Lecture: World Horned deities

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This article is about depictions of deities with horns. For the neopagan Horned God, see Horned God.

Deities depicted with horns or antlers are found in many different religions across the world.

Horned goddess Hathor

Hathor is commonly depicted as a cow goddess with head horns in which is set a sun disk with Uraeus. Twin feathers are also sometimes shown in later periods as well as a menat necklace. Hathor may be the cow goddess who is depicted from an early date on the Narmer Palette and on a stone urn dating from the 1st dynasty that suggests a role as sky-goddess and a relationship to Horus who, as a sun god, is "housed" in her.

Hathor had a complex relationship with Ra, in one myth she is his eye and considered his daughter but later, when Ra assumes the role of Horus with respect to Kingship, she is considered Ra's mother. She absorbed this role from another cow goddess 'Mht wrt' ("Great flood") who was the mother of Ra in a creation myth and carried him between her horns. As a mother she gave birth to Ra each morning on the eastern horizon and as wife she conceives through union with him each day.

Bat was a cow goddess in Egyptian mythology depicted as a human face with cow ears and horns. By the time of the Middle Kingdom her identity and attributes were subsumed within the goddess Hathor. The worship of Bat dates to earliest times and may have its origins in Late Paleolithic cattle herding. Bat was the chief goddess of Seshesh, otherwise known as Hu or Diospolis Parva, the 7th nome of Upper Egypt. The imagery of Bat as a divine cow was remarkably similar to that of Hathor the parallel goddess from Lower Egypt. The significant difference in their depiction is that Bat's horns curve inward and Hathor's curve outward slightly. It is possible that this could be based in the different breeds of cattle herded at different times.

Cult of the bull deities

In Egypt, the bull was worshiped as Apis, the embodiment of Ptah and later of Osiris. A long series of ritually perfect bulls were identified by the god's priests, housed in the temple for their lifetime, then embalmed and encased in a giant sarcophagus. A long sequence of monolithic stone sarcophagi were housed in the Serapeum, and were rediscovered by Auguste Mariette at Saqqara in 1851. The bull was also worshipped as Mnevis, the embodiment of Atum-Ra, in Heliopolis. Ka in Egyptian is both a religious concept of life-force/power and the word for bull.

Mnevis was identified as being a living bull. This may be a vestige of the sacrifice of kings after a period of reign, who were seen as the sons of Bat or Hathor (see:horned goddess Hathor), the ancient cow deity of the early solar cults. Thus, seen as a symbol of the later sun god, Ra, the Mnevis was often depicted, in art, with the solar disc of their mother, Hathor between its horns.

Ram deities in ancient Egypt

Banebdjedet

The ram was revered in ancient Egypt in matters of fertility and war. Early gods with long wavy ram horns include Khnum and the equivalent god in Lower Egypt, Banebdjedet, the "Ram Lord of Djedet" (Mendes), who was typically shown with four ram heads to represent the four souls (Ba) of the sun god. Banebdjedet may also be linked to the first four gods to rule over Egypt, Osiris, Geb, Shu and Ra-Atum, with large granite shrines devoted to each in the Mendes sanctuary. The Book of the Heavenly Cow describes the "Ram of Mendes" as being the Ba of Osiris, but this was not an exclusive association.

List of Egyptian gods associated with the ram:

• Khnum (one of the earliest Egyptian deities)
• Heryshaf (a ram god of Heracleopolis)
• Kherty (a variant of Aken, The chief deity in Egyptian mythology)
• Andjety (precursor of Osiris, Auf "Efu Ra").
• Horem Akhet (a god depicted as a sphinx with the head of a man, lion, or ram)
• Banebdjedet (ram god linked to the first four Egyptian gods: Osiris, Geb, Shu, Ra-Atum)
• Amun (the ram deity that inspired the cult of Ammon)

Cult of Ammon

Roman cast terracotta of ram-horned Jupiter Ammon, 1st century AD (Museo Barracco, Rome)

The worship of Ammon was introduced into Greece at an early period, probably through the medium of the Greek colony in Cyrene, which must have formed a connection with the great oracle of Ammon in the Oasis soon after its establishment. Ammon had a temple and a statue, the gift of Pindar, at Thebes, and another at Sparta, the inhabitants of which, as Pausanias says, consulted the oracle of Ammon in Libya from early times more than the other Greeks. At Aphytis, Chalcidice, Ammon was worshiped, from the time of Lysander, as zealously as in Ammonium. Pindar the poet honored the god with a hymn. At Megalopolis the god was represented with the head of a ram (Paus. viii.32 § 1), and the Greeks of Cyrenaica dedicated at Delphi a chariot with a statue of Ammon.

