Presented in no particular order with very few rules. These are suggestions and ideas! There is no “school” of trash witchcraft and you can combine it with all sorts of other workings and traditions. Trash witchcraft is all about having a good time and changing the very nature of reality with something you picked up on the way to the bus stop.
What is “trash?” Well, it’s all relative, isn’t it? I think of trash as “stuff someone is no longer using that’s been left somewhere I can get to it.” My trash witchcraft focuses on getting use out of items people thought were useless, and making beautiful things out of what’s been written off as refuse. I’ve also found trash contains things that are unique to it - energies and thoughts from previous possessors, energies of being reused and recycled, energies of BEING trash, entropy, death, life, perseverance, marginalization, chaos, and a strange kind of peaceful order. Just depends on what you find!
Recycle! Save your drink cups and straws and even straw papers.
Some low-income hipster/artist areas have “free” boxes on the corner that you can pick amazing stuff out of
Thrift stores are great places to buy trash for cheap! It’s usually some pretty good trash, too.
Library free book piles, they get a lot of useless donations. Books are sacred on some levels but do not be afraid to rip apart a book on how to use 2005 Microsoft Encarta and turn it into a Sharpie Grimoire. You’re giving it more life than it ever had.
You’re gonna look at the ground a lot. You’re gonna look at soda can tabs in new ways.
Loose/broken cassette tape used to be common on roadsides but not anymore; you can usually get tapes for something like $1 apiece at a thrift store if you don’t want to wait. The tape inside is useful for all sorts of things, same with VHS tapes!
Discarded roadside CDs tho.
Rocks aren’t trash but you’ll start finding them if you look at the ground long enough! Even some stuff that’s kinda valuable. Get a rockhounding book and start finding even more treasure!
Asphalt and other manmade rock chunks are abundant because roads and sidewalks are constantly being repaired.
Near construction you may even find rebar, screws, etc.
Dirt is useful. Different kinds of dirt is useful different ways.
All sorts of interesting weird bits of metal and glass and plastic!
Discarded lighters, some of which still work!
Free matchbooks in bars, plus lemons and nuts and cocktail picks.
You will likely find some money even if it’s a bit of change. Spend it or save it for spell stuff (or just because you’re wise).
Animal bits are everywhere really.
U-Pick/Pick-n-Save/U-Pull-It type car lots will let you go into their broken down/wreckt car lot and pull anything off of vehicles for flat fees and it’s quite cheap.
Craigslist: for people who want to take other people’s junk away for them.
Freecycle-type trade groups and dumpster diver groups are good places to start on both practices, give em a google.
Watch the animals around and see if they lead you to something interesting.
Anything that has been run over or left on a road long enough has been charged with the energies of the roads. The energy might change depending on the type of road, a slow rural dirt lane will have a different feel than busy urban blacktop.
Even empty cups are useful for a jar replacement, especially temporary spells.
Straws can be used to build lattices, mock-structures (build a house out of straws and blow it down!), can even be used as temp wands.
Straw papers can be braided or written on and then wrapped around things for a binding spell or wish spell. For instance write a wish, wrap the straw paper around the straw, blow through it to charge.
Write a spell on the paper of a wrapped straw, then tear open one end and blow through the straw to launch the paper and spell!
A cocktail sword is now your tiny ritual knife. Rejoice.
Logo/corporate magic: you can use discarded items with a company’s logo with it to draw upon that company for help or even attack it. Use the money attached to the Starbucks brand to make a Starbucks cup the focus of a money jar spell, etc. Or just curse Blockbuster. Oh wait, too late.
Glass that changes the light (curved, warped etc) can be used for magnification or focus spells. Colors of glass can add certain aspects depending on how you associate colors. Green is commonly associated with money; there’s lots of green glass out there since it’s a common drink bottle color!
All your tiny metal/glass/concrete bits are great jingles for a spell jar that should be shaken, or even a jar bell just for making noise.
Flatter lighter shiny clinky bits can be tied up on a frame as a wind chime, gathering wind energy or just being decorative. Add string/knotwork if you want! Great to do with found silverware.
A chunk of a place helps call up the presence of that place or draw on the energy of that place or influence that place. This applies to dirt, rocks, roads, concrete, bricks, asphalt, etc. Get macro (a whole city) or micro (this corner of the street) but either way, tap that!
Pendant materials abound if you look in the right places, especially if you know how to wire-wrap a weird chunk of chrome.
Broken window glass to shatter illusions, break defenses, and expose lies.
Broken mirror for scrying mirrors or defensive traps.
The right rocks can be used to draw on concrete in lieu of chalk, do a scratch test.
Mark the corners of your neighborhood or yard with innocuous, tiny bits of rocks and other things that aren’t likely to be picked up. Even just arbitrarily moving bits of stuff around helps increase your sovereignty over a location. Be aware of who else might control the area though!
Trash is useful for shadow work. Find a trash object that you can meditate on or use for an energy focus. A lot of feelings can resonate with trash - the feeling of BEING trash, being discarded or used, being broken. These can be focused on for catharsis or for calm. Walk through the life of this trash item, empathize with its journey, see where its journey parallels yours. Give it a new home if you’ve found some part of yourself you’re reclaiming (a lot of “trash” is actually worth keeping and was mistakenly devalued!); if you’ve found parts of yourself to let go and move on from then throw them away with the object.
This can also be a focus for luck or serendipity workings - do a working to find something precious, then do a trash hunt and see what comes up!
Broken glass and sharp metal bits ABOUND in the places where the best trash is. So you’ll want good gloves and I suggest keeping your tetanus shot up to date.
Depending on what you’re doing, eyewear may be good too, and I’d wear tough jeans and a shirt you won’t mind getting snagged.
Watch where you hunt trash. Some other people may be trying to get returnable bottles or metal for money; I suggest just giving them right of way.
People and animals are unpredictable so only work with those you trust and know the rules for if you’re out of your element.
Sometimes places with interesting trash are already occupied by belligerent spirit entities who are keeping that as their hoard. Only approach if you’re willing to bargain fairly or otherwise if you’re willing to fight the entity. (I suggest bargaining or leaving. Remember, it’s just trash.)
Look, if you pick anything up that’s squishy keep some hand sanitizer on you and some resealable bags.
Actually resealable bags are a good idea anyway, stay organized! Label with date/place if you like to draw on specific associations.
Add sigils or cleaning/sealing spells to your bags to keep newly-collected materials from causing spiritual/magical problems before you have a chance to take them home and deal with them. If you have an on-the-go cleanse spell then that’s important to use, but sometimes an extra layer helps for really gunky stuff, and trash tends to have a history attached to it.
Animal parts - please do some research before you collect so you know how to safely do it and preserve things without violating the Migratory Bird Act and other local laws. There are a lot of “vulture culture” people on tumblr alone, see if you can talk to someone who works with animal spirits so you’ll know how to respectfully harvest materials.
If it looks too nasty to touch or reach for or get to, let it go. It’s just trash.
Remember that rooting through other people’s trash that’s part of their property is technically crime and a theft. Be aware of when you are trespassing.
Add some stuff! Be trashy with me!
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