I’m new to the craft, I have been studying for a few months now. I was wondering what would be some great tools to start with and where did you find them?
9 Likes
Welcome. I think what you start with is pretty much all up to you and what your interests are and what speaks to you. I only started a few months ago and in the beginning I found some tea light candles, Incense, small glass jars, bowls, some pretty wine glasses that I use for candle holders all at the dollar store. I also put a few things that were special to me on my altar like a small butterfly and a tiny bird bath a friend made me as well as some stones I had for a long time. Since then I have purchased a few things from Amazon and my local metaphysical store.
Blessed Be!!!
Sharon
10 Likes
Merry meet @sherricka and welcome to the Infinite Roots Coven! 
That’s a great question, thanks for bringing it up! 
Before jumping into witchy tools, I just want to start with the disclaimer that tools are not required to cast magick:
If you are new to the practice of Magic and Witchcraft, you are probably wondering: What tools do I need to cast spells? And the truth is: you don’t really need any special tools because the Magic is not in the wand, it’s in the Witch!
From Spells8: Spellcasting Tools
That being said, witchy tools can certainly be used to help enhance your magick and open up new ways of casting. They are also lots of fun to incorporate into your practice! 
Sharon already gave some great advice, so adding to that I’d love to recommend my two current favorite tools that I use:
Tea- yes, tea!
Tea Leaf Reading is a popular form of divination where all you need is loose-leaf tea (or coffee grounds) and a creative eye. Take a look at Tasseography: Tea Leaf Readings to learn the basics and start divining.
Tarot- the world of Tarot and witchcraft go hand-in-hand. Not all tarot readers may consider themselves to be witches, but the art of divining the future can certainly be considered a magickal ability.
Tarot can be done with these free downloadable Tarot cards, digital Tarot, or even a normal deck of playing cards- they are very accessible! The tricky part (but also the fun!) is in learning the meanings. For that, you can check out the Complete Tarot Course.
For more suggestions, I recommend taking a look at Spellcasting Tools: What Do I Need to Get Started?
Wishing you all the best with your exploration of witchy tools, Sherricka! If you decide to give any a try, feel free to share your thoughts here- I’d love to hear how they work for you
Blessed be!
12 Likes
Hi Shericka, I’m Barbara but my coven name is Garnet. You are
warmly and happily welcome.
" I was wondering what would be some great tools to start with and where did you find them?"
What a great question.
Spellcasting Tools: What Do I Need to Get Started? is very informative, on this site. Some things they mention is:
- The Baby Witch’s Toolkit
- Traditional Spellcasting Tools
- [Candles & Supplies for Casting Spells](https://spells8.com/lessons/tools-altar-spellcasting/#candles-supplies-for-casting-spells
You don’t need to break the bank, check out the dollar store, of make a mini altar with an Altoid tin. Shrink down a pentacle representing n-s-e-w-spirit and put it in your tin. You can send away for charms that represent a broom, boline, chalice, cauldron, wand and BOS. Or make facsimiles of them your self, like an image of your deity with clay or candle holders - whatever is at hand.
It’s your Altar and your tools.
Greatest of luck on your adventure.
Be safe, Be blessed and know you be loved.
Garnet
7 Likes
So much of what you need, you can make on your own, improvise or find at the Dollar Tree. I think altar tools that you make are very special – a form of creative expression. So if you see something online, think can I make that? You might like it more! My athame is a black plastic knife from Wendy’s with moon stickers on it – I say it loud and proud. LOL. The catering section at Dollar Tree has small plastic cups and dishes I painted for my chalice and offering plate. I made my own pentacle with a wood chip circle (craft section) and paint pens. My god and goddess altar tools are rocks I painted. I have a tiny craft bell I painted. These tools are humble but dear to me and I use them all the time. Keep your eyes open for a small mirror, feather, seashell and a bell, in addition to the things mentioned in the other posts.
Keep in mind that if you keep your tools on the small and light-weight side, they are more portable, easier to store, and quicker to put out and put away. I have a whole altar set up that fits in a school box!
The one item I would say is hard to make yourself (and I have tried) would be a cauldron. It helps to have something good sized, sturdy and safe that you can burn things in, like bay leaves, paper or palo santo. I believe it’s traditional that it have 3 legs. I bought mine online at Walmart for about $5 but it’s not there now. Elsewhere, I’ve seen it for more. This is the one I have: Metal Cauldron — Oracle Natural Science. Not everyone burns stuff but I find it satisfying so I love having a cauldron.
You can use anything for an altar but if you want something on the small side, Five Below now has a 3-legged small wooden table in stores now for $5. I bought it. They also have lots of books on herbs, astrology, moon spells, etc. as well as incense, smudges and burners, and I have bought those and been super happy. I have a crystal incense burner ($4) from there I just love!
Speaking of crystals, you will probably want a basic assortment of crystals. You can buy small tumbled stones for about a dollar a piece at a crystal store. Starting out, if you have no crystals at all, I would buy an amethyst, black tourmaline, clear quartz, selenite, citrine and green aventurine. Tigers eye and carnelian are also nice to have and inexpensive, and maybe one blue stone, like sodalite.
Tarot cards: If you are interested in this type of divination, I would skip the Tarot cards at Five Below, they are pretty flimsy. I have a pack of mini Rider Waite Tarot cards that I use that was about $11 from Amazon (if you’re on a budget). You can get Tarot instruction books at Barnes & Noble for $5.
Candles, however, are a must. One thing I would advise that you NOT buy are the star-shaped metal chime candle holders, they leak melted wax (in my experience) and are not sturdy. When it comes to candles, I am a big fan of jarred, glass candles, also known as prayer candles. They last, they aren’t scented, they are sturdy, they are cheap and they are hard to knock over. They are big. That is the one drawback when used on an altar (but it can still work). Also known as 7-day candles, you can find them in the Hispanic foods section of your grocery store or Dollar Tree in the colors you need: white, blue, green, red, yellow, purple, pink. Whenever you find good deals on orange or black candles (right about now) snap them up because I have found they are in short supply. White candles are all-purpose, yellow, blue, red and green candles are essentials for circle casting, black candles are good for protection and those Saturday night spells, pink candles are for love and Friday night spells, orange is good for business and legal spells, and brown ones are for pets, animals, and I think maybe also justice. But just try and find affordable black candles these days! Whew!
For my travel kit, I have painted plastic white tea light candles in the colors I need for spells. They are small, lightweight for packing (fit in my school box) and perfect for hotel stays, as they do not like it when you light flames in hotel rooms 
For clearing your space and tools, It is nice to have a smudge made from sage (also at Five Below and crystal stores) or incense that is sage-scented (less expensive). You could also use palo santo or just salt. There are lots of ways to purify, cleanse and consecrate spaces and tools. If you choose not to use white sage, there are other options.
A lot of herbs you need are in your kitchen - you can do a lot of spells with ingredients like salt, honey, fruit, garlic, cinnamon, bay leaves and rosemary and herbal teas like peppermint and chamomile. One thing you may find you need is salt! A lot of salt! Some people use Kosher salt. If you go to a witchy store, you can pick up 2 oz or so of less common herbs like angelica, rue and mugwort.
You will want a binder for spells you have printed from Spells 8. Now you are in business, as they say.
4 Likes