Such was its reputation among the Classical Greeks that Alexander the Great journeyed there after the battle of Issus and during his occupation of Egypt, where he was declared the son of Amun by the oracle. Alexander thereafter considered himself divine. Even during this occupation, Amun, identified by these Greeks as a form of Zeus, continued to be the principal local deity of Thebes.

The Cyrenaican Greeks built temples for the Libyan god Amon instead of their original god Zeus. They later identified their supreme god Zeus with the Libyan Amon. Some of them continued worshiping Amon himself. Amon's cult was so widespread among the Greeks that even Alexander the Great decided to be declared as the son of Zeus in the Siwan temple by the Libyan priests of Amon.

Ram statues line the entrance to Amun's Temple

Although the most modern sources ignored the existence of Amun in the Berber mythology, he was maybe the greatest ancient Berber god. He was honored by the Ancient Greeks in Cyrenaica, and was united with the Phoenician/Carthaginian god Baal-hamon due to Libyan influence. Some depictions of the ram across North Africa belong to the lythic period which is situated between 9600 BC and 7500 BC.
The most famous Amun's temple in Ancient Libya was the temple at the oasis of Siwa. The name of the ancient Berber tribes: Garamantes and Nasamonians are believed by some scholars to be related to the name Amon.

In Awelimmiden Tuareg, the name Amanai is believed to have the meaning of "God". The Ancient Libyans may have worshipped the setting sun, which was personified by Amon, who was represented by the ram's horns.

In Carthage and North Africa Baal-hamon was especially associated with the ram and was worshiped also as Baʿal Qarnaim ("Lord of Two Horns") in an open-air sanctuary at Jebel Bu Kornein ("the two-horned hill") across the bay from Carthage.

Silver tetradrachmon (ancient Greek coin) issued in the name of Alexander the Great, depicting Alexander with the horns of Ammon.

The Egyptian god Ammon-Ra was depicted with ram horns. Rams were considered a symbol of virility due to their rutting behavior. The horns of Ammon may have also represented the East and West of the Earth, and one of the titles of Ammon was "the two-horned." Alexander was depicted with the horns of Ammon as a result of his conquest of ancient Egypt in 332 BC, where the priesthood received him as the son of the god Ammon, who was identified by the ancient Greeks with Zeus, the King of the Gods. The combined deity Zeus-Ammon was a distinct figure in ancient Greek mythology. According to five historians of antiquity (Arrian, Curtius, Diodorus, Justin, and Plutarch), Alexander visited the Oracle of Ammon at Siwa in the Libyan desert and rumors spread that the Oracle had revealed Alexander's father to be the deity Ammon, rather than Philip. Alexander styled himself as the son of Zeus-Ammon and even demanded to be worshiped as a god:

He seems to have become convinced of the reality of his own divinity and to have required its acceptance by others ... The cities perforce complied, but often ironically: the Spartan decree read, 'Since Alexander wishes to be a god, let him be a god.' 

Horned deities by continent

Europe

Cernunnos on the Pillar of the Boatmen

Pan was a god of shepherds and flocks, of mountain wilds and rustic music.

Depictions in Celtic cultures of figures with antlers are often identified as Cernunnos ("horned one" in Latin). The prime evidence for this comes from a pillar in Paris which also features the Roman god Jupiter.

Cocidius was the name of a Romano-British war-god and local deity from the area around Hadrian's Wall, who is sometimes represented as being horned. He is associated with warfare and woodland and was worshipped mostly by military personnel and the lower classes.

The horned figure on the Gundestrup Cauldron.

