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I've heard some discussion on other sites recently (There are other sites? Yes, there are other sites....) which leads me to believe that Ritual tools, objects and "ingredients" so to speak are not necessary to perform incantations, magic(k), spells, wishes, etc.

The theory is, that the objects are nothing more than a physical representation which will allow the practitioner to be able to focus the intent easier than if the practitioner were just meditating on the idea, thought, result or intent.

For example: if the spell or incantation calls for the lighting of a gold candle, the holding of a dagger, or calls for the practitioner to stand inside a circle of salt... that the actual candle, dagger and the circle of salt is presumably not necessary.

Now, I could see SALT, being a Na+Cl- could have some effect on sending or charging energy, however... I still believe that for the most part the TOOLS that are used in spells, rituals, incantations, etc... are just that. TOOLS. Nothing more. They are not the magic, it is the intent that is actually the magic.

Now, this is just my personal opinion, an idea and nothing more. So, I wanted feedback from the rest of you.

Please, Let's Discuss!

Thanks,

Ah, while in the main, I do agree, in that anything at hand may suffice for anything one wishes to place the will upon, there is a question of asthetics.

Would one choose a plastic cup over a silver goblet?

A Zippo lighter over a scented candle.

The mood which our 'tools' create, reflect back onto our own perceptions. They change the 'mood' and so, change the ideas which we wish to present.

I guess what I'm trying to say, is that certain tools grasp at a different significance for the mind, which can then aid the process..

Stabb666 you explained exactly how I feel about it. I can and do perform spells without tools but I find they have more meaning for me and thus more power, I feel when I put more effort into it and using ritual tools is part of that for me.

I myself am not a practitioner of ritual magik, but tools have been used in these practices as far back as we know. They are apart of the elaborate dance if you will. Part of what we use to convince ourselves it is working....

they add to the "ritual" part of it. As far as I am concerned it is as much the tools doing as your "intent" because as I see it neither are all that amazing. No, maybe you don't need any of it, but why not.

From what i know that helps if you have tools to help you focus your energies.

Thats a yes and no...Some are just for focusing...Then there are some that have their uses and without them your just playing around.

um yeah, ceremony, and ritualistic objects.

I have had some conversations with people in the design buisness, people who make not only common everyday objects, but things or machinery that make objects as well, the factory systems.


The proliferation of purposeful objects, even a plastic cup for instance can suffice for whatevere these designers have in mind.

It is more grande to have objects made out of gold, or silver, or better yet platnum, as these will take you to a higher plane, but not everyone has the chance in life to collect a semblance of grandiose trinkets, and so the trailer park exorcism with a plastic cup or christmas light instead of a candle will work.

Christmas lights will blink at a certain frequency, or the occilation of a fan for instance can even be plugged into attune the mind for a receiving trance mental state.

Everything seems to have a secondary use, as the designers intend.

We must hold in our heads the finer purpose into things, and the symbolism of the objects themselves.

Salt I have known for some time does not raise blood pressure, as it was said all along. I think it may have been misinformation to collect breeders who have studied medicine to the extent to know the difference in the physiological mechanism whereby fluids are drained frrom out of cells through the magical salt compound.

I am not going to go into the Space Vampire Star Trek episode and the salt circles used to keep people safe away from Voodoo curses since the last time I did, it was erased.

Sometimes we do not know why we are summoned to perform a ritual, but somehow there are objects all around our apartments that we can grab on the way to our chambers at the last moment.

People whom go out and shop for specific instruments on ebay or something, may be ahead of the curve, but if you know long before hand the ritual you want to perform, it may not be condusive to plugging in to the collective higher purpose.

I never know what it is I must do, until I am under some hypnotic trance to receive the hidden message of what I am supposed to do in the next ten minutes. That is how fast it happens.

And, if what makes a vampire is the reluctance to conform, and this is the trait that makes the vampire most valuable in the end, the vampire must shed reluctance to blindly follow authority with faith in the process they do not understand to keep this "reluctance" alive for harvesting.

