Common salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in its natural form as a crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantities in seawater, where it is the main mineral constituent; the open ocean has about 35 grams of solids per litre, a salinity of 3.5%. Salt is essential for animal life, and saltiness is one of the basic human tastes. The tissues of animals contain larger quantities of salt than do plant tissues; therefore the typical diets of nomads who subsist on their flocks and herds require little or no added salt, whereas cereal-based diets require supplementation. Salt is one of the oldest and most ubiquitous of food seasonings, and salting is an important method of food preservation.

Some of the earliest evidence of salt processing dates to around 8,000 years ago, when people living in Romania were boiling spring water to extract the salts; a salt-works in China has been found which dates to approximately the same period. Salt was prized by the ancient Hebrews, the Greeks, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Hittites and the Egyptians. Salt became an important article of trade and was transported by boat across the Mediterranean Sea, along specially built salt roads, and across the Sahara in camel caravans. The scarcity and universal need for salt has led nations to go to war over salt and use it to raise tax revenues. Salt is also used in religious ceremonies and has other cultural significance.

Wiccan Salt

“Salt! Oh, salt. Okay, consider me braced.”

So, in folklore, salt has always been a way of warding off “evil spirits”. It was always thought that a ring of salt around a area would protect it.

Salt has also been thought of as an energy absorber. This is why people often use it to cleanse ritual space. These two reasons contribute most to the tradition of putting a ring of salt around a ritual a read. A circle of salt around an area prevents negative entities and demons from crossing into it. You can make a line of salt along a door or windowsill to make it impassable.

I’ve found that the most common tool recommended is salt, and I trusted this information because it was generally agreed upon by the magical community. I believed this until it was tested, and it failed. I guess that’s the way all things work.

So I did some research and I did some testing, and most of all, I did some thinking. Salt is normally used as the physical representation of the circle, it is used in cleansing solutions for tools, it’s used to protect against anything that goes bump in the night, but why is it used for all of these things?

Many different magical traditions call for the use of salt in spells and ritual. For centuries, it’s been known as a very magical – and also very valuable – ingredient. But why is salt such a magical item? Let’s look at some of the history behind the use of salt in magic, and some of the ways it’s commonly used in folklore and legend.

In many Eastern belief systems, such as Buddhism and Shintoism, salt is used both as a purifier and to repel evil.

In parts of Germany, Normandy, and Scotland, salt is used in or around a butter churn to keep witches from souring the butter or harming the cow from which the cream was obtained.
Irish folk remedies include the use of salt, combined with a recitation of the Lord’s Prayer, to cure those who might have been “fairy-struck”. A similar story comes from Bavaria and the Ukraine, in which salt is used to determine if a child is bewitched.
Egyptian caravans setting out on a journey across the desert used to perform a ritual that involved burning salt on hot coals. This was done to ensure that evil spirits wouldn’t get in the way of the travelers.

Often, salt is used in purification spells. It can be incorporated into smudging and asperging, and in some NeoWiccan traditions it is used on the altar to represent the element of earth. It should be noted that some groups associate salt with water, because of its origins in the sea.

Wiccan Black Salt

Black salt, which is a blend of regular salt and other ingredients, is used in protection magic in some traditions. Now I know you are asking yourself. “Witch… Why would I need black salt when Supernatural shows us that plain salt is just fine?”

Well, Let me Explain.

Black Salt is normally used to banish or drive away negative things. It can be used to protect your home and garden area by sprinkling it around the property line. To protect from things general getting in your house you can put Black Salt in the corners of the room or across the door step. It is also used to remove negative spells that have been cast on a person. In general, Salt itself is a great purifying agent. Black Salt is more about protection and the banishment of all things negative.

You can use anything dry that has a black tone. Charcoal, Ashes, Scrapings from your cauldron/cast iron bowl or skillet, even Pepper is often used.

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A mirror is an object that reflects light in such a way that, for incident light in some range of wavelengths, the reflected light preserves many or most of the detailed physical characteristics of the original light. This is different from other light-reflecting objects that do not preserve much of the original wave signal other than color and diffuse reflected light.

Mirror Magick

Samhain is a time to do some serious divination – it’s the time of year when the veil between our world and that of the spirits is at its thinnest, and that means it’s the perfect season to look for messages from the metaphysical. Scrying is one of the best known forms of divination, and can be done in a variety of ways. Basically, it’s the practice of looking into some sort of reflective surface — such as water, fire, glass, dark stones, etc. — to see what messages, symbols, or visions may appear. A scrying mirror is a simple black-backed mirror, and it’s easy to make one yourself.

