Reconsidering Smudging With Sage Bundles in Neo-paganism

Cultural appropriate is a real hot button issue for a lot of modern pagans, particularly when it begins to concern Native Americans. Although some Native tribes are quite open to those who are sincere, many Native Americans have come forward and asked people to please stop taking their traditions, and please stop taking them and using them out of context, or without any relation to a tribe, and so on. This is often met, unfortunately, with cries of things like "we're all one people," "spirituality needs to be shared," and "you should feel grateful that people want to emulate you." I would think one only needs to consider the history and current issues facing Native American populations to realize why these aren't exactly great things to say. (And yet...)

But the use of sage in particular is an issue I find interesting. Smudging with sage sticks, generally white sage (Salvia apiana), is just so ubiquitous within modern paganism, nobody seems to question it, or look at it's origins. White sage is native to western North America. The spiritual associations of it, using it for purification, the rituals surrounding it, and so on, all originate with some Native American tribes. White sage is also not the only plant used in such a way, of course, sagebrush, cedar, and other local plants would have all been used by various tribes.So why is it this one thing which seems to have become so widely spread throughout the pagan community? Especially when we consider that the pagan roots we tend to draw from have their own purification traditions.

Let's look at Greece, for example. Common sage (Salvia officinalis) is native to the Mediterranean. Same genus as white sage, but a different species. Common sage, sometimes also called garden sage, is what you're likely to find in grocery stores for use in cooking. (Although white sage is edible, and was/is used as a source of food.) Common sage is found in Greece. It was very, very likely that it was one of the "aromatic herbs" burned as an incense offering to some of the gods. The Orphic Hymns recommend aromatic herbs be burned for Hestia, Hera, Athene, and Selene, for example.

But the Greeks didn't use common sage in smudging rituals like some Native American tribes would do. In Greek ritual, purification of people and spaces would have generally been accomplished with lustral water and barley.

Which is all not to say that no one else ever purified with incense, smoke, sacred fires, and so on. That's found in many, many places all over the world. It's just, there are so many ways to do this without pulling from Native American customs. So again, I can't help but wonder why that in particular was the thing to become standard practice for so many folks. Particularly when, for many pagans, connecting to our ancestral roots is such an important element of the practice. Why didn't we look more to what they did? Their traditions are just as valid, and often easily accessible, after all.

I doubt that I could ever talk someone out of using a sage stick if it's become something they've done in their practice for quite a while, and I'm not even sure if that's my 'goal' here, so to speak. But I do think paganism, as a whole, would benefit in looking at, and finding the value in some of our other purification traditions.

As a final note, I'm always someone who's often going on about the importance of looking locally, working locally, and so on, in witchcraft. However, it's quite possible to work locally, and even respect indigenous traditions, without lifting elements of their spirituality directly from them. Living in those areas would probably open you to the use of these kinds of sage in general, but I think there would have to be ways to utilize these plants respectfully, you know? Being aware of the cultures that still use them as part of their living tradition. Not living in an area where sage is native, I can't speak more on that. There's not really an easy equivalent where I live (not to mention, so many plants here have been imported, so they are local but not native). I'd be interested to hear more from witches living in such areas, however.

Wands and/or Knives (Athames)

(Disclaimer, I am not Wiccan, most of the people I have been discussing this with are not Wiccan, so take that into consideration for this post.)

I've seen a lot of interesting comments going around the last few days. A few people who have never used a ritual knife, a few people who used them but stopped (generally in favor of wands), and then even one guy who said he couldn't imagine why anyone would need a ritual knife unless they were going to preform an animal sacrifice. Really.

I think it's quite interesting that so many people seem to favor the wand over the knife, when for me I've found the opposite to be true. I have no wand, no need for a wand, no desire for one. When I see a lot of people making the decision of one over the other, it usually comes down to the tool's ability to direct energy. What feels "nicer" and, well, "less scary" is sometimes the term used. In this aspect, I have always preferred the knife. Perhaps because it feels more precise to me.

