In the neopagan religion of Wicca a range of magical tools are used in ritual practice.[1] Each of these tools has different uses and associations and are commonly used at an altar, inside a magic circle.
In the traditional system of Gardnerian magic, there was as an established idea of covens which were groups composed of initiated members that conducted rituals involving magical tools and secret books (Book of Shadows). These tools were predominately kept within a specific coven because they were considered sacred. These items were owned and used by individual Wiccans, but could also be used collectively by the coven.
This practice may derive partly from Masonic traditions (such as the use of the Square and Compasses), from which Wicca draws some material,[2] and partly from the rituals of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. 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.[3]
- ^ Valiente, Doreen. Witchcraft for Tomorrow (1993) London: Robert Hale. ISBN 978-0-7090-5244-9 (paperback edition) ISBN 978-0-312-88452-9 (first hardback edition 1978). Chapter 6: Witch Tools (pp 78-85.)
- ^ Hutton, Ronald The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft (1999). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-285449-6 (pp52-61).
- ^ MacGregor Mathers, S. Liddell (ed.) The Key of Solomon (Clavicula Salomonis) Revised by Peterson, Joseph H. (1999, 2004, 2005). Available here