Getting started as a witch can be truly daunting, even more so now that we have access to thousands of blogs and photos that show us how other witches are practicing. It can be hard to look at these more experienced witches and not feel discouraged. After all, many of us have been collecting tools, supplies, and books for years! It seems like there’s a list a mile long of things you need or want to practice witchcraft, and many of them come with a hefty price tag.
For lots of new witches, you may not have the extra cash lying around to drop on these items (or maybe you do and just aren’t ready for that much of a commitment!). Whatever your reasons for keeping your practice money-light, witchcraft doesn’t have to be expensive. Here are 15 tools and ingredients that are perfect for the witch on a budget!
1. Bulk spices
Herbs and spices purchased in the bulk section of grocery stores can be dirt cheap. You can get very small amounts of what you need and have it add up to only pennies. Just the other day, I bought three bay leaves for a spell. The price tag? $0.04. Talk about budget-friendly.
Stick to the cheaper options to keep the price down. Cinnamon, bay leaves, basil, coriander, ginger, and red pepper are good options. In a very well-stocked bulk section, you may even be able to find lavender, rose-hips, and jasmine over with the bulk tea.
2. Sticks
It may seem silly to suggest sticks as a tool, but a good stick can be a lovely addition to your witchy toolkit. Sticks can be turned into wands or wall hangings. They can have spells carved into them and be burned or hung over doorways. Sticks can even be made into brooms! A good stick has a multitude of uses and is completely free. All you have to do is go for a nature walk and see what you can find.
3. Leaves and flowers
Much like sticks, leaves and flowers can be used in many ways and they are entirely free. I would suggest either cutting (not picking, this can kill the plant!) fresh leaves and flowers to use immediately or collecting leaves and flowers to press so that they will keep and can be used regardless of the season.
Drying the petals of any flowers you receive as gifts is also a great option! Rose petals are used in many spells and can last for a very long time if stored properly. The only caveat with this method is that these flowers are often sprayed with pesticides and chemicals to keep them fresh, so they should not be used for any topical or internal use. This means no teas, no baths, and no oils to be placed on the body.
4. Hand-me-downs
Hand-me-down items can be great for witchcraft! Even if you’re not in love with the item itself, with a bit of altering many used items can be super useful in the craft. Old dishes? Paint them and use them as altar pieces. Old clothes? Use the fabric to make spell bags, tarot card wraps, and altar cloths.
And if you don’t typically get hand-me-downs, don’t worry, there are plenty of ways to take advantage of used items. Hold a clothing swap with your friends, or check out yard sales, thrift stores, and flea markets.
5. Recycled jars
Ahh, jars. It’s no wonder that witches are always joking about how much we all love jars. It seems like I’ve never got enough of them lying around. They’re amazing for everything from storing ingredients to casting spells and when you reuse jars instead of buying new ones, it’s good for the planet too!
Just remove the labels (a good soak in hot soapy water and a stiff-bristled brush helps) and paint the lid if you like and you’re good to go! One of my favorite ways to prep my jars is painting the lid with chalkboard paint. It makes labeling jars a snap!
6. Odds and ends from the craft drawer
Your craft drawer is a treasure trove. Pretty much everything in your craft drawer can be used for witchcraft. Fabric can be made into spell bags, pouches, tarot wraps, altar cloths, ritual clothing, and more. Yarn, thread, and twine can all be used for knot spells and tying off spell bags. Needles are useful for banishing and baneful magic. Thimbles can be used for protection. Clay can be made into amulets, talismans, poppets, and containers. Pretty scraps of paper can be used for sigils and written spells. The possibilities are endless. Crack open that craft drawer and see what kinds of ideas you can come up with!
7. Dirt
Dirt may not be the most exciting ingredient for your craft, but it has about a million uses. My witchcraft kit is never without a jar of dirt. Dirt can be used in spells ranging from protection to healing to prosperity and baneful magic. If you think about it, it makes total sense! That’s a bit of the earth that you can incorporate right into your magic. A tiny amount of dirt is teeming with living organisms that have the capacity to both spark the life that keeps our planet functioning and decay those things which are no longer living. If that’s not powerful magic, then I don’t know what is.
