The Tools of Necromancy
I have been a practicing necromancer for the majority of my practice, focusing strongly on the necromantic arts since I was 14 years old. Over this time, I have learned a thing or two that many aspiring necromancers might find useful. The first is: you don't need any tools to perform a proper necromantic ritual. At most, you would need an offering bowl, in which to add your gifts to entice the dead soul to rise and answer your questions. The second is: you can absolutely assemble a powerful tool kit if you so choose, and I have had the opportunity to acquire many tools of great potency over the years. So, in the spirit of that, and due to the apparent rise in interest in this practice in recent times, I have assembled a small list of some of the tools a necromancer might find useful.
Bones- bones, especially human bones, have deep necromantic ties, for obvious reasons. Skulls in particular are greatly useful for divination, as they give a direct channel for spirits to embody themselves in and speak through. However, you can use all sorts of bones in your workings. For instance, you might use a jaw bone in a working to silence someone, or snake bones in a binding. You could use a femur as a wand, or teeth as runestones (tied to the skull and the mouth in particular, teeth make powerful divination tools). The use of the bone is generally associated with its purpose in life, and while human bones are the Pinnacle of necromantic artifacts, any bones will do and many animals are better suited than humans to certain tasks. Regardless of the type, though, the importance of bone comes from the fact that it once held life energy, and now is a symbol of death essence, so while replicas can be used for symbolic association, true power comes from genuine bone.
The wand- personally, I prefer to use a yew wand due to its association with death. In fact, my own wand is made from yew wood that was struck by lightning. However, there are many other wands that work well for necromantic work, such as bone wands, or, in some practices, iron wands. In any event, the necromancers wand serves much the same purpose as a general wand: it directs energy and serves as a symbol of authority when you do not need to appear aggressive.
The athame- in necromantic rituals, a sharpened athame is preferred so that you can easily draw blood. Blood, being a conduit of life force energy, is a common offering in necromancy to entice the spirits to appear. The athame also serves as a symbol of aggressive authority, used when a spirit is being unruly.
Cremation ash- similar to bone, cremation ash acts as a channel for death essence. It can be used in a variety of ways, such as a general purpose powder to carry the energy of your ritual into the field, but in my tantric tradition, it used to cover the body. This serves many purposes, though the primary reason is the same as a ritual robe: the melodrama prepares your mind for Magick, and the substance itself aligns you with the current of death.
Gravestone- I was fortunate enough to be gifted a headstone from an old grave, but this is not a common occurrence. However, if you manage to get your hands on one, and ally yourself to the spirit tied to it, then you have a powerful altar in which to do your work.
Grave dirt- various dirts have various properties. I won't go into a full list here, but to give you an idea: dirt from a soldier's grave is good for defensive and offensive Magick, dirt from a banker is good for financial work, dirt from a happily married couple is good for love work, and so on.
Black mirror- a scrying mirror is useful for many things, but it is primarily used in necromancy as a medium for the spirit being called to manifest.
Jars- yes, jars are important enough to mention separately. Jars are used for everything from carrying ingredients to catching spirits, and are excellent for spell vessels.
I also find it useful to have a travel bag ready. Any time I know I am going to the graveyard for some work, I have a bag that easily holds my offerings, candles, incense, a few empty jars, my athame and wand, a small obsidian ball, and my Kapala. This makes it easier to transport everything in and out of the workspace quickly and discreetly.
That's it for now! Maybe I'll share some information in the future about how to use these implements...
