I want to talk a bit about what I call pertinent magick and ritual magick.

Ritual magick is what I do based on the solar and lunar cycles. It takes preparation and planning. In fact, planning and preparation are "mini-rituals," I have to be in the right state of mind with the right focus to pull them off correctly. I don't always succeed, especially when the insomnia acts up.

Pertinent magick depends on the situation. I don't always have time for anything but the most basic rituals. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, the pertinent magick is for someone else. Even then it's a last resort (see Wisdom and the Three Percent). Basically I'm using what is in my pockets. It's partially a shortcut for me and them. I need a quick ritual to get in the right mindspace and it helps a lot if the other person sees me doing something weird even if they don't understand it. But part of it is a pinch or two of something that does have virtue. A bit or powder here, a drop or two of essential oil there, a small pile of salt, some dried herbs.

Part of my ritual magick time is preparing some items I might need for pertinent magick.

Moon-blessed salt is one of my favorite items. It keeps a zap for about a month, more if you use it only at night and keep in a dark brown or blue jar. Sun-blessed salt works after a fashion, but doesn't hold it's zap past sunrise. And yes there is a difference between dark moon blessed and full moon blessed. One of the great things about blessed salt is that it transfers the zap. You can do a circle with regular table salt, add a small pinch of blessed salt, do a bit of like calls to like, and the whole circle will share the zap. At least until the next sunrise.

These are not the things you are going to read in a book or online. These are the things you'll have to work out and experiment with yourself. Sometimes it's not going to go well.

Besides the consumables, there is always the charms and amulets. Rule of thumb, the intensity of the zap is governed by how hard it was to obtain, the effort you use to maintain it, and the passion you use it for. It may look like a pretty rock, but you know it was a rock found in the almost dry stream bed reached only after a healthy hike across some pretty nasty desert.

The bits and pieces you use are more than just witchy stuff. They are symbols and manifestations of your life, your faith, and your experience woven into your spells.

That's what you bring. Make sure you choose well.