Everything Under the Moon

Can you name three common items found in the Craft that you just don't use in your practice - or can't use - and give a word or two on why not. And for comparison, name 3 favorite things to use.

Just to start the ball rolling ...

I Don't use:
White sage smoke - it smells like old gym socks & sticks to my hair/clothes
Fancy robe - tried it, tripped over it, set my sleeve on fire ... Not a good look. A hoodie’s better.
Tarot - I'm lousy at cards

Sometimes use:
Potion making gear - mixing bowl, small cast iron pot & tea pot reserved for brewing
Dowsing rods
Stang

My Favorites:
Tea lites for daily offerings & incense-matches - convenient
Stones & quartz - I dote on Quartz
Orgone accumulators & generators - continuous energy!

Don't use:
1. Robes. I used to actually judge them harshly, but I see the utility in the theater of it all now. Still just not my bag.
2. Altar. At least, not in the surface-top sort of way. This might change in the future, I just feel weird about setting something besides an ancestral shrine up when I'm so undecided on spirituality.
3. Wand. It feels so ceremonial, and I'm just out of my element with one in my hand.

Favorites:
1. Candles! Practical, and so much more than a vessel for the fire element alone.
2. Cord. I really enjoy knot magic, and tying twine into stopper and reef knots is a quick route to trance for me.
3. Incense. Ever closed yourself up in a small room and fumigated the space with frankincense? Good times.

Don't use:
1. Candles, incense or anything that burns. We don't like things that burn in the house as they're a fire hazard, especially with lots of animals running around. Plus I'm in the broom closet still.
2. Robes. Don't really feel the need to, I just wear something comfortable
3. Wands. I have two unadorned branches but don't feel the need to use them and feel fine just using my hand

Favorites:
1. Crystals, they are my absolute favourite things to work with as they're so pretty and versatile. I can't imagine a spell without them; I've even done geomancy with them in the past
2. Tarot cards. I love using my Rider-Waite desk as divination and have recently started using them in spells
3. Tea leaves. Though I don't have time to do this most of the time, I love reading tea leaves

This is cute.

Don'ts:
Wands: haven't found one that I was drawn to and haven't had the desire to make one. I might use one in the future, though.
Robes: Same as above.
Tarot Cards: I'd simply rather use other means of divination.

Favs:
All things that burn. I love candles and incense- they put me in a witchy mood.
My crystals. My collection is ever growing.
My journal- it tends to be more useful for me than my actual book of shadows. it helps me focus my energy before I actually direct my energy.

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Oooo, another fun thing to know might be a third category: three things you don't use or do now, that you're really curious about trying out one day.

I'm having a hard time narrowing down my top 3 anything right now, lol. And everyone's lists are fun to read and interesting!


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Three things I'd like to try? Hmmm.

1. Wheat weaving
2. Walking the deer trods and ley-lines cross country.
3. Meditating in a megalithic stone circle, if that's even feasible.

Don't care for the charcoal pads for powdered incense. The smoldering pad overwhelms the smell of the incense.
I seldom use my Athame in circle, a weapon seems out of place, I prefer to use my wand and staff.
I have a nice black glass with copper inlay pentagram plate that is seldom used. The top of my magickal storage chest has a pentagram engraved on it and doubles as my altar. Hand crafted pentagram seems more appropriate.

I really love the aroma of burning white sage. It sets the mood and cleanses both sacred space and my mind.
Not into candle magick but much prefer real candles lighting my altar and the quadrants instead of led lights.
I prefer to douse candles with a candle snuffer rather then blowing them out. Just seems more ceremonial.
My favorite incense is Sandlewood cones.

Long ago I once traced specific pentagrams for each elemental now I only trace an Invocation and Banishing pentagram. My Goddess doesn't seem to care.

I Don't use:
1. Crystals- I use them for adornment and decoration... I simply have never felt any magical energy from any crystal.
2. Tarot- Dunno how & It doesn't call to me.
3. Dance- My practice seems to be trance / meditative / breath control / silence based

My Favorites:
1. OUTSIDE OUTSIDE OUTSIDE
2. Herbs / Teas / natural incense
3. Seed Collecting / Cataloging / Heir-looming / Propagating

Three things I'd like to try:
1. Sex Magic / Love Magic / Partner worship
2. A Pagan Pilgrimage; Tibet, Peru, Whales, Greece, Egypt, etc
3. Rituals at Pagan holy sites / circles

things I don't use
1.robes i'm too clumsy i'd trip over my own too feet (not kidding on that one)
I prefer my regular clothes including my leather gloves
2. crystals same as above
3. cord I just can't find one to use at the moment
things I use
1. drum it has ties with the earth
2. altar indoors or outdoors it doesn't matter to me.
3. wand to direct my energy with

Don't care for,
Robes. I prefer skyclad outdoors when possible.
Altar, indoors it simply isn't practical, outdoors I have a wonderful site near a stream with a beautiful flat rock.
Athame. Though I have crafted many from different materials, it is not something I use.

