ABSTRACT
Popular fiction, films and television—from Rosemary's Baby to the whole series of Dracula films and Dennis Wheatley novels—have made the public familiar with the traditional equipment of the magician and the witch, often in a highly dramatic and not altogether accurate manner. Traditionally, magicians worked in a room set aside and consecrated for the purpose, within a defined area usually marked on the floor, upon an altar, wearing robes specially prepared for the occasion, and using specific tools. All this equipment was traditionally prepared very carefully, in the strictest traditions, by the magician himself, and solemnly consecrated for work. If the magician is unable to make his equipment, then he should at least search carefully for the best possible, and be prepared to pay high prices for the right things; all equipment is traditionally consecrated during a special ritual, and thereafter kept from all common usage, and away from other people.
