Budgeted Witchcraft 🔮
I understand that a lot of people on witchblr can't afford big, elaborate altar setups, the prettiest equipment, and the nicest tarot cards (I'm one of them.) And by the looks of it, the biggest crystals and the nicest spellbooks are usually expensive and hard to come by. But there are ways to be cheaper about your craft! Here's some ways to save money and still practice comfortably.
🔮 Dollar Tree. I can't stress this enough; if you're a witch with low funds, Dollar Tree will be your new best friend. Everything is a dollar, and just about every store I've seen has always had a surplus of glass bottles, vases, bowls, candles, ribbon, bags of river stones, wooden boxes and chests, and baskets.
🔮 If you can't afford a pretty, leather bound Book of Shadows or personal grimoire, use Tumblr as a sort of digital BOS, or buy a 95 cent notebook from Walmart (great for witches still in the broom closet.)
🔮 If you're having a hard time finding ways to decorate your altar without going bankrupt, go outside and look. If you have flowers or plants growing in your yard, use those. If you live near a forest, bring a basket and go out and collect whatever you can find. Look around the inside of your house, too - surely you can find some use out of those old candles you have stashed away somewhere.
🔮 Can't afford a set of runes? Don't sweat it. Buy a bag of glass aquarium beads (they cost, at most, 3 dollars,) or something of the sort, and paint the runes on them. Make them look pretty to your tastes.
🔮 If you're into pendulum magick, or would like to get into it, you don't have to go out and buy an expensive one from your nearest metaphysical shop. If you have any crystals you don't mind sacrificing, wrap it in a chain or whatever you like, and you have a fully functional pendulum. If you don't, take a chain off of an old ceiling fan, or even a necklace. (Click here for more information on pendulum magick and how it works.)
🔮 Follow-up, if you don't have a pendulum board, it's pretty easy to make one out of some old cloth and markers. But the board is optional, anyway.
🔮 Herbs are usually a big part of witchcraft. And while it may seem you have to spend a fortune on herb kits, you don't! Most of the staple herbs used in witchcraft can be found in your spice cabinet.
🔮 Ask a loved one to buy you a deck of tarot cards, since it's tradition for them to be gifts, anyway. But if you're dead set on getting your own, and if you're artsy enough, make your own out of cardstock and whatever medium you choose to draw.
🔮 I understand that lots of witches like to use crystal or herb dictionaries for their workings, which is convenient when doing rituals, and you can make notes in them. But if you don't have the funds or access to these books, you're in luck. Tons of witchblr pages have cheat sheets for these types of things, and any additional information you could probably pretty easily find online. Here's some crystal and herb reference posts that I like to use.
🔮 If you can't afford a crystal ball or black mirror for scrying (because wow, they are expensive sometimes,) practice water scrying. Or, for answering questions, try candle reading. Another option could be pyromancy, if it's applicable to your needs.
🔮 Not related, but for those of you who are still in the broom closet, and can't buy elaborate things for their workings, here's some things that have helped me keep my craft a secret.
🔮 Try yard sales! I absolutely love yard sales because you can find old, pretty antiques (and even some crystals and real jewellery) cheap. Look for pretty mirrors, candles, candleholders, glasses and mason jars, and anything else, like old books and such. Reminder to be wary of these sales, because the dead tend to cling to objects they held dear.
🔮 Thrift shops, peddler's markets, and antique sales! Basically the same as the previous note. Once again, be careful.
🔮 If you don't have enough money to afford a wand, it's pretty nice to make your own, and gives you the opportunity to make a connection to it as you work. Just grab a branch off your favorite tree and start working.