But the real reason I continue to have a knife is, well, I need to cut and carve things. I know that's often a no-no in Wicca, but I am surprised how many non-Wiccans don't seem to take this function into account, or just don't need it. I use my knife to gather herbs, twigs, carve symbols, cut cord, and so on.

Beyond that, because I often hold my workings outside, sometimes far from home, I try to keep the number of things I need to a minimum, and I try to choose tools and items that can preform more than one function. So, for me, the knife wins out over a wand. It not only does the ceremonial functions, but it also does the more mundane things one would expect a knife to do. Which, anyone who has existed in the world for any length of time, knows that knives can do a lot of things that aren't animal sacrifice.

"But you can't just stroll around with a knife to a ritual site!"
Well, actually, I live in New Hampshire so I can do exactly that. Thanks New Hampshire for basically having no knife laws.

Now another concern I've seen makes a bit more sense to me - Fae are said to dislike iron (and so, also steel). I don't really use a lot of tools when honoring and working with the nature spirits, so this hasn't yet been an issue for me. Some also feel the wand better resonates with their deity. For me, and the deities I work with, knife again tends to make more sense.

I have also encountered the idea that metal isn't natural. Won't even wear jewelry during a ritual because it's not natural. I am not sure where these people think things like iron, gold, copper, etc, come from...

I realize it's all quite personal, and I'm not writing this to get people to "convert" to using a knife or anything, these are just the reasons why the knife is a much better fit for my practice, and why the wand was left behind with Wicca, way back when.

Midsummer

Lately in my mind I've been thinking of the summer solstice as Midsummer instead of Litha. Not sure what brought about that particular change, but figure it's worth making a note of.

I spent yesterday cleaning out the fire pit in my grandparents' backyard. Some of the bricks had fallen over, and the whole pit and area around it had become a bit overgrown. Before any fires I'd made were small and off in a little sandy area to the side of the house, but the backyard is nicer so I've been working on cleaning that space up.

So since today is Midsummer I thought it would be a good time to have a fire and bless the fire pit. I know the area is going to need some more work. A bench would be nice, or maybe I'll just have to bring a folding chair out. I'm also considering making a small shrine on top of, or nearby the fire pit, or making one of the sides a bit wider for a bit of altar space. Not sure yet.

Today I also began making a large stang. I've written about this a few times in the past, this as been an ongoing search for... two years now? Something like that. I've just been waiting to find the right branch to start with. I had passed by the branch I ended up choosing many, many times. First, it wasn't the type of tree I was hoping to make a stang from, and two it was actually a whole small tree rather than a branch from a tree.

I was trying to avoid cutting a whole tree down, but this particular tree was in an area that was due to have some clearing anyway. Actually, this is how I lost the original branch I was looking at the year before last. It was a nice branch from a young white oak, but the week before I was going to cut it the whole area was cleared out and the wood hauled off somewhere.

Anyway like I said, this has been a long process, and I've been coming back to this particular tree for at least a year now. It just seemed like the right one to work with. So I left an offering at the base of the tree, and carefully cut it down. The trunk forked off into two branches, which I've trimmed off and kept for later use. I blessed the stang over the Midsummer fire, which had dried mugwort burning in it. Now it's going to be set aside for a while to dry out a bit before being worked further.

Budget Witchcraft/Paganism

All too often someone will say to me, "I want to be a witch/pagan/whatever, but I don't have any money to buy supplies!" Good news - all you really need is you. Yeah, sounds kinda cheesy, right? It's true, though. There are many things you can do that don't really require any money. You can learn to meditate, visualize, cook/eat mindfully, spirit journey, pray, and a whole host of other things, all without spending money on special items.

That said, tools and various other ritual items, while not necessary, are often nice to have, and can be useful aids in your practice. So how do you go about getting these things when you're on a tight budget?

