When you think about your favourite magical tools, do you ever consider the telephone? Here's a few ideas which may make a common household object seem very, very magical!

 Focus and Direct Energy

Focusing and directing energy is a basic principle of magic. That's exactly what you do when you make a phone call. You are sending your intent via waves of electricity going through copper wires. In some cases you are using pulses of light going through fibre optics. But in either case, you are directing energy exactly where you choose.

Bells

Many use bells in magic to project energy through sound waves. Why not use the ringing of a telephone? When you call someone, you fill their home with the ringing of a bell. This could easily be used to send someone a house blessing. In fact, with their permission, you can "attach" virtually any kind of blessing to your phone call. A simple wake-up call could be a wish for a good day; a call to a sick friend could direct healing energies. You are limited only by your imagination!

 Answering Machines

Many spells involve "charging" an item, or storing energy within something to accomplish a specific purpose. Is this storage of energy all that different from recording sounds on a cassette tape? When an answering machine stores a message, it can also store the magical energy someone wishes to attach to their message. Callers are creating a charm of sorts. Ever sense something out of the ordinary before you play back a message? When a caller leaves their voice on your machine, they are charging a physical, tangible item located within your home with a bit of their energy. When you play the message, the energy is released. You can use this in several positive magical ways. For example, the message becomes a bit of that person, so it enables you to better touch them magically, the way a possession or piece of clothing would. You can also use your own message greeting as a protective device, stored within your machine to safeguard your home from incoming negativity.

Colour

Magic in colour? Phones come in many colours. Own more than one phone? Which of the phones in your home best fits your intent for that specific call? Perhaps the red one? The white one? Another aspect of colour in phone magic are the four coloured wires that all phones use: black, yellow, red, green. Now that you know this, try using them to suit your need. Which one works best for you?

Cords

Some people use cords in magic; they believe its knots & tangles store energy. Why not the phone cord? You could wrap it around an object you use in the spell. Or you could recognize the knots and tangles in your phone cord as a part of your own daily life. Over the course of the days, little by little, the cord slowly took its twisted shape. As you untangle the cord, you can untangle the tensions or knots in your own life.

Sympathetic Magic

Is there a person you want to (literally) hang up on? Just disconnect them from your life? See this as a magical event the next time you slam down the phone!

 Crystals, Gems and Metals in Magic

Phone wire is made of copper. Its circuitry is made of tiny silicon chips; silicon is a mineral found naturally as a common stone, like quartz. Properties of these items can easily be found in magical reference books. How are these metals and minerals special? How do they work for you?

Numbers

Some people use the magic within numbers. What could be more personal than your phone number? While many people share your birthday or your age -- your area code/phone number is never, ever, duplicated anywhere in the world! It is truly unique. You can even interpret a phone number as a means of divination. Does your spell involve a person? Use their phone number. Does it involve a place? Use its area code. Have a magical name or special magical word? 

 Cordless and Cellular Phones

Many use a wand or athame to direct the energy they send forth. Is this any different than the way an antenna works for a transmitter? For a receiver? A cordless phone fills the air with waves of energy radiating throughout your entire home. Cellular phone waves go for miles! Why not use their energy release as a means to carry your intent?

 A Personal Touch

Many use personal items to help in magic (like a lock of hair, a bit of clothing or photo) as a means to help their magic reach another person. The person's unique essence left within this item helps become an addressing mechanism to aim the intent of the spell directly at that person. This "address" helps direct your energy, like a blood hound hot with the scent! Why not have the person you are working with on the phone during the spell? A phone conversation is actually a two-way exchange of energy. Use their essence this way.

 Linkage to All

The phone network is the perfect analogy to how all things in the universe are connected and interwoven. It is a physical link connecting you to others. When you hold your phone in your hand, you touch your neighbour -- whether next door or around the world -- through a physical link of telephone cables, usually made of copper. Recognize this connection and use it to enhance your magic. (You may even notice that one major "Telephone & Telegraph" company even uses a logo that shows a round blue symbol of the Earth -- entirely linked by lines of communication.)

 Other "Ordinary" Household Items

A very accurate definition of magic calls it "things not understood by science -- yet." Remember that magic doesn't necessarily exclude the things that are understood, things that you touch everyday. Now that you see the phone in a new way, what other everyday items in your home can be magical tools? Can you see the pilot of your stove or furnace as your perpetual candle flame? Can pondering your electrical outlet help link you to new sources of energy? Can the hot and cold knobs on your faucet help you understand balance between opposites? Again, you are limited only by your imagination!