FREE/Cheap Spell & Ritual Supplies
Not looking to blow all your money on fancy colored candles or other ritual tools? Yeah, same. Over the years I've gradually grown my ritual tool kit and altar items, but for many things I still try to get as many free or cheap spell & ritual supplies whenever possible.
Here are some wallet-friendly ideas you could use as alternatives to many standard supplies!
Candles:
Colored Candles: White candles can stand in for any colored candle.
White Candles: If you need a single or a few candles ASAP, try your local dollar store!
Bulk Candles: You can save a lot by buying in bulk! I've bought candles from various online stores, but also surprisingly Ikea! I bought 100 tealights from Ikea for only $3.99. Seriously.
Short on time as well as money? Use birthday candles or matches in place of larger candles for candle magick spells!
Candle Holders: Use a firesafe plate or bowl! Just melt the wax at the bottom of the candle and stick it down to your dish to secure it. (You can see me doing this in this video!).
Common Spell Supplies:
Drawstring bags: put your herbs/spells on the center of a scrap of fabric (or even a sturdy enough napkin), bundle it up and tie it at the top with a string or rubber band.
Anointing oil: Olive oil, coconut oil or jojoba oil can be used. You may also add a few drops of essential oils or steep some herbs/flowers in your oil to make it your own.
Paper and Pens/Pencils: Any paper you have on hand is fine! Printer paper, post-its, notepad/notebook paper, origami paper... whatever you've got!
Sharpies: Do not underestimate the magickal power of the Sharpie. To many of us, it symbolizes permanence, and with that thought energy can be used to write down things you want to stick.
String/Ribbon: Again, whatever you have on hand or can acquire cheaply. Depending on the spell, rubber bands can be used in a pinch too!
Lighters and Matches: Most people will already have one or both of these! They are very cheap and easy to obtain at many stores (grocery stores, convenient stores and dollar stores, to name a few!).
Bottles and Jars: Bottles and jars can be recycled from your food or cosmetics products. If it comes in a glass or tin, you can soak off the labels and save the jar or bottle for later use! Think jams and jelly jars, pasta sauce jars, baby food jars, oil bottles, moisturizer jars, face oil bottles, foundation bottles, etc.!
Natural Spell Supplies:
Incense: Make your own loose incense blend with common kitchen herbs, like rosemary, basil and bay leaves.
Herb bundles: Grow your own herbs OR ask a friend/neighbor with a garden if you could harvest a few sprigs! Then wrap your own bundle and hang it in a cool, shaded/dark place to dry out.
Misc. Natural Elements: Stones, sticks, leaves and shells can be obtained from outside! If you'd like, you can thank the Earth and leave a nature-safe gift (an offering stone, some water, herbs, flower seeds, etc.) in place of the items you are taking.
Flowers: Flowers can be used fresh or you can hang them upside down to dry them for use later. You can either buy yourself a bouquet or you can gather one from outside. Just make sure you have permission before plucking from anyone's property!
Water: Many spells and rituals call for water, which you can get for free! What kind of water is up to the spell and up to you. You can collect rain, lake, river or sea water. You can make moon water or distilled water. Bottled water or even just tap water is fine if that's all you've got!
Tea: Tea can be used for drinking or tea magick, but you can also rip teabags open for the herbs, flowers and leaves inside if they have something you need or can use!
Coffee: I love coffee so much I made a whole post about it. Coffee can be used to quicken results, clear negative energies, and help with grounding.
Ritual Tools
Cauldrons: In place of a cauldron, use any firesafe dish, bowl or pan (depending on how you intend to use it).
Wands: Make your own with sticks found on the ground outside! You can get creative and paint/carve/sharpie on designs. You could also glue or tie crystals, shells, small pinecones, or other small natural elements that you can find in nature!
Athame OR Boline: A spare kitchen knife or pocket knife. As long as you consecrated for your magickal use only, you can use any blade! Athames are usually dull blades. You can always dull one rather than sharpen it for this use.
Physical Book of Shadows/Grimoire: Make one out of an old scrapbook or school binder.
E-Book of Shadows/Grimoire: Keep an online BOS/Grimoire on a Word document or a Google Doc that you can access on your phone or computer from Google Drive.
Altar Pentacle/Pentagram: Tie/glue sticks into a star shape, or paint one onto something round like a plate or a coaster.
Places to look for cheap/free spell supplies:
Nature! Whenever possible, look to what's the most natural option! Just please don't trespass or rip anything out of nature that could harm it or its' environment. Find already fallen sticks or shells that are not being inhabited by a living thing.
Your local dollar store.
Online (particularly for buying anything in bulk, which could save you over time!)
Craft supply stores like Michaels/Joann Fabrics, especially if you can get a good coupon from their website or app.
Thrift stores.*
Ebay.*
*Buying used is a great cheaper option for things like books or altar decor, and it also helps re-use and re-purpose items by re-homing them instead of those items just going into a landfill somewhere. If you're worried about residual energy, just give them a deep energetic cleanse or two before you use them in your practice.
I'll keep this a live list and continue to add to it as I think of them or as items come up! If you are looking for any particular free or cheap spell & ritual supplies alternatives ritual item, OR if you have a great alternative that should be added to this list, please leave me a comment!