Usually second hand stores, pawn shops, some antique stores, and even the occasional yard sale can bring about a good number of items, for little cost. These sorts of places have tons of little bowls, plates, and other bits - as well as nice stemware that can be used as a ritual cup. Small decorative daggers and letter openers can serve as a fine ritual knife. Such items generally need a good cleansing and blessing before use, but that's something many do for all their tools before use, anyway.

An all too often overlooked source is nature itself. You can go right out and pick up a whole bunch of useful odds and ends for free. Wood from a local tree could easily be made into a wand. Some people even like to carve ritual knives from wood. Herbs, stones, wood for charms, etc. can all be found right outside for a number of people.

Maybe not everyone has the means to do this, but a lot of people who do still seem to overlook it. Last summer I was chatting with a beginner, and she was telling me how she had no money, and so she could not buy herbs or stones, and so she could not practice at all. This person was from a somewhat rural town in New Hampshire, very similar to the one I'd grown up in, and I can assure you if there's one thing we've got plenty of in New Hampshire, it's plants and rocks. For whatever reason, many people just don't consider what's outside, they want something from a shop, or online. The "real" magic sort of stuff.

Sure, you're not likely to go out and find quartz points or tumbled gemstones lying around, but the things you will find are no less powerful or interesting, and they have the potential to become as personal and meaningful, if not more so, than something you just picked up in a shop.

To the left are some examples of some things I've found for myself outdoors. At the top is a stick of lilac wood, which could easily be made into something like a wand, or a part cut off to make a charm. Below that, at the left, is a small horse charm. Not natural, no, but found while out walking anyway. Next, a stone with a cross through it, a symbol of the earth and protection. A chunk of granite, half black and half white, balance. Sea glass and a shell from a trip to the beach, feathers from the woods, teaberries and birch bark right from the yard. 

There are many plants and trees which can be easily identified with a little research, and can have many uses. Many people are already familiar with some of the more commonly found things, such as maple trees, acorns, pine cones, and dandelions.

Even something as abundant as dirt has a place in ritual and spellwork! Dirt from specific locations is often used in spellwork in hoodoo, for example. Dirt from a hospital yard for healing, or dirt from outside a courthouse for help in legal matters. (For more on that topic, see this post.)

It's also good to take a look around your own home. You want to purify yourself before a ritual, but no sage to smudge? How about soap? Yes, really. Soap gets you nice and clean, right? So there's no reason a good scrub down in the shower can't get you ritually clean, if you put the intent into it. Want to cleanse a space? Bet you've got some salt in the house, so put a little sprinkle of blessed salt into some water, and sprinkle that around the area you'd like to cleanse. What else have you got? Maybe some sugar, flour, pepper, honey or maple syrup, some basic dried herbs or spices (like cinnamon, red pepper flake, oregano)? Find out how you can use them, because you can. 

When it comes to offerings, you can always offer a bit from your own plate, or even something as simple as a cup of water, so long as you are truly sincere about it.

You don't need a bunch of expensive tools and fancy items to practice witchcraft, or to be a pagan. There's nothing wrong with saving up for a really nice tool, if that's what you'd like to do, but likewise there's also nothing wrong with using what's at hand or what you can forage and dig up, either. Don't put off practicing until you have a perfect collection of every item you could ever need, don't let it become an excuse. If you want to practice, do it! You may have to think outside the '101 book' item list, get a little creative, really get your mind working - but you can absolutely practice without going broke.

Prompt: Who makes your tools?

When it come to the tools of your practice, does it matter who made them or where they come from?
Does something you made yourself have more power?
Or can you simply purchase what you need, then cleanse and charge it for your use?

Some of my tools I have made myself, some I bought (be it handmade by another, from a store, or bought second hand), some were found, while others have been gifts from family and friends. Where my tools come from doesn't matter too much to me, and really I find it interesting to have, and to work with tools from a variety of places.

Likewise, when it comes to bought tools, they're all over the price range. Some were cheap, others were more expensive. An expensive tool is not necessarily better than a cheap one - there are tons of inexpensive options out there that work absolutely fine! No one should be pressured into buying expensive tools. On the other hand, it's not wrong to invest a bit of money into a tool if you know you're going to use it often, and use it for many years. Working and saving up money to treat yourself to a tool you like can be rewarding in itself, much as creating something on your own is rewarding.

