Although, their use is not strictly necessary, tools can serve a variety of functions when working magic.  They can be used to direct energy, to help focus the mind and the Will on the task at hand, and to serve as a physical representation of a magical, astral or spiritual concept.  Certain tools such as figurines and statues can act as a link to the physical Realm for spiritual beings such as one's Dragon companions.

The basic Tools of the Trade are

 the altar, ritual book, wand, athame, pentacle, chalice, incense burner, 

salt & water bowls, and statuary  

The Altar:  This is the focal point of both magical and religious rites.  If you look at the larger image of the above picture, you will get a good look at one example what a large formal altar can look like.  There is a large statue of the Goddess, a Book of Shadows, wand, athame salt and water dishes,  divination tools, incense burner, chalice, a small Dragon figurine, a large crystal and a small cauldron in the center with a pentacle under it.   If you look here, you can see a much simpler, yet just as effective, altar which is set up on top of a small bookshelf.  What can be placed on an altar depends on two things: 1) what you plan to do; and 2) personal preference (which may or may not be determined by the magical tradition you follow). 

The Ritual Book: Also known as a "Book of Shadows,"  or "Grimoire,"  the ritual book is a combination instruction manual, recipe book and magical diary.  It will contain all of your rituals and spells, recipes for incenses, magical oils and potions, favorite meditations and notes on whatever you want to keep track of in your magical practice.  The ritual book can, like most things be as fancy or simple as you like.  Here you can see both the cover and the inside of mine.  My ritual book is a small three-ring binder placed inside a canvas book cover which I purchased at a Barns & Noble Bookseller.  The patch on the front cover I found at a Pagan supply shop and the brass corner pieces I found at an arts & crafts store.  

Here is a picture of a fancier Book of Shadows I made as an initiation gift for a friend.  This one is a standard sized three-ringed binder, covered with a green cotton fabric, and  hand painted.  And if you look again at the large altar picture, you will see yet another version of a ritual book which started as a blank journal such as can be purchased at most bookstores and which was later covered in black leather and fitted with two tie straps to keep it closed when not in use.  If you are looking specifically for a Dragon Journal to use as your ritual book click here   

The Wand: In magic, the wand is used to focus the Will and to direct personal energies.  It is associated with the Element of Air, and symbolizes the powers of the mind and the intellect.  Traditionally made of wood, today wands can be found for sale made from blown-glass crystal encrusted rods, herb-filled copper tubing capped by crystals, and even wands carved from large genuine quartz crystals.   While these wands are undoubtedly beautiful, they will never be as magically effective as one you have made yourself. Plus, making your own wand can be both easy and fun.  

I have two wands.  Both are wooden, hand made and decorated.  The colors are red on black because those are my favorite colors.  They both have an amethyst crystal glued to the top and a clear quartz on the bottom to help channel energy.  The large one is my main ritual tool.  It is made from a stick I happened to find floating in the surf on the Atlantic coast near Boston Mass.  The runes were carved with a dremel rotary tool and painted red after the rest of the wand had been painted black.  The feather is a black crow's feather I found in my front yard during the spring molting season (I put it in a zip lock bag and left it in my freezer for 6 months to kill any bugs that might have been on the feather first).  The smaller one is made from a small dowel rod.  The runes are painted, but not carved and the Dragon attached to it is an old ear ring for which I had lost the mate.  The reason I made the smaller one is for taking on the road when I go somewhere.  That way, if something should happen I haven't lost or damaged my primary tool.   

The Athame:  Used in the same fashion as the wand, to focus the Will and to direct personal energies,  the athame is associated with the Element of Fire.  Traditionally a consecrated dagger, today many people use a nice letter opener as seen on the left in the picture.  And despite what is depicted in B-rated horror flicks or espoused by the more intolerant members of some "main stream religions, the athame is *never* used to draw blood.  In some magical traditions, an athame which has done so should be covered in salt and deeply buried at an isolated crossroads, in others it must be cleansed and re-consecrated before it can be used again.

