Consecrating Your Tools

There are three basic reasons for taking your tools through the process of consecration and empowerment your tools. These are:

* It removes any left over negative residue or energies that have attached to the item from previous users or places.
* It melds your positive energy with that of the Universe to bring divinity
* It instills this energy into the object for positive purposes.

The act of ritually consecrating your tools also allows you to easily gain a strengthened and calmed attitude toward yourself and your work, allowing you to focus your energies without constraint.

There are many opinions as to which times are best to perform a tool consecration ritual. As is the case with many rituals, these times are generally related to moon phases. Two common times are:

* During the New Moon – This time represents new beginnings, new projects and new life paths.
* During the Full Moon – At this time the energies of the full moon may be incorporated into the ritual. The energies radiated a few days preceding the full moon can also be used to cleanse your tools.

Consecrating With the Elements

As it is quite apparent, the elements generally play such an important role in the life of a practicing witch. Cleansing and consecrating your tools using the elements of the four cardinal directions brings to your tools the attributes associated with each of them.

Before we can consecrate our tools we need to gather a few items to represent each of the four elements of earth, air, fire and water. The following item are commonly used:

* Salt or Soil – Earth
* Incense – Air
* Candle flame – Fire
* Dish of Water - Water


******Note that in which direction you place the elements and which attributes you associate with them is entirely up to you. These are my own personal preferences.

Air – In the East – creativity, thought processes, inspiration, new beginnings, intellect.

Pass the tool three times through the smoke of the incense while saying:

\"By the eternal power of Air, be purified. Be dedicated to purity,
that all goals you help me to achieve may be for the harm of none and for the good of all beings.\"

Fire – In the North – purification, courage, creativity, higher self.

Pass the tool through the flame of the candle three times while saying:

\"By the eternal power of Fire, be purified. Be dedicated to desire,
that all goals you help me to achieve may be for the harm of none and for the good of all beings.\"

Water – In the West – intuition, emotions, inner self, cleansing of all things, reflection, tides of life.

With your fingers sprinkle water on the tool three times while saying:

\"By the eternal power of Water, be purified.
Be dedicated to emotion, that in complete harmony shall
you be used for the harm of none and for the good of all beings.\"

Earth – In the South – fertility, strength, stability, growth, foundations, material abundance, healing.

Tap the tool on the salt or soil three times while saying:

\"By the eternal power of Earth, be purified.
Be dedicated to steadfastness, that through you,
my will be achieved with harm to none and for the good of all beings.\"

I look forward to hearing some of the methods used by some of the others here...

while i'm not of the pagan rite, i do have a sort of ritual that i do with each of my swords.

i sit in a meditative position with one hand on the hilt and i run the palm of my other hand along the length of the blade while visualizing the blade absorbing my energy making it a part of me. after 3 passes with each hand i then turn the blade edge towards me with the tip towards the ground and grasp the blade itself in the palms of both hands and raise the sword upwards. i then extend it outwards letting the weight of the hilt apply blade pressure to my hands. once i've done this i place it back in the scabbard.

to date i have never been cut by any of my swords since starting this ritual. i often meditate focusing on fire prior to doing anything with my swords since it's my element(i'm a double fire sign, aries:a fire sign, and year of the dragon:another fire sign), and the most potent time for me seems to be late night/early morning during a full moon(i was born at 2:21am during a full moon). as a martial artist i've always felt it was best to develop a sort of bond with any defensive tool since they are most effective when you view them as an extension of your own body.

i always feel revitalized when wielding any of the swords i've done this ritual with. my best friend(who happened to be wiccan) is who got me started in doing this ritual.

Interesting tradition to go widdershins around the circle but then there are many different ways, all speaking to the individual.

I personally follow the Celtic/European tradition of east-air, south-fire, west-water, north-earth. I have known certain American native traditions to shift this all through a quarter turn deosil (i.e. east-earth, south-air, etc)

It all goes to show that there's a tradition for everyone and the important thing is to do what feels right to YOU!

Blessed be and MTFBWY

When I first came across this tradition I too thought it strange to consecrate the tools with the elements widdershins, and as well found the placement of the Elements on the Cardinal Directions to be strange as well...but as you said...we all must do what is comfortable for us, and as I stated earlier..that is the wonderful part of practicing Wicca, you can tailor any spellwork to fit your needs, be it substitutions for spell ingredients, tweaking ceremonies to be sure that all in attendance are comfortable with what they are doing...It took me a while to become comfortable with using Sex to help build energy for spellwork but now (with new understanding) have no issues with participating in these Magicks. (with proper precautions taken of course)...but that is the topic for another post...I encourage those of any Rite here to post in the Forum even if only to ask questions...

XMortis wrote:

It took me a while to become comfortable with using Sex to help build energy for spellwork but now (with new understanding) have no issues with participating in these Magicks. (with proper precautions taken of course)...but that is the topic for another post...I encourage those of any Rite here to post in the Forum even if only to ask questions...

tantric buddhism has similar practices, using sex as a means to achieve nirvana...again though a topic for another post.