I don't think it matters much where a tool comes from, how much it costs, and so on... as long as the tool speaks to you, that's what truly matters. For many, hand making a tool is a great way to ensure that the tool is as you want it, that it is personal to you and speaks to you. Many also choose to customize their bought tools - carving or painting symbols into it, or decorating it in other ways - to add a more personal touch. Sometimes, though, you just find the perfect item in a shop, and know it's what you've been looking for just as it is. One of these is not better than the others.

Making a tool is also a great way to start getting your energy into an item, but for me much of the bond comes through actual use, through time spent with it. A handmade item may have more of a head-start, so to speak, but in the end any tool that's used a lot will end up having that bond.

A tool is what you make of it. Whether you hand made your tool, if you saved up and worked hard for it, if you found an awesome bargain, if you traded for it, if you just found it walking through the woods... be proud of it! Don't let someone shame you because they think you should have done something different.

And remember, in the end a tool is just an aid. It can help, but all you really need is you.

Ritual Garb

There was a time, when I was an Egyptian reconstructionist, that I had very specific ritual clothing. In particular, it was a white pleated skirt, a white tank top, and a white shawl for when it was cooler in the house. White was the required color for the tradition. After leaving reconstruction, I slowly moved away from having any special garb for ritual. I wore what I was wearing, and never thought much of it.

I never got back into any full ritual wear, but I have started including little odds and ends into my ritual wear. Just enough to help get my brain into "okay, it's time" without being (for me) unpractical.

The first is a simple leather choker. This is for Artemis. The second is a dark grey-blue shawl. It is for Westya. (Sometime this item acts as an altar cloth of sorts, depending on the need. This keeps with my feeling of Westya as foundation, though.) The third is a leather belt, which is mostly for practical reasons. A place to put my knife, a place to hang pouches with things I need to have at hand.

Sometimes I wear all these things at once, sometimes just one or two of them. They're really simple objects, but they help me transform from regular clothes, to something a little more special.

Tools: Sistrums, Rattles, and Drums

A sistrum is a percussion instrument from ancient Egypt, used in the worship of the Goddesses Hathor, Bast, and in later times Isis. Sistra can some in a few styles, from little metal disks on bars that move when shaken, to movable metal bars that clank against the frame of the sistrum. Depending on how the sistrum is shaken the sounds it makes can be anything from a light jingling to a loud, sharp clanging sound. In some ways, the sound can be similar to that of a tambourine.

(Two sistra, both of the metal disk variety.
Above: A naos, or shrine, shaped sistrum, with the image of Hathor.
Below: A simpler sistrum with a rattle attached to the base.)

Rattles and drums are more commonly known instruments. All three can be used in meditation and trance work. A simple and repetitive beat will help one in attaining an altered state of mind for otherworld traveling, and different rhythms and tones will have different effects. Some may prefer a quicker, higher tone, while others have better experiences with a slow and low beat. Additionally, some find benefit in actually using the instrument, while others prefer to listen to someone else playing - either live or as a recording. (A recording of your own playing can also be used.)

Tools: The Cup / Chalice

On the surface the cup, or the chalice, seems to be a simple tool - a vessel to hold liquid during ritual. Beyond the surface we find complex symbolism, similar to that of the cauldron. For many the cup is associated with water, and is considered a feminine tool, as it can be likened to the womb. (Bet you'll never look at a drinking cup the same way again...) It is a tool of creation and transformation.

The cup can preform several roles in ritual. The most obvious use is holding water or some other drink that will be consumed, or given in offering (or a bit of both), during ritual. In this way it can be seen as a tool of the life giving hearth, a symbol of fertility and abundance. In this way, it also becomes an important part of rituals that focus on the sacred meal.