Eliphas Levi, the 18th century occultist, believed that the pseudohistorical god Baphomet (that the Roman Catholic Church had claimed was worshipped by the heretical Knights Templar), was actually the horned Libyan oracle god (Ammon), or, the Goat of Mendes.

For many years scholars have interpreted the Gundestrup Cauldron's images in terms of the Celtic pantheon. The antlered figure in plate A has been commonly identified as Cernunnos.

Africa

Ikenga Igbo

A ram-shaped oracle god whose name is unknown was worshiped by Libyan tribes at Siwa. The figure was incorporated by the Egyptians into depictions of their god Amun that's considered an "Interpretatio graeca" of the Greek Zeus-Ammon.

Adherents of Odinani (the traditional folk religion of the Igbo people of south-eastern Nigeria) worship the Ikenga, a horned god of honest achievement, whose two horns symbolise self-will. Small wooden statues of him are made and praised as personal altars.

Asia

Indus god Pashupati

The Pashupati seal, a seal discovered during the excavation of Mohenjo-daro in Pakistan has drawn attention as a possible representation of a "proto-Shiva" figure. This "Pashupati" (Lord of animal-like beings – Sanskrit paśupati) seal shows a seated figure with horns, possibly ithyphallic, surrounded by animals.

Influence on Demonology

Pan enjoying a goat

Baphomet of Mendes

The satanic "horned god" symbol known as the baphomet is based on an Egyptian ram deity that was worshipped in Mendes, called Banebdjed (literally Ba of the lord of djed, and titled "the Lord of Mendes"), who was the soul of Osiris. According to Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of ancient Egypt, the book's author Geraldine Harris, said the ram gods Ra-Amun (see: Cult of Ammon), and Banebdjed, were to mystically unite with the queen of Egypt to sire the heir to the throne (a theory based on depictions found in several Theban temples in Mendes).

Occultist Eliphas Levi in his Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie (1855), combined the images of the Tarot of Marseilles' Devil card and refigured the ram Banebdjed as a he-goat, calling it the "Baphomet of Mendes," (or, "Goat of Mendes"). The inaccurate description can be traced back to Herodotus' Histories Book II, where Herodotus describes the deity of Mendes as having a goat's head and fleece, when Banebdjedet was really represented by a ram, not a goat.

The Devil in the Rider-Waite Tarot deck.

The Baphomet of Lévi was to become an important figure within the cosmology of Thelema, the mystical system established by Aleister Crowley in the early twentieth century. Baphomet features in the Creed of the Gnostic Catholic Church recited by the congregation in The Gnostic Mass, in the sentence: "And I believe in the Serpent and the Lion, Mystery of Mystery, in His name BAPHOMET" (see: Aleister Crowley: Occult).

Lévi's Baphomet is the source of the later Tarot image of the Devil in the Rider-Waite design. The concept of a downward-pointing pentagramon its forehead was enlarged upon by Lévi in his discussion (without illustration) of the Goat of Mendes arranged within such a pentagram, which he contrasted with the microcosmic man arranged within a similar but upright pentagram. The actual image of a goat in a downward-pointing pentagram first appeared in the 1897 book La Clef de la Magie Noire by Stanislas de Guaita, later adopted as the official symbol—called the Sigil of Baphomet—of the Church of Satan, and continues to be used among Satanists.

Neopaganism

Francisco de Goya's Witches Sabbat (1789), which depicts the Devilflanked by Satanic witches. The Witch Cult hypothesis states that such stories are based upon a real-life pagan cult that revered a horned god

Few neo-pagan re-constructionist traditions recognize Satan or the Devil outright. However, many neo-pagan groups worship some sort of Horned God, for example as a consort of the Great Goddess in Wicca. These gods usually reflect mythological figures such as Cernunnos or Pan, and any similarity they may have to the Christian Devil seems to date back only to the 19th century, when a Christian reaction to Pan's growing importance in literature and art resulted in his image being translated to that of the Devil.

