High Magick: A Guide to the Spiritual Practices That Saved My Life on Death Row - Damien Echols 2018

Magickal Implements
Final Thoughts

Ihaven’t addressed magickal paraphernalia up to this point because I didn’t want you to become distracted from learning the basic techniques and becoming thoroughly familiar with the foundational practices of high magick. That’s not to say that implements aren’t important. Some magicians place great value on the use of paraphernalia; it helps them focus and attain an ideal state of concentration. The list of all the different types of magickal implements and their applications is too long to complete here, but this will give you a rough idea:

•wands made from a particular wood to enhance certain magickal properties

•wands carved by hand during specific phases of the moon

•chalices cast from particular metals

•candles of various colors

•incense to promote various moods and assist with clarity

•specific herbs

•crystals to enhance one’s aura

•stones and gems of all types

•bones, wood, plant fibers, and other items normally associated with natural magick

There’s nothing wrong with employing any of these tools in your magick. I often use them myself because every time we use an implement, it enhances the charge of a particular brand of energy in that item. When I was released from prison, I began using wands (which was a lot harder to do on death row, as you can imagine), and there’s one that I employ only when performing the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. With each repetition of the LBRP, the energy I direct through the wand accumulates a little more, and as time goes on, the wand becomes increasingly more powerful. Eventually, it will be an artifact capable of tremendous magick.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you need magickal paraphernalia.

One of my teachers practices what’s called “chaos” magick — a highly individualistic form of magick that taps into all sorts of belief systems and modern technology. He uses a particular knife for his banishing practices. For him, this knife is a sacred object, and he never uses it for anything else (like cutting vegetables on the physical plane) nor does he allow anyone else to touch the knife. Over the years, this tool has accumulated a substantial charge, such that even pointing it to his body results in an overpowering tingling sensation. When he applies the knife to his banishing magick, all he needs to do is simply aim it in a given direction and the unwanted factor is repelled.

This is all to say that if a certain implement calls to you, feels right, or helps you in some way, then by all means, use it in your magick. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that you need magickal paraphernalia. You don’t. I learned that on death row, when I wasn’t allowed to shop online for wands crafted from the finest ash, to go down to the New Age store for sandalwood incense, or to set up an array of crystals to supercharge my aura. Some of the most important rituals in my entire life were performed without the use of a single tool because I had nothing but the energy I was able to draw on from the universe around me. Magickal implements might very well help you, but they certainly aren’t required to practice magick, and I’m living proof of that. As I indicated above, certain items can acquire charge, but magick doesn’t reside in those objects — it lives in you. And that means you already have everything you need.

So there’s nothing wrong with using props; you just don’t want to become overly dependent on them or fall into the erroneous belief that they are necessary for magick to happen. What if you find yourself in a dire situation and you need to perform magick right in the moment? If you’re too reliant on your particular chalice or robe or candle and don’t have them with you when the time comes, your magick will suffer as a result. You need to be able to perform magick in the spur of the moment without relying on anything other than yourself and the energy around you.

That invites an obvious question: If they aren’t necessary, why use magickal implements at all? Well, to begin with, I’ve given the primary reason above: unlike items we typically use as tools on the physical plane (knives, saws, cars, etc.), magickal implements gain power and get better with usage. When you employ a given object for a certain type of magick, over time it collects energy and enhances that magick. In addition, in the early stages of their journey, some people find it easier to perform magick if they have a physical object to focus their attention on. If you’re one of these people, that’s fine. You can become so familiar with a tool that merely picking it up will help you attain an altered state of consciousness that’s conducive to magick. If you use a certain implement every time you perform a specific ritual or magickal act, your subconscious mind quickly comes to equate the tool with that particular act, and that can help beginners cope with concentration difficulties.

Finally, some people (myself included) just love to collect magickal implements for no other reason than it gives them pleasure to do so. I own a number of beautiful, hand-carved wands; I’ve acquired them over time in the same way that people collect works of art. I simply enjoy how they look — their aesthetics enhance my life in some way. Other magicians have their own versions of this practice, but none of us needs them in order to perform magick. Always remember: collecting magickal paraphernalia is fine, but that’s not what makes you a magician. Only practicing magick does.