Pooka no you dont need the tools they are a good way to focus and help you do certain things at times, but no you dont need them, if I do spells now which I no longer even call them. I just send the energy out to who I wish to direct that energy and its done...

all i know is that some tools give the user more power/confidence, so they should be used, no matter if the object has any power of it's own or not.. nice thread..
D

STABB and VAMPARIAH made a LOT of great points. Nice work.

It takes a lot of focus in ritual work. Any sort of tool (wand, candle, chalice, pentagram) helps to aid in your focus and the mood you set for your work, but generally, they aren't necessary. If the tools have been in your use for a long time, they start to collect your energy, and they can help with the ritual and the sending out of your intentions. Other items that have been charged with certain energies help in ritual as well. Salt has an old use as a way to "clean" energy. It protects against negative energy, apparently. Other items, while helpful to your focus, are not necessary for a successful casting.

sometimes even the 10 minute rush spell, are events that have been set into motion 9 years before. There is a universal clock that culls populations and raises them. The same bell that chimes the dead to rise claims the living, and for the cycle to start once again.


I wish I had control over when and where I do things, or even how, but it seems I am just a pawn in the grande scheme of things.

To have the proper wardrobe is something important in ritualization. I mean, what we are discussing here is the objects needed to forge souls, to spill souls, to turn them into spirits and then back again. One can only hope that we do not use a plastic cup, but principles must be shed, and adaptation to adapt on the flky to a changing situation is central to answering the call for divine service.

I had one thought before. It seems to me, it has come to a time where both the devil and god are working in unison somehow. That is the feeling I get anyways, right now.

If evil is used for good, and God allows evil to exist to benefit all, then they do work in tandem.

Some ritualistic objects have the potentiality for both good and evil, and the distinction between the two ways of looking at the same object, to see the divine purpose of them, or to see the damned purpose of them, are almost similiar somehow.

The Church eradicating the serpent zodiac, throwing off my horoscope all my life, making me an air sign these 39 years, and then for me to find out that I am a Taurus in actuality, has turned me into an earthen horned being. At least I can accept my devilish side if it is the will of god for it to exist in me, to reincarnate me for a purpose higher than myself I sometimes do not understand.

It becomes clear when you walk through your house and see in the common everyday things laying around, they speak to me. I see the objects as they were, I get a flash of what it was used for to kill me, and then I see in the end, it may bring new life to the world through me, and i must ritualistical grab the device blindly.

HMMM.,...when I first started doing rituals, tools were necessary to aid me in getting into the right mind frame and for the process...setting the circle, the protection ring, etc. After many rituals later, the tools are not as important in getting the mind frame. My mind has become more trained in doing what needs to be done to become focused enough to do the ritual in my head...minus the tools.

CLIX- I think the egg part is used to absord the evil or bad mojo off the person needing the energy, and then it gets broken open to see if it's worked and changed colors ...I've seen that onw somewhere.

rituals to me we never needed....ok, well not formal, all done up, gotta go spend some obscene amount of cash on overpriced tourist traps witch store icons and goodies....they seemed to me to be too dramatic...but that's just me.
It's that you are the temple, you are the embodiment of all those symbols, ie chalice, blade, yadda yadda, so one shouldn't need the materials, HOWEVER...I can totally see the point on why you might want a glass or something over a plastic cup (tho to me the -'s of plastic are that I would think it disturbs the environmental balance, if you will, being a wasteful product).

some of my strongest results have been, bare naked, not physically ;), but in lack of tools. Yes I have an altar, and it has alot of crystals, tidbits resembling each of us in the house, and dieties...I think of that as a focal point for energy stored in the home.

I was never Wiccan, but Pagan...I always felt the books and majority of Wiccan things meant having all that florishment and material goods.