The cup also plays an important role in rituals of hieros gamos, that is, holy marriage. Many are probably familiar with the Wiccan form, The Great Rite. Rich in sexual symbolism, the plunging of the knife into the cup to represent the union of the Goddess and God. Outside of the Wiccan mythos, it can still represent the union of opposites. Fire and water, conscious and subconscious, seen and unseen, and the lower/instinctual self and higher self.

The cup can come in many shapes, and be made of many materials - anything from a simple clay bowl to a fancy gem-encrusted silver goblet. Sea shells, drinking horns, dried gourds, and coconut shells are all other examples of items that can be used. Material, color, and design all really depend on what the cup means to you, and how you will use it. When doing rituals at home or in the yard, I use a blue ceramic chalice (pictured above). However, when I'm out on longer treks into the forest, I find a small wooden bowl works much better. It's easier to transport, and won't chip or break if it bumps against something else in my pack.

Tools: The Censer

Simply put, a censer is a holder for burning incense. For many it is a tool associated with air, or not given much thought because the actual incense becomes the main focus.

For me, it's a rather special tool - an altar unto itself, able to represent all four elements, as well as a place to make offerings and open the way to the Unseen World. Starting with the bowl itself, my censer is cauldron shaped, linking it with water. It is filled with finely ground grain, linking it with earth. In it burns a charcoal round, fire. On it incense smolders, creating smoke - air. Through the fire offerings are given to the Spirits, Ancestors, or Gods - our words carried to Them on the scented smoke.

It takes time to prepare the censer for ritual use, going through the steps helps one to enter into a ritual mindset. It begins with selecting what to fill the censer with. You should fill it with something to help keep the censer itself from becoming too hot. Again, I use a ground grain... usually corn, as it's a local grain connecting it to this land - but other grains are sometimes used, barley for Artemis, as an example. However, there are other options to choose from. Some use sand (which you can also find in a variety of colors), dirt, salt, rice, or ash. Grains will burn a bit under the charcoal, but this can be a nice scent, and will be gone by the time the charcoal is ready for the incense.

Which brings us to the next step, lighting the charcoal. Using a pair of metal tweezers or tongs (metal chopsticks can also be used, for those with the skill to use them), hold the charcoal over an open flame. A taper candle or lighter works well - matches usually don't stay lit long enough. Set the charcoal into the censer. Don't push it down into the filling, there needs to be some oxygen flow around the sides for proper burn. (There is a way to use ash to cover the charcoal, leaving a little vent to heat a small metal plate of incense instead of directly burning it. Look up Japanese incense ceremony techniques for more information on other ways to burn the charcoal.)

Always be sure to use incense charcoal and not BBQ bricks! They are made differently, and it is important to use the correct charcoal. It's also best to do this outside, or in a well ventilated room. We want to smell the scent of the incense, a little bit of smoke coming from the incense is pleasant to look at -- but too much smoke isn't good for us, and can even take us out of the right frame of mind for ritual.

Next you must wait for the charcoal to be glowing red all across it, and covered with a fine layer of ash. Fanning or gently blowing on the charcoal can aid this process. Then the charcoal is ready for the incense. Add just a pinch or two at a time, so you don't end up with too much smoke, or smothering the charcoal which would put it out. You may want a little metal spoon to add the incense, and to scrape ash off the charcoal when too much has built up. When incense is burned as part or a larger ritual, adding the incense can become a little ritual within ritual.

The charcoal will usually burn for about an hour, perhaps a bit less. If you need to put it out before then, push it down into the filling to smother it. (This doesn't work so well with ash.) Or pour water into the censer if you do not want to use the filling again. Remove any unburned charcoal, scoop out any ash  - or just mix it in. The filling can be reused several times, of if it is grain it can be left as an offering after the ritual/working. Always be sure the charcoal is out, and there's nothing burning or hot when you're at the clean up stage.

If you like cone incense (and honestly, I prefer it for inside use - and so does my fiance, who is a bit sensitive to smoke/scents) a smaller bowl can be used, but the same effect had. Small cauldron or cup for water, earth filling, the fire which burns the cone, and the smoke which rises into the air. Cones are nice for shorter rituals (say, daily morning prayers), as they don't burn as long as the charcoal.