Any mirror can be enchanted by the Sun to become a magick mirror. They can be portals into other realms, they can be used for divination, or for spells, and they can be used to reflect a spell back onto the sender. I personally don’t recommend using a mirror to reflect baneful energy back to the sender and I wouldn’t post a spell that can cause harm to another.

Why not use a mirror to reflect back baneful energy? Here are some reasons:

• 1. Sometimes, the problems we are encountering are not actually being created by an outside force, but are manifestations of unhealthy habits or thoughts from within ourselves. If you use mirror magick to reflect back the unwanted energy to it’s source, then you would be attacking yourself. You would be causing harm to yourself.
• 2. Sometimes we are effected by a stream of energy that has been unintentionally directed at us. A person who is not adept at witchcraft could easily send out baneful energy willy-nilly after unwittingly creating a Cone of Power though intense anger or rage without conscious intention of harm. If you, as a witch consciously return that energy to the sender, you are harming someone who meant you no harm.
• 3. The Law of Three will return the harmful energy you three-fold. The basic laws of magick are that everything you do causes something to happen. Whatever you do comes back to you.
• 4. If you are being consciously attacked by someone who is adept at focusing and channeling energy, then you can be sure that they are also adept at sensing the energy reflected back. So then, the attacker would reflect the reflected energy back at you, and then you would reflect the energy back. Do you see where this is going? You would end up with a battle of energy balls being fired back and forth forever.
• 5. If you consciously put up mirror barriers with the intention of sending back harmful energy, you will awaken the attention of the Watchtower Guardians. Mirror energy passes through the Astral Plane and comes to the immediate attention of the Guardians where it is dealt with immediately. If you are sending back harmful energy the Guardians perceive it as “attack” energy sent towards a specific target. The Guardians will follow the energy source back to you and deal with it.

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Bells are like the Voice of the Goddess. When you ring one, it brings the Divine’s attention to you. And your attention to the Divine!

A bell with a lovely tone will call beautiful, healing energy to you. Bells can also be used to clear energy. At the end of a ritual is a good time for this, but if unwanted energy crops up during a ritual, you can use the bell to disperse it.

Hundreds of years ago, rural folks knew that loud noise drove away evil spirits, and the bell is a prime example of a good noisemaker. The ringing of a bell causes vibrations which are the source of great power. Variations on the bell include the shaking of a sistrum, a ritual rattle, or the use of a singing bowl. All of these can help bring harmony to a magical circle. In some forms of Wicca, the bell is rung to begin or end a rite, or to evoke the Goddess.

The Bell

When setting up your alter, some of you may notice a bell included among things you should have. You may also see it called for in some rituals or spells that you may work with. You may also see it used as a symbol for Wicca. So where did this tradition come from, what does it mean, and why do we use it still today?

In ancient times the bell was believed to rid an area of negative entaties or energies. This can still be a purpose for it today. I have seen cleansing rituals that still involve using a bell to drive away spirits. In ancient times they use to hang the bells on doors and leave them strategically placed around the house to help keep away negative spirits and energy. This is a practice that you will still see used in households today.

When a bell is cleansed and consecrated to be used as a magickal tool, it is believed that it can help to purify everyone that is present when it rings. For this reason, you will often see it used today at the beginning or ending of rituals that we do. Before beginning any magickal working you can ring the bell to rid any negative energies, and call the attention of the spirits you wish to summon in your workings.

The vibration of the bell can help to stimulate the energy in your environment. It also helps to set your intention and inform your subconscious of the actions you wish to take. For those of you who may have a harder time with meditation the ringing of a bell can make entering meditation easier.

The bell traditionally is symbolic of the Great Goddess. The bell can be used during ritual to help invoke the Goddess. You may also see it used at each of the four quarters when calling quarters during ritual. If you choose to place a bell on your altar most traditions agree that it should be located on the left of your altar. The bell corresponds to the element water, and is a feminine energy. While you will not see it used by all witches or Wiccans, the bell is a tool that can be given importance in your magickal workings if you so choose and treat it as a magickal tool.

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A candle is a solid block of wax with an embedded ignitable wick that provides light, and in some cases, a fragrance. It can also be used to provide heat, or as a method of keeping time.

A candle manufacturer is traditionally known as a chandler. Various devices have been invented to hold candles, from simple tabletop candle holders to elaborate chandeliers.

