For many people, being an effective practitioner of magic includes the ability to think outside the box. By being a creative and imaginative thinker, you can find magical uses for non-magical items. In 2008, About Pagan/Wiccan featured a weekly series in which readers were challenged to find ways of using regular household items as magical tools. For eighteen weeks, our readers came up with unconventional ways to turn regular items around the house into components in magical workings.
Let's take a look at some of the mundane items that we offered, and some of the clever and creative ideas our readers had.
Ryan: I like to use the cheese grater to grate Ginger and other roots for drying, or to shave down old candles for recycling into new ones.
Claudia: I tend to bless whomever I make food for, so as I grate ingredients with that grater, I repeat "With this food, I thee bless." The grater also reminds me, that when an issue seems to be too big to handle, I can always break it into smaller pieces without changing the issue, just making it easier to handle and deal with, little at a time.
SpellCaster: I think a great use for the cheese grater would be to help in banishing bad situations such as negativity, bad habits, etc. I would use a black candle for the banishing part, using the grater to grate away the candle while concentrating on the item(s) to be banished.
Beth: I use my graters(among other things) as candle covers, as we have fans going all the time. This way they burn better.
I use them with spells and for everyday candle burning.
Patti:
Send negative away, now not later,
with my magical mystical grater,
Banishing the bad, just as I please,
I'm grating a candle, not my cheese.
Lecia: When obstacles stand in your way, it helps to break things up into smaller bits, so they can be better "digested". Get a block of your favorite cheese and visualize it as all the mountains of obstacles that stand in your way toward your goal. Next, hack away at it with the cheese grater, and while you do so, think of all the ways that the problem can be broken down into smaller pieces. The harder you work, the more energy you raise! Once the entire block has been grated, put it in a bag. Sprinkle as desired on pizza, microwave nachos, salad, etc. Nachos are particularly good because you can watch those pieces melting away in the microwave. Enjoy!
Heartsong: Everything is a magical item when used with awareness and intent! The cheese grater is actually one of my favorites - the rhythym of grating cheese or vegetables helps me stay focused on my intention of creating healthy, energy, and life-affirming-good-for-you food. I sometimes chant while I grate:
Carrots orange, cabbage green,
onion sweet and mild;
thank you for your gift of life
to me, my Love, and child.
Pixi: My favourite magical use for a cheese grater is the ritual soaps in Scott Cunningham'sIncense, Oils & Brews. Two of my favourite recipes are the Luck Soap (two parts Vetivert to one part each of orange and nutmeg) and the Witches Soap (three parts rosemary, two parts pine, one part cinnamon and one part orange). These scents can be achieved with either blended, empowered essential oils or with 5-6 tablespoons of mixed, dried empowered herbs added to about a third of a cup of recently boiled water. Remove the water from the heat and allow the mixture to steep for 9-13 minutes. Strain and reheat the water.
The actual recipe for the soap is really easy and fun to make. Simply grate soap (Cunningham recommends Castile but I have found that any unscented soap will do) into a large bowl until there is enough to pack into a cup. Heat a 1/3 of a cup of water until almost boiling and then add to the grate soap. Whip with a wooden whisk. Once it's cooled down a little, you can use your hands to mix together.
Separate the soap into three or four equal parts and roll into ball. Place each ball on a nine-inch circle of cheesecloth and tie with an appropriately coloured ribbon. Hang your ritual soaps in your bathroom until you need them!
If you have particularly dry skin, try adding 1-2 teaspoons of apricot, almond or coconut oil to the water before mixing.
Now, if you'll excuse me, it's time for me to go take a bath with my Money Soap!
Ursea Majoris: I would use this for sympathetic magic. I have used a colander before to get the magic effect I wanted. You could use the grater in the same way, put some rice, or other ingredient and shake the grater to let the rice sprinkle out, similar to what we need here in Utah, some rain.
Sylver Cheetah: I like all of the ideas posted before me. That silly poem is just the best. If I ever decided to use a cheese grater, I think I would use it in a self-transformation spell or ritual. The grater could shave away those layers or bad habits that I wished to get rid of. I would use a candle that represented me in its attributes either by color or scent or shape. For me, I'd probably use a yellow female-shaped candle since I am a woman that connects well with air. Maybe you could carve your shape by using the grater on the candle. You know, start with a blank one and shave off the habits or personality traits that you no longer wish to have to form your new self.
Carolan: If I have what seems like an insurmountable problem, I could think of the cheese as the problem, and the grater as figuratively carving it up into smaller, more manageable pieces.