The Ritual Knife

That is my ritual knife. It is made from Damascus (or rather, pattern welded) steel, with an antler and brass handle. The sheath is leather. It's not a large blade, only measuring a little over three inches before the handle. It is, however, kept sharp.

The knife doesn't just serve a ceremonial function in my practice, but a practical one as well. It's a knife, it cuts. Now I don't just use it to go cutting any old thing (nothing against those who do, your tools, your practice, your business), it is still a ritual knife after all. I use it to gather herbs and plants, making charms from wood or bone, carving symbols onto candles, and so on. In my mind, it's only fitting that the ritual knife be used to gather and craft items for ritual use.

So for me the knife holds this dual purpose.... It is used in the more ceremonial functions, such as blessing, but it also a tool that has a more practical uses. If both can overlap (e.g. carving a symbol while blessing it), and they often do, so much the better. Symbolically I associate the knife with fire, due to how the metal is forged, and the feelings and associations the blade holds. My knife is dedicated to Artemis - so on the rare occasion that the blade is serving no other function, I can temporarily commission it to act as a symbol of Her on the altar/ in the working space.

I take great care in storing my knife. When returning back to the home from the yard/woods with my knife, I gently wash the blade and dry it thoroughly. I then coat the blade in a very thin layer of mineral oil, and wrap it in a small bit of cling wrap. The blade and the sheath then go into a wooden box stored under my home shrine. It is not advised to actually store a knife in a leather sheath, as this can promote rusting of the blade as leather can absorb and hold on to moisture from the air.

The ritual knife was one of my first tools. I've only used two in all my time as a pagan. The first was given to me by my Grandfather, just a plain black dagger, quite a bit larger than my current one. My current knife is my second, bought just this year in fact. After so many years I felt it was time to retire my old knife - this has been a year of many fresh starts as new aspects of my path keep unfolding, so it only felt right to reflect that in my tools as well.

The Stang

A stang is a forked staff, of usually two or three tines, that can serve many purposes. It can act as a vertical altar, a bridge to the other world, a symbol of the world tree, a symbol of (or altar to) a Deity, a walking/traveling stick, or as a staff to raise/direct energy and to mark ritual space. It is usually used by hedgewitches and other traditional witches, but can be incorporated into numerous paths.

The historical origins of this tool are not clear. Some say Robert Cochrane invented the tool, but it seems more likely that he simply reintroduced the tool to modern day witchcraft, and perhaps gave new meanings to the tool. Old woodcuts of witches show them using a forked staff (sometimes riding it) along with other "traditional" witches items, such as the besom and cauldron. It is possible that the staff shown was related to a cooking stick, hay fork, distaff, or another common tool. One possible origin for the term stang comes from the Old Norse language, and can be roughly translated as "staff, pole, or rod." Others speculate that it comes from the Old English language, and shares a similar root with the word distaff.

In modern use the stang is often made of ash, or another wood symbolic of the world tree such as rowan, yew, or hawthorn. However, it is not uncommon to see other woods being used for their various properties - such as poplar for underworld work, or oak for protection. The wood used really depends on what the stang's primary use will be, and the personal preference of the witch making it. Some use fallen branches (and may not even know what wood the fallen branch is), seeing the fallen branch as a gift from nature. Others choose to connect with a tree and cut a branch from it, wishing the specific energies and bond with that tree. Again, it comes down to personal choice.

There is no set size for a stang. While they are usually staffs, some choose to make smaller, almost wand sized stangs. Some have shoulder height stangs, head height, or even giant six or seven foot stangs. The huge stangs are usually coven tools in traditional witchcraft. A solitary might instead like to use a small walking stick type, or even the wand type, depending on what they want to use their stang for, where they practice, and how portable they need their stang to be.

