GALLERY of WITCHCRAFT ARTEFACTS Gemma's Collection
The creation of tools and magical objects is an important aspect of the Charmer's Craft. In the past there were no Occult supply shops and Traditional Witches, Charmers & Cunning Folk have long been used to hand crafting their own tools, mostly from items found & gathered from nature. Other tools may be passed down from previous practitioners. Through their careful crafting and continual use a Witch's tools will build up a strong virtue and spirit of their own, and in many ways become trusted friends of the practitioner and an integral part of their working lives.
Below is a small photo collection of my own magical artefacts and working tools that aid me in my Craft.
My working hearth where most of my charmworking takes place
Drinking hornes used in ritual communion with the land, the ancestors and the powers that aid the Charmer's Craft. Also shown is a small bowl of antler which has a number of ritual and magical uses.
Two knives, one large double edge knife with deer's foot hilt used for grand rituals. I made the single edge knife myself. It has a hilt of horn/antler and a sheath of toad skin. It is used in general ritual and for magic.
Magical stones. Charmers & Cunning Folk make use of a number of magic stones. Shown here is my Hag or 'Whispering' stone used for magic making, a pre-historic cutting or scraping tool used as a link with the old ones and still very much a sharp practical tool. A red serpentine 'Stroking Stone' used in healing magic.
A troy stone, carved on slate. Used by Westcountry Witches to induce trance states to aid divination and working between the worlds and as a powerful tool of transormation magic.
A dried mandrake root. A potent charm & home to a helpful spirit to aid workings of love, sexuality & good fortune. Also consulted for wisdom.
A 'Wish Box' or 'Spirit Box' used to gain the aid of the spirits for the magical needs of a practitioner's clients.
A Candlestick & small iron cauldron shaped pin cushion with different coloured glass headed pins used to pierce a candle during spells. The colour of the pin corresponds to the desired result of the spell.
A 'Witch's Whisk' used to remove negative or harmful forces in a ritual or working. Also shown is a hagstone & iron key which is an old protective charm.
My 'Seeing Globe' or crystal ball on a scorpionic tripod dating from the 1940's. Used to 'look into a situation' usually before working for a client.
A Black Mirror used in magic, scrying and working with spirits.
This mirror is now housed in the Museum of Witchcraft, Boscastle, North Cornwall.
My 'Piskie Bowl'. I have many uses for this bowl, ritual, magical and for 'seeing' with the aid of spirits.
A horned skull. Used in Witchcraft rituals to represent Bucca.
Cronnekdhu Box which contains the Cronnekdhu (Cornish: "Black Toad").
The Cronnekdhu charm. Made during secret rites in which the Charmer is initiated as a "Toad Witch". The charm gives the abilities to influence the minds of humans and animals. It is perhaps the Cornish equivalent of the better known Toad Bone/Waters of the Moon ritual of East Anglian Traditional Witchcraft
Other artefacts from my collection will be added in time.
