Ritual Tools-They dont need to be expensive

[CelticMoon11]

I see a lot of posts around about people not being able to afford tools, first and foremost you don't need em most the time but if you really want them there are budget alternatives I thought I'd share with you with how much I've paid (in australian dollars roughly 0.7c of the american dollar):

Wand: I found a stick on the ground and sanded it back so cost me nothing, decorations you can get cheap if you want to wrap an end in some material or something

Quarter cups: metal ice cream holders or cocktail glasses cost me $3 each and look good

Chalice: I bought mine at a closing down sale so got it for about $10 instead of $45 however it is cheap to get a nice wine glass which would cost $2 from a junk shop, some paint (silver or gold or whatever) $2.50, and a paintbrush if you dont already have one 50c

Athame: Mine is a cheap budget one off one of those chinese stands cost me $20, you can mash one up (see Mouse for details I can't make em lol) or get a black handled knife from a knife shop or even the supermarket you can always sharpen the other side if only one is sharp or a hunters knife like my dad had looks schmick but is very expensive.

Something to represent them upstairs: I have two little plates $4, one painted silver, one painted gold, with a candle of the opposite colour sitting on the plate, so a silver candle on a gold plate, all up cost about $12 I also have a statue of two nameless featureless figures kissing I got for $1 from the junkshop because the paint job on it was bodgey and painted it black $2 for paint.

Pentacle you can make from a vine and let it dry out which turns out to be free :lol: or you can buy one (I bought two one for $20, one for 30 that I hang on the wall) but you can paint a rock, carve or burn it into wood or draw it on a piece of paper and laminate it :)

Candles: I get cheap candles from the junkshop I found they burn better and longer than the expensive ones I got a pack of 100 and I still got a lot of them left.

Altar: A cheap budget table/shelf can be bought for about $50 from places like the Reject Shop etc or you can do what I did I went and bought a bunch of wood and put the box together myself the wood cost me about $20 and you can paint or or leave it plain etc whatever you want to do with it.

My scrying mirror I bought today with a black shinny reflective surface is actually a 75c dinner plate that I can put some water in and use it's awsome and you can paint the outer lip of the bowl if desired which I'll eventually do.

Anyways they are just what I have done, you can save so much money just using substitutes and making things yourself it's not meant to be expensive!

[fangedeshana]

These are some really great sugestions! I actually prefer making my tools as much as possible. It cheaper, fun, I can customize it to my fussy likings and I think it helps establish a closer connection right from the start that buying tool in general.

A little off topic, but what breed kitten is that in your sig photo on the right?

[CelticMoon11]

I'm a very physical and shiny person lol I love having lots of pretty sparkly things (small things amuse small minds I know!) Heres a few pictures of what I have I mean I love it and I have ME in a lot of what I have and all up it didn't really cost all that much! I also have a cauldron but that wasn't budget unfortunately although I did try lol

[arianrhods_daughter]

Some good ideas there and some lovely pictures! I'd also add that growing your own herb patch is a lot cheaper than buying dried herbs but that isn't always viable for everyone, however if you do need herbs go to the supermarket before the metaphysical store it is a lot cheaper!

[CelticMoon11]

Or scab out of neighbours gardens....with their permission of course lol

[StormVixen]

cool stuff!

another thing you can do is make an athame out of wood... its just as good i think...

[Crimson Mage]

Being a shop owner, I have people who ask all the time --- whats the "right one" to choose when theyre looking for their tools. I simply tell them this:

You dont NEED anything in our shop. Its all decorative and most people that buy them not because they need them - they buy them because they want them. I live at the seashore. Shells make WONDERFUL holders for salt and water. An old Oak tree might not mind if you asked it for a donation for your wand (be sure to leave something in return). You can scry in a bowl of water, or in the flames of a fire. The directions can be marked with some nice stones you have found on a walk. The feather from a bird can represent the air. Its just a matter of being creative. Its not about what you have, its about what you INTEND.

Now, we sell everything you can think of, and people do buy them. But if youre on a budget, its quite possible to gather up everything you need ofr your altar without ever spending a cent.

[wolf]

I always tell folks (beginners and advanced) that Michael's Crafts, Walmart, K-Mart, and The Dollar Store are excellent mystical supply shops. If they don't have what you're looking for, you can probably get the components of something wonderful.

[Malcolm]

looks schmick

Whats that mean?