The Pentacle: Also known as the "pentagram," the pentacle is a five pointed star used to represent two different concepts: the elements of the universe (earth , air, fire, water and spirit) or just the Element of Earth.  In magic, a large enough pentacle will be used as the point of focus for directed energies for such things as charging spell components or consecrating tools, magical jewelry, talismans and amulets.  Like many tools you can either purchase a pre-made one or you can make one yourself.  The one I made consists of a small silver "plate" type candle holder (use for 3" diameter pillar candles) and can be found at many arts & craft stores, or anyplace that sells large candles.  The picture was made up on the computer and glued in place, and the finished pentacle consecrated.   

The Chalice: The Chalice is a consecrated cup that contains blessed water, fruit juice, wine or ale depending on the preference (and legal age) of the magician.  The Chalice is associated with the Element of Water. Some spells or rituals will call for a toast and libation (offering of food or drink) to be made to the gods.  Chalices can be made of either glass, or metal, such as silver, pewter  or brass (if pewter or brass, be sure not to put anything acidic like wine or ale into the cup unless it is silver plated to prevent things like lead or tin from being leached from the cup into what you are about to drink) and can be plain or simple.  Three examples are shown in this picture.  The one on the left was made for me as a gift and is a regular black wine glass with small stones attached. The Dragon on the front came off of a professionally crafted chalice I once owned which had been accidentally broken.  The center on is a plain goblet which has been consecrated for magical use, and the one n the right was an anniversary gift for my husband.

Incense Burners: These are used to hold the incense that is burned during various magical exercises. If you look to the immediate left of the cauldron of the large altar picture, you will see a nice brass incense burner, but not even these need to be strictly manufactured items.  You can make your own from a wide number of items.  All you need to do is make sure it can be filled with sand to either hold stick incense upright, or to prevent the heat from either cones or charcoal from scorching the surface of you altar (or worse, cause it to catch fire).  Here are four examples of incense burners I made from small instant coffee cans.  The are hand painted in the colors of the four Quarters (North, South, East and West) and decorated with representations of the four Elements attached to the front of each.  The lids for each can also keeps the sand from spilling out when the rite if over and the incense ash has cooled and been properly disposed of

Salt & Water Bowls: These are just what they say, bowls used to hold the salt (represents the Element of Earth) and water (represents the Element of Water) that will be used in casting a magic Circle, cleansing and consecrating objects, etc.  These bowls can be of any type, although plastic should be avoided if possible.  Not that there's anything wrong with plastic, it just doesn't seem to have the same psychological impact as a nice ceramic bowl or silver dish.  I prefer to have a bowl with a lid or cover for the salt as it is often left on the altar even when the altar is not in use (provided you can leave you altar set up).  If your altar must be taken down to save space or fro privacy, make sure the lid is tight fitting.

Although any type of salt can be used, many traditions prefer to use sea salt, which can be found oft times in the baking section of your local grocery store, or in the 'ethnic foods' area.  You can also find sea salt in the aquarium section of many pet stores who sell salt water tank supplies.  Also, rock salt (yeah, like you put on your driveway in the winter) can be used provided it is taken from a fresh bag.

For the water, some traditions require only "spring water" be used.   As for using bottled or distilled water, I don't see what the difference is if you are buying water, or if you are getting it from the tap.  This water used here isn't to be drunk and it will be cleansed with the Salt and magic anyway...  

Statuary: Statues and smaller figurines can be used as "stand-ins" or physical representations of deities and for your Dragon companions.  They help to provide a link between you in the physical world and your friends and allies in the spiritual.  The statue in the large altar shot I found in an old curio shop and is one The Clan of the Dragon has used for many years to represent the Goddess.  Although it is not shown in this picture, the God is represented by a large framed poster of a man in long robes wearing a crown of stag antlers and standing beneath a rose-covered archway.   

(I should point out that neither of these things is necessary as the goddess can just as easily be represented by a flower or a seashell, and the god by an ear of corn or a picture of a stag, and both can be symbolized by a candle: traditionally black or silver for the goddess and white or gold for the god.)

As for your Dragon companion, you can use a large statue like this or you can find a nice little pewter figurine.  As you can see in the picture, I like to paint my pewter Dragons to give them a bit more "personality" and to make them more closely represent the spirit of the Dragon who will use it as a focus.  You can also use a nice picture to provide a physical focus for your Dragon friend.  I humbly offer my own works as a suggestion http://ebondragonart.com/  and if you don't find anything you like there, you might try looking through the website "Here be Dragons"  for other offerings.