I too am Pagan and there are times when tools are not needed but yes as some said it is to focus your thoughts and energies and to help promote what you are trying to do. It is also empowerment for some. THere hav been times when i did nto use my tools or my alter.. I dont have one in my car or everywhere i go so yes tools are not always needed.

I know tools are used to set a mood or to assist in the ritual. It is only used as an aide. I know Natives use many objects in rituals and they all have a purpose but when you get down to it, its the medicine and energy that is used to heal etc.

I dont think that any tool sor object, talisman or whatever you want to callit is gonna make a difference in magic or other ritual they are nothing more then a little boost we chose to use as our help, it does not depends on and accessoiry, it all depends on the individual itself.

It truely must be intent. when most of the rituals were originaly created they didnt have colored candles

I have mentioned in a few threads including my one on metaphors basically the same thing that pookachu is stating here, tools are just that, they are tools, they are not in and of themselves magic, and for some they are not necessary to use magic

Everyone's said it for me! Tools are not a necessary part of ritual, but are there to use as personal choice/preference.

I think it depends on the practitioner, and what they were taught, as to how neccessary Ritual tools are.

I believe that it is uneccessary to have these tools. Though I do use them as do most others. It does make it easier to focus.

ive never used anything other then myself to preform anything. i think people have trouble understanding how powerful they are, so they use things to rationalise how theyre doing what theyre doing

i tend to use as many tools that i have bit there are substutions if that becomes the case,but whatever youre comfortale with

I have tried using tools, but generally I do not! I find that the tools somewhat distract me! I lose focus when I have tools. I think it is mostly about energy & focus, tools are not really required or a neccessity. Some find them useful, but for others they are not. I would say to try it both ways, & see which way is better for you.

In my opinion some tools are distracting, while others are just pointless. However in most circumstances they are used to help focus the energy to move in a certain direction. Much like martial artist use qi flow to strenghten the body.

I have used tools and also have done without, most of the time. Somethings can be substituded or are not neccessary at all. I have come across some spells that call for some rare or extinct ingredients. In situations like this, substitution is the obvious answer.

whether you use tools or whether you don't, your intentions are always really what counts.

what did the three kings bring and why???
Do we burn sage just cause it smells good??
Try putting sandalwood on and going about everyday life like driving.
Somethings have real purpose and some are there to make us money.

yes there is misdirection in life, but that is part of the game to figure out what is true and what is filler.

There is as much satisfaction in learning why something is, as well as the sense of accompishment when you can discern what is not at all useful in your survival.

Julia I see what your saying and that is why when i posted some things are used as a aide. Sage for example is used for cleansing as well as a Native medicine for healing. It is burned and used to smug many things in Ceramony. My medicine women also adds it to a tea to consume when your sick. There are so many things but Im sure you know this.

Yes My questions were not that i wanted an answer to them for i know the answer but more to question ourselfs on the reason these things were used.

for some tools are nessecary to focus energy and for others the desired effect can be achieved without tools.

so i think it's all based the level th person is at

I recommend reading the book of Belial, from the Satanic Bible written by Levay. That book has a good describtion which is extremmely helpful with your question.

I cannot comment on the rest of the book as I have not read it, but the Book of Belial was a read that was referred to me. so enjoy.

well as far as herbs go there are uses beyond the ritual, healing herbs heal because they have medicines in them, just as aromatherapy affects our brain chemistries causing a desired affect, but an herbal tea will heal whether or not it is part of a ritual, the ritual comes into play when you use the known forms, and proclaimed words to add to your own focus, your concentration on the desired effect, if you learned to gain this focus through ritual, then for you this will be the way it will work, till you make the decision that you truly no longer need such.
there is nothing wrong with ritual, I just don't see that it is a necessity

I believe the outcome or success of the ritual is only based on intent and focus. The tools are there maybe to direct focus and ensure that success, but are not necessary. Yankee Candle Company is not that old. hehehe

you might all think the particular tool I am going to list is a joke, but actually, I couldn't have started the trip without it, and I couldn't have completed the trip without tequila. Butterfly temptress can you get me some Agave, we seem to be short of it in NYC.

tequila is a psychedelic mind tool that opens passagways of the mind to break down mental barriers and move on to the next stage.

