A successful ritual is comprised of several elements that can be listed under two classifications: tools and methods. Tools of magic include any object, implement, or symbol that a magician uses to aid their practice. Methods are the techniques and skills needed to animate various facets of magical energy. Ritual tools can be virtually anything from the simplest item needed to raise the ambiance of the temple space to the most intricately designed wand or pentacle used to attract the unseen forces that the magician desires to work with to accomplish their goals. Certain objects have a purely practical and utilitarian function, such as chairs; side tables; cigarette lighters or barbecue torches used to light sacred fires, candles, and incense; or portable audio systems employed to further enhance the ritual atmosphere. But even these seemingly mundane tools contain a basic inherent symbolism that aids the operation of the temple. Other items, such as robes, headdresses, collars, and other types of ritual clothing are hybrid tools that are both practical and symbolic in function.

However, the most important items used in ritual are created by the magician and infused with magical symbolism for the exact purpose of building an active magical link between the symbol and that which it represents. The act of constructing a wand or any other ritual object is considered an act of magic. The magician spends an extraordinary amount of time creating wands, lamens, and other ritual objects, not because it is only through these precious objects that magic can be effective and successful, but rather because the construction of these items is a creative act of magic, in and of itself. Creative magic is an excellent catalyst for the processes of inner alchemy and spiritual growth: it initiates the development of the magician's will in accordance with a divine intent or purpose.

In the Golden Dawn system, tools of magic can be generally defined by their specific function in ritual. These include:

• Sacred Space: Objects that are used to set the boundaries of the ritual area and the primary centers of energy located within the temple, such as:
  • The central altar
  • Side altars for the four elements
  • A set of pillars defining the great polarities of the universe (light and dark, day and night)
  • Thrones or chairs (stations for ritual officers)
  • Banners of the East and West (aligned with the path of the sun)
• Officer's Emblems: Magicians use symbols such as officers' lamens, wands, or other items to represent their authority or role within the context of the ritual. These objects also act as symbols of energy and protection for the practitioner.
• Universal Energies: Items that are used to symbolize the basic divisions and principal energies of the divine universe. The prevalent forces most often represented within the temple space are elemental in nature and are affiliated with various spiritual entities:
  • FIRE: symbolized by candles, wands, and the Hebrew letter Yod
  • WATER: symbolized by chalices, cups, and the Hebrew letter Heh
  • AIR: symbolized by incense, daggers, hand-fans, and the Hebrew letter Vav
  • EARTH: symbolized by a paten of bread and salt, and the Hebrew letter Heh Sophith
  • SPIRIT: symbolized by a white candle, the Golden Dawn's Cross and Triangle, and the Hebrew letter Shin
  • ENOCHIAN WATCHTOWER TABLETS: representing the four elements integrated with Spirit as well as a vast realm of unseen entities, rulers, archangels, and angels. The elements are usually placed around the temple space or on the altar in accordance with their assigned directions in space: Fire – South, Water – West, Air – East, Earth – North, Spirit – in the center.
  • OTHER UNIVERSAL ENERGIES: Depending on the nature of the working, other universal energies (planetary, Zodiacal, Qabalistic, etc.) can be symbolized within the ritual area by emblems or banners placed around the temple in conformity with their position in the celestial heavens. Each of these universal symbol sets is meant to provide a magical pattern or blueprint of the divine realm wherein the magician works.
• Specific Energies: These are objects that the magician uses to represent specific forces invoked during the ritual, or the goal of the Working itself. They are emblazoned with certain names, symbols, and sigils that connect them to certain spiritual entities and angelic beings that have clearly defined functions in the divine universe. Tools of this nature include talismans, swords, wands, pentacles, rings, tarot cards, lamens with angelic names and sigils written on them, parchment or paper with symbols drawn on them, and the like. Almost any item can be consecrated as a talisman or magical tool for a particular aim.
• Prayers and Invocations: For centuries, magicians have adapted and crafted written invocations, incantations, spells, and rituals for every purpose imaginable, culling material from all manner of spiritual literature, scriptures, and scrolls. Golden Dawn magicians have long taken advantage of sacred hymns, prayers, and invocations from the Egyptian Book of the Dead, the Chaldean Oracles, and other works.

Ritual methods are mental-psychic abilities and procedures that magicians must become proficient at in order to trigger magical energy and enliven the tools listed above. Until the practitioner can activate talismans, wands, and other tools using these techniques, these objects remain as just that—inanimate pieces of wood, cloth, and paper. To bring the magic to life, magicians must hone the following skills:

• Meditation: In Western magic, meditation implies focused awareness. The first step is to quiet the conscious mind from all internal chatter. The second step is to contemplate a specific topic or image, following all implications, nuances, and meanings while eliminating all unrelated thoughts. With time and training, the magician improves their powers of concentration and mental clarity.
• Visualization: In conjunction with the faculty of imagination, visualization is the practice of imaging something, such as a place or deity, with intense clarity. It is the ability to formulate a strong, clear mental image.
• Vibration: This is a method by which divine names and words of power are intoned forcefully in a strong "vibration" meant to attract the specific energies associated with them. Properly performed, the vibration should be felt throughout the entire body and envisioned as expanding throughout the universe. Successful vibration in ritual is often accompanied by a tingling sensation in the hands or face.
• Willpower: For magicians, this is a real psychic force, which, when assisted by the accompanying processes of meditation, visualization, and vibration, is capable of molding astral forms and projecting energy.

Golden Dawn ritual magic offers us a complete set of tools, symbols, and methods that give access to inner realms, parallel spiritual dimensions, and liminal areas of connection between our world and the divine realm of gods, angels, and spirits.