The Book of Spells

CREATING YOUR ALTAR

It is not obligatory to have an altar, but many practitioners like a space dedicated to their spellwork. Your altar is personal to you and you can set it up as you wish, but these items will be useful:

Candles

These come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Depending on your spell or ritual, you may use taper candles, pillar candles, votive candles, or tea light candles. Each one will have a different burning time, making them more suitable for some spells than others. A list of color correspondences appears here, though you can use a white candle as a substitute for any other color.

Incense

You can use incense sticks in spells, or to cleanse your tools and ingredients (see Before you begin).

Runes

Runes, not to be confused with sigils, are the pre-Latin Germanic alphabet, used widely throughout Europe before Christianity. The most common version used in witchcraft is the Elder Futhark. Runes have gained in popularity as a divinatory tool, and are also often used to inscribe and lend their meaning to a specific spell or working, and act in a similar way to sigils. The common rune meanings are:

	FEHU: Cattle, Elder, Wealth, Possessions, Luck, Divination and foresight
	URUZ: Aurochs (Wild ox), Birch, Physical strength, Transformation
	THURISAZ: Thorn, Hawthorn, Defense, Boundaries, New beginnings
	ANSUZ: Mouth, Ash, Signals, Inspiration, Divine communication
	RAIDO: Cartwheel, Oak, Circle of life, Travel and journey, Evolution, Perspective
	KANO: Torch, Pine, Creation, Fire, Creativity, Transformation
	GEBO: Gift, Elm, Partnerships, Exchanges, Contracts, Divine blessings
	WUNJO: Joy, Ash, Harmony, Pleasure, Divine knowledge, Prosperity
	HAGALAZ: Hail, Yew, Disruption, Uncontrolled nature, Protection, Power
	NAUTHIZ: Necessity, Ash, Endurance, Survival, Transformation, Strength
	ISA: Ice, Alder, Frustration, Introspection, Discipline
	JERA: Harvest, Oak, Peace, Prosperity, Good crops
	EIHWAZ: Defense, Yew, Release, Strength, Reliability, Protection
	PERTHRO: Dice cup, Aspen, Mysteries, Initiation, Divination and foresight
	ALGIZ: Elk, Yew, Protection, Divine connection, Ward off evil
	SOWELO: Sun, Juniper, Success, Goals, Wholeness, Renewal
	TIWAZ: Tyr, God, Honor, Justice, Warrior, Self-sacrifice
	BERKANA: Goddess, Birch, Fertility and birth, Growth, New beginnings
	EHWAZ: Horse, Ash, Transportation, Harmony, Teamwork, Loyalty and trust
	MANNAZ: Humankind, Holly, The self, Memory, Social order
	LAGUZ: Water, Willow, Healing and renewal, Dreams, Fantasies and subconscious
	INGUZ: God, Apple, Male fertility, Gestation, Internal growth
	DAGAZ: Day, Spruce, Breakthrough, Awakening, Self-realization
	OTHILA: Property, Hawthorn, Protection in spiritual and physical journeys, Heritage, Abundance

Sigils

These are the broader symbols used in witchcraft, either instead of or in combination with runes. To create your own, try the sigil chart above. This can be adapted to include as many layers as you need to incorporate all the letters or characters in your language.

Pick a word or phrase you want to turn into a sigil. Now trace the letters in the chart to recreate your word or phrase in sigil format (see diagram). Alternatively, a common system is to break down the letters into simple lines and curves and use these to then draw your own unique sigil.

THE SIGIL FOR “MAGICK” Keep it simple or embellish and personalize it.

Crystals

Crystals can be used as an ingredient in a spell, or worked with in isolation by harnessing their associated energies in various ways—either to spread energy within a room or space or for crystal healing. See here for a list of common crystal correspondences.

Knots

Knots are used to either tie in energy or to release it. They may be literal knots or even braids. Many practitioners keep cords for knots tucked away for later spells, once again using color correspondences if desired.

Cauldron

The cauldron is used in spellwork as a vessel in which to combine ingredients and burn them in order to release their energies. A cauldron can be a simple fireproof bowl or container.

Grimoire

Also called a Book of Shadows (BoS for short), or simply a spell book or journal, your grimoire will be your most important tool and the one and only piece of equipment that is absolutely necessary. In this journal, you will record your spells as well as any information significant to your craft. This could include moon phases, correspondences, personal practices or rituals, your dreams … Anything that may inform your spellwork can be included.

Tarot cards

These are divinatory tools and are used for either guidance or self-reflection. It’s a good idea to select a tarot deck with clear imagery as your first deck (such as the Rider–Waite deck). Tarot reading is an excellent way to introduce magick to your daily routine by picking one card each day.

Carving tools

A variety of carving tools will come in handy throughout your practice. A boline is a more traditional tool for cutting herbs and carving candles or runes, but you can use thorns, needles, or even a toothpick just as effectively to carve.

Athame

A tool used mainly in ceremonial paths, such as Wicca and Thelema, the athame is a double-edged knife that is used in a ritualistic context. Its purpose isn’t usually cutting, but rather to direct energy, mostly in casting a circle. In certain paths it is used in combination with the chalice to represent the union of The Lord and Lady.

Chalice

The chalice is a cup often used in ceremonies and rituals in combination with the athame. It is also the cup out of which a coven (a group of practitioners) or a solitary practitioner would drink during a ritual to connect with one another, or to the energies of the universe.

Containers

You will quickly learn that a witch can never have too many jars and bottles. These can be used either in spells themselves (spell jars, for example) or to collect herbs, crystals, and other ingredients.

Mortar and pestle

These handy tools are used for grinding ingredients and making powders.

Wand

Your wand is an extension of your arm, or so many practitioners say. Some traditions use a staff instead—both are used to direct energy. Your wand may be used to cast circles and to draw sigils or runes in the air.

Besom

A besom is a sacred broom to sweep away dust as well as negative energies.

Pentagram

The pentagram represents the five elements and the circle of life that connects us all: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit. You can keep representative trinkets on your altar or the painted symbols. Alternatively, you could have a physical pentagram, in the form of a necklace or a planchette, for example. When you form the shape of a pentagram in your spellwork, it can be either to invoke or banish, depending on the direction in which you draw (see here).

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INVOKING PENTAGRAM

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BANISHING PENTAGRAM