But what the mexicans say about too much tequila making you loco is true, too much of anything is bad, except in the case of sexual apetites. There you can do no wrong...

For me, ritual tools help me direct energy and focus on my intention. Different tools for different purposes, even down to what clothing or jewelry I wear during any ritual or spellwork, helps my mind focus on my specific purpose.

Mistress when you posted it made me think of how specific each thing is. For example in a native american sweat lodge were we do our ceremony for cleansing and prayer and healing purposes we dont bring in any metals. It is said that it affects the energy. Some times other then a towel or a garment of clothing to cover you if its co-ed there is nothing in there but you the stone people(red hot lava rocks in the center pit)water, herbal medicines, and sometimes a leather drum to assist in the songs and chants. Each thing has its own specific job and has to be done in a curtain way.

Yes I believe other things can be used in place of ritual tools, however, I feel mostly you should stick to at least something physical, as there are attibutes of certain objects and ritual, this I've learned. Magic is truely a chemistry as well as metaphysical. BB

even in the satanismi practicd, the intent is the rule

I think I need tools to start to learn how to focus but when I knew what I was doing I no longer needed the tools they are merely props now for show if I must use them when I cast I use nothing but my mind and then cast

Tools are focal points, in the same way notes help a student study.
Everyone finds what works bets for his or herself.

i have no idea if they are neccessary or not because I have only read books and never actually practised any majicks

I swear we already had a thread on this....

I personally think that the objects are not really necessary. Depends on the person though

i notced most of my stuff worked when i had the tools then when i didnt .....

well trissy, if you are used to having the tools, removing them decreases your point of focus, weakening or even killing the potential effect..

When I cleanse my house, or a room, I use my feather's to move the sage along in a loom like way... Also use my abologne shell for herbs and stuff..~NFA

Umm sort of cut myself off there....

Anyways, just like I use my cards for reading as a focal point. I don't always necessarily need them, but sometimes things are needed to help along the way with your manifestations, or just to bring out an element in a spell more. I don't see it as a weakness. It does help when needed.~NFA

well tools are a tool to enter states of mind

once you are in the state of mind destined by the tool

you need not no longer be a tool or use tools

I have always enjoyed a knife and fork that has been cleansed with fire and then blessed with holy water

Tools, can be just tools unless the practitioner makes them more than that through mental chaging them with his/her own energies. However for the most part, yes the ritual tools are simply object through which the practitioner may more easily focus his/her own thoughts and desires.

ah yes, the charging of tools does in fact make those tools "more" than normal tools, but the charging itself is an act that could be considered magic in nature....

Tools for me are just that, tools. A means of focus not just for myself, but for all those who have come before me and will come after. They are part of the magical process.

Sorry, MisfitChick. I did a forum search first and didn't come up with anything.

I like the responses we're getting though!

I guess it could be considered magik, but I see it as more of simply extending your soul to better connect with all that is spiritual.

Hmm...just seems like a lot of the responses don't make sense.
Seems like there is no Black and White/Right and Wrong or actual formula to making things happen.
You can use tools if you want, or you can choose not to and do it your own way. Whatever works
Whatever floats your boat hehe.

Yes, pretty much, though depending on how strong your will is, is going to make all the difference in whether or not you will be more effective with or without tools.

I personally am not very good at casting spells without my tools, but I know people who can do it without them. I agree that a tool is just that, a tool. I think they do help focus energy, but it's more like focusing your concentration on something more than the energy itself.