[fangedeshana]

Schmick = snazzy, awesome, aestetic, looks like it was worth more than it really was... um.. that get it across?

I hate trying to explain slang :P

[Amelserru_halqu]

may I suggest making pentacles out of thorn bushes? Oh and if you live in the USA (anywhere really but overseas shipping can be expensive) check out smokey mountain knifeworks for a good blade.

[CelticMoon11]

Schmick must be one of those Aussie terms or something? :lol: It pretty much means it will look awsomely awsome. My dads trooper blade (which I wants lol) cost $300AUS and is now worth $700AUS so I dont think I'll be getting one anytime soon lol

[MandaWaters]

I have found my most coolest and cheapest supplies at second hand stores! A brass and silver chalice, a gathering basket made out of branches and vines and other natural things, canadian birch offering bowls, a round wooden unused chopping board that I painted and turned into a pentacle .. oh and a carved wooden box that my tarot cards fit in perfectly!

[Silverfire Darkmoon]

WHile I love making ritual tools, I'd really love to have a tool that I myself did not purchase or make. To date, only one out of my entire set of tools (and I damn near have everything you could ever need) was given to me, and that is a small burin cast by the lady Tamarra of the WCC. She had a big bag of them and was giving them out to everyone.
You can get almost everything you need from Dollarama, Wal-Mart, and Value Village. My candleholders I got at a yard sale, my cauldron at a Bible for Missions, my altar cloths from Value Village, my salt and water bowls from the dollar store, my wands I made, my scourge I made, my bolline I made (a linoleum knife is the best thing to use for that). My athame I bought, and I've never seen another one like it, ANYWHERE.

[Novembers River]

I'm neither a witch nor have an alter (yet), but a cheap idea for an alter is a rubbermade tote. Inside you can store all your items and a nice cloth over it turns it into a nice alter.

This could be especially nice for someone trying to keep their practice hidden. When not in use it would just look like another storage tote.

[Nosnah]

I use a trunk for my altar... the kind you can buy for like the foot of your bed, i think it might also be called a foot locker? I had it from when i lived in the dorms, and its perfect because I can keep my stuff in it, and lock it if my grandma comes over, lol... darn baptists ;) (i mean that lovingly, and totally teasing)

i dont have a want, i use fondue cups for water and salt, and a plastic wine glass for a chalice, which i dont know if it counts, lol...

[BohemianMare]

I agree that the best tools aren't always the expensive ones. The only thing on my altar I didn't get cheaply or make myself is my athame, which I splurged on. It just felt "right" when I picked it up, so I knew I had to loosen the purse strings a little. Everything else came from thrift stores, Wal-Mart or World Market, which has some pretty affordable stuff.

[CelticMoon11]

Dunno if I mentioned it before but I got a black reflective scrying plate from kMart for 0.75c :lol: beats paying $20+ for a scrying mirror!

EDIT: Yes I did mention it before *puts wine cask away* :D

[Invidosa]

I'm neither a witch nor have an alter (yet), but a cheap idea for an alter is a rubbermade tote. Inside you can store all your items and a nice cloth over it turns it into a nice alter.

This could be especially nice for someone trying to keep their practice hidden. When not in use it would just look like another storage tote.


Thats exactly what I do, I love the portability of it. When I feel like practicing outside I don't have to pack up all my gear. My pentacle was crafted with a wood tile from Michaels (3$) and some wood stain (free) I am a big believer in resale shops, I was given the loveliest chalice, green cut glass, a friend bought for a dollar. My alter cloth was created out of fabric left over from a wedding dress I made for a client. My corner markers were made from large stones I found at places significant to me and painted with silver and gold paint. For me at least, I feel that the tools of the craft sometimes just come to you, my pendulum was literally found at my feet one day at the park. :hahugh:

[Mouse]

I'm pretty damn fussy about my tools, specifically what they are made from, because there is (I believe) a reason to why they are made the way they are, and why they are made from what they are made from.

I agree it doesn't have to be expensive, but I suggest waiting rather than settling for something that "will do". I used things to subsititute for tools before I had them, but I knew that these items were stand ins for the real thing, and I let them upstairs know that too.

For example there is a difference between silver and stainless steal. Looks more or less the same, but it isn't the same.

