#budget magic

[khensaptah]

If you don't have bespoke iconography for your spirit companion, the little dragon figurine you got a the craft store will do.

[ivythewitch]

Wicca and/or Witchcraft on the cheap

I am on a tight budget. Between paying for school, paying bills, and saving for a house, I can’t afford a lot of fancy tools like I used to. I also know, a lot of people don’t live in Pagan inhabited areas like I do, so I made this list of common tool alternatives, and substitutes for herbs and stones! Feel free to add to this list, and know that this is NOT all inclusive. 

Also, because its tumblr and this is necessary, I use Wicca and Witchcraft together in this list because Witches and Wiccans use a lot of the same materials and tools, and I am lazy and don’t wanna make 2 lists. 

HERBS

Herbs are super easy to access, are relatively affordable, and easy to disguise if you are not a public Witch. 

Rosemary-This herb is the Witches go to. It is great for almost everything. Its a hardy plant, so if you grow it yourself it is easy to keep alive, and its inexpensive at the grocery store. This herb is also one of the few that can be used as a substitute for any other herb. (Because of its many correspondences)

Salt-Any type of salt can be used in Witchcraft, and its SUPER versatile. I like to buy coarse kosher salt at the dollar tree myself, but table salt and cheap iodized salt from the grocery store is also great to use. 

Sage-White sage of course is popular with Pagans, but buying preground sage from the grocery store is just as useful. I also like to buy the fresh sage from the store when its on sale (got it yesterday from my local Latin grocer for $1) and dry it myself on my wall. Sage removes ALL ENERGIES from a space, so its a great neutralizer that allows you to create exactly the type of space you want. 

Black pepper-Yep, the kind you sprinkle on your food, that sits stale in the shaker on your table for months on end? Its perfect for banishment, removal, and protection. Mix it with Salt for a great protection blend, and use it as a hexing and cursing tool as well. Bonus? Its super affordable and available in a lot of varieties (PINK PEPPERCORN IS AWESOMELY PRETTY)

Cayenne Pepper-Another inexpensive herb, this one is great for when you have to do fierce protection or hexing, but don’t want to shell out the money for something more potent. This herb is also really multipurpose. 

Egg shells-You’re already making eggs for breakfast, may as well clean out those shells (strip the inner lining off it) and grind them up for a great material for fertility, protection, healing, and more! 

Stones

Stones are not always as easy to come by, but here are a few of them that when you can get them, are inexpensive, and good for many uses. Also, pennies. 

Clear Quartz-Its a neutral stone that is in so many other stones. Like rosemary, quartz is great for just about anything. I use it for cleansing, creating barriers, protection, mirror spells and more! 

Amethyst-Part quartz, part adorably purple, I love amethyst because its great for multiple things. Love, Psychic powers, protection, and healing to name a few. 

Rose Quartz-Known more as “the love stone” this is a great multipurpose stone. I use it as representation of Goddess energy, self and outward love, healing, and as a generator of positivity. 

Himalayan Salt- Salt is a stone and you can’t tell me otherwise. These are great because it is said they are natural ionizers. You can find them as candle holders, cutting boards, lamps, and even in salt shakers! Great inexpensive alternative to having a ton of stones around your home. 

Pennies-Tiny, copper, useless when shopping unless you have exact change, these little guys are great for luck, money drawing, prosperity and success, and a bunch of other things. I use them for offerings to my Deities as well. 

Tool Substitutes

Wiccan and Witchcraft tools are a wonderful thing to have. When I started, I didn’t have them though, and for a long time I felt like I COULDN’T be a witch. That is just not the case. While yes it is helpful to have all the fancy tools and materials, here are a few awesome things you already have at home that you can use as magical tools (make sure you cleanse and consecrate them first!)

