Athame: Before consecrating the wine for cakes and ale, let the tip of your athame rest inconspicuously in the altar candle for a few minutes. Remove it from the flame just before you put it in the wine and it will make an impressive sizzle on contact with the liquid.
Barbecue Grill: Element of fire. The modern witch's fire pit! Can be easily and safely used for burning wills, wicker men, corn dollies, or other magickal offerings. Also is great for a full circle smudging, with or without the group present, by throwing pine needles, cedar branches, sage and/or sweet grass onto hot briquettes. The tiny (approximately 6” X 3”) starter logs for fireplaces are wonderful for use in small ritual fires or to get the bigger ones going. A very effective circle is to have everyone gather sitting around the ol' pit fire (aka barbecue grill) for a "need fire". This is where everyone writes onto paper what they most need. In turn, the papers are tossed into the fire to burn while the group discusses ways those wishes could manifest. If the round or squarish lid to the barbecue grill is detachable, all the better! Place it upside down in the circle center and place the silver (or now blackened) metal grill-work itself into the inverted top of the grill and light the fire onto the grillwork. This brings the fire down to seated-on-the-ground level rather than being so elevated.
Calculator: Use calculators to expedite the construction of magick squares, visualizing the energy used to run the calculator going into your goal. Traditionalists claim that this takes away the magick, but for me, the numbers have still always worked.
Candle Holders: When dressing your candles for ritual use, don’t forget to dab a few drops of oil into the bottom and sides of the candle holder. Not only does this bless the holders with the same energies as the candle, but also makes the wax residue easy to remove after the candle burns down. To remove excess dripped wax from lead crystal or brass candle holders, line a baking sheet with paper towels, set the candle holders on the paper towels and place in an oven on low heat (Warning: temperature should be no higher than 200 degrees F! Do NOT use a microwave) and let sit for about 15 minutes. The wax will wipe of easily with a paper towel and leave the candle holders shining. The paper towels under the candles will collect the wax that melts and save the baking sheet.
Candles: You can easily create and empower your own candles for specific or general ritual work. Save the pieces of candles that have not completely burned down or are broken and melt them down (see “Crockpot) and pour them into a mold, greased Pyrex bowl, milk carton (not plastic jug) or other sturdy container. Watch your color combinations or brown may be the only color you get. Preserve the wick from a broken candle (or purchase candle wicking at a arts & crafts store), tie a small, flat button to the end, and place into the mold before pouring. Allow the top of the wick to extend about 2-3" taller than the wax will reach. Oils, herbs and even stones may be added to the candle wax to accentuate the energy. Candles may also be made by indenting the shape of a small, round-bottomed bowl into a bucket of damp sand (moist enough to effectively retain the shape of the bowl without collapse...you know, sand castle consistency). The wax can then be poured into the hollow the bowl created in the sand and allowed to harden. Shells, stones or other small objects may be pressed into the sand before pouring the wax.
Car: The Chariot of a Tarot deck. Empower a small wand with automobile protective energies and keep it in your glove compartment to protect the car from accidents, vandalism or theft. If you pass a cop while you are speeding and suspect you may be pegged, slow down gradually, imagine your car cloaked in black and chant, "These aren't the droids you're looking for" until you are well out of range. Lastly, remember to visualize a parking space close to the door well before you get to your destination. While going to the Goodwill store to look for magickal tools, costumes and such (after offering a supplication to the "Goodwill Goddess", of course) with two other witchy friends, imagine our delight when the tiny, congested parking lot had not one, but three parking places right up front! We had all been programming for a different spot!
Computer: Write out your spell on the word processing program of your computer, putting energy into it with every keystroke. Prepare to exit the document, position the mouse or use appropriate key strokes to NOT save the information on the document, then push a surge of power into the final stroke that jettisons the words into cyberspace. If, like many of us, you store some of your magickal information on computer disks, to keep disks confidential, label them DOS, which will be interpreted by lay folk as an MS DOS boot up disk. You will know it stands for Disk Of Shadows! Also remember that most word programs that allow for saving onto disks also have a password protection that can be assigned to a disk. This can be very helpful for protecting your personal Craft information.
Condoms: Element of latex (just kidding, but they are also made of lambskin, so I guess it could be an element of earth. Who'da thought? Wait a minute!! Rubber comes from a plant! Which grows in the ground! Element of earth again! But I digress...) If using a condom in sex magick, use a non-toxic, water based, wide tip marker to draw a pentagram on the condom when you bless it. (Did you remember to bless the condom you used when you did the Great Rite? Uh Oh!!)
