Making Ritual Tools

[jaygriff]

How many of you guys/gals out there make or have made your own tools (Knives, staffs, wands, statues, altars, ect)?

What are your feelings on the benefits of making your own tools? Does anyone know any good reference books for this sort of thing? I am quite the crafty person and love to make stuff.

I made a bag for my tarot cards and books out of wool yarn (crochet) and lined it with black cotton to keep it from stretching out too much. I have also made my altar from some timber that I had around. I would like to put together my own knife from a bought blade and an antler or bone or something. I am also thinking about making my own staff when I get home to the states soon. (Right now I am in Germany and it is illegal to even pick up a stick and remove it from the woods.)

[StarCraftLia]

I didn't know it was illegal to do that in Germany. o.O Huh.

Alot of my tools are self made, though I don't have that many. ^^ I made my own wand and crotcheted its case.. I think making your own tools is awesome because it was created by you, so its use to you. Though if you buy a tool or get someplace else, they already have a different persona and thus might make your rituals more interesting.

[wolf]

I buy some things, make others ... sometimes I add my own enhancements to bought tools.

I've been crocheting my own tarot bags (from #10 cotton) for many years, and do beadwork to add to wands, pipes, etc.

[childofbast]

I said it depends because it really does. I'm a jill of all trades in some ways, but I can't make iron cauldrons, swords, athames, etc...

One of my best talents is sewing, and it helps a lot. I've made my own ritual clothes, altar cloths, tarot bags, charm pillows, etc. My latest thing is dolls. I've made stuffed animals since I was a little girl, and I finally moved onto fabric dolls. I'm currently working on a Brigid doll for my altar instead of a statue. I can sculpt but I don't have a kiln or anything like that. I love sewing more, and am better at it, so it's going to give my altar a very personal feel.

I've made other things like wands and oils, but I've never made my own candles. That's something I'd like to try.

[Autumn-Forest]

I sometimes do, things that I can make, I make. I made my own wand, I have a few that I've made. I've made a staff as well. Though, I didn't make my athame, its pretty ghetto, lol. Its just an envelope opener shaped like a medievel dagger. I'd love to get a different one, though. Perhaps make it myself?

How does one do that?

be well,
Autumn

[Nocturna]

Sometimes. The first tools I had were things I either made or common household objects that I altered. I made a wand from a tree branch and a pentacle from a flat disk I bought at a craft store. My cup is just a glass wine glass that I decorated with glass paints. I’m not particularly talented, but I had fun making them, and they feel personally significant to me, so I never replaced them. I do buy stuff that I either can not make myself (like a cauldron), or that I’m just to lazy to make (like candles).

[Shawn Blackwolf]

Autumn - Forest...

When I saw your question , I immediately began looking but I believe
I threw out the brochure...Contact Ancient Ways...Oakland , Ca.

Ask who taught Atheme making workshop , at Pantheacon 2007...

Patrick...?

Traditional...from meteorite...whole process...intensive , and you go
home with your atheme...hope that helps...

By the way...I believe he teaches back East...Cherry Hill...?

[Lolair]

How many of you guys/gals out there make or have made your own tools (Knives, staffs, wands, statues, altars, ect)?

What are your feelings on the benefits of making your own tools? Does anyone know any good reference books for this sort of thing? I am quite the crafty person and love to make stuff.
I am a woodworker, wood carver, ritual tool maker, and charm maker so I make everything I need for my craft myself as I also do gardening and wildcrafting. For anyone who wishes to make their own tools I recommend doing a lot of research on the properties, uses, and history of each tool before making them. There is so much to learn about just the tools themselves, and then even more to learn about the materials you make them with: the different magical woods, gemstones, symbols, runes, oghams, metals... If you don't know what you're going to do with a tool then why make it in the first place? I only make for myself what I will actually use in my craft. I'm very practical when it comes to tools and everything must have a purpose whether for magic or more practical uses. I use my knife for cutting, my altar piece for consecrating and invoking, my goblet for drinking, the cauldron for incenses, and so on.