Chalice-USE A WINE GLASS! They are literally the same thing. If you don’t have a wine glass, I like using a flower vase in a bind. But you can get wine glasses at Dollar stores and yard sales too :)

Athame- Ah, the double edged blade that we all long for. Dude, you come equipped with a natural director of energy. Your index finger on your dominant hand. (I am a right handed person, so I use my right pointer/index finger when my athame is unavailable)

Boline-The knife used for cutting. If you can’t guess enough to grab an old steak knife or something from your kitchen, idk how to help you. I eventually managed to scrape up the cash for a small hunting knife at a renaissance fair, which I still have and use as my boline 8 years later. Scissors also work. 

Mortar and Pestle-Okay, this one is harder to find a good substitute for, but I have managed to find a couple! Thrift stores are your friend, you can find actual mortar and pestles there, and at latin grocery stores, BUT you can also find thrifted COFFEE GRINDERS! If that isn’t a possibility, grab yourself a big rock, an old towel and get some aggression out. You can bludgeon the herbs to death. (not recommended, but fun as hell)

Offering plate-Yes, its great to have a fancy hand carved plate. But, I have literally used paper plates and haven’t been smited down where I stand. You do you. 

Statues of Deity-Statues are SUPER expensive. I like to find images that look like my idea of what God/dess looks like and print them off on photo paper, frame it and TADA instant Deity idols. You can also make your own out of clay if you are so inclined. Or, doodle away! 

[trans-mouse]

So i’m thinking about running a tournament/league bracket type of thing partially through my stream and partially through tumblr and maybe another thing or two, for a super budget magic tournament through mtgo. Essentially doing either canadian highlander or 1v1 edh, with a budget cap of EITHER five cents per card or five dollars per deck. (I haven’t decided which, I’d have to do a lot of looking, and which I’m leaning towards depends on which format people express interest in.)

Would people be interested in this? I’d be streaming games and commentary on this on my twitch channel (twitch.tv/notsoluckylydia) and probably doing writeups on decks that do well. I’ve wanted to do a big magic thing for a while, and I feel like this could be a really fun project. 

The budget setup is to make sure that a new account on mtgo could buy into a completely new deck. If you have any questions, feel free to ask away.

[sylvaetria]

Resources for Budget Magic

Updated: July 29, 2017

[Accumulating Witch Stuff on a Budget]

[Being a Witch on a Budget]

[Budget Witch Tips]

[Cheap Pagan’s Guide (For Those Who Aren’t Crafty and Still Want to Spend Money)]

Dollar Store Magic: [Part 01]; [Part 02]

Inexpensive Witch Items: [Part 01] (cw: gif); [Part 02] (cw: gif)

[Limited Witchcraft Masterpost]

[A Low Budget List of Altar Supplies]

[Magic on a Budget]

[A Poor Witch’s Guide]

[Practices for a Beginner Witch on a Budget]

[Thrifting for Witchy Supplies]

[Tips and Tricks for the Frugal (or Broke) Wiccan]

[Unconventional & Affordable Ingredients for Spells]

[Witchy Supplies for Nomadic, Poor, Homeless, Parochial, and Anti-Consumerist Witches]

[Witchy Tips and Tricks]

[edric-unsane]

I've been inching closer and closer to working within a goetic system, without breaking my budget. I've also been trying to stay as close as I can within the actual system, but being a Chaos Magician means I will be taking certain liberties for both ethical and monetary reasons...Cuz, you know...I'm a broke ass Chaos Magician who likes a challenge.

[witch-quartz]

Saltwaterwitchery's 30 Days of Witchcraft Day 8: Herbal Remedies Herbal work is very important to me, so I keep a collection of some of my most used ones near my altar. From top to bottom: salt, cloves, cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, St. John's wort, raspberry leaves, basil, rosemary, marshmallow, lavender, valerian, pink Himalayan salt. When I'm using my herbs for personal use, it's in tea, food, or herbal cigarettes (I use the roaches for khernips!). For extensive/lasting use, I make spell jars or smoulder the dried herbs on a cast iron skillet.

[gathering-magic]

Join Mark and Abe on their journey to teach Magic through Commander. Budget Commander Boot Camp Begins!...