For a candle to burn, a heat source (commonly a naked flame) is used to light the candle’s wick, which melts and vaporizes a small amount of fuel (the wax). Once vaporized, the fuel combines with oxygen in the atmosphere to ignite and form a constant flame. This flame provides sufficient heat to keep the candle burning via a self-sustaining chain of events: the heat of the flame melts the top of the mass of solid fuel; the liquefied fuel then moves upward through the wick via capillary action; the liquefied fuel finally vaporizes to burn within the candle’s flame.

As the mass of solid fuel is melted and consumed, the candle becomes shorter. Portions of the wick that are not emitting vaporized fuel are consumed in the flame. The incineration of the wick limits the exposed length of the wick, thus maintaining a constant burning temperature and rate of fuel consumption. Some wicks require regular trimming with scissors (or a specialized wick trimmer), usually to about one-quarter inch, to promote slower, steady burning, and also to prevent smoking. In early times, the wick needed to be trimmed quite frequently. Special candle-scissors, referred to as “snuffers” were produced for this purpose in the 20th century and were often combined with an extinguisher. In modern candles, the wick is constructed so that it curves over as it burns. This ensures that the end of the wick gets oxygen and is then consumed by fire – a self-trimming wick.

Wicca

In Wicca and related forms of Paganism, the candle is frequently used on the altar to represent the presence of the God and Goddess, and in the four corners of a ritual circle to represent the presence of the four classical elements: Fire, Earth, Air, and Water. When used in this manner, lighting and extinguishing the candle marks the opening and closing of the ritual. The candle is also frequently used for magical meditative purposes. Altar candles are traditionally thick tall candles or long tapers which are available in many colors. In Wicca, the candles that are used come in a variety of colors, depending on the nature of the ritual or custom at hand. Some Wiccans may use red, green, blue, yellow and white or purple candles to represent the elements.

Using candles in magic based on Wiccan beliefs is known as “sympathetic magick” in that it is believed the candle represents the outcome the person is wanting. It is a “like attracts like” form of magical practice. For example, if a person is looking for a job or needs extra income a green candle (the color of American dollars) would be used. For romance, a red candle would be used (red is a universal color of love and hearts). There is an additional belief that the smoke from the candles will take the prayer requests, desires, or wishes up to the gods.

Candle Color Chart

White: Truth, purity, spiritual enlightenment, cleansing, clairvoyance, healing, truth-seeking, purity, innocence, clarity, unity, dawn, purification, peace, protection, spirituality, general work, repels negativity, use to bring peace, spiritual strength, heals emotions, and provides protection.

Green: Money, luck, fertility, abundance, growth, success, wealth, physical healing, health, marriage, employment, balance, stimulates growth, healing, financial success, good luck, new job, good harvest, nature appreciation and love.

Red: Love, health, sex, strength, energy, vitality, health, passion, sex, protection, fire, fertility, fast action, potency, lust, blood, physical love and passion, courage, warmth, attraction, magnetism, desire, action, physical strength, power, willpower, strengthens magnetism in a ritual, creates Ram and Scorpio energies.

Rose: Compassion for self and others, higher mystical powers, humor, Love, romance, opening the heart, forgiveness, compassion, healing, joy, creativity, endurance, strength, stability and security.

Magenta: Combination of red and violet that oscillates on a high frequency, energizes rituals where immediate action and high levels of power or spiritual healing are required.

Pink: Love, morality, honor, devotion, tenderness, faith, friendship, romance, spiritual healing, caring, affection, forming partnerships, peace, emotional healing, universal love, purest form of love, love that is unconditional, spiritual love without sex connotation, raises vibrations, sensitivity, healing, color of femininity, pleasantness, enhances joyful and lively conversation.

Purple: Power, business progress, ambition, karma and ego, ancient wisdom, the third eye, psychic powers, meditation, spirituality, success, confidence, hidden knowledge, protection, divination, forms of expansion, expands what you already have, spiritual protection, power, wisdom, healing, recognition, enhances psychic ability, recognition in work and contact with spirit world.

Orange: attraction, stimulation, cleanses negative attitudes, situations and places, happiness, business deals, attracting good things, success, career, goals, stimulation, attraction, power, luck, sudden changes, warmth, energy building, enthusiasm, attracts success and prosperity, emotional healing, attracts friends, courage and ambition.

Peach: Restoration and rejuvenation.