Image of a 19th-century Sabbatic Goat

Witch-cult hypothesis

Main article: Witch-cult hypothesis § Post-Murray

In 1985 Classical historian Georg Luck, in his Arcana Mundi: Magic and the Occult in the Greek and Roman Worlds, theorized that the origins of the Witch-cult may have appeared in late antiquity as a faith primarily designed to worship the Horned God, stemming from the merging of Cernunnos, a horned god of the Celts, with the Greco-Roman Pan/Faunus, a combination of gods which he posits created a new deity, around which the remaining pagans, those refusing to convert to Christianity, rallied and that this deity provided the prototype for later Christian conceptions of the Devil, and his worshipers were cast by the Church as witches.

Beelzebub

Horned demon? (proto-Elamite 3000-2800 BC)

There is an implied connection between Satan and Beelzebub (lit. Lord of the Flies), originally a Semitic deity called Baal (lit. "lord"). Beelzebub is the most recognized demon in the Bible, whose name has become analogous to Satan. Occult and metaphysical author Michelle Belanger believes that Beelzebub (a mockery of the original name) is the horned god Ba'al Hadad, whose cult symbol was the bull. According to The Encyclopedia of Witches, Witchcraft and Wicca, Beelzebub reigned over the Witches' Sabbath ("synagoga"), and that witches denied Christ in his name and chanted "Beelzebub" as they danced.

Beelzebub was also imagined to be sowing his influence in Salem, Massachusetts: his name came up repeatedly during the Salem witch trials, the last large-scale public expression of witch hysteria in North America or Europe, and afterwards Rev. Cotton Mather wrote a pamphlet entitled Of Beelzebub and his Plot.

Neopaganism

In 1933, the Egyptologist Margaret Murray published the book, The God of the Witches, in which she theorized that Pan was merely one form of a horned god who was worshiped across Europe by a witch-cult. This theory influenced the Neopagan notion of the Horned God, as an archetype of male virility and sexuality. In Wicca, the archetype of the Horned God is highly important, and is thought by believers to be represented by such deities as the Celtic Cernunnos, Indian Pashupati and Greek Pan.^{[citation needed]}

Horned God in Wiccan based neo-pagan religions represents a solar god often associated with vegetation, that's honored as the Holly King or Oak King in Neopagan rituals. Most often, the Horned God is considered a male fertility god. The use of horns as a symbol for power dates back to the ancient world. From ancient Egypt and the Ba'al worshiping Cannanites, to the Greeks, Romans, Celts, and various other cultures. Horns have ever been present in religious imagery as symbols of fertility and power.^[42][43] It was not until Christianity attributed horns to Satan as part of his iconography that horned gods became associated with evil in Western mythology:

Many modern neo-Pagans focus their worship on a horned god, or often "the" Horned God and one or more goddesses. Deities such as Pan and Dionysus have had attributes of their worship imported into the Neopagan concept as have the Celtic Cernunnos and Gwynn ap Nudd, one of the mythological leaders of the Wild Hunt

The Greek Festivals through the Year

July – Hekatombaion (The first month of their year)

• 12 – Kronia
• 16 – Synoikia
• 28 – Panathenea

August – Metageitnion

• 15,16,17,18 – Eleusina

September – Boedromion

• 5 – Genesia
• 12 – Democratia
• 17 or 18 – Epidauria

October – Pyanopsion

• 6 – Proerosia
• 7 – Pyanopsia
• 8 – Theseia
• 8 – Oschophoria
• 9 – Stenia
• 11,12,13 – Thesmophoria
• 19,20,21 or 26,27,28 – Apaturia(Ἀπατούρια)
• 30 – Apaturia

November – Maimakterion

• ? – Pompaia
• Poseideon (Ποσῐδηϊών)
• 8 – Posidea (Ποσῐδεῖα)
• 26 – Haloa

December – Poseideon (Ποσῐδηϊών)

• None

January – Gamelion

• 12,13,14,15 – Lenea
• 27 – Theogamia

February – Anthesterion

• 11,12,13 – Anthesteria
• 23 – Diasia
• Elaphebolion
• 10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17 – Great Dionysia
• 17 – Pandia

March – Elaphebolion

• None

April – Mounichion

• 16 – Munichia
• 19 – Olympeia

May – Thargelion

• 7 – Thargelia
• 19 – Bendideia
• 24 – Callynteria
• 25 – Plynteria

June – Skirophorion

• 3 – Arrephoria
• 12 – Scira
• 14 – Bouphonia

Unlisted Festivals

Anthesteria | The name Anthesteria means “festival of flowers”, and it was celebrated by drinking the season’s new wine (giving it an an obvious connection to Dionysos).

