Post by snowdragon on Aug 3, 2007 11:50:56 GMT -5
Dragon Magic with Snow Dragon
Dragon Altars
do you need a seperate altar for dragon magic? id say no, but that is entirely up to you. most of the time, especially to start out, you will be using dragon magic to ask the dragons to help with your regular rituals and celebrations and with paticulary difficult things as well. having 2 altars can be awfully confusing.
in this section, i will address those who have never attempted an altar ever and those who either have an altar in place or have made one before. this way, beginners to magic, not only dragon magic, can successfully work the kind of rituals and celebrations they would like to attempt.
What is an altar? to make things simple, it is a place that you would normally perform rituals and ceremonies from, whether it be a small side table, a flat piece of wood, or an old table. it can be used for decoration as well as an altar, thus allowing for a bit of an element of secrecy.
what do i put on my altar? Below is a little something i wrote out for my wiccan altars pages. it is basic and even adds in a bit of dragon magic explanations.
Altar Tool Basics
What are the tools you need, and how to use them?
first and foremost, you do not need any of these things. Magick comes from within and the tools only accentuate your own power. Tools can be purchased or made, whichever works better for you. You also don't need to get all of your tools at a specialty Wiccan store. I've gotten some wonderful items from garage sales and Goodwill and from my own backyard.
Athame
It's pronounced a-THAW-may or ATH-amay, not A-THAME. The athame is a ritual knife or dagger, usually double-edged with a black handle. The knife represents Fire, but is never used to cut anything physical. An athame is often used to cast a circle. It's symbolic only and many suggest you dull the blade to prevent any accidents.
Chalice
Your chalice (or cup) represents Water. Altar chalices are typically a stemmed goblet style, but any cup, glass or mug will do. Your cup is used to hold the water or wine for drinking at the end of a ritual or circle.
Wand
Most people think of wands as long wooden branches with a big stone on the end. Your wand can be any material you feel drawn to (wood, metal, bone). Your wand is the tool of Air, and is used to direct energy during ritual. Wands tend to be the one tool that most Wiccans are likely to make themselves.
Pentacle
Your altar pentacle can be anything from a simple pendant, to a large table-top platen. The pentacle represents Earth, and you use it to cleanse or consecrate other items on your altar. Typical pentacles are metal, ceramic or carved from wood. having a dragon pentacle can be useful for dragon magic. if one can not be found, or created, a small dragon statue near your pentacle can be used in its place.
Cauldron
The cauldron represents Water, like the chalice. Most Wiccans don't actively use cauldrons but keep one for the symbolism and the sheer 'witchy-ness' of it. Cauldrons are cast iron pots, usually pot-bellied in style. If you cannot find a true cauldron, other bowls or pots may be used. Though it represents Water, many rituals also call for small fires to be burned in the cauldron. If you plan on doing this, make sure to have a cauldron that can take the heat. also, a cauldron can be used for divination, so filling it with a little water can be very useful for this purpose.
Bowl of Salt
You can use a bowl of salt to represent the Earth. Salt is used to cleanse other tools, crystals, jewelry or any item that may pick up negative energy. A small bowl of salt (coarse sea salt is best) is simply kept on the altar.
Other Items
Candles - Represent Fire, and some people keep a special pair of candles to represent the God and Goddess, and for dragon magic, a dragons blood candle can work wonders. no worries. dragon blood is a plant. if you can not find a dragon blood candle, i have pages in the works on how to make candles.
Bells - Used to mark points during a ritual, usually in coven surroundings. in places of bells, you can use wind chimes that hang just above the altar or from the altar.
brazier - For burning incense (Air). can be a small ceramic or glass bowl that you burn incense in, can also be a tall standing brazier that has a glass bowl at the top of a well carved base. You can make your own brazier.
Sword - Just a longer version of the athame. Not very practical for the solitary Wiccan, but can be useful in dragon magic. it is not necessary to keep the sword on the altar, just cleanse it with salt or charged crystals before each use, to get rid of negative energies.
Boline - Curved knife for harvesting herbs, not really necessary for most people, unless you are going to give an offering of fresh herbs, which it is best to do the cutting of the herbs at the altar.
Incense, crystals, statuary - Not really tools, but handy and attractive things that many Wiccans like to display on their altars.in dragon magic, these items can come in very handy to attract dragons and to help with charging yourself before or after a ritual. Statues to use are goddess and/or God, Dragons and any animals that you may feel you have a magical bond with (totem animals, animals guides, etc...).
BOS (Book of Shadows)- this can be your own, or a book that you are reading that has rituals, celebrations or whatever it is that you want to attempt. to keep negative energies away from this book, you should have a book with a pentacle on the fron or back. it can be a pentacle that is included in the cover art of the book. a protective charm inside (written) can also achieve the same result. if you would like an example of a written charm, i will have them on my written charms page sometime in the near future.
Staff- a staff is normally used in more earthy celebrations then anything else. i highly suggest making your own staff. a nice thick piece of wood or a branch from a tree near by. in dragon magic and any other types of magic, a staff can come in handy while outdoors or during certain ceremonies. i will have more about staff making on another page soon.
Tarot Cards and/or Runes- why? dragons can be called on to help with divination, which both of these items can be used for. Dragon Tarot cards and dragon runes are best when asking for help from dragons. any other tarot card or rune set is just as good. i will have more on tarot reading and rune casting on other pages soon.
a quick reminder....there is no right or wrong way to create an altar. just be sure that if your altar is in the open, that you cleanse all your altars contents BEFORE attempting anything. negative energies can cause a normally easy ceremony to go very wrong. if need be, i will have pages up about how to doing cleansings, whether it be altar items or yourself.