A stang often ends in a natural two pronged fork, although sometimes a three pronged fork is used. Larger stangs (shoulder height or higher) are sometimes topped with a skull with antlers or horns, or just the antlers or horns, to make the fork. Metal tines can also be added instead of the natural fork. The bottom of the stang can sometimes be covered with a metal point, or the wood slightly sharpened, to make it easier to drive into the ground during ritual.

Stangs can be decorated in various ways. Natural decorations, such as bone, beads, feathers, fur, leather, shells, cotton ribbon or string, are common. It can also be sanded, painted, stained, carved, or burned with symbols or patterns. Of course, it can also be free of any decoration. How it is decorated will depend on what it will be used for, the personal symbolism the witch chooses, and individual taste.

The stang is rich in many layers of symbolism. As a symbol for the World Tree, the top fork can represent the upper world, the middle staff section the middle world, and the end (which is driven into the earth) the lower world.

The two prongs can also represent feminine energies, the staff masculine energies, the whole the union between the two. It can also symbolize union between the sky and earth. Or, one prong of the fork can symbolize feminine energies, the second prong masculine, and the staff creation manifest. The two prongs can also represent duality... light/dark, sun/moon, sky/earth, seen/unseen, physical world/spiritual world, life/death etc. while the middle section of the staff can represent balance between the two. It is a symbol of union, cycles, and transformation.

Some see the stang as a totally masculine tool, especially when used as a symbol of/altar to a God. However, others see the stang as a relative of the distaff, a traditional women's tool used in spinning. (Especially true of three pronged stangs, but also in the two pronged ones as well). As a tool of feminine energies and spinning, it can represent creative energies and is sometimes used as a symbol of fate, or of a Goddess in this way.

The stang can also act as a portable altar, representing all the elements/common ritual tools in one object. The fork can be seen as the chalice (water), the middle section of the staff as athame (fire), the whole can be used as a wand (air), and when driven into the earth completes the connection between all elements (especially true with a metal tipped end).

As it has many symbolic meanings, so can it have many ritual uses. It can be used as a symbol of the world tree, an aid to creating a gap in the hedge (thinning of the veil), an assistant to shamanic journeying. When used in this way, it is generally struck into the middle of the ritual space.

The stang can be used in a similar way as a wand, to focus and direct energy. The stang can help pull up energy from the earth, or aid in grounding energy when ritual is over (or after otherworld work). As a staff, it can also be used to draw out the compass, or ritual space, on the ground.

A stang topped with a horned skull (or just the horns) can also be dressed up in a shirt or robe and act as a protector who watches over the ritual (sometimes called a scarecrow in this form). In a similar way it can act as a symbol, or altar, of a Horned Deity. In this form it is often placed in the North section of the ritual space, or, moved with the cycles of the sun (in a daily or yearly way. For example, in the south at noon, or at Litha). In this form, it can also be placed into a cauldron to represent the cycle of life, death, and rebirth - an especially popular symbol at Samhain, but also used at other times.

The stang also makes a fine walking stick for the wandering witch. A small bundle of ritual items can be hung from the fork (or just below it) to be carried to the working site - or if one is out foraging, to carry things back home. During a night ritual, when a fire is not wanted, a small lantern can be hung from the stang to allow for a bit of working light. I have also seen a few uses that are more obscure, such as being used as a sighting pole (it was recommended to mark 1/16th of the horizon in this form).

Usually the stang is decorated for times of celebration, especially when it is serving as an altar or representation of the World Tree or of a Deity. For example, after erecting the stang in the ritual space on Beltaine, it could be decorated with garlands of flowers and ribbons. Or, a wreath and other evergreens at Yule. Libations or other offerings can be left at the base of the stang. When used as an altar for ritual focus, it can be stuck into the middle of the ritual space, or at the north of the compass, or on Sabbats with the corresponding direction (north-east on Imbolc, east on Ostara, etc.)

Like many ritual objects, different individuals and traditions often put their own meaning to the stang. While I've tried to bring information from many sources, it is sure that the stang has more uses and layers of symbolism to it. Like many things in witchcraft, some of which can only be discovered personally through its use.