There are four traditional ceremonial tools associated with ritual magick, Wicca, and related traditions. They are believed to derive from the Four Hallows (four holies) of the Arthurian Romances, in which the items are used as symbols of metaphysical ideas. In turn, these are derived from early esoteric and Gnostic Christian ideas.

These tools represent in magick the four classical elements, the four directions, and the four archangels. They comprise the four suits in a pack of Tarot cards (and their descendents, playing cards), and the four worlds of creation outlined in the Kabbalah. They correspond to the four syllables of the Tetragrammaton, the sacred four four letter name of God. In some traditions, there are complex and exacting methods by which the tools are acquired and consecrated.

The sword and the spear are weapons of destruction. They symbolize archetypal male passion, power and dominance- aggression, which properly channeled, propels human endeavor. They are a compulsive, ever moving force. The dark, primitive expression of this force is destruction, violence, frustration, and ill will.

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Image copyright Jennifer Emick/Alternative Religions 2007