Greenish Yellow: jealousy, anger and discord.

Gray: Neutrality, stalemate, neutral color useful when pondering complex issues during meditation, in magic, this color often sparks confusion, negates or neutralizes a negative influence, and negativity.

Light Blue: Tranquility, patience, health, communication, truth, peace, calm, loosing weight, wisdom, understanding, protection, harmony, inspiration, happiness, luck, loyalty, peaceful, cooling, contentment, healing, idealism, harmony, devotion and meditation.

Indigo: Color of inertia, stops situations or people and use in rituals that require a deep meditational state.

Royal Blue: Promotes laughter and joviality, color or loyalty and or whenever an influence needs to be increased.

Dark Blue: Depression and changeability.

Yellow: Intellect, wisdom and honor, action, inspiration and creativity, studying and intelligence, concentration, memory, logic, learning, attraction, confidence, mental powers, intellect, inspiration, concentration, retention of memory, energy, cheerfulness, sunny disposition, changes, endurance, stability and security.

Lavender: Mother consciousness, manifestation and selflessness, spirituality, compassion, understanding, inspiration, make contact with Higher-Self, attract spiritual assistance and very calming.

Violet: Strength, success, idealism, psychic revelation, ambition, independence, financial success and spiritual world.

Ivory: Neutrality, balance and harmlessness.

Brown: Neutrality, uncertainty, hesitation, earth, balanced color, material gain, eliminates indecisiveness, furthers powers of concentration, learning, telepathy, expands financial success, finds lost items, material prosperity, home, friendships, balance, animal magic, earth magic, concentration and studying, wealth, success, intuition, psychic powers, ESP, protecting pets and said to help find lost items.

Silver: Victory, stability, meditation, developing, psychic Ability, removal of negative power, repelling destruction, cancellation, neutrality and stalemate.

Gold: Enlightenment, protection, success, wealth, money, masculinity, playfulness, luck, divination and victory.

Black: Discord, evil, negativity and confusion.

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Jewellery or jewelry consists of small decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes, and the term is restricted to durable ornaments, excluding flowers for example. For many centuries metal, often combined with gemstones, has been the normal material for jewellery, but other materials such as shells and other plant materials may be used. It is one of the oldest type of archaeological artefact – with 100,000-year-old beads made from Nassarius shells thought to be the oldest known jewellery. The basic forms of jewellery vary between cultures but are often extremely long-lived; in European cultures the most common forms of jewellery listed above have persisted since ancient times, while other forms such as adornments for the nose or ankle, important in other cultures, are much less common. Historically, the most widespread influence on jewellery in terms of design and style have come from Asia.

Jewellery may be made from a wide range of materials. Gemstones and similar materials such as amber and coral, precious metals, beads, and shells have been widely used, and enamel has often been important. In most cultures jewellery can be understood as a status symbol, for its material properties, its patterns, or for meaningful symbols. Jewellery has been made to adorn nearly every body part, from hairpins to toe rings, and even genital jewellery. The patterns of wearing jewellery between the sexes, and by children and older people can vary greatly between cultures, but adult women have been the most consistent wearers of jewellery; in modern European culture the amount worn by adult males is relatively low compared with other cultures and other periods in European culture.

Form and function

Humans have used jewellery for a number of different reasons:

• functional, generally to fix clothing or hair in place, or to tell the time (in the case of watches)
• as a marker of social status and personal status, as with a wedding ring
• as a signifier of some form of affiliation, whether ethnic, religious or social
  to provide talismanic protection (in the form of amulets)
• as an artistic display
• as a carrier or symbol of personal meaning – such as love, mourning, or even luck

Wearing of amulets and devotional medals to provide protection or ward off evil is common in some cultures. These may take the form of symbols (such as the ankh), stones, plants, animals, body parts (such as the Khamsa), or glyphs (such as stylised versions of the Throne Verse in Islamic art).

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A cauldron is a large metal pot for cooking and/or boiling over an open fire, with a large mouth and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger.

Etymology

The word cauldron is first recorded in Middle English as caudroun (13th century). It was borrowed from Old Northern French or Anglo-Norman caudron (Norman-Picard caudron, French chaudron). It represents the phonetical evolution of Vulgar Latin *caldario for Classical Latin caldarium “hot bath”, that derives from cal(i)dus “hot”.