It seems to depend on the person and the type of magicks one is doing. I find it useful to use a object I made for Kaos magicks,it becomes part of the person and holds alot of his or her will and powers.
cyrstals,scrying mirror. and yes salt and a dagger or whatever one chooses to use to make an alter from which to practice.And a safe area or sacred alter.
I know many no longer use scrying mirrors to see what they wish to see, but i myself still use it.I still use salt around my area as was taught to me.
As i said afore, it depends on the person tastes and what type of magicks and of course his teacher.

Often, some tools are more helpful than others, they obstruct rather than help (i.e. a sword) either way as a wiccan I refer to part of the rede:
what good be tools without wisdome site?
what good be magic without inner light?

so tools; helpful but, not-necessary...

If you have a mind, then you need nothing else.Tools are simply there to reassure that what the practitioner is doing has some reality too it.It's a mental thing, solid objects help the mind to stay connected to all those other things they can't see when working.

I find it quite amusing how so many here are saying that only intent is what makes magic or to manifest.
How many of you can make it rain? Or call forth and have what you summon come to you at that moment?
Both can indeed be accomplished. But it needs more than just intent to make it so.

I can not try to count the many times I have heard the saying, "Hell is full with well intended people."
Intent means nothing without action and action means nothing without focus. Although one may indeed create without tools, very few have the discipline to do so. Learning to manifest things in your life is one of the easiest things to do but you must learn to put the effort in for it to work. This means you must write down, on paper, what you want and in detail. For this example, the paper, pen and the way you list your wants, becomes you ritual tools. You may intend all you want but you will not get a damn thing.
Or not get what you want or the time that you wish to get it. You become sloppy. You must put this in action; for doing this with tools - brings focus.
Making rain is not that much harder. If you wish to train with a Peruvian Shaman, you will be ask to make it rain.
If not, you will be trekking back down the trail by yourself. For this, you will again need focus. You will not get this focus without first working with tools. Focus with tools and ritual gets thoughts out of your own head and into an universal group conscience. This is the connection you are looking for, for the real stuff to happen.

Sorry guys but there is no easy way. Get the tools, the herbs, oils, garb, and put the energy in.
The more you get out there and do it, the more and stronger your connection to nature will be.

Neil Armstrong tried staring and mediating on a TV remote control, for hours on end. All with the intent of it coming to him. And you know what happen? A voice in his head told him to, "get off the couch and get it yourself!"
So much for just intent.

Nobodysfallenangel I agree with you and practice burning my sage for cleansing and smugging the same way. In that particular example everyone thing has a purpose and needs to be used.

I think it depends on what your doing.. if its anew spell or ritual the tools may be more important.. but the more you do somehting.. the less you need them...

for me the tools are mostly a way to help me center and concentrait. They help me stay in the mindset I need to be in for what ever I am doing.

yes magic is about intention alone, and tools are objects, parts of the magical machine so to speak that the intention is used ot fuel in a ritual, and yes intention alone is enough for a working to proceed and its desired result to come to pass, infact this is the ultimate aim of all magical practice , that the mage does away with all external objects, rules, doctrines, etc, that magic is sheer intention, will being directly translated into reality, this is the graduation ceremony of the thing though and takes much practice, discipline and a thorough hold on the mind and will to be able to accomplish

the advantage with tools is that they are already programmed external objects, that only a certain aspect of the magical work is left to intention, since it is assumed that the novice or not yet adept has not yet a full hold on the reins of his/her mind and will

as the practitioner progresses, less and less dependency is encouraged upon the externals and more upon internals, slowly the externals are stripped away till the body becomes his/her temple, and the universe the field of magical working

this is the eventual aim of all magical/spiritual education i have found in my experiences

Tools are not a necessary part of a ritual, it really just depends on the practitioner...

Shine you are exactly right that some things have already been programed to work thats why people should be very careful and know how and why they want to use them.

i think everythign about that topic is said.
in my eyes the objects are tools to that help to focus your energy and the magic and help to lead the energy through them to the other one taking part in the ritual

I do think tools have a say so in how we perform magick and the intent. It reflects back into our conscious mind. It's like looking at a picture that gives you a certian feeling.So even a picture, a symbol can be a tool.