Surrak Dragonclaw by Jaime Jones

[sylvaetria]

You may have answered this already but do you have tips on how to do witchcraft w limited resources? I have no way to get things like vanilla, or certain spices/herbs and the area I live in doesn't have many of the more common flowers w magical significance (roses for example). I'm also not allowed to light candles or get candles of different colors (But I do light white candles secretly). And ideas?

Honestly I haven’t used vanilla once in my practice. Ingredients that people say are “necessary” may be for them, but that shouldn’t reflect on you or your practices. If you can’t get it, or even have no reason to use it, don’t bother tbh.

When it comes to things like herbs, it is very easy to find replacements for them regarding correspondences. With vanilla, depending on the properties it has, it could be substituted with something else that also has those associations. It might be slightly different energy-wise, but I wouldn’t think too much so, especially if you don’t think so.

At that point it becomes important to work with what you have. Find out what your area does have, maybe even naturally, then find out what you can do with those things, and go from there.

If you are able, spices and herbs are also available for purchase online. Dollar stores even carry a selection of herbs and spices now (at least, the ones in my area do). Bulk Barns also has a great selection, and super cheap too (I just got good sized bags rock salt, pink Himalayan salt, rubbed sage, and I think mint there for less than $4).

However, you also don’t need herbs if you don’t want them. That is just one area of spellwork, and if you have difficulties accessing herbs, go for something you are able to do / have access to.

As for candles, white is pretty much all purpose. LED candles are also an option. There are even websites that allow for the burning of digital candles that can be used too, and there are also some cell phone apps that offer the same thing - tech magic for the win!

Otherwise, I’d suggest using [energy work] or [sigils], which are both low supply and also really discreet. 

Here are some posts that may contain more ideas of things you may be able to do, if you so desire:

Budget Magic:

[Accumulating Witch Stuff on a Budget]

[Being a Witch on a Budget]

[Budget Witch Tips]

[Cheap Pagan’s Guide (For Those Who Aren’t Crafty and Still Want to Spend Money)]

Dollar Store Magic: [Part 01]; [Part 02]

Inexpensive Witch Items: [Part 01] (cw: gif); [Part 02] (cw: gif)

[Limited Witchcraft Masterpost]

[A Low Budget List of Altar Supplies]

[Magic on a Budget]

[A Poor Witch’s Guide]

[Practices for a Beginner Witch on a Budget]

[Thrifting for Witchy Supplies]

[Tips and Tricks for the Frugal (or Broke) Wiccan]

[Unconventional & Affordable Ingredients for Spells]

[Witchy Supplies for Nomadic, Poor, Homeless, Parochial, and Anti-Consumerist Witches]

[Witchy Tips and Tricks]

Discreet Magic:

[Acquiring Discreet Supplies] (an ask)

[Altar Ideas for Secret Witches]

[Apps for Witches Masterpost Pt 1]

Big Broom Closet Post: [Part 1]; [Part 2] *

[Broom Closet Solutions] *

[Broom Closet Witchery] *

[Covert Witchcraft 101]

[Discreet Witch Craft]

[Enchantments for the Subtle Witch]

[How to Hide Your Witchy Ways]

[Jar Alternatives]

[Little Things For Witches Who Keep Quiet About Their Craft]

[Master List of Low-Key Spells]

[Master Post for Secret Witches]

[100 Tips for the Secret Witch]

[A Secret Witches Guide to Concealing Your Craft]

[Subtle Magical Practice]

[Thriving in the Broom Closet] *

[Tips and Tricks for Secret Witches]

[Tips for a Beginner Witch Who Needs to be Discreet]

[Tips for Discreet College Witches]

[Tips for Discreet Witchcraft]

[Tips for Life in the Broom Closet] *

[Tips for Witches Keeping Their Practice Secret]

[Witchy iOS Apps]

[Witchy Uses for Your Phone for the Frugal or Secret Witch]

* not my choice of title