A lot of people will say that the tools have no power in themselves, however, materials like plastic don't hold energy, and that's why they don't have any power. Metals like silver and copper come from the earth as silver or copper ore; there's not half as much modern intervention involved. Things that are natural hold energy better.

You can tell a real difference in your practice between magick worked with man-made tools and magick worked with more traditional materials.

Having said all that though, my tools didn't cost me an arm and a leg either.

My athame, which my partner made for me, is bronze with a wooden handle wrapped in black leather. My metal is copper, so it made more sence for me to have a bronze blade than a silver one. All up it cost about $20AUS to make, including the leather scabbard.

I have two silver chalices, one solid silver the other is silver plated copper. The large chalice cost $10 for two (one was damaged, the one I kept wasn't) from a second hand store. My partner was nice enough to barter the price down for me. :lol: The smaller one that I use more often was picked up from St Vinnies, for about the same price.

My wand I made, and it set me back about $30 to decorate it.

I'm looking for a pentacle at the moment. My old brass one is a bit worse for wear, so I'm planning on making one from either clay or copper. (I'm obsessed, I admit it) I've also made wax pentacles, and they cost about $15, including materials and gas/electricity for the stove.

I waited three odd years before my tools started showing up though, because there were a few things I had to learn first. As nice as it is having all the bits and pieces, it's good to have the experience of having to work without them. Witchcraft shouldn't have to be expensive I agree, but if something means a lot to you then you shouldn't mind working your bum off to make your tools or to save the required money.

Great thread Celtic. :cheers:

[CelticMoon11]

Great thread Celtic. :cheers:

Aww schucks thankies! Sorry I couldn't get you a scrying plate they're all sold out, however if you want there was a soup bowl with a white rim for sale for $3 that wasn't scratched to buggery but did have the white lip. Black plates just aren't in at the moment...there was one it was very dirty though round very flat plate (so can't hold water much if at all) for $7 on sale lemme know

Anyways, yessum, always good to get tools with "good" materials instead of plastic we wont talk about my poor little artificial athame made of unknown materials :lol: it's my moggy blade :D

Got any basic tips for those wanting there own athame with more natural materials? I'm only good at manipulating paper :lol:

[Mouse]

Sorry mate. My phone ran out of credit :( Nah, don't worry about the bowl. By the time I figure out the whole scrying thing they'll prolly be every where. For now I'll stick to the cards, methinks. Thanks for trying though. *hugs*

lol. I'm not picking on you and your moggy blade, I just thought it was worth a mention.

Scrap metal places are a good place to look for small amounts of good metals (suprisingly) if you know what you're looking for. Softer metals can be filed into shape if you don't have a lot of equiptment or strength, it takes a fair bit of time to do it this way though.

Never be afraid to ask shop keepers if they'll lower the price, or offer to by extra at a discount.

Second hand shops are your friend. You'll need to cleanse what you buy of course, but a lot of fussy people will do that even when they buy their tools new. If you find a blade you like, or even something like a silver cheese serving cutting thing (oh I'm great with words tonight. lol), that either doesn't have a handle or has a handle you don't like, you can easily pick it up for the blade part and replace the handle, or for the cheese knife, bend the handle till it's flat (you can do this without heating it if you are gentle and never plan on useing your athame in a fight) and make a handle for it.

Well i'm outta ideas for tonight at least. I think I'll sleep on it :D

[CelticMoon11]

That's ok I was pretty sure you wouldn't have any with your SO off on the roads :) Tis not a prob would've been good if they had em but you never know may get more in if they do I'll let you know :)

lol, that's ok it was a vera good point to raise I know it wasn't targeted at my moggy blade just playing :D *hugs moggy blade....bleeds* :lol:

This is true, ALSO try and sweet talk them! I was in a crystal store talking of my appreciation for the crystals and swapping correspondence and experiences with the store owner and I got two for the price of one and another I got for $3 instead of $5 because she was "glad to talk to someone who actually gave a damn about them" unfortunately the stores now closed :( but was good at the time

You can also use a "Bird Beaked fishing knife" for $6 in King of Knives as a boline, it has a white handle, is curved and practical I ran out of time or I would now have one *sigh* they are relatively sturdy little things too!

[Silverfire Darkmoon]

Anyways, yessum, always good to get tools with "good" materials instead of plastic we wont talk about my poor little artificial athame made of unknown materials :lol: it's my moggy blade :D

Got any basic tips for those wanting there own athame with more natural materials? I'm only good at manipulating paper :lol:

My athame, while very nicely shaped, also has a fugly plastic handle with visible seam lines on it. Argh! One of these days I'll get it off there, but intil then, I'll deal with it.