I think the objects are tools to that help to focus your energy and the magic. I don't think it really matters on what the objec is as long as it allows you to focus better.

tool are just an added benefit although salt is used for protection...focusing visualizing is of the utmost importance so using tools can help u get into the correct mode

It depends on the individual more than the working. Some persons find it easier to project their energies through the use of physical objects like tools, others find that the tools distract them more and prefer to use visualization.

Personally I tend to fall under the second category most of the time, however sometimes I find that the rituals and preparation associated with the physical objects do help me to focus and even enhance me mentally.

There were times during my exorcism I knew I could cheat with certain tools, but my melon was like too ripe for that, so, I made an executive decision to go in pure at least with the physicality of tools.


But, let me tell you an exorcism is a fight over yourt body, what one holds in their mind can safely be used as a tool to fight the demon and to fight the demon, I had to fight fire with fire, sooooo

I turned my demons to fight the external demon in the battle over my soul. There was acceptence of the evil in me to utilize these tools, however inappropriate they were, still, my angel power had naught on demon power, so I went with fire.

Accepting certain demons makes them ever present, but they are mercenary demons, demons obtained to understand, demons gained to over come, double spy demons whom fought against their very maker, and so I accept them, for they are just in my head, which is a fantasy land, and there is always a separation between what is in my head and what is out there, to confuse the two is madness, that is why our dreams never make sense.

I have never used ritual tools some do i just prefer to visualize and empower my spell with intent and will and send it off energized to do its work.

I kinda feel that objects are not needed but I feel I need to have that visual representation, may it be something as simple as a candle to aid me.

I know of someone that doesn't use anything at all. Only his mind, he says it's the hardest to practice and that it has taken him time to get to where he is at now. Although there are many that use tools I suppose there is a lot of different teachings of this practice.

Imagination is a lost art
ceremony or rituals can take place anywhere and anytime, it is not always when Stonehenge equinox happens that people get dressed in their robes, robes just don't matter, and sometimes the ritual time selects us rather than us selecting the moments. We must go in with a pure heart that is open to the dark arts and strike when the iron is hot. Otherwise the cremony is meaningless.

I know there are very many wiccan and witches on here who will avoid using spells, so when spells are used they are uttmost necessary and are a trick of the moment rather than a planned thing. If witches are going to wait for things to boil over and possibilities to solve a problem dissolve into one, then it is time to go to war and usually in times like these it is done at the last moment, for when we consider using dark arts and magic, it is with respect, it is with forthought and precaution, and when this is all worn away, we act in the immediate as if almost unplanned.

When we close our eyes we can summon anything, any device we forgot to bring, like having just come back from the supermarket without the secret ingredient still we cook with another option because we must eat.

Imagination is the key, we can over come, we can make make shift tools, crosses can even be made out of cigarettes, with imagination even the physical world can be meaningless and we can close our eyes and work magic with our minds. Imagination can succeed over plain old tool use.

I use tools very little and only when i feel the need for the power some of them hold.
My mind is my tool and the sight it gives me and the roles i wish to play.

Yes some people have the gift of etheriality, others don't have it. But other sheep caught up in a materialistic world will look at someone with a supernatural mind and point fingers because etherial people have a way of looking at things with an open face, unguarded, and to others wearing masks it may seem weird and false, but I think not. I like supernatural people, and so do the sheep that point fingers, they are in such awe that these people can be something other than what all others are, that they condemn people with special powers as freaks when in actuality they would want to emulate them if only they could bare their cross or responsible living and thinking 4 others.

i myself do alot of traveling. it is not always easy to carry tools through customs. so, i have developed a little pocket dimension in my mind where i go to perform my rituals. there i have access to any tools i require.