Confetti: Element of air. Stand on top of a roof, climb a tree or go into a hay loft that opens outside and scatter confetti into the wind, imagining the tiny papers carrying peace, love and joy everywhere they touch. Remember that this is also called "littering", so be discreet or you may soon after be spreading peace, love and joy in jail.
Crockpot: The modern witch's cauldron! We can stir up all kinds of brews, potions, and aromamagick with a crockpot or potpourri pot. The scent of herbs, flowers, potpourri, and incenses can permeate the house through the steam of the pot. This is particularly helpful for MommyMagick, which is when moms burn candles and use aromatherapy to instill calm into a house that is going a little nutty. The crockpot is also is great for melting candle or soap bits to recycle BUT DO NOT place directly into the crockpot. Place a heat-proof bowl or can containing the bits into the crockpot. Add water until the depth is about 3” below the top edge of the container and turn on the heat. It will act as a double boiler. If melting soap pieces, add a bit of water to the container as well.
Dryer (Clothes): Element of air. On a cold day, toss a blanket into the dryer with a few herbs of relaxation, protection or aura cleansing. The heat will activate the herbs and the residual herbs will cling to the blanket or be caught in the lint trap. Wrap yourself in the blanket and settle back with some herb tea to feel toasty and relaxed. The same premise can be used with a vacuum cleaner by tossing the herbs into the bag to generate their essense through out your house as you vacuum.
Game Shows: The Wheel of Fortune in Tarot. To have fun in a light-hearted circle, have everyone bring a "prize" to donate such as a candle, incense, etc. Prepare questions that are related to Pagan history, routines, traditions, myths, etc. and have a Pagan game show to win the prizes!
Hairnet: These can be handy in ritual, potion brewing or candle dipping to keep your hair safe. It is also said in legend that a witch's power is increased if s/he looses (not loses) his/her hair in ritual or spellwork, so pulling the net off while dancing or working can not only be most impressive looking & feeling, but can also cause a massive energy rush!
Home: To create a "Home Blend" mixture to add to any spells regarding your home, prepare a small jar (such as jellies come in) to hold clippings from each home in which you live: Tiny paper clippings from the edge of the lease or rental agreement, ashes from the hearth, grass or dried flowers from the garden, etc. This will personalize your home magick and can be added to powdered incenses, pouches, witches’ jars or other magickal mixtures. It is also useful in magick to find a new home. Remember to sweep coins over the threshold to your front door the first time you sweep with a new broom to bring fortune your way. Do the same when you move into a new home!
Incense: Nearly any container can be rendered safe for self-igniting charcoal DISKS (not the Bridgeford picnic charcoals) by filling it as full as possible with playground sand, available at most toy or department stores quite cheaply. This greatly expands the range of items available to use as censors. Stick incenses can also be stuck into the sand. If a larger container is used, such as a planter, there may be room for incenses and a ritual candle. Once the candle burns down, the wax may easily be removed from the sand. When using stick incense, remember that most ingredients used to create incense are organic and are therefore quite safe to stick into a potted plant if a burner is unavailable.
Keys: Keys (especially old, ornate, skeleton keys) are very useful in visualizations for removing blockages, creating opportunities ("unlocking doors") and finding answers. A metal key hanging from a cord or thread of natural fiber makes an excellent pendulum. Keys are also helpful in spell work intended to locate a new home.
Lamps: A drop of essential oil dripped onto the light bulb of a lamp can carry the scent through a room for several minutes to hours, depending on the viscosity of the oil. Some oils may stain the lightbulb, but should not affect the brightness.
Pencils: If you have blabbed something that you wish you had kept quiet about, draw a simple picture of the person to whom you blabbed and, with a pencil, lightly write in the head part of the drawing exactly what you said. Then, in ritual, erase it out while chanting, "Remember ye not the words that were said, remember ye not, they are gone from your head."
Salt Peter: Add a pinch of salt peter to your cauldron or powdered incense and it will spark most impressively. Also putting approximately 1 teaspoon of lighter fluid in the bottom of your cauldron prior to ritual will cause an impressive, but containable flame when burning petitions or other magickal items.
Whirlpool/Jacuzzi:
Add essential oils or herbs to a hot tub for a group ritual bath before
circle.