8. Dollar store candles
Dollar store candles are a lifesaver. I’ve almost always got a box of emergency candles, colored birthday candles, and white pillar candles in glass jars lying around because they’re just so damn cheap. Instead of spending a lot of money on candles, I can get away with only spending a few bucks for a ton of them, and then I’m set for candles for a month.
To keep costs down, I typically stick to white candles. Colored candles are fun, but keeping a bunch of colors around is more expensive and, to be honest, I don’t notice much of an effect on my spell casting. If you really want to use a colored candle, that’s where the birthday candles come in. They give a little pop of color when you really want something other than white to work with.
9. Moon water
Moon water (and really any charged water) is a budget witch’s dream. You can make it with plain old drinking water and a glass jar. If you take the moon phase into account, you can make charged waters for each phase of the moon to boost your magic when you need a spell but don’t have the time to wait for the right moon phase.
Not into lunar magic? There are TONS of other options for charged waters like solar water, color-infused water (just put the water in colored glass bottles!), water charged with herbs, rainwater, and snow water. The possibilities are endless and the supplies are easy to come by.
10. Grow your own herbs
Growing your own herbs is an easy way to connect with the earth and save a little money in the long run on supplies. Often, you can root cuttings from fresh culinary herbs to plant and have your own supply growing in a windowsill year-round. Herbs typically don’t require much space, so they can be grown in recycled jars and tea tins.
My favorite herbs to keep on hand for my craft are mint, sage, bay leaves, and rosemary. Check and see if any of your friends or family members are growing herbs already! You may be able to snag cuttings for your own garden from them.
11. Salt
What witchy supply kit is complete without salt? Salt is useful for all manner of magic, including cleansing and banishing. It’s also typically quite cheap. While it may be more aesthetically appealing to go for the Himalayan pink salt, regular table salt is far more readily available and works just as well, I promise. Salt is another item that may be available for much cheaper in the bulk section of your local store, but if you don’t have bulk goods available near you, you can often find a box of salt for just a few dollars.
12. Your makeup drawer
Your makeup can do double duty and serve as a perfect way to expand your craft. Enchant your lipsticks to sweeten your words, your eyeliner to help you see the truth, and your foundation to help you appear more favorably to other people. You won’t have to spend any extra money to incorporate makeup magic into your current routine, and it’s a lovely way to add a little more magic into your day-to-day life.
13. Loose change
I used to hate having loose change. It seemed to sneak into everything, my pockets, my purse, on my counters, between the couch cushions, under car seats. These days I look a little more favorably on my change. Anytime I find a coin, I pick it up and take it to my prosperity bowl. This bowl sits near the entrance to my house and is enchanted so that every time I drop change into it, it attracts more money to my household. It also charges the coins so that when I need a little financial boost, I can take them and use them to buy something, releasing a little burst of wealth-attracting magic.
14. Dollar store journal
Dollar store journals may not be fancy, but you can often get them in a variety of sizes for a dollar or less apiece, meaning you can get one for home and one to carry with you. These notebooks can be decorated and personalized however you like and then used to record your witchy doings. The thing I really love about using cheap journals is that I don’t have to be concerned about messing them up. I can write and rewrite spells, make notes in margins, spill potions on the pages, and rip pages out without feeling bad. Use these journals as a catch-all for information and when you’re ready to create a more carefully made grimoire later, you’ll have all the information you need at your fingertips.
15. DIY Pendulum
Do you have a necklace with a pendant that you wear a lot? Congratulations, it’s now a pendulum. Any object, pendant, or stone on a chain or string can serve as a divination tool in a pinch. Fancy crystal pendulums might be nice, but you may find that a necklace you wear close to your heart all the time speaks truer and is more readily available when you need a quick answer.
So there you have it! It’s entirely possible to have a wide array of witchy supplies available without having to spend a lot of money. You just have to get a little creative and work with what’s easily available to you.
Remember, while having tools and ingredients is great, they’re not necessary to practice witchcraft. It’s entirely possible to be a witch and never use a single herb, or crystal, or altar. I frequently do magic without any accompaniments and it works just as well as magic that I do with a full altar and all the spices in my cabinet. The important thing is that your craft works for you.
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Updated on June 18, 2024 by Avery Hart
