Why Authentic Magickal Implements Matter
Ritual Tools, Theurgy, and the Pitfall of Intention-Only Thinking
In the age of endless convenience and digital overload, we as modern magicians face a unique paradox: we’re surrounded by more information than ever before, and yet authentic practice can feel more distant than ever. One area where this is especially apparent is in the use—and neglect—of authentic magickal implements.
I want to offer a perspective, not just as a practicing occultist and craftsperson, but as someone who has come to believe deeply that what we use in ritual matters—and not just as a matter of aesthetics or symbolism, but of real magickal efficacy.
The Modern Dilemma: Too Many Skills, Too Little Time
The truth is, most people entering a magickal path today are already juggling careers, relationships, health, and modern distractions. We don’t live in monasteries, temples, or mystery schools where full-time devotion to the arts was once possible. We’ve also lost a lot of the craftsman skills that were part of the day-to-day lives of ancient practitioners.
To produce high-quality, traditional, and spiritually relevant ritual implements often requires dozens—if not hundreds—of hours of training in skills like:
Woodworking or metalwork
Sewing or engraving
Sacred geometry and symbolic design
Astrological timing and ritual consecration
It’s no wonder many sincere practitioners feel overwhelmed. For beginners especially, this can lead to hesitation and procrastination. Instead of stepping into practice, they wait—often indefinitely—for the “right moment” or the "perfect tools."
The Trap of Intention-Only Thinking
In the absence of guidance and accessible tools, many turn to the widely circulated belief that "intention is everything." This idea has become a kind of spiritual bypass in modern occult and New Age communities that really don’t end up with practical results. And let’s be honest, we got into practicing magick to enhance our lives and grow as individuals, and we want to see these things tangibly. I recently heard Alison Chicoksy, Jason Miller, and Alexander Moor on the Practical Occult Podcast discuss the responses that they have heard that minimizes the lack of practical results in magick:
“The real magick is the friends we made along the way.”
While community and building magickal relationships is certainly rewarding–it is not practical results, and I would hardly call it magick.
This attitude, and the aforementioned description, suggests that what you do, what you use, or how you do it doesn’t really matter—so long as your heart is in the right place.
But this idea doesn’t hold up under serious scrutiny, especially in the context of the western esoteric tradition. As Jason Miller eloquently argues in The Elements of Spellcrafting (a book I cannot recommend highly enough), intention alone is insufficient. He writes:
“Intention without technique is like wanting to play a symphony without ever learning an instrument.”
Jason Miller further states that, “This kind of thinking is crap. People all over the world did not painstakingly record formulas, spirit catalogues, and ritual procedures because “intention is all you need (Again, I cannot recommend Jason Miller’s The Elements of Spellcrafting enough).”
Tools, timing, actions, words—all of these matter. They are tools to direct intention, not substitutes for it. Without proper structure, even the strongest desire dissipates into noise.
Implements as Anchors of the Sacred
Authentic ritual tools are not just props. They are the link to the divine energies that we seek to engage. Whether it's a properly constructed wand, a consecrated chalice, or a pentacle engraved in harmony with planetary correspondences, these tools:
Focus and amplify intention through the divine energies present within
Anchor spiritual currents into the material world
Create a psychological and energetic shift in the practitioner
Connect us to lineages and traditions that stretch back millennia
Tools carry symbolism, yes—but to reduce them to only symbolism is a historical misrepresentation. It robs the mystical aspects from our practice--roots in traditions of magick and theurgy that have informed our modern practice.
Iamblichus and the Roots of Ritual Materiality
The idea that physical tools and ritual forms matter is not modern—it’s ancient. No one argued this more powerfully than Iamblichus, the 3rd-century Neoplatonist philosopher and theurgical visionary.
Iamblichus synthesized a vast array of esoteric traditions—from Middle and Late Platonism to Egyptian and Hellenistic theurgy, Pythagorean discipline, the Chaldean Oracles, and the mystery cults of the ancient world. His core teaching: the soul cannot ascend through contemplation alone—it must engage ritually with the divine through symbols, sacred objects, hymns, and actions.
To Iamblichus, ritual implements weren’t symbolic placeholders. They were necessary vehicles through which the divine could descend and the human soul could ascend.
“The ineffable causes must be approached not by thought alone, but by means of acts that are themselves divine.” —Iamblichus, On the Mysteries
Something that I find interesting, as a former Orthodox Christian, is the intersection between the philosophy and theurgic practices of Iamblichus and the Christian east. In particular the same language used to describe the energization and presence of the divine in material objects. John the Damascene states emphatically that “matter is pregnant with power to communicate what is most radically beyond matter.” I hope to explore this topic more thoroughly in a future blog post–how incarnational theology can inform our magickal thinking and practice–want to show that incarnational thinking is not the sole property of the Eastern Church. I should also note that I am not lumping theurgy and thaumaturgy to the same category, but the magickal mechanisms and role of ritual implements remain, for the most part, consistently the same.
The Need for Accessible, Practitioner-Crafted Tools
This is where the modern occult community has a real need—and a real opportunity. Practitioners making tools with understanding, historically formed practices, and integrity can meet others where they are. It removes unnecessary barriers to entry while still honoring the tradition and power of true ritual work.
When a practitioner crafts an item—not as a product, but as a piece of magick—it carries more than physical form. It becomes:
A magickal conduit for divine energies
A ritualized object, shaped with inner and outer alignment
A gesture of service to the current and to the community
In Closing: What We Use Matters
Ritual implements aren’t optional—they’re integral. While a tool alone won’t do the Work for you, it will deepen your connection, focus your will, and tether your magick in a way that it can become more efficacious.
If you’re new to magick, don’t let perfectionism stop you—but also don’t fall into the trap of thinking that “anything goes.” Seek out sources and practitioners like Jason Miller, Stephen Skinner, David Rankine, Frater Ashan Chassan, and others. Study the roots laid by thinkers like Iamblichus. And when you use tools, use ones that are made with knowledge and care.
Because magick deserves better than shortcuts.
And so do you.
—
Frater Henosis
Sources & Further Reading
Jason Miller, The Elements of Spellcrafting: 21 Keys to Successful Sorcery, Red Wheel/Weiser, 2018.
Iamblichus, De Mysteriis (On the Mysteries), trans. Emma C. Clarke, John M. Dillon, and Jackson P. Hershbell, Society of Biblical Literature, 2003.
St. John of Damascus, On the Divine Images, trans. David Anderson, St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1980.