Aphrodisia | As the name of this festival suggests, it was dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite.

Brauronia | The Brauronia festival was dedicated to the cult of the goddess Artemis.

Dionysia | Festivals held in honor of the god Dionysos; the ancient Greeks had both Rural Dionysia and City Dionysia.

Eleusinian Mysteries | The Eleusinian Mysteries are understood to be sacred events that were connected to the goddess Demeter and her daughter Persephone (also known as Kore).

Olympieia | Celebrated in the Spring, this festival in honor of Zeus combined religious festivities with athletic events.

Panathenaia | Held in honor of the goddess Athena’s birthday, the Panathenaia festival was one of the most important in ancient Athens.

Theogamia | This event was held to celebrate of the “hieros gamos”, or sacred wedding, of Zeus and Hera.

Thesmophoria | The Thesmophoria was a fertility festival associated with Demeter, in which the participants were exclusively women.

Festivals by Deity

Apollo

• Stepterion — festival of the wreaths held every eight years at Delphi.

Athena

• Arre(h)ephoria
• Panathenaea

Dionysus

• Aiora — a festival of Dionysos in Attica involving images hung from a tree.
• Agrionia — Gender hostility
• Anthesteria — Held in Athens in the Spring. New wine was broached and followed by a drinking contest. Women were excluded. The second day was the Feast of Cups, the third the Feast of Pans. Vases, filled with grain of all kinds, were borne in procession and dedicated to Hermes.
• Iobakcheia
• Greater Dionysia
• Lenaea(ληναῖος — belonging to the wine-press) — a festival of Comedy in January (Gamelion)
• Oschophoria — Ritual carrying of vine branches hung with bunches of grapes
• Rural Dionysia
• Theoinia — Athens

Poseidon

• Posidea (Ποσῐδεῖα)– 8 Poseideon — A winter agricultural festival in Athens. The priest of Poseidon and the priestess of Athena marched to Sciron, west of Athens, the site of a sacred ploughing.
• Isthemian Games — held biennially in April or May. Celebrated with a wreath of pine and later of dry cellery.

Zeus

• Bouphonia
• Lycaea — An Arcadian festival
• Olympic Games

Tools of Witchcraft

EDITOR'S NOTE: I want to add to this as I go adding more as I find them and their purposes.

What do you need on your altar?

Altar tools don't have to be complicated or costly. You don't really need anything other than what you have on hand, but you might want the customary Tools of the Witch Trade .

Ritual tools are as individual as the witch who uses them. But it helps to know what the basic tools are and how to use them.

In the old Wicca, there are specific rules about these things. (They seemed to like rules.)

In modern Wicca, your own heart is your best guide to what you need on your altar. But since you need to know the rules before you can break them, read on . . .


WITCH TIP: Don't Have An Altar?

Altar tools are Wicca ritual tools - you need them even if you don't have an altar.

Athame
The ritual knife, or athame, is one of the prime Wicca altar tools.  (It is pronounced AH-tha-may or ah-THAW-may.)  Traditionally black-handled, the athame lives in the East, the direction that represents mind, thought, and choice.  An athame doesn't have to be metal. You can find ones made out of wood or carved stone, if you prefer. It's not used as a physical knife, anyway, but a symbolic one.  Athames hold yang [god] energy.  Athames are used to direct energy, typically in casting ritual Circles and recalling them. They may also be used to cut energetic ties.  Ordinarily, an athame is not used to cut anything on the physical plane.

Bell

Bells are like the Voice of the Goddess. When you ring one, it brings the Divine's attention to you. And your attention to the Divine!  A bell with a lovely tone will call beautiful, healing energy to you. Bells can also be used to clear energy. At the end of a ritual is a good time for this, but if unwanted energy crops up during a ritual, you can use the bell to disperse it.

