Here is going to be a list, with pictures of tools I use often. All of these objects I have made myself and some I use more often than others.
I do have to preface that these are tools I have all made myself and in case I did buy them from a store I did not spend a lot of money on it. Because I just do not think that it matters how much money you spend on them, the “witch aesthetic” is just that at the end of the day, a look, a fashion. And I do personally think it is better to create your own tools with things that you find in nature, as they will be infused and imbedded with your energy, and thus become a truer extension of yourself. Which at the end of the day they are, extensions of yourself. Tools are just things that help you and not a replacement for personal effort and insight.
Whenever I am outside, especially in forests and nature I pay special attention to where I am walking, not only because it is generally safer to do so on uneven ground but also because the gods and spirits have a way of placing things in our path that would be useful or helpful to us in our spiritual journeys. These objects like feathers and stones are great choices to create your own tools with.
Things you find
I have an entire collection of things in my workshop.
Things like glass I find near bodies of water, that has been smoothed on the edges.
Feathers, stones, bones and sticks.
Sea shells.
Tiny pieces of wood here and there that lend themselves very well to creating little talismans.
Big flat rocks.
Hag stones.
Driftwood. I even found a piece of birch bark on the beach one day that had retained its flexibility.
Large and thick pieces of bark that are great to make wall decorations with, or offering bowls.
All these are just examples of things I have used and will continue to keep using in my practice.
Now off to the meat of this article.
The majority of the objects described below are for my paying subscribers, the first three are for everyone.
Starting with of course a set of runes.
I always use the Elder Futhark, with their Germanic names. That is because that is the set that resonates most deeply with me and which is the purest. Perhaps our ancient ancestors used even different ones but these are the oldest ones that have ever been found and are therefor the closest to them.
The word FUTHARK basically means the same thing as alphabet.
Whereas the last comes from alpha, beta and so on, furthark comes from fehu, uruz, thurisaz; the first three runes. If it was ever called differently then that knowledge has been lost to time. And not even Tacitus who wrote about the Germanic tribes carving symbols on wood had a word for it. But we can with relative safety assume he was talking about runes as he did mention that it was used in divination and magical practices.
These have been made out of traditional yew wood. But I have found through personal experience that the type of wood does not matter although I do feel a better connection with wood that is typically found in European forests. Exotic wood might lend itself well to hand crafts but I don’t feel a connection with it as I have with native European trees. Nor do they have to be made from wood. They can be made from bone, clay, carved into stones too. As long as it is a natural material.
Valknut Disc
Secondly a Valknut symbol on a wooden disc which I made myself and I use in all of my rune readings for clients which includes substack. The Valknut is the Knot of the Slain and a symbol for the Odinic / Wotanic mysteries. The number nine is recognisable in the Valknut symbol, a reference to nine days and nine nights.
There are variations on the symbol of course, but it is always three interlocking triangles.
A lot of personal illuminations can come through meditating or ruminating over the symbol.
When I am not using it for a reading it sits on my altar, and I use it as a holding platform for my plate of offerings to the gods and my familiar spirits and ancestors.
The disc is something I bought in an arts and crafts store, then pyrographed the symbol on top and gave it a color to stand out.
The wand.
Inscribed with every rune which is standard. But it can of course be adorned with personal bindrunes too. That is just personal preference.
This is a tool used in transferring energy into objects and in general rituals, mostly ritual and personal workings.
I found a straight stick, peeled its bark off then shaved it down with sanding paper. Afterwards I pyrographed the runes. You can also draw them on.