[CelticMoon11]

Have you thought of wrapping it in material of some kind till you get around replacing it? You could sew designs onto the material then stick it on the handle or wrap it in leather etc :) just a thought :lol:.

[Birdy]

I am not Wiccan so my altar doesn't have wiccan tools, but my altar cloth is a piece of beautiful gauzy fabric from the scrap bin at the fabric warehouse that cost just over $1. I also have a pretty cool looking $1 dollar wine glass from an odds and sods store. Dollar store candles are indeed the best, especially 'emergency candles,' they're plain white but they cost $1 for 8 large candles and they last forever. My best ritual object is my staff though. I found a large branch on the beach one day and my friend helped me carve it with a sharp rock. That one is the closest to nature and to my heart and it was totally free. I also discovered that stones carve wood much more smoothly and nicely than metal tools, go figure.

[bbnflpn]

the best tool is your self,

i found good things in the 2nd hand store ect.

stuff i had for years too.

i did buy my quarter candles, they are oil candles, i like them cause they can have colored oil, and they are easy to light. they cost 9$ for a pair.

all of my that i bought cost less than 10$ each item

my antlers i got for free, as my shell, and i won another set of quarter candles that i have not yet used for a rite they are kind of aquard (they are jelly jars which have been colored with giltter glue, they have colored sand in them to raise the candle (a small votive the same color as the rest of the candle) but i didnt get much sand so im gonna have to add some more, and get some lids for them if im gonna make them my travel candles. i would have to use a long lighter to light them right now

[Magus]

I'm a very physical and shiny person lol I love having lots of pretty sparkly things (small things amuse small minds I know!) Heres a few pictures of what I have I mean I love it and I have ME in a lot of what I have and all up it didn't really cost all that much! I also have a cauldron but that wasn't budget unfortunately although I did try lol
http://www.mysticwicks.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=65603&d=1149570925

Wow your altar looks really nice, i wish mine could look that good :wah:
women have such a great taste when they decorate their altars. mine looks... amm well... :wah: ... dont ask me. :geez:

Im in the process to renew some of my tools, some of them are over 3 years old. I have been using a burning incense stick instead of an athame, but Im cosidering to aquire one.

Also, dont forget that in some dollar stores in USA and Europe you can find nice dreamcatchers for about .99 cents and the best part is that you can customize them the way you want.

Thanks for the tips :hahugh:

[ladyravenbast]

i use my dresser as my alter. its a very large dresser. i store all of my clothes in my moms room. i painted the dresser dark blue, navy blue, black, silver, with the designd on each drawer of a sun, moon, and a star, i spent several hours on it, and i so say it looks very good.

i hand made my wand from a piece of a chair.the chair had little bar thingies on the back ( the chair is oak), and i took the chair apart and used one of the bars, its the perfect size and shape, i made a indention in the top, and put a crystal in it, then sealed it with candle wax. then i carved my magickal name into it, along with a pentacle on eacxh side of my name, and a symbaol of a raven, then i adden a few tiny gemstones, then i cosecrated and cleansed the tool., my other wand is a healing wand, its made from glass, i had this long stem glass flower, i broke the top off with a hammer leaving a tiny bit, the tiny space at the top was big enough for sometype of stione or crystal, i used an amythist(? not sure about the spelling on that).

for my chalice use a silver plated,copper tea cup, its very old it belonged to my great grandmother, i use the suger holder as an offering bowl.

i have handmade clay figures representing the god and goddess, i have a handmade cone insence holder, made from clay.

i have an old hand made wooden box that belonged to my grandfather, i carved a celtic symbol onto the top of it, and i use it for my tarot cards, pendelum and stones.

i get my things quite easily if i buy them because i often visit antique stores and thrift stores, and people here just throw away the greatest things that i can use for my alter.

i use another silverplated cup thats hung beside my bed from the ceiling. i put a tea candle in it and sprinkle purifying herbs in it and burn it when i feel like theres too much negative energy in my room, it helps me sleep afterwards.

i dont have much space to work because my rooms the size of a closest.

i still dont have a real cast iron cauldron, so im using a very old crock pot from the 60's that belonged to my great grandmother.