I’ve talked before about What You Really Need to Practice Witchcraft, and the answer is YOU. The magick is in YOU. That said it is nice to have props sometimes. What do you do if you’re on a limited budget and you still want ritual tools and spell components? Hit the Dollar Store and the thrift shop.
Close to me we have an honest to goodness Dollar Store where everything is $1. Believe it or not you can find most of your supplies at one of these stores. With a couple of exceptions you can find all of the items below at one. Remember when you bring these items home to cleanse, consecrate and charge them for ritual use. Also don't underestimate the value of yard sales and flea markets. You can find all sorts of cheap treasures at these venues.
1.Chalice. My Dollar Store has most of an aisle dedicated to glassware. There you can find all sorts of wine and other kinds of glasses to choose from. Pick one that speaks to you. It doesn’t have to look like a traditional looking chalice to work.
2.Wand. Now you’re not going to find any sort of traditional replacement for a wand at a Dollar Store but what you can find are chopsticks and pencils. Neither may be the prettiest but once cleansed, consecrated and charged they can be an effective substitute.
3.Bowls, dishes, and trays. You’re going to need small bowls or dishes, or maybe even a tray for holding things like water, salt, or spell components. You may also want to use small dishes or trays to set your candles on. There are no shortage of these kind of items at a Dollar Store.
4.Candles. You can find candles at the Dollar Store but I prefer the variety of candles you can find at the other dollar stores, the ones where everything isn’t a dollar.
5.Incense. You can find incense at the Dollar Store but I’ve never found one I care for at mine. Try your local flea market.
6.Decorative rocks. My local Dollar Store usually has inspirational rocks that say things like “Breathe” and “Faith.” You can use these as just a decoration for your altar or use them to represent the element of earth.
7.Herbs, spices, salt. This is something that can come in really handy if you do your research when it comes to herb correspondences. Many spells you’ll find in books or online will call for components you can’t get easily or inexpensively. The great thing is that if you’re willing to put in the time you can usually find a much more common herb or spice at the Dollar Store or your grocery store that will do the job.
8.Glass bottles and jars. There is no end to the uses of glass bottles and jars in ritual and spellwork. You can find plain and pretty ones at the Dollar Store.
9.Seasonal items. If you want to add some seasonal décor to your altar you’ve got a lot of options. There’s the Dollar Store or the more expensive dollar stores or the thrift stores.
10.Flowers. Fresh flowers are commonly added to altars and in spells. If you’re looking for cheap flowers check out the discount food chain Aldi’s. They typically have some fresh flowers for cheap at the checkout line.
11.Cakes and Ale. If you include cakes and ale as part of your ritual check out the grocery aisles at the Dollar Store. Here you can find some cookies or crackers to have as your cakes and juices to have as your ale.
12.Jewelry. For jewelry, the thrift stores are your place. No, you’re probably not going to find a nice new shiny pentacle there but you will find jewelry that you can designate as ritual jewelry.
13.Ritual clothes. Just as with jewelry you’re probably not going to find the cliché hooded cloak, but you can find some nice clothes to reserve just for the purpose of ritual.
14.Book of Shadows. You can find simple composition books that will work just fine at the Dollar Store. If you’re looking for something a little nicer you can usually find hardback journals at the more expensive dollar stores.