BeBe: Well, my idea is pretty weird, I guess. I was looking at that cheese grater thinking, "That looks a lot like a bell." I think i would tie a ringer inside it from the handle, and make my own kitchen cow bell to use in ritual.
Let's take a look at some of the mundane items that we offered, and some of the clever and creative ideas our readers had.
Cheese Grater
Ryan: I like to use the cheese grater to grate Ginger and other roots for drying, or to shave down old candles for recycling into new ones.
Claudia: I tend to bless whomever I make food for, so as I grate ingredients with that grater, I repeat "With this food, I thee bless." The grater also reminds me, that when an issue seems to be too big to handle, I can always break it into smaller pieces without changing the issue, just making it easier to handle and deal with, little at a time.
SpellCaster: I think a great use for the cheese grater would be to help in banishing bad situations such as negativity, bad habits, etc. I would use a black candle for the banishing part, using the grater to grate away the candle while concentrating on the item(s) to be banished.
Beth: I use my graters(among other things) as candle covers, as we have fans going all the time. This way they burn better.
I use them with spells and for everyday candle burning.
Patti:
Send negative away, now not later,
with my magical mystical grater,
Banishing the bad, just as I please,
I'm grating a candle, not my cheese.
Lecia: When obstacles stand in your way, it helps to break things up into smaller bits, so they can be better "digested". Get a block of your favorite cheese and visualize it as all the mountains of obstacles that stand in your way toward your goal. Next, hack away at it with the cheese grater, and while you do so, think of all the ways that the problem can be broken down into smaller pieces. The harder you work, the more energy you raise! Once the entire block has been grated, put it in a bag. Sprinkle as desired on pizza, microwave nachos, salad, etc. Nachos are particularly good because you can watch those pieces melting away in the microwave. Enjoy!
Heartsong: Everything is a magical item when used with awareness and intent! The cheese grater is actually one of my favorites - the rhythym of grating cheese or vegetables helps me stay focused on my intention of creating healthy, energy, and life-affirming-good-for-you food. I sometimes chant while I grate:
Carrots orange, cabbage green,
onion sweet and mild;
thank you for your gift of life
to me, my Love, and child.
Pixi: My favourite magical use for a cheese grater is the ritual soaps in Scott Cunningham'sIncense, Oils & Brews. Two of my favourite recipes are the Luck Soap (two parts Vetivert to one part each of orange and nutmeg) and the Witches Soap (three parts rosemary, two parts pine, one part cinnamon and one part orange). These scents can be achieved with either blended, empowered essential oils or with 5-6 tablespoons of mixed, dried empowered herbs added to about a third of a cup of recently boiled water. Remove the water from the heat and allow the mixture to steep for 9-13 minutes. Strain and reheat the water.
The actual recipe for the soap is really easy and fun to make. Simply grate soap (Cunningham recommends Castile but I have found that any unscented soap will do) into a large bowl until there is enough to pack into a cup. Heat a 1/3 of a cup of water until almost boiling and then add to the grate soap. Whip with a wooden whisk. Once it's cooled down a little, you can use your hands to mix together.
Separate the soap into three or four equal parts and roll into ball. Place each ball on a nine-inch circle of cheesecloth and tie with an appropriately coloured ribbon. Hang your ritual soaps in your bathroom until you need them!
If you have particularly dry skin, try adding 1-2 teaspoons of apricot, almond or coconut oil to the water before mixing.
Now, if you'll excuse me, it's time for me to go take a bath with my Money Soap!
Ursea Majoris: I would use this for sympathetic magic. I have used a colander before to get the magic effect I wanted. You could use the grater in the same way, put some rice, or other ingredient and shake the grater to let the rice sprinkle out, similar to what we need here in Utah, some rain.
Sylver Cheetah: I like all of the ideas posted before me. That silly poem is just the best. If I ever decided to use a cheese grater, I think I would use it in a self-transformation spell or ritual. The grater could shave away those layers or bad habits that I wished to get rid of. I would use a candle that represented me in its attributes either by color or scent or shape. For me, I'd probably use a yellow female-shaped candle since I am a woman that connects well with air. Maybe you could carve your shape by using the grater on the candle. You know, start with a blank one and shave off the habits or personality traits that you no longer wish to have to form your new self.
Carolan: If I have what seems like an insurmountable problem, I could think of the cheese as the problem, and the grater as figuratively carving it up into smaller, more manageable pieces.
BeBe: Well, my idea is pretty weird, I guess. I was looking at that cheese grater thinking, "That looks a lot like a bell." I think i would tie a ringer inside it from the handle, and make my own kitchen cow bell to use in ritual.