Candles

Direction Candles One candle for each of the directions, colour-coded, are often used on a Wiccan altar. One would go in each appropriate direction . . .
For North: black, green, or brown
For East: yellow or white
For South: red or orange
For West: blue or aqua
For Centre, where you aren't using God and Goddess candles: white, silver, or gold.

Candles are used to invoke and hold the Powers of each direction.

God and Goddess Candles

Often large candles, such as pillar candles, are used to represent the God and the Goddess. These are usually set on either side of the Pentacle, or somewhere in the centre of the altar.  Other options are having just one large candle for the Great Goddess, or three - white, red, and black - for the Maiden, Mother, and Crone.  Where they go is up to you. Somewhere they won't drip onto delicate items or catch things on fire is always good.

These candles invoke the Energies of the Divine.

Chalice

The Wiccan chalice is one of the most important altar tools. It signifies the Mother Goddess.  As such, it is a "yin" altar tool.  Some people like very fancy bejeweled cups for their altar chalice, but this is not necessary. A cup or wine-type glass of any material will do, or even a bowl. Something that holds water and, ideally, is round or curvy is good.  Silver is always nice for Goddess tools - a silver chalice is a perfect Wiccan chalice.  The altar chalice is placed in the West, the direction of Water and the yinnest of the yin.  The Wiccan chalice is used for ceremonial drink, offering libations to the Divine, or holding the salt-water solution.

Deities 

Images or representations of any gods and goddesses who are special to you are always welcome on an altar. Though of course we could not respectfully consider them "altar tools."  They are more than reminders of Divinity. Statues of the gods and goddesses can actually hold the vibrations of the Divine.  So your altar becomes a living temple - a place where the Divine dwells.

Libation Dish

A small dish, bowl, or cup can go in the centre, ready to receive offerings for the gods and goddesses. (See below.)  You can also use your altar chalice or cauldron for this purpose.  Later, pour or bury the offerings in the Earth, or into living water (rivers, lakes, etc) to carry them to the Divine.  Offerings When you would honour the Divine with a gift of thanks or prayer, you can bring them to the Altar as an offering.  Often flowers are kept on the altar as an offering. Anything that is beautiful or special to you, or symbolic of the purpose for the offering, can be offered.  It is probably not necessary to point out that offerings should not be anything that could harm anything (but just in case, I'll point it out anyway).  For one thing, since the Divine lives in all things, anything you harm is an injury to the Divine. And pragmatically, you'll be giving the offerings to the Earth later.  Offerings are one of the most overlooked practices in Wicca today, yet one of increasing spiritual power and importance.

Salt Water

A small bowl of water with salt dissolved in it, for cleansing. This would be appropriate in the centre. Alternatively, the altar chalice may be used to hold the salt water.

Water and salt are both purifying agents, not only in the physical realm but the energetic as well. Salt water also represents the energies of earth and water united, the ocean womb which gave birth to all life on the planet. So while this may seem an insignificant addition to your altar tools, it holds great power.

Scent or Feather

Some representation of air, commonly something scented like incense, essential oils, or smudges, or else a flying bird's feather goes in the East, to represent Air.  Sacred scents are used to cleanse an area energetically, call in certain powers, or help witches shift consciousness.  Feathers can also be used to cleanse energy fields, and to fan incense or smudge smoke.  Stones or Crystals For the Earth element, in the North, stones and sometimes crystals are used.  These bring in Earth energy, which helps with grounding (except perhaps for quartz crystals). Gem stones also carry certain energies which can be invoked by having them on your altar.

(Another option is to have elements of nature such as plants or animals represent Earth.)

WITCH TIP: If you choose to use antler, bones, feathers, or other animal parts, be sure to read the precautions at Preparing Your Wiccan Ritual Tools before using them or placing them near your altar!

Working Knife

A knife you use to cut things, draw lines in the Earth or runes on candles, and other functions. Traditionally the working knife is white-handled.  This knife usually distinct from the Athame, which is a symbolic knife only and not used for other purposes by most witches.  Not all witches count the working knife as one of their altar tools, but just a functional implement.