The Norman-French word replaces probably the initial Old English word cetel (German (Koch)Kessel “cauldron”, Dutch (kook)ketel “cauldron”), Middle English chetel. The word kettle comes from the Old Norse variant spelling ketill “cauldron”.

Symbolism and mythology

In some forms of Wicca, incorporating aspects of Celtic mythology, the cauldron is associated with the goddess Cerridwen. Welsh legend also tells of cauldrons that were useful to warring armies. In the second branch of the Mabinogi in the tale of Branwen, Daughter of Llyr, the Pair Dadeni (Cauldron of Rebirth) is a magical cauldron in which dead warriors could be placed and then be returned to life, save that they lacked the power of speech. It was suspected that they lacked souls. These warriors could go back into battle until they were killed again. In Wicca and some other forms of neopagan or pagan belief systems the cauldron is still used in magical practices. Most often a cauldron is made of cast iron and is used to burn loose incense on a charcoal disc, to make black salt (used in banishing rituals), for mixing herbs, or to burn petitions (paper with words of power or wishes written on them). Cauldrons symbolize not only the Goddess but also represent the womb (due to the fact that it holds something) and on an altar it represents earth because it is a working tool. Cauldrons are often sold in New Age or “metaphysical” stores and may have various symbols of power inscribed on them.

The holy grail of Arthurian legend is sometimes referred to as a “cauldron”, although traditionally the grail is thought of as a hand-held cup rather than the large pot that the word “cauldron” usually is used to mean. This may have resulted from the combination of the grail legend with earlier Celtic myths of magical cauldrons.

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Censer

Censers are any type of vessels made for burning incense. These vessels vary greatly in size, form, and material of construction. They may consist of simple earthenware bowls or fire pots to intricately carved silver or gold vessels, small table top objects a few centimetres tall to as many as several metres high. Many designs use openwork to allow a flow of air. In many cultures, burning incense has spiritual and religious connotations, and this influences the design and decoration of the censer.

Incense

Incense is aromatic biotic material which releases fragrant smoke when burned. The term refers to the material itself, rather than to the aroma that it produces. Incense is used for a variety of purposes, including the ceremonies of all the main religions, to overcome bad smells, repel insects, spirituality, aromatherapy, meditation, and for simple pleasure.

Incense is composed of aromatic plant materials, often combined with essential oils. The forms taken by incense differ with the underlying culture, and have changed with advances in technology and increasing diversity in the reasons for burning it. Incense can generally be separated into two main types: “indirect-burning” and “direct-burning”. Indirect-burning incense (or “non-combustible incense”) is not capable of burning on its own, and requires a separate heat source. Direct-burning incense (or “combustible incense”) is lit directly by a flame and then fanned or blown out, leaving a glowing ember that smoulders and releases fragrance. Direct-burning incense is either a paste formed around a bamboo stick, or a paste that is extruded into a stick or cone shape.

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A walking stick is a device used by many people to facilitate balancing while walking.

Walking sticks come in many shapes and sizes, and can be sought by collectors. Some kinds of walking stick may be used by people with disabilities as a crutch. The walking stick has also historically been known to be used as a defensive or offensive weapon, and may conceal a knife or sword as in a swordstick.

Walking sticks, also known as trekking poles, pilgrim’s staffs, hiking poles or hiking sticks, are used by hikers for a wide variety of purposes: to clear spider webs, or part thick bushes or grass obscuring the trail; as a support when going uphill or a brake when going downhill; as a balance point when crossing streams, swamps or other rough terrain; to feel for obstacles in the path; to test mud and puddles for depth; and as a defence against wild animals.

I tried to make a regular walking stick, but everything I make seems to be magic. So, be advised, this is a Magic Walking Stick!

Blackthorn is depicted in many fairy tales throughout Europe as a tree. To Witches according to Christian folklore, Blackthorn is seen as a sinister tree and associated with Witches. It is a sacred tree to the Dark, or Crone aspect of the Triple Goddess, and represents the Waning and Dark Moons. Blackthorn is known as ‘the increaser and keeper of dark secrets’.

Fashioned from an upturned sapling, gnarled staff serves as walking stick, magical rod and practical tool for the wandering Wizard of the woods and wilds. At home amid the beasts and trees, has largely eschewed the company of men or Elves or other cultured races for the solace of the forest and the companionship of its creatures. With twiggy protrusions serving as a bird’s perch and amid which a cool blue crystal nestles, the Wizard’s twisted staff is ever at his side, supporting him on his long, and frequently spontaneous, rambles through his forest home.

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