Witchy Tools: Making Magic with Mundane Objects

Last updated on: July 24, 2015 at 8:33 am by Jen McConnel

Witchy Tools: Making Magic with Mundane Objects 2015-07-22T13:35:17-04:00 Jen McConnel

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I’ve always been a bit lazy when it comes to my magical practice. Well, perhaps “lazy” isn’t the right word… “practical” is probably a better fit. I keep a small dresser as an altar, and it also doubles as storage space for my magical tools. Since I long ago realized that, although deeply influenced by Wicca, my witchcraft not Wiccan, and is better described as “goddess centric”, the tools on my altar aren’t always the “traditional” craft tools one would expect: I do have a pentacle on my altar, a symbol I find resonant for many reasons (but that’s another post), but it’s carved on the box that holds my tarot cards, not a separate ornament devoted to exclusive use as an altar pentacle. I no longer use a wand, and although I have a blade I refer to as my athame, I rarely dig it out from the drawer where it lives. The chalice I picked up in Egypt shattered years ago, although I do sometimes use a bowl to stand in for the water element…but I also use the same bowl as a candle holder and an offering dish, depending on what I’m doing.

My spells and magical workings rely heavily on divination, fire, and intent, and I usually grab whichever tools make intuitive sense in the moment. My tarot decks, spell candles, essential oils, stones, and other items reside in the altar, reserved exclusively for my use.

But when I need things like salt, spices, olive oil, or even scissors, I raid the kitchen cupboards, borrowing what I need before returning it to its mundane home. I know many witches will cringe at the thought of using mundane, unconsecrated objects for a magical purpose, but that’s always been the way I’ve worked. I try to cultivate magic and mindfulness in every aspect of my life, not just when I’m at my altar or standing in circle, and it’s that same view that shapes my use of both magical and mundane tools for magical purposes. I strive to walk my talk, and for me, that means that I truly accept the magic in every moment, every item, every encounter.

That doesn’t mean I don’t need tools that I keep separate from my mundane life; in fact, because I destroyed one too many pots recently, I’ve decided it’s time to hunt for a small cast iron cauldron for my altar (I had one years ago, but it vanished in one of my college moves). But rather than being motivated by the deep symbolism of the cauldron (as the womb, as the cup of life, as the tool of Cerridwyn and countless witches through the ages), I want one mainly because I need a safe place to tend my fires without destroying more cookware. I’m still aware of the symbolic importance, however, and I’m sure I’ll use the tool in both practical and symbolic ways, but as with anything in my practice, I know I’ll reach for this tool in unexpected ways that feel intuitively right.

What motivates your selection and use of certain tools? Are there any “traditional” tools you don’t use?