3 C’s
Cleansing-Ridding your witchy tools and yourself of
dust, dirt, and or energy before use. Objects, including ourselves, pick up
energy from the atmosphere and the surrounding people.
Much like buying produce, you want to wash away any germs or
dirt before putting it in your mouth. The same is true for your tools. Of
course, you won’t be putting those in your mouth unless we are talking about
your chalice and then it’s the drink inside that goes in your mouth.
You can cleanse most of your tools with simple soap and
water. Others can be damaged by water and you research whether your specific
tool can be put in water.
This is true for some crystals and any cast-iron you use. If
you use a cast-iron cauldron, it will come with special instructions on cleaning and caring for it.
For items you cannot submerge in water, there are three very
effective ways of cleansing. The first is to leave the item on a windowsill or
outside during the new or dark moon.
The second way is to run the item through the smoke of sage.
If you don’t like the smell of a sage smudge, you can use sage incense. This is
my preferred method of burning sage and it has always worked well for me.
The third is to put the item in a dish of salt. Table salt
is just as effective as sea salt. I would use white salt thought since pink
salt and black salt have their specific uses. White is the color of purity
after all and you are purifying the tool by cleansing it.
Consecrating or blessing-Many Pagan traditions involve the consecration
of magical tools before use. Cosecarting the tool will allow you to imbue it
with your intent. Since you have removed all of the energy during the cleansing
process, it is time to put some energy back in.
You can make a consecration oil which is very useful for
candles. But what about the tools you don’t want to get all oily.
For those items, you will need a white candle and your altar
if you use one. Set up your altar in your usual way and if you cast a circle do
that. Place your item in the middle of your altar and say something to the effect
of…
I consecrate this (the tool’s name “athema, wand, etc…”) in
the name of the old ones, the ancient ones, the sun and moon, and stars.
It’s as simple as that. For the incense on the altar, I use
sandalwood. I run the tool through the smoke before placing it in the middle of
my altar.
Keep in mind that with Pagan traditions there is no right or
wrong way of doing things.
Charging-The last step in the three C’s is charging.
This is by far the easiest of the steps. You have already done all the hard
work unless you have to wait for a full moon. I like to do all of my three C’s
on the full moon. If I have a lot of tools that require cleansing, I will start
the process a day or two before.
There are two ways to charge your tools. It is based on
personal preference and what your intended purpose is for the tool.
For the full moon, you will need to leave your tools on a
windowsill or outside where the full moon will shine down on them.
The other is the sun. Be cautious with leaving tools in the
sun. Just like some crystals cannot be submerged in water, some crystals should
not be in direct sunlight.
For example, amethyst will fade if left in the sun. And if
you put your crystal ball in the sun it works like a magnifying glass and you
could start a fire.
Just do a little research before you cleanse your items to
know if they are water and sun-safe. If not refer above to other ways to
cleanse them and leave them in the light of the full moon instead of the sun.