Dragon Altars
do you need a seperate altar for dragon magic? id say no, but that is entirely up to you. most of the time, especially to start out, you will be using dragon magic to ask the dragons to help with your regular rituals and celebrations and with paticulary difficult things as well. having 2 altars can be awfully confusing.
in this section, i will address those who have never attempted an altar ever and those who either have an altar in place or have made one before. this way, beginners to magic, not only dragon magic, can successfully work the kind of rituals and celebrations they would like to attempt.
What is an altar? to make things simple, it is a place that you would normally perform rituals and ceremonies from, whether it be a small side table, a flat piece of wood, or an old table. it can be used for decoration as well as an altar, thus allowing for a bit of an element of secrecy.
what do i put on my altar? Below is a little something i wrote out for my wiccan altars pages. it is basic and even adds in a bit of dragon magic explanations.
Altar Tool Basics
What are the tools you need, and how to use them?
first and foremost, you do not need any of these things. Magick comes from within and the tools only accentuate your own power. Tools can be purchased or made, whichever works better for you. You also don't need to get all of your tools at a specialty Wiccan store. I've gotten some wonderful items from garage sales and Goodwill and from my own backyard.
Athame
It's pronounced a-THAW-may or ATH-amay, not A-THAME. The athame is a ritual knife or dagger, usually double-edged with a black handle. The knife represents Fire, but is never used to cut anything physical. An athame is often used to cast a circle. It's symbolic only and many suggest you dull the blade to prevent any accidents.
Chalice
Your chalice (or cup) represents Water. Altar chalices are typically a stemmed goblet style, but any cup, glass or mug will do. Your cup is used to hold the water or wine for drinking at the end of a ritual or circle.
Wand
Most people think of wands as long wooden branches with a big stone on the end. Your wand can be any material you feel drawn to (wood, metal, bone). Your wand is the tool of Air, and is used to direct energy during ritual. Wands tend to be the one tool that most Wiccans are likely to make themselves.
Pentacle
Your altar pentacle can be anything from a simple pendant, to a large table-top platen. The pentacle represents Earth, and you use it to cleanse or consecrate other items on your altar. Typical pentacles are metal, ceramic or carved from wood. having a dragon pentacle can be useful for dragon magic. if one can not be found, or created, a small dragon statue near your pentacle can be used in its place.
Cauldron
The cauldron represents Water, like the chalice. Most Wiccans don't actively use cauldrons but keep one for the symbolism and the sheer 'witchy-ness' of it. Cauldrons are cast iron pots, usually pot-bellied in style. If you cannot find a true cauldron, other bowls or pots may be used. Though it represents Water, many rituals also call for small fires to be burned in the cauldron. If you plan on doing this, make sure to have a cauldron that can take the heat. also, a cauldron can be used for divination, so filling it with a little water can be very useful for this purpose.
Bowl of Salt
You can use a bowl of salt to represent the Earth. Salt is used to cleanse other tools, crystals, jewelry or any item that may pick up negative energy. A small bowl of salt (coarse sea salt is best) is simply kept on the altar.
Other Items
Candles - Represent Fire, and some people keep a special pair of candles to represent the God and Goddess, and for dragon magic, a dragons blood candle can work wonders. no worries. dragon blood is a plant. if you can not find a dragon blood candle, i have pages in the works on how to make candles.
Bells - Used to mark points during a ritual, usually in coven surroundings. in places of bells, you can use wind chimes that hang just above the altar or from the altar.
brazier - For burning incense (Air). can be a small ceramic or glass bowl that you burn incense in, can also be a tall standing brazier that has a glass bowl at the top of a well carved base. You can make your own brazier.
Sword - Just a longer version of the athame. Not very practical for the solitary Wiccan, but can be useful in dragon magic. it is not necessary to keep the sword on the altar, just cleanse it with salt or charged crystals before each use, to get rid of negative energies.
Boline - Curved knife for harvesting herbs, not really necessary for most people, unless you are going to give an offering of fresh herbs, which it is best to do the cutting of the herbs at the altar.
Incense, crystals, statuary - Not really tools, but handy and attractive things that many Wiccans like to display on their altars.in dragon magic, these items can come in very handy to attract dragons and to help with charging yourself before or after a ritual. Statues to use are goddess and/or God, Dragons and any animals that you may feel you have a magical bond with (totem animals, animals guides, etc...).
BOS (Book of Shadows)- this can be your own, or a book that you are reading that has rituals, celebrations or whatever it is that you want to attempt. to keep negative energies away from this book, you should have a book with a pentacle on the fron or back. it can be a pentacle that is included in the cover art of the book. a protective charm inside (written) can also achieve the same result. if you would like an example of a written charm, i will have them on my written charms page sometime in the near future.
Staff- a staff is normally used in more earthy celebrations then anything else. i highly suggest making your own staff. a nice thick piece of wood or a branch from a tree near by. in dragon magic and any other types of magic, a staff can come in handy while outdoors or during certain ceremonies. i will have more about staff making on another page soon.
Tarot Cards and/or Runes- why? dragons can be called on to help with divination, which both of these items can be used for. Dragon Tarot cards and dragon runes are best when asking for help from dragons. any other tarot card or rune set is just as good. i will have more on tarot reading and rune casting on other pages soon.
a quick reminder....there is no right or wrong way to create an altar. just be sure that if your altar is in the open, that you cleanse all your altars contents BEFORE attempting anything. negative energies can cause a normally easy ceremony to go very wrong. if need be, i will have pages up about how to doing cleansings, whether it be altar items or yourself.