Sword

Some people like to use a sword for casting in groups. (The difficulty may be emotional safety in addition to physical safety. The symbolic hostility inherent in swords is more than many sensitive people can cope with, especially in as intimate a situation as ritual.)Often awkward around an altar, swords may be kept near or under it to be held in the magickal aura.

In the past, swords were the athame of the nobility, but this custom is obviously ridiculous from a spiritual standpoint. Blue blood does not equal spiritual nobility!

Unlike knives, however, swords have no practical use other than as weapons. This link with violence makes swords unadvisable as altar tools for most people.

Athame

The athame is the traditional ritual dagger of the witch. Commonly it has a black handle and steel double-edged blade. Many Wiccans engrave the handle or blade with magickal symbols indicative of deities, spirits or the elements as sources of power. The athame is a tool of command, it is used to direct what power we pass through it. It is used to cast circles by tracing the circumference, to charge and consecrate objects and banish negative energies. In most traditions, it is never used as a mundane knife for cutting purposes, and is used strictly for magickal purposes only. As an elemental tools of the craft, in most traditions it is associated with the elements of Fire, in others it is associated with Air. The phallic symbolism of the knife links it with the God.

Pentacle

The Pentacle, a 5-point star within a circle, usually is placed in the centre of the altar. The pentacle is one of the most important altar tools, offering protection and power in magickal work.

The pentacle is a traditional tool of the craft. Originally it is thought to have been adopted from ceremonial magic. It is usually a round solid disc often made from stone, wood or cooper. On the disc is engraved or painted an up-right five pointed star enclosed inside a circle called the Pentagram. A disc decorated in this manner then becomes called a Pentacle. In some traditions other symbols are added indicative of deities, spirits or the elements as sources of power. The pentacle is normally the centerpiece of the alter on which objects are placed to be consecrated or charged, such things as amulets, charms and tools are placed on it, as is the salt and water for blessing. The pentacle represents the elements of Earth and is sometimes used to summon the Gods and Goddesses. For a more detailed description of the pentacle - pentagram see (Pentagram - Pentacle).

Wand

The wand is like a portable, handy version of a broom. There is a theory that originally one instrument performed all the purposes served by the two today.  A wand can be made of any natural material. Wood is traditional. Since all woods have unique Powers, you may like to choose the wood to suit your particular needs.  Wands can be used for divination and channeling magickal energy. They can be used to cast and recall circles, in place of the athame.  The magickal wand goes in the South, for the power of will, magick, and transformation. It also represents yang, or god, energy.

The wand is one of the prime magical tools of the witch. Traditionally the wand is made from the wood of a sacred tree. These include the Willow, Elder, Oak, Apple, Peach, Hazel and Cherry, to mention just a few. Its length should approximate the crook of the elbow to the middle of the index finger. These days many modern materials are used instead, and even tipped with crystals and gems. The wand is a tool of invocation, it is used to evoke the Gods, Goddesses and Spirits. It is also used to bestow blessings, charge objects and draw down the moon during ritual. In most traditions the wand represents the elements of Air, in others it represents the elements of Fire.

Censer or Thurible

The censer is an incense burner used to contain burning incense during ritual. Any type of censer can be used, even a simple bowl filled with sand will do. The censer represents the elements of Air and is normally placed before the images of the Goddess and God on the altar.

Chalice

The Chalice is one of the four elemental tools of witchcraft and represents the elements of Water. It is a symbol of containment and often represents the womb of the Goddess. The base is symbolic of the material world, the stem symbolises the connection between man and spirit and the rim or opening symbolically receives spiritual energy.

The chalice can be made of any material, in times of old - Horns, Shells and Gourds were used to hold sacred liquids during ritual, and then in later times - Silver became the preferred material, having long been associated with the moon and the Goddess. The chalice is used to hold the blessed water and wine during ritual. It is traditional in many covens to pass the chalice around all members, who then take a drink as a token of unity.

Broom

The broom is a ritual tool of the witch, sacred to both Goddess and the God. The God - through its symbolic phallic shape, The Goddess - through its three-piece make up, the stick, brush and binding cord being symbolic of the triformis aspect of the Goddess.