This is what some would call the left hand path, where someone of the right hand path adheres more to social conventions and avoid taboos. No doubt powerful but not necessary to achieve the same results. Much of what is seen as essential in witchcraft was due to circumstance of the times. Also this is a rite made for singles, and becomes problematic when relationships or marriage are conerned especially when the feelings of others are involved.

I agree with you Master Jon...Again it's all based on the individual's comfort level as not all are comfortable with certain practices or Rites...not all Magick requires elaborate ceremony...you can achieve similar, if not the same outcome, on your own. I was only using that as an example of how personal comfort plays a part in practicing. If you are not (or your spouse/Significant other) with what you are doing then by all means abstain from it.

That all depends on the nature of the relationship. I know many couples that indulge in sex magick without problem.

The hardest thing for a Jedi would be to still honour the vows we have taken. In other words, as long as we are respecting ourselves and others, are restrained and moderate in its use, and do not allow it to control us with \"unchecked desires\", then such practices should be ok.

MTFBWY

Well played good sir....well played...thank you Master Mark

MTFBWYA

Well, as a Pagan (and technically a Grey Jedi), I'm open to exploring many avenues as long as I keep my vows. Following the \"an it harm none...\" rede helps me to stay on track!

In my opinion, if any intent is clouded by doubt or resentment then it is no longer focused and can cause problems.

On a historical note, anything seen as not \"normal\" would be described as left-hand so I guess I qualify anyway! Lol

MTFBWY

Mark Anjuu wrote:

That all depends on the nature of the relationship. I know many couples that indulge in sex magick without problem.

The hardest thing for a Jedi would be to still honour the vows we have taken. In other words, as long as we are respecting ourselves and others, are restrained and moderate in its use, and do not allow it to control us with \"unchecked desires\", then such practices should be ok.

MTFBWY

We still have to know what the other feels in order to respect them and they are not always easy to see. Then there is the question as to what is \"moderacy\" exactly? Usually we also only find out when we are not in control any more when we have already lost it.

True. As I have always advised, magick is not to be treated lightly. Always know what you're doing and who you're doing it with.

I used to test my limits by going to excess, then pulling back but that wasn't always healthy! So nowadays I am more respectful of how I feel at every stage. Like you say, moderation is usually learned through immoderate experience!

MTFBWY

What sort of tools do Pagan Jedi specifically tend to use? From my own perspective, I feel like holding onto a tool or having a collection of them for my spiritual practices would be a distraction from what's actually going on. Were I Pagan, I'd just use my hands, since they are a part of me giving it a more personal touch, and because I always have my hands with me. What if you want to practice Magick but you don't have your tools? And is Magick equated to the Force for Pagan Jedi? Or are they different? Please, explain this to the confused but curious non-Pagan. Thanks in advance!

We learn to use tools "magically" in the same way as usual. If I want to put up a shelf, I will use a drill, screwdriver, spirit level, etc. If I want to cast a circle or consecrate a space, I might use an athame. All tools are there to serve a purpose but they're not the only ways of doing things. A well-intentioned finger, for example, can cast a circle just as well. A deftly-wielded butter knife could substitute for a screwdriver too!

One of my shamanic teachers once said something that I always remember: "we learn how to use tools to accomplish tasks but there will be times that we need to do something without access to those tools so you should always be capable of working alone and with nothing to aid you."

And from my perspective, "magic" is merely manifesting something with intent. It uses the Force perhaps in a more ethereal form than a physical act but it nevertheless is connected to it. Then again, since the Force is in everything, I fail to see how anything can NOT be a part of it!

Thanks, Master Mark. That's the way I'd look at it too. I guess my experiences with Pagan religions is that the tools are so heavily emphasised and referenced in anything I've read or experienced, so I wasn't certain.

As for the Force...perhaps my question is how Magick actually differs from the Force. What are its unique characteristics that make it special from the relationship between a Jedi and the Force, or a Buddhist and Dharma, or a Taoist and the Tao, or a Christian/Jew/Muslim and God? Or is Magick that name for the mysterious Universal Truth that we all seek?

In short, there is no difference. Everything is a matter of perspective and everything is appropriate for the moment. If I am working with a particular pantheon or deity, it works. If I follow my Taoist side, that works too. If I use a tool, it works, if I work without anything, that works too. Everything is essentially true and right for the individual at that moment. There are, however, many people that get hung up on the concept of what is right or appropriate and seek to extend that beyond their own selves. So there are as many discussion in pagan circle about the "right way" to use an athame as there in Christian circles as which interpretation of the Bible is more "correct"!

In my opinion, such discussions ultimately remove us from a connection with the thing itself. If people spent as much time doing their own thing than worrying about other people doing theirs, we might get a lot more done!

Mark Anjuu wrote: In my opinion, such discussions ultimately remove us from a connection with the thing itself. If people spent as much time doing their own thing than worrying about other people doing theirs, we might get a lot more done!

100% agreed!!!