Broke Witch Tips

thehissingshrimp:

For those who are either broke and struggling to fund materials for your craft, those who cannot be seen purchasing items from ‘occult’ stores, or simply those who would like a cost-friendly alternative. 

1. Consider the mundane stores for most staple goods such as candles or herbs. 

2. Walmart and dollar stores tend to be very good in terms of pricing on chargers (plates to burn things on), spices, herbs, candles and holders, and so on. You can equip your altar nicely for under $30 if you’re starting from scratch!

3. Dried herbs are just as good as fresh herbs. 

4. In many groceries, you can get a single packet of herbs that’s good for a couple spells or a few dishes for around $0.60

5. If you can, buy in bulk.

7. If you live with family, there’s nothing to say that you can’t grab some herbs or spices out of the kitchen to use in your craft once in a while. 

8. If you need to bury something, or leave it out in nature, or even have a spell ‘jar’ recipe that won’t contain liquid and/or won’t be needed for a long period of time, consider using empty toilet paper rolls! Simply fold the top end down, tape it together, fill, and fold and tape the bottom shut as well. 

9. Thrift stores are amazing. Just sayin’. Be sure to cleanse whatever you do buy from there, though. 

10. While a gemstone pendant may be beautiful and awesome, in a pinch you can make do with any necklace you have, or even a stone or weight tied to a string. 

11. ANY refillable bottle can be a spell jar if you want it to be! E.g. soda bottles, jam jars, peanut butter jars, juice bottles, iced coffee bottles, etc. 

12. Tealights or birthday candles can often be used in place of real candles, whether for time or cost purposes. 

13. Some VERY effective tools are almost free, such as moon, sun, river, or storm water! 

14. If you make offerings to any entities, they don’t always have to be expensive and storebought! Interesting rocks, feathers, or even wild flowers you picked are good ‘free’ options. Generally speaking, unless the entity in question has demanded a certain thing, the intent and thoughts behind your offering matters as much as, or even more than, the actual offering. 

15. In a pinch, a white candle may be substituted for any other color. 

16. Fabric stores/fabric departments tend to have ‘fat quarters’ or remnants that are sold WAY below regular yard pricing. Depending on the size you can use this for an altar cloth, to make a poppet or satchet, etc. 

17. Sigils are free!

18. Consider energy work, such as Law of Attraction, meditation, visualization, and astral travel.

19. Use household items! Unless specified by a ritual of sorts, you don’t ‘need’ to have a dedicated pestle and mortar – if using herbs, any bowl and maybe a spoon or bottle of nailpolish would do. If using non food safe items, just use a bowl that you won’t be using for actual food. 

20. Unless otherwise specified, you don’t ‘need’ a special knife or implement just to cut up things in a ritual!

21. You can make/print your own tarot cards! They may not be ‘perfect’ and may wear out faster than purchased cards, but you can draw your own cards on index cards or blank paper.

22. If you aren’t creative, you can ‘read’ playing cards similar to tarot cards. 

23. A poppet can be almost anything! Unless specified, you can sew together pieces of cloth into a vaguely humanoid shape, you can use clay, a doll, or a wooden peg named for the person if you’re in a pinch. 

24. If you use Florida Water, there are recipes out there to make your own at home. You simply need alcohol, some herbs, and some flowers. 

25. With regards to using ribbon, you can also use string or yarn to tie something or bind something. 

26. Something someone has suggested – clean out your old empty nailpolish bottles and use them for tiny spell bottles!

27. A tiny travel altar can fit into a mint tin, or a cookie tin if you want something slightly larger.

28. Essential oils and incense can give your room a nice scent, and can be used to cleanse your space.

29. Music can also be used to cleanse your space!

30. For those of you that can’t be seen entering an occult store, or having packages arrive from certain websites – ‘head shops’ and Spencers often carry white sage and some crystals. 

31. For those who can’t have a physical grimoire/book of shadows/spell book, Google drive, tumblr, and Pinterest are all good options.

32. If you can’t get/can’t afford a statue of a deity or entity, you can also print out an image of them from online, or you can draw your own.

33. Tea bags can often have ALL the herbs and spices you need, and may even be cheaper than purchasing herbs separately. 

34. Some herbs and plants can be ‘pirated’ e.g. can be grown from a sprig plucked the right way. 

35. You can make your own wand, you don’t ‘need’ to purchase one. There are tutorials online that can help you with this!

36. You can use sea shells or dice for divination!

37. Runes can be painted/written onto coins, stones, or even bits of paper if you’re in a tight spot. 

38. If you want an indoor spice/herb garden and can’t afford planters, get creative. You can use empty cans, soda cans or milk jugs cut down, or even plastic containers that have lost their lids.

39. You can enchant daily objects to help you along the way. 

40. ANY notebook can hold a grimoire or book of spells!