Chalice

The cup on the altar, which stands for water and holds the shared drink at the end of a ritual.

The chalice is the cup among the witch's tools. It stands for the element of water, for the west and for everything that receives and holds: feeling, intuition, memory. In the tarot it returns as the suit of cups.

In a ritual it has two uses. It holds the water of a working, for example for cleansing. And it holds the drink that is blessed and passed round at the end of a Wiccan rite, a custom known as "cakes and ale", which brings everyone back to earth by eating and drinking together.

The word comes from the Latin calix and is the one the churches use for the cup of the Mass. The drink need not be wine: juice, tea or plain water does the same. Any glass or cup you like serves. Choose one that is safe for food if you will drink from it; old pewter and some glazed pottery can give off lead.

Related: tools of the craft, the four elements.