I believe that there is a great benefit in making your own tools, as your tool becomes an extension of yourself - made by you for your personal craft, which I believe strengthens its magical powers and link to you. One can create a similar link with a bought or found tool through consecration and incorporating a piece of yourself into your tool - body fluids are very traditional, but not for the squeamish. You can make any tool YOUR own, but you have to actually do the work involved, otherwise it's just another object. A quote from one of my favourite wandmakers, John Vickery, is: "I supply the hardware, it's the user who supplies the software!"

There are some decent books out there for crafting ritual tools, but they are mostly for Wicca and Ceremonial Magic:

Ritual Use Of Magical Tools (http://www.mysticwicks.com/Ritual%20Use%20Of%20Magical%20Tools)(Golden Dawn)
Crafting & Use Of Ritual Tools: Step-by-Step Instructions for Woodcrafting Religious & Magical Implements (http://www.mysticwicks.com/Crafting%20&%20Use%20Of%20Ritual%20Tools:%20Step-by-Step%20Instructions%20for%20Woodcrafting%20Religious%20&%20Magical%20Implements) (I have this one, it's a good beginner's guide)
The Magick Toolbox: The Ultimate Compendium for Choosing and Using Ritual Implements and Magickal Tools (http://www.amazon.com/Magick-Toolbox-Ultimate-Compendium-Implements/dp/1578633249/ref=sr_1_18/103-2980201-8505444?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186782198&sr=8-18) (this one's more about buying tools than making them)
The Witches' Bible by Janet & Stewart Farrar (http://www.amazon.com/Witches-Bible-Complete-Handbook/dp/0919345921/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-2980201-8505444?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186782309&sr=8-1) (how to make BTW ritual tools)
Magical Herbalism by Scott Cunningham (http://www.amazon.com/Magical-Herbalism-Secret-Llewellyns-Practical/dp/0875421202/ref=sr_1_11/103-2980201-8505444?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186782387&sr=1-11) (goes over the crafting and consecration of certain ritual tools)
Witchcraft for Tomorrow by Doreen Valiente (http://www.amazon.com/Witchcraft-Tomorrow-Doreen-Valiente/dp/0709052448/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-2980201-8505444?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186782656&sr=1-1) (covers BTW and historical witchcraft tools)
Mastering Witchcraft by Paul Huson (http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Witchcraft-Practical-Witches-Warlocks/dp/0595420060/ref=sr_1_1/103-2980201-8505444?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186782698&sr=1-1) (the making and consecration of non-wiccan ritual tools)

[HorseCrow]

Depends on what tool it is- for example, I make my own wands, but would find it quite hard to make my own athame...

[Cerulean_damselfly]

My first and favorite sharp edge was an obsidian edge and a piece of stag horn--unfortunately I was not able to obtain these bits myself, so someone else glued and put sinew around the ends...er, it did not hold after a few months; one drop on a hard floor, and it separated.

Now, I found I could go to e-bay and obtain these items separately. In a few months, a friend will be available with some tools to assist me to put what I have together again more securely.

He showed me a few months ago a hand-made tool where he obtained wood for a handle by buying something called a 'wooden dowel'--that is, he went to a Home Depot/Hardware Store/Lumber Supply place where he found something that worked for a handle.

Separately, I found suppliers of flat obsidian, moss agate, flat stones where people fashion arrowheads or edged--it's not readily available where I walk. Anyway, even a bead store with edged, polished and flat stones that usually would be an oversize charm or talisman might give you some ideas. You could probably find some metallic items or tangs online to attach to a handle, if that idea helps...Someone I know said she started with a long 'crystal' wand until she could find the right 'athame' for her personal use.

Good luck! Sounds like you are a creative one and just need a slight nudge...so I look forward to hearing what you find..

Cerulean_Damselfly

[Astara Seague]

some I make and some I find then there is a few I buy

I made my own wand and staff, scrying pendant, herbal athame, boxes for my cards and some other stuff

[Greybird]

Whether I make a tool depends on my skills. Most of my wooden tools I've made, but I have absolutely no skill with metal, so I don't hesitate to buy my metallic items.

[Mesektet]

Depends on the circumstances and items involved.

[Chaos Hawk]

I have some I've made and some I've bought.