The Magick of Mortar & Pestle

By Raven Grimassi

Witches have long been associated with magi¬cal plants, potions and brews. One of the old arts of Witchcraft is the use of herbs. The primary tool of this Old World Witchery is the mortar and pestle set—essential tool when working with Green Wood Magic. In mystical terms the mortar represents the womb gate, the source through which things manifest in the material world. By extension it can be thought of as the earth envisioned as a cauldron that generates life and draws it back into itself again. For those who seek a religious or spiritual connotation, the mortar can represent the Womb of the Great Mother Goddess.

As a ritual and magical tool the mortar (in some traditions of Witchcraft) is called Life-giver as well as Death-taker. It connects with the former nature through which it can be used to generate and to reanimate. For the latter it’s used to terminate and to decompose. As a tool, the mortar can be made of wood or mineral. Wood mortars are ideal for working with plant spirits and mineral ones are good for working with the organic memory of the earth (the terrestrial counterpart of the Akashic Records).

The full article can be found on page 92 of The Witches' Almanac Spring 2018-2019: The Magic of Plants