I agree... you don't really have to use a Tools to do Rituals... I believe that you can just picture it in your mind and there you go.... some pple like to use tools to help them , I myself sometime use tools like sage and all....

well, i don't just picture the tool itself in my mind. i picture the entire ritual, the sacred space the ritual takes place, flows of energy, spirits that help with the ritual, etc...

thats what I was trying to say.... I picture the whole process in my mind hehe

It takes a really focused mind to perform rituals and spells without any "tools", those skills are learned after a great deal of time. For most people I believe they need something to help them focus or channel their energy / thoughts. :)

i fully agree. it does take an extremely focused mind. the use of physical tools is always the best option.

I would agree with this assessment because I have dated women that practiced wicken. I at one pointed practed majik. Additionally, I have done a vast amount of research on the subject. There are very few things that actually need to be present. One of which is the pentagram. Another is salt. These serve as forms of protection and focus, as with the rest of the tools. These items only serve to help give you something to focus on.

i realy dont know much about this but tools arnt needed at all times how ever they may be needed for some stronger magick!

the "tool" was a way for the practioner to focuse them self and to give it some flavor for those who where watching of course this is just my opion it seems to make no diffrence in my practice tool or no tool

when I first started practiting wicca I couldn't afford to get any of the special tools so I used what i had and over time I learned that I didn't need them.... true they do help you focus but like someone already stated when your on the road or in the store you don't have your Ritual tools with you....

as bloodraven said no you dont realy need them but they do help focus energy to the place

as for myself everything comes from the energy and belief within myself... not from the tools... the tools help... im very attracted to candles... wicked kisses and blessed be, darla...

Tools are used to focus energy or power, they are not needed for the magic to work, the Goddes is more interested in the intent of the spell instead of following a said script.

tools are focusers yes but its the intent.

I think the care and energy one puts into their tools are extremely important. Also I would not use anything bought at a dollar store but rather something natural and somewhat special to myself. No, I completely believe that what is used is important for larger workings.

I personally think it depends on the spell one is casting... If we are talking about simply doing ritual, then tools are not a need, but a nice thing to have. Now with spells you do indeed need the tools, at least something as close to as can get. For instance last night I performed a spell, I made chicken soup for my daughter (shes sick) I needed a spoon, and I needed the ingrediants to put in it, and the pot as well. Those are tools to a degree, but as I said that is for a spell. To clarify what I mean by chicken soup being a spell so that there is no confusion.... If you make chicken soup with the intent to make someone well that is a simple spell. You put your ingrediants, and energy into what you are doing to help that person get well. That is what the old days were about. Spells now have to me lost their luster. I am one that prefers the old ways.

has anyone had luck with substitutions on the tools they use. using one thing when it calls for another?

Daermon


i do belive you are right about that... i think for me ive just grown so used to useing them that when i dont have them i cant focus the way i normally do.....so for me i would say its an attachment thing.... geez dose that mean iam addicted to my tools.......lol
i think everyone has made some good points and have hit the focus thing on the head........great thread pookachu

I think the tools help you focus on thw work you are doing. I would think that if a certain spell asked for a red candle your focus might not be as concentrated if part of your brain saw a blue candle. That's just my opinion.

It depends greatly on which order of magick you are dealing with, or who you ask. Ceremonialists and Hermetics deal in complex rituals and hierarchies which demand use of a plethora of tools and incantations,etc. Modern, or neo-paganism for the most part seems to hold that the tools are props to promt the mind of the practictioner to connect on a subconcious level with the engeries of the Universe, and so on. Though I find Hermetics fasinating, I also find it ridiculously tidious and complicated, so I lean much more toward the neo-pagan concepts of Magick and how these things work. I do however believe that no matter which way you choose to view it (it is all a matter of personal choice, after all) that is is beneficial to use the tools when you can (and for this most modern craft allows for either making your tools or using everyday items at hand) because the psychological value of putting yourself in the right frame of mind (dressing up, using tools and written/spoken word) to "focus your intent" in your workings cannot be underestimated.

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