I like,
Wands, I make them and use them.
Drums, though not 'conventional', I find it to be a great tie-in with native roots.
Crystals and stones, I feel a close relationship with them.

What a cool thread

I don't use-
1. Athame. Never really had a want for one. Though they are pretty neat.
2. A bell. They seem rather ceremonial to me. I did have a set of bells hanging from my front gate ages ago. They definitely have their place in witchcraft.
3. Wiccan circle. I'm more of a trad witch and keep my circle casting very simple.

Things I use-
1. Sea salt. I use it for everything. From circle casting to cleansing a space. Multi purpose and inexpensive.
2. Candles. I have them in all different colours for different purposes.
3. Runes and Psalms. I inscribe my candles with rune symbols that correlate with the type of spell I'm doing. And I almost always recite a Psalm for every spell I do. I feel like they really give a boost to the outcome of my spell.

Honourable mentions
Crystals
Incense
Herbs/spices

Three things I don't use.

1. Wand/Athame- I do have both of these, but do not normally use either often. Along with the purpose of directing energy I usually do this internally via visualization. If I wish to put energy into an item I visualize it doing just that, and cast the physical wand or ritual knife aside. I rarely will use either my wand or athame for the directing of energy, when I do I feel my preference is my rose stem wand.

2. Tarot- I refuse for the majority of my time to divine with tarot. I only have one deck and whenever I use it I find I get warnings, and will then avert mishaps. While it can be a good thing, it isn't very fun. I never take my oracle cards out. They are too powerful. I leave them "Sacred" in their box well enough alone. I divine just fine via reading energy or Astrology- I can do both of these well enough and therefore do no longer often refer to the tarot.

3. Spells. I do not really write spells magically, I practice magic without elaborate spell writing and usage. Normally I do not do long extensive spells or rituals, and I do not ever cast a circle. Not ever. Not even around, by, or near the altar.

Three of my favorites

1. Tea-light candles. With these I find I do not even need a well written one or two page spell, but rather a solid, single, well thought out intent. The magic works itself out.

2. Incense. I use this for many purposes. A great multi-purpose magical tool. I use this to honor ancestors, to clear space, to cleanse tools, items, talismans etc, and to clear/cleanse self. It also comes in a variety of scents, if I do not find one pleasing there is another I will be sure to like/ appreciate and also very appreciated is it isn't expensive if I need something simple for the most part around my area. If I find a particular scent- sandalwood being my favorite- then it gets a bit more expensive but not outrageously so.

3. Staff. I use a staff often but not in the typical way staffs are used. I use my staff when practicing dowsing. I use it as a tool that doubles as a dowsing branch, and a staff. I do not usually use the staff for directing energy, although it can be used this way. My staff is used for protective means. Spiritual protection. As someone whom practices shamanism I deal with at times spiritual entities and not all of them are benign. So my staff serves as a no-nonsense tool.

Ethereal Moon Rose wrote:What a cool thread

I don't use-
3. Wiccan circle. I'm more of a trad witch and keep my circle casting very simple."

Ethereal Moon Rose: What did you mean by trad witch? Traditional? How simple can a circle casting get?

Well, I sometimes make a a twitchy gesture with a hand in a vaguely circular direction while saying (or just thinking) 'circle' and giving a half-second visual of it.....

Don't use:
1. Athame/Wand: I've just never had any need for them. My hands work just fine. I like to feel what I'm working with.
2. Robe: Same as the Athame, just never needed it. I feel like it weighs me down. I prefer to be sleeveless when I'm working.
3. Runes: I have several books on them and I have a few sets handwritten in my BOS. I just never get around to using them. I do find them fascinating though.

Favorites:
1. Candles: Adore them. I especially love the pillar candles with the tarot cards printed on the vase.
2. Sage/Incense: I love the earthy scented incense. And I love sageing my house. It brings in a nice calm energy.
3. Herbs: They just help me feel closer to the earth. Nature is very important in my craft.