and is not necessarily a cutting knife. Your athame represents the yang energy or the male aspect of God. Ritual knives are also associated with the south and the element of fire, and as such, they should be placed on the right side of your altar. The athame is used to direct the energies that are raised in your ritual. One old witching tradition very much in keeping with a Dark Moon sensibility specifies that the handle of the athame should be black or very dark in color, since black is the color that absorbs energy.
BOLLINE
The bolline, which is usually a white-handled knife, is used for making other tools, such as carving your wand, whittling your own runes, and cutting materials such as cords and herbs. You are creating a magical tool by using a magical tool. You should also use your bolline for carving sigils, symbols, names, and images of deities into your candles and wands as well as your other crafted tools. Usually, a bolline has a curved blade and a white handle to distinguish it from the athame. It is similar to the athame in that it also embodies yang energy. It can be used only within the magical circle, the boundary you form by marking the four corners and the four directions through a speaking ritual.
YOUR BOOK OF SHADOWS
The Book of Shadows is a record of your ritual work and is a very important part of your spiritual journey, as it encompasses the complete body of your magical thinking and magical workings. It is in essence a history of all your energy work, circles, spells, dreams, and the magic you have manifested over time. It is essentially a diary of all that you have practiced and wrought. In your Book of Shadows, you should keep a journal of your research and the lore you have discovered. For example, is there a particular phase and sign of the moon that works especially well for you? By documenting this type of information, you will be building a practice that you can apply to future spells and circles. Also, many a Book of Shadows has become a published book! This will also be a great aid in analyzing and learning from your ritual work as you evolve and develop as a ritual designer. For example, I have discovered that the new moon in Virgo (the opposite of my natal new moon in Pisces) is currently the best moon phase for me to work rituals of change. Through trial, experimentation, and much practice, you, too, will discover these secrets of the universe for yourself via your personal records.
Your Book of Shadows will be the most helpful to you if you use it daily or as often as possible. Besides being a record of your magical work, it should also be a book of inspiration for you, filled with your own thoughts, personal poetry, and observations. Your Book of Shadows should be a tome you wish to turn to again and again. It can be a deluxe handcrafted volume of artisan-made paper and ribbons or a simple three-ring binder. Just make sure it appeals to you, so you will use it often and well. I have seen gorgeous decoupage volumes, some with papier-mâché masks so the book itself becomes a familiar, and also simple ones that reflect the owner (which is the point, after all) with stickers from favorite bands.
BLACK BROOM
The broom is a symbol of the practical magic of sweeping the ritual area clean before and after casting a spell. With proper focus and intention, you can rid your sacred space of negative influences and bad spirits from the area, thus preparing the sacred space for work. In olden days, pagan marriages and Beltane trysts took place with a leap over the broom, an old traditional part of the handfasting or pagan wedding. The broom, as a signifier of womanly domesticity, took hold of the popular imagination as the archetypal symbol of witches. Even Harry Potter has a souped-up broom for sweeping through the skies above Hogwarts!
Your broom is a fundamental tool for energy management, so it is wise to choose your broom very carefully. It’s best to obtain a handmade broom from a craft fair as opposed to a factory-made plastic one from Walmart. A broom made of wood and woven from straw will be imbued with the inherent energies of these natural materials. Also, your ritual broom should not be used for housework, which would mix up energies in your home and sacred space. The pagan tradition holds brooms in high regard, and some witches and ceremonial magicians have an impressive collection of brooms, each named to signify their roles as a familiar or kindred spirit. As a Dark Moon witch, you might be happiest with a black broom—you can even buy it at one of my favorite stores in Los Angeles, which is called Black Broom! Check it out at www.theblackbroom.com—it is a purveyor of many marvelous tools, books, and essences, especially the black alchemy line of potions, lotions, and perfumes.
CANDLES AND LIGHT
Candles are a simple yet profound tool that can make powerful magic. Today, candle magic is used daily by folks of all walks of life for peace of mind, respite, contemplation, and aromatherapeutic healing. Candlelight transforms a dark room and illuminates the air with energy. Suddenly, the potential for a mystical realm is evident as you start to feel the latent power. A spell, prayer, or ritual lit by a single candle has the potency of all the stars in the sky. Candles contain the following four elemental energies:
•Air: oxygen feeds and fans the candle flame
•Earth: the solid wax that forms the candle
•Water: the melted wax is the fluid elemental state
•Fire: the spark and blaze of the candle flame
Charging Your Candles
“Charging” a candle means to imbue it with magical intent. A candle that has been charged carries that intention through all four elements and up to the heavens and fills the very air of your sacred space with your magic. Spell work and ritual candles are chosen for their color correspondences, and then they are “dressed,” or anointed with the energy of an essential oil. Each color holds the intrinsic vibratory energy of different colors and their magical properties.
•Black: banishing, absorbing, expulsion of the negative, healing serious disease, attracting money
•Brown: home, animal wisdom, grounding, healing
•Dark blue: change, flexibility, the unconscious, psychic powers, curing
•Gray: neutrality, stalemate, cancellation, invisibility
•Green: wealth, abundance, growth, luck, employment, gardening, early life, attractiveness, fertility
•Light blue: patience, bliss, overcoming depression, tranquility
•Orange: attraction, triumph over legal issues, changeability, stimulation, intelligence, clarity, logic, support, encouragement
•Pink: love, faithfulness, friendship, goodness, positivity, affection
•Purple: healing, aspiration, business success, stress relief, power
•Red: vigor, protection, vitality, sexuality, passion, courage, power, love, good health
•White: purification, peace, protection, truth, binding, sincerity, serenity, chastity, spirit
•Yellow and gold: mental power and vision, study, self-assurance, prosperity, abundance, divination, psychism, powers of persuasion, wisdom, charisma, good sleep
Before you charge your candles, meditate on your intention, then cleanse your candles by passing them through a purifying smoke of sage and incense. You can increase the charge of your candles by carving a symbol or “sigil” into the wax. After you have engraved the appropriate magical words into your candle, it’s time to “dress” your candle with a specific essential oil. Every essential oil is imbued with