Traditionally the broom was made from three different woods. Ash for the handle, Birch twigs for the brush and Willow for the binding cord. Ash is protective and has command over the four elements. Birch is purifying and draws spirits to one’s service. Willow is sacred to the Goddess.

The broom is used for a variety of purposes but most generally to purify and protect. It is used to ritually cleanse an area before magick is performed by symbolically sweeping away negative energies and astral build up. Of old it was used to guard the home and persons within against psychic attack or evil curses, this by placing it across the threshold, windowsills or doorways. It was also placed under the bed or a pillow to protect the sleeper.

Traditionally and perhaps the use which most people identify it with, are the old wedding ceremonies of the Gypsies and the early American slaves, where a couple leapt over the broom to ensure fertility, domestic harmony and longevity. Today pagan hand-fasting rituals often include a broom jump.

Bolline

The Bolline or White-Handled knife as it is now known, is the practical knife of the craft. Traditionally it was used to harvest herbs and had a blade in the form of a small sickle. Today it is normally a mundane knife used for cutting and carving. It has a white handle to differentiate it from the Athame, which has a black handle and is used only for magickal purposes. The bolline is used to cut wands and herbs, to mark and carve candles with symbols and to cut cords for use in magick. Any other ritual function requiring the use of a knife, such as cutting flowers for the altar, can be performed with the bolline.

Cauldron

Traditionally cast iron, a cauldron is like a 3-legged rounded cooking pot. You can get them in sizes from huge to tiny.

Cauldrons are handy items for burning things, like incense and herbs. This is one of the reasons it is one of the most common altar tools.

Put an incense charcoal in the bottom, and sprinkle the herbs and powders onto it for very pagan incense.

(Caution is required when burning anything, of course. Cast iron on legs, if made properly, will keep the heat from the surface it's standing on, but check to make sure. Also be aware of anything flammable nearby or above the cauldron - particularly sleeves and hair!)

Cauldrons can also be used to hold "witches' brews," that is, magickal spells in liquid form. These range from simple salt-water purifications to complex spells.

The cauldron is probably the tool most associated with witchcraft and is steeped in magickal tradition and mystery. The cauldron is the container in which transmutation, germination, and transformations may occur. It is symbolic of the womb of the Goddess, and is the manifested essence of femininity and fertility. Everything is born from the cauldron of the Goddess and afterwards everything returns back to it. It is also symbolic of the element of water, as well as reincarnation, immortality and inspiration.

In ritual the cauldron is used as a container for making brews and potions, or to contain a small fire for use with spells. It can also be used for scrying (divination) by filling it with water and gazing into its depths.

In ancient times the cauldron was used as a cooking vessel and for brew making. Traditionally it was made from cast iron, it rests on three legs and has an opening smaller then its widest part. Cauldrons are made in many sizes but can be difficult to find, so you will need to persevere if you want one.

Bell

The bell is a ritual tool of invocation and banishment. The bell is a feminine symbol of the creative force, that of the Goddess. The bell can be rung to indicate the start of a rite by banishing negative influences before the ritual begins. Often it is used to invoke the Goddess during ritual, or sounded at the four quarters to call forth such spirits as the Watchers and Elementals.

Bells can be used to guard the home by warding off evil spells and spirits, or evoking good energies when placed in cupboards or hung on doors. Hung from a cord the bell symbolises the human soul suspended between heaven and earth.

Book of Shadows

The Book of Shadows is the workbook of the witch. In it is recorded: Rituals guidelines, Invocations, Spells, Runes, Rules of a particular Coven or Tradition, Symbols, Poems, Chants, and anything else of use to the witch during ritual.

Traditionally the Book of Shadows was always hand written by the individual. A common custom for new initiates into a Coven, is to hand copy his teacher’s Book of Shadows exactly as it appeared, then later to add his own material as he progressed in the craft. Today with the advantages of technology they are often typed and photocopied, or even computerised onto Floppy Disc’s.

To make your own Book of Shadows, you can use any form of blank book, but perhaps the best type to use are those of a loose-leave nature, thus allowing pages to be shuffled around when preparing for rituals. My personal Book of Shadows is made from recycled paper, bound up in natural tree bark covers, these are available in some art shops and bookstores.