Symbols
There are a few symbols that have special meanings. These can be used in spells or worn. They are hard for me to draw on the computer, so I will describe them only (sorry). The pentacle is five pointed star within a circle. This represents the four elements and the spirit. The circle represents many things, such as the circle of life or a sacred circle that is used to do spells in. When drawn the pentacle can be used to invoke spirits, and when drawn backwads can banish. The same thing is done with the sacred spiral, which actually just looks like a spiral. It represents the continuation of life. The equal armed cross, which looks how it sounds, is used for healing, seals and invokes power. Sometimes it is worn by men. Women usually wear the goddess symbol, which is a circle (the full moon) with a crescent moon on either side, so that their rounded side is touching the circle. This represents the three faces of the Goddess. The last important symbols are the ones representing the elements. For air it is a circle with a dot in the very center. Earth is a square. Fire is a circle with a triangle inside. Water is a circle that is divided by a line going straight across the middle horizontally. All these symbols can be worn, tattooed, or used in ceremonies and spells.
Magical Cabinet
A Magical Cabinet is a storage space (not necessarily a cabinet) where magical tools are stored. There are many magical tools. Common ones include musical instruments, rocks, gems, crystals, candles, herbs, plants, incense, scented oils, bells, an offering plate, divination tools (tarot cards, yes/no stone, runes), wand, athame, Bolline, chalice and any things made in spells (talismans, amulets, cords, ect). A wand is made with wood from a tree and a gem stone, usually made by someone else for you. If you would like to make one simply choose a tree, ask its permission and take some wood. Do a blessing for the wood and gem and clean them, and then attach them to each other and finally cleanse and consecrate them and dedicate them to their purpose. An Athame is a religious knife. It usually looks like a dagger and is decorated. It represents males. A chalice is a cup shaped like a red wine up, usually made of a silver colored metal and decorated. This represents the water element and women.
The Altar
An Altar is created in a sacred space. It is where you practice your spirituality. The sacred space is a safe place where you are comfortable enough to practice your religion. There is no ceremony to create a sacred space, you just pick it. If there is no physical space for you to occupy you can create a spot in your mind, so when you close your eyes you can go there. In the sacred space is your altar, which is more complicated to make and is your most important tool.
Pick a flat area for your altar and put an altar cloth on it. The altar cloth and the altar itself should be cleaned at each holiday, and some people change the altar and altar cloth to reflect the season. The altar must have the following: a pentacle, a representation of each of the elements, something to represent your spirit and a mother candle. A mother candle is a tall white candle that represents all of the spirit.
It is extremely rude to touch someone’s altar. Children are the exception, since the young are learning and are attracted to magic; even if they do something improper with the altar they are forgiven because the lord and lady love children. Never use the altar as a shelf or set non-religious stuff on it (like your cup of juice or your mail). The altar should be decorated and can have many different items on it, such as:
- Compass - Divination Tool - Working Spells (spells in progress, ex. cord magic)
- Amulet - Mirrors - Runes
- Cauldron - Rocks - Sigil
- Plants - Tarot Cards - Offerings
- Symbols - Athame - Affirmations
- Bell(s) - Yes/No Stone - Wand
- Pictures - Bolline - Charms
*These are not the only things you can put on your altar!
If you'd like to see what an altar looks like, I have some pictures of my altar here.
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