August has been a whirlwind of activity. My kitchen island has been taken over by my tool creation projects. I voraciously read Modern Magic any chance I got, and I continued to perform daily rituals.
The first project I completed was to create my Elemental Tablets. I went to the local craft store and purchased squares of wood (pine), high-pigment acrylic paints, brushes and a can of satin finish clear spray paint. I already had painter’s tape at home with which to create masks.
First, I coated each square in the base color, using several layers. The pine really soaked up the first few layers of paint. I let each one dry very thoroughly – this part of the process probably took over a week. Although you can’t tell from the photo, the Earth Elemental Tablet is a metallic silver, and it took the longest to dry.
Next, I found nice line drawings of the four Elemental symbols online. I printed them out, and then enlarged them to the desired size on my copier on card stock. After cutting them out using a straight edge and an x-acto knife, I lightly traced the outline on each square and then using painter’s tape, I masked the outside shape.
I then used my card stock stencil to trace out the triangles and the parallelogram directly onto the painter’s tape. I cut out the shapes again, using a straight edge and an x-acto knife. I placed the inside shapes in the middle and carefully worked out any air bubbles. I let the masks sit for awhile to allow for full adhesion of the tape.
Lastly, I painted the triangles with many layers of paint, until it was opaque and let it dry. Once everything was dry, I covered each in several layers of clear spray paint. each square is smooth to the touch and kept their vibrant colors.
I’ve continued to work on several other tools, two are finished, except for their clear coat. I have one more tool that is still on the kitchen island; it requires a few finishing touches before sigils, Hebrew and Latin are added. I should have more pictures by the end of September.
I managed to get through much of Chapter 6, so I still have a bit of catch-up reading to do, but I hope to be caught up with that as well by the end of September. I’m hoping to have my full complement of tools ready for consecration by Samhain. It’s a complex ritual that will likely take two full weekends to complete. I’ve been working long hours – almost 50 each week, so projects take a bit longer for me to complete.
I was also amazed at how quickly I memorized the Banishing Ritual of the Hexagram. It is a ritual I had never before performed, but it came pretty easily. I haven’t yet missed a day for eight solid months. This has been a wonderful way to prove to myself that I am capable of commitment, discipline, and consistency. I don’t see myself stopping, and in fact, I’ve been thinking about having another ritual notebook printed so that I can continue to do this work next year.