The Altar: For spell-casting purposes, the altar is the surface on which the spell is worked. It symbolizes the centre of the self and the centre of the universe. It is the focus and support for the magickal energy you raise.

Amulet: An item that, when worn, protects the wearer from evil.

Athame: The witch's magickal knife. The athame is a highly personal tool of The Craft and represents the witch's magickal identity and will. The athame is used to draw the magick circle, making ritual objects and projecting power. When an athame has been in use for some time it becomes palpably charged with magickal energy.

Book of Shadows: The witch's journal of rituals, prayers, meditations, charms and other bits of magickal information. The BOS contains a complete record of the witch's magickal workings. You should regard and treat your Book of Shadows with esteem and honour. When you are not using it, it is best to wrap it in silk or velvet and keep it in a safe place. Don't let anyone else have access to it. You can share the spells in it by writing them out and passing them on but don't let anyone else actually see or handle your Book of Shadows because it is a repository for your magickal energy.

Bell: Sometimes used in rituals because of the magickal properties of certain vibrations of sound.

Broom: Witches use brooms in magick and ritual. It is a tool sacred to both The Goddess and The God. You may begin a ritual by sweeping the area in which the circle is to be cast clean and visualizing as you do so all negative energy being swept outward and away. The magickal broom should only be used for ritual purposes. In other words, don't use it to do your housework!

Candles: Candles are used by almost every religion on the planet. Symbols and sources of the element of Fire, long tapers can be substituted for wands in most rituals, while votives and tea lights may be left on the altar, and figural candles (hands, hearts, etc.) are common in candle magick. In these rituals, a candle of the appropriate colour is anointed with a magickal oil and burned as part of the spell. Large votives may also be hollowed out at the base and packed with herbs and/or gemstones to increase the power.

Candlestick: Candlesticks, candelabra, and refillable glass votives are all commonly used in magick. Candlesticks marked with the Moon and Sun are available at most decorator stores (and can be used ritually for The Goddess and The God), and when practicing any spell requiring candles, a votive glass may be affixed with the image of an appropriate god, goddess or saint (or god the saint is standing in for). These votives may often be bought premade at African and Hispanic shops, and even some grocery stores, depending on your neighborhood.

Cauldron: The quintessential witch's tool, the one most people associate with a witch. The cauldron is for mixing potions and symbolizes the Goddess and Fertility.

Censer: The censer is an incense burner. Burning incense cleanses and purifies your sacred space.

Chalice: One of the four elemental tools, the chalice or cup represents the Element of Water in the Calling of the Quarters. It is placed on the West quadrant of the altar.

The Cord: The cord is used for binding things and for performing cord magick.

Dip Pen and Inks: These are used for writing out your desires during workings. Dove's Blood ink and Dragon's Blood ink are generally used.

Incense: One of the four elemental symbols, incense represents the Element of Air in the Calling of the Quarters. Carries your prayers to the Gods. It is placed on the East quadrant of the altar.

Mortar and Pestle: These are used for grinding herbs and mixing other ingredients.

Parchment Paper: Used for writing your desires on for particular workings

Pentagram: The five pointed star with the single point on top. It has been used in magick for hundreds of years. The pentagram originates from ceremonial magick where it was often used as an amulet for protection or to invoke spirits. In witchcraft, the pentagram represents the human figure and the four elements fire, water, earth and air with the fifth element spirit governing the rest. It is sometimes used to summon The God and Goddess.

Salt: One of the four elemental tools, salt represents the Element of Earth in the Calling of the Quarters. It is placed at the South quadrant of the altar.

Sword: Sometimes used by witches in much the same way as an athame or wand. It projects power and invokes and compels spirits.

Wand: The wand is sometimes used, like the athame, to project the magickal will of the witch. More commonly it is used in ceremonial magick where it is viewed as the physical embodiment of the magician's magickal will.

White-handled knife: The witch's knife used for common purposes such as cutting herbs for rituals.

1. Examine your motives in casting the spell. Make sure you are not trying to assert your will over another to his detriment. Spells for revenge and control are bad magick and will rebound on you. Remember the Wiccan Rede? Whatever you put out, will be drawn back. So if you put out bad energy, it will come back to haunt you. Always endeavour to find positive ways to solve your problem or attain your desire.
2. Visualize your intent. In other words, what is it that you are trying to achieve through the spell? Be specific in both your intent and the wording you choose when you perform the spell.
3. Find the right spell or method. Don't choose a spell that instructs you to, say, run naked across a field with a honey-glazed walnut in your navel and bells on your toes because if you feel foolish performing a spell then your concentration will be shot. And concentration is of paramount importance.
4. Feel your power. Know that you own it. Focus it and send it out to do your bidding and achieve your goal.

Stand up now and assume the Star Position(legs should be a comfortable distance apart, arms should be raised, palms outwards). Let the power flow through you...you will feel the sensation gradually build up. For some reason that we do not yet understand, when you assume the Star Position and let the energy flow through you, some energy stays with you. It is as though you were a pipe with water flowing through it; the pipe remains damp even after the flow has stopped. Make yourself into a great cosmic accumulator. Visualize the flow of infinite cosmic energy rushing past you as a blue-white light. Hear it as a wind in the treetops. Stand in the Star Position. First the energy will flow in through your hands and then into your head. Some of it will also enter through the fontanelle, the place at the top of the skull where the infant bones grow together in the months after birth. Feel the coolness of the breeze. You are going to fill your body with cosmic energy. You will feel your head come alive and glow and pulse with energy. Let the head fill with energy. Then bring the power down through the throat and heart into the abdomen. Visualize the energy flowing down to the solar plexus; fell the momentary unsettled condition of your stomach as you fill these lower areas. Imagine the infinite power filling you as water would fill you. Finally bring it down to your genitalia. As you fill this area, you will feel your physical organs vibrate and tingle. Do not be uneasy; that very natural feeling will be dispersed if you send the power to the target you have chosen.

You are now full of cosmic energy. A clairvoyant would see you glowing in the dark and a Kirlian photograph of your hand would show the tremendous stream of light/energy flowing from it. Russian experimenters have even recorded the crackling noises of the discharge as one of their well-known healers filled himself with energy and sent that energy into the body of his patient.

In order to obtain the intense level of focus you must have to perform a successful working, you must quiet your mind before you begin. You know those random thoughts that come into your mind unbidden? If they do that while you are in the middle of a working they will distract you and lessen the effectiveness of the spell. Of you have a problem with focus, there is a technique that you should perform before you begin casting the spell. It should help you enter a meditative state and calm that internal "chatter."

1. Sit down before your altar in a comfortable position.
2. Take long, slow breaths. As you exhale, envision the tension leaving your body carried by your breath.
3. Light a candle. Gaze at it. Then make a statement, either out loud or to yourself about what you see (such as "I see the glow of the candle flame").
4. Make a statement about what you hear. (You might say, for example, "I hear the crickets chirping outside my window.")
5. Make a statement about what you can feel (such as "I can feel the cool night breeze against the back of my neck").
6. Allow your eyes to close and then describe what you see in your mind.

Another point to remember is that most often, in order to obtain optimum results, a spell must be performed several or many times. In most cases, once just doesn't do the trick nearly as well as when you repeat it over and over again.

When you are a newcomer to The Craft, spells written by others are a good place to start. Eventually as you become more experienced and adept, you will modify these for your own purposes. Eventually they will evolve into something all your own and you will be able to create you own workings.