or a stick you found in your yard or on a walk.  

Athame 

An athame is a ceremonial knife that is used for cutting energy and directing energy and is to never be used to physically cut anything. Most common athames aren’t sharp specifically to avoid being used in a physical way but there are some sharp ones, and you could use any kind of blade so long as it’s never been used to cut something. We used to use an old fancy letter opener. The athame represents fire and can be placed in your altar around the fire candle, though in some pagan practices it represents air. The athame is an important tool in Wicca and is usually cleansed and concentrated to your god(s) before being used. Personally, I have never really used an athame, they are more commanding and powerful, but we have several types and styles for altar decorations. There is also another blade called a Boline that can be used in place of an athame, but it can cut herbs, however it’s more useful for gathering your herbs because it’s a crescent shaped sickle. 

Cauldron 

A cauldron is a cast iron pot that was originally used as a cooking pot in the 13th century that has since became associated with witchcraft due to stories like Macbeth where witches were portrayed brewing potions and doing magic over them. In current practices they are used for burning loose incense on a charcoal disk, making black salt (which for some reason we have never done), mixing herbs, and burning spells. They represent the element earth and more specifically the goddess and the womb.  

Crystals 

The origin of crystals goes way back to 4500BC from the ancient Sumerians who used crystals in their magical formulas and Plato’s account of Atlantis for healing and mind reading. Writings as far back as 400BC make observations of the different powers different crystals emit. And have since been used in amulets and jewelry across the nations. As pagans we use crystals because they hold properties from their own individual uses. We can use them on our altars, in crystal grids, we heal with them, they can go in spell bottles, they can be our wands, and we use crystal balls for divinations. Crystals are an extremely versatile tool.  

Incense 

There are a few types of incense, there are sticks, cones, and loose herbs. They represent the element air, though some say they represent all elements because you light them on fire, they are made of earth and with water. They are used for their magical properties to aid spells, to cleanse your space, and to raise energy and vibes for a magical atmosphere.  

Offering Bowls 

Offering bowls or plates are used in rituals for things we feel our deities would like and for sharing cakes and ale with them. Offering bowls can be made from any material and could be anything honestly. We use several small offering bowls for other elemental decorations.  We usually have a small bowl of water near the water candle and a small bowl of salt near the earth candle. But offering can be anything, herbs, oils, stones, flowers, trinkets you find on nature walks. Our daughter likes to go out in our yard and pick dandelions and other flowers to give them to the goddess bowl.   

Bells 

Bells can be found several religions because they are believed to communicate massaged into the spirit world. The ringing of the bells causes vibrations which affect all the energy around it and that’s why they are used for banishing negativity, inviting positive energy, cleansings, healing, and charging crystals and other trinkets. The bell represents the element air usually but can also represent water because of how sound waves ripple. During rituals you can use the bell to call the goddess or elements, you can ring it after your circle is called to seal it there with you or use it to distinguish sections in longer rituals. 

What tools do you use on your altars? Do you have any suggestions for me to cover? Any questions or concerns about the ones I have covered? Let me know in the comments!