Iconic Icon

[TeaDidikai]

... of spiritual tools.

Perhaps it is a symbol, like the pent. Or maybe it is something like a key symbol for key deities in your life, or maybe it is simply a tool- but a favorite one.

What is the most iconic tool of your personal practice?

What function does it hold in your tradition?

What does it mean to you? What does it mean to your tradition? And why?  

[TheDisreputableDog]

Flaming chalice is always my first answer. The funny thing is I don't actually own one, or even a symbol of one. It's kind of a problem because I don't go to church anymore which is where I always had them before. My brother got a beautiful silver chalice necklace at his Bridging ceremony (which acknowledges the passage of the adolescent from the youth church to the adult church) and I am so envious; I never Bridged.

The chalice is usually lit at the beginning of service while chalice-lighting words are said; for some churches they are the same every week or among churches, while for others they change depending on the rest of the program. In that way it signals the unity of the congregation (often the minister or other designated person will say words and the congregation will respond) and the conscious recognition of sacred space.

To me...I don't know. I like fire. It has always been a symbol of the haven of intellectual and spiritual discussion, learning, and companionship that the church was for me when I was growing up in it. It is really nice to be raised in a religion that you can affirm throughout childhood and adolescence and into adulthood (at least young adulthood so far). It also represents the simultaneous diversity and unity of our community, as there are so many representations of the chalice to be found in its position as community-wide symbol.

My next answer would be the ankh as a symbol of my newer religion. I do have two ankh necklaces, both of which came to me completely spontaneously, although one is broken right now and I need to remake it. I used to make ankhs out of gimp. Still working out what it means to me. In my tradition it is a symbol of life and by extension ma'at, although the feather is also used to mean ma'at. Many images of Kemetic gods feature an ankh carried in a hand. Of course it is more nuanced than "life," but that's as far as I have advanced in my understanding of it so far.  

[Fiddlers Green]

The quill.
We are scholars first and foremost. Further, we reject some bits of modern hubris that we see as promoting ignorance and complacency.
Thus, a tool of writing, from a previous age.

Religiously...
The Flame is an emblem of Anhur, as the bringer of light and warm... however, giving Ahriman a symbol would be somewhat paradoxical, as most of what he/she is all about is by nature not revealed.
Personally, I like the less used Star as the symbol of Anhur, offering guidance and light, even in the darkness of night. Further, it implies night, to make the star visible, thus giving propper due to Ahriman.  

[Milendil]

My main one would have to be, like Fiddler's said, the quill. I am a poet first and foremost. Without the quill how would I write? It is the very essence in which I can portray my most inner wants and desires. Because I have no tradition, or path at the moment, it fits in very well. I am simply a poet who happens to be into whatever you would call magic, divination, all those sorts of things. I can simply write away my thoughts and ideas and get inspiration from them which will lead me to write more. If one must, you may call me a bard. My dream is to join the Order of Ovates, Bards, and Druids. To me, the quill represents the very nature of my soul, the longing to write and read what all is written down.

The other tool that I have and very much like, is an amethyst crystal. My passion for Aphrodite drove me towards amethyst. However, I do not "use" the crystal in any particular sense.  

[maenad nuri]

For me, it is the offering plate/bowl. The central act in mine and a lot of other Hellenics theology is the sacrifice. All sorts of things are placed upon that plate and bowl (some permanently: I have acorns that serve as my personal symbol) and they are my relationship to my gods. I give and they give.  

[Bastemhet]

I have an eye of Horus pendant that I keep around my neck most of the time. In ancient Egypt it was a symbol of protection from Horus and/or Ra. For me it serves as thus, but also as a reminder between the constant balancing between "good" and "evil," and my path toward spiritual renewal. The former because Seth killed Osiris, and Horus battled Seth in order to give power back to Osiris. But renewal would not have been possible without prior destruction. This acknowledgment of the need for both gives me some strength when facing the more difficult aspects of life.  

[Henry Dorsett Case]

I can't say anything's particularly iconic in my path of one, but my notebook (lovingly and jokingly referred to as my grimoire) and my pens are definitely central to my faith. All rituals must be written prior to execution, following certain rules of what must be done and how it must be written. Other than that, the sword and dagger are at times central to the rituals themselves.