Cleansing tools before first use
Tools | Consecration | Cleansing | Budget Versions
Athame or Sword
Rub the blade with fresh basil, rosemary or oak leaves, at sunrise, outdoors where you will not be disturbed or seen. Lay the sword or Athame on the ground with its point to the South. Walk clockwise around it thrice, scattering bay leaves (preferably fresh) over it.
Take up the sword or Athame, stand facing East and, holding it upward but with arms lowered, invoke the God to infuse your Athame or sword with His strength. Point it to the sky, invoking the Goddess to charge your blade with Her love and power. Wrap your Athame or sword in red cloth and take it home. It may be stored in the cloth, if desired.
Besom
It can be fashioned from an ash staff, birch twigs and a willow binding. Brush the broom with chamomile, willow, lemon balm, elder or mallow stalks and branches, then bury these with due solemnity. You might also wish to carve a crescent Moon upon its handle.
Boline
Early in the morning, go to a forest (or park, garden, or your indoor garden). Choose the most beautiful and vibrant plants. Touch the point of the Boline gently to these in turn, forging a connection between your Boline and the plants (and, thusly, the Earth). Next, sit on the Earth. Ensuring that you are quite alone, draw a pentagram with the Boline’s point on the ground. It is done.
Book of Shadows
Sew into the cover of the Book of Shadows leaves of the sacred herbs vervain, rue, bay, willow or others, if you wish. They should be well-dried and secretly placed by the light of the Moon. The covers of the Book of Shadows should, of course, be covered with cloth for this purpose.
Cauldron
Take the cauldron to a stream, river, lake or ocean. Gather the leaves of some plants growing nearby (at the sea, perhaps seaweed). Dip the cauldron into the water to fill it. Place the leaves in the cauldron, and then set it on the water’s edge where it is on both water and sand.
Place your hands on the cauldron and dedicate it to the Goddess in any words you like. Empty and dry the cauldron, and return home. The charge has been made. If performed inside, place the cauldron in a large basin of water or the bathtub, in a candle-lit room.
Add a bit of salt to the water, which should be cold. Proceed as above. Salt water corrodes metal. Thoroughly wash the cauldron after immersion in sea or salt water.
Censer
Fume pure rosemary, frankincense or copal within the censer prior to its first use. Do this for about an hour.
Chalice
Anoint the base with gardenia, rose or violet oil and fill with pure spring water. Then set afloat a sprig of ivy, a small rose, a fresh gardenia or some other appropriate flower or herb. Gaze into the Chalice and invoke the Goddess to bless it. You might also wish to take it outside as night, filled with water, and catch the Moon’s reflection within it.
Crystal ball
On the night of a Full Moon, rub the sphere with fresh (or dried) mugwort, and then take it outside. Hold it up so that it drinks in the light and energies of the Moon. Gaze at the Moon through the crystal by holding it before your eyes. Repeat at least thrice yearly for the best benefits.
Pentacle
Place the pentacle on bare Earth. Lay upon it dried parsley, patchouli, mistletoe, or fresh jasmine or honeysuckle flowers. Sit before it facing north for several seconds, visualizing the pentacle absorbing the Earth’s energies. Then pick it up and scatter the herbs or flowers to the four quarters, beginning and ending in the North.
If this must be done indoors, fill a small dish with fresh Earth and place the pentacle on this. Proceed as above, saving the herbs or flowers to be scattered outdoors at a latter time.
Robe
If you choose to wear one, lay it among sachets filled with lavender, vervain, and cedar when not in use. Sew a bit of rosemary or frankincense into the hem while fashioning it, if desired (and if the resulting stains won’t show after washing).
Wand
If the wand is of wood, take it outdoors at sunset and rub it with fresh lavender, eucalyptus or mint leaves. Raise it in the air toward the East (or the Moon if it is visible) and invoke the Goddess. At sunrise, take it again outdoors, rub with the fresh fragrant leaves and invoke the God by raising it to the East.