Ritual items

[SleepyKelvina]

In my latest library raid, I snatched Wicca: A Year and a Day by Timothy Roderick. I was pleasantly surprised to find it intellegent (zomg, he spells magic without the stupid k on the end) and full of pretty good advice.

But one thing I noticed was the extensive shopping list for various rituals. I'd almost have to work a year and a day to aquire the long list of candles, herbs , insense, oils and other items said used in all the book's exercises.

My question is this: does anyone really keep their own mini stockroom in their homes, or do people find ways to substitute for items they don't have, can't find or can't afford? Would the god being invoked in the ritual really be terribly upset if a white candle was used instead of a red one, and so forth.

I'm interested in hearing about what items real people keep around the house for use in worship. The guy that wrote the book is probably very well off financially, and can afford whatever he wants to use. But this isn't terribly practical for a college student.

Any thoughts?  

[Jishin]

I work very intuitively and casually, and pick things up as I think I need them.

I don't normally use huge piles of incense or different candles, except for the ones that have been charged for a very specific purpose.

I personally believe that the tools are nowhere near as important as sincere will and devotion in the performance of the ritual. Unless your god or goddess tells you that he or she wants something specific, perform it to the best of your ability with what you can manage and think is appropriate, and you will be fine.

My altar contains a handful of candles, an athame, a wand, some feathers, and a bowl. That's pretty much all I use, and it's fine.  

[PurpleDragonsGems]

I use anything and everything i can find. I read somewhere that you weren't supposed to use used candles *rolls eyes* whatever, easy to say if your rich, we poor people have to reuse our resourses. I have things i made, things i found, and things i bought on my alter. healthy mix of everything.  

[LadyEladrin]

I'm a kitchen witch; I use whatever's handy around the house to do my rituals, especially since all the rituals and spells I do are created by me. I understand the colour correspondences, directional and magical correspondences, so I can choose my items with care from what I have. Ingredients include spices from my spice rack, bits and pieces from my houseplants and herbal garden (when its' in season), rock and sea salt, animal fur from my cats, string, candles (used or whole, although I wont use the same candle for a different spell without cleansing it first.)
Currently on my altar are all of my crystals, a whole snakeskin, my god and goddess figures, my pentacle dish, athame and newly consecrated chalice. (The athame is a letter opener I modified and the chalice is a wine glass that I picked up for free at a garage sale).  

[IsobelRose]

I'm a kitchen with as well. I do keep a fully stocked witch's kitchen for practical reasons. spells are a part of everyday life for me and you never know what may arise. I have an herb cabinet for spells and mundane matter (I'm studying herbal healing). I also keep a stock of small taper candles in different colors. As for "ritual tools", I don't really have an altar with all the bells and whistles. I don't have a wand, or a bell, or a chalice. I do have a small cauldron for incense and spell burning. I have full moon rituals every month with my little coven and we set up a small altar in the woods and break down when we're done. I guess, the way I see it, the tools that I use should be useable in everyday life. I'm a witch but I'm also a working wife. My kitchen is where the magic gets done, it's the center of our house. It's the most important tool I have. Not sure if any of that made sense but it's my two cents. smile  

[StrawberryGumiho]

I reuse candles, but only for the exact same purpose whee But thats just a personal quirck. For example, if I use a candle during a ritual to honor one of my patrons, that candle will be used for nothing but that and that specific patron from then on....

As for color correspondences... I read somewhere that if you didnt have a colored candle... A plain white or beeswax candle with a ribbon of that color tied to it would suffice well... Opinions of this may vary. I personally think it sounds fine.

And substitutes are not a problem... In fact, with some older rituals I've read, the herbs required I highly recommend substitutes for...
Burning Yew and henbane... stare No warnings or nothing... stare
The authors of the rituals are lucky they're dead already... Heh, though that may be why... xp  

[IsobelRose]

Part of being a witch is the ability to be extremely resourceful. Substitution is always an option. If you don't have what you need, go for the next best thing. Supplies are so easy to come by now but back in the day the local wise woman couldn't go online to get that rare herb. She had to make due with what was in her garden. It worked for them, it will work for us.  

[maenad nuri]

need not spend a lot. A good athame can be found cheap at gun shows.
candles et all, dollar stores.

Never pass up a garage sale. Just don't. I still have homemade beeswax candles.

Shop around, but for herbs and stuff, get high quality. Learn to make your own stuff as well. My first oils were made from kitchen stuff.

Just don't skimp on whatever you place things you burn in. Try explaining a perfectly round burn/melted spot on your carpet to your parents.

Its fun. Honest.  

[LadyEladrin]

LOL I have dried wax all over a shirt I was wearing from my first ritual ever from a dripping candle. And on the rug too I think. ^^ My mom just raised her eyebrows and didn't say anything.

@RAGE for the re-use of candles: That's exactly what I meant, you just said it better. 3nodding

@Nuri and IsobelRose: My first aromatherapy/spell items were made in my kitchen too. I try to keep it clean and in working order, but spells aren't a daily part of my life, just on an as needed basis. Stupidly dirty kitchen... sweatdrop  

[StrawberryGumiho]

EladrinStarmist

LOL I have dried wax all over a shirt I was wearing from my first ritual ever from a dripping candle. And on the rug too I think. ^^ My mom just raised her eyebrows and didn't say anything.

@RAGE for the re-use of candles: That's exactly what I meant, you just said it better. 3nodding

@Nuri and IsobelRose: My first aromatherapy/spell items were made in my kitchen too. I try to keep it clean and in working order, but spells aren't a daily part of my life, just on an as needed basis. Stupidly dirty kitchen... sweatdrop

Flea markets and Thrift shops are good too. I have a large box of candles I got at a thrift shop for $3. Pillars, tapers, votives, tea lites, all different colors and shapes.
Also you can get the air tight containers for herbs, herb racks and other utensils at thrift shops. Just be sure to clean the hell out of them. (especially if the container had tea, coffee or brown sugar in it previously as it tends to mess with the flavor and quality of the herb that goes in next.) Also you can get cheap but nice small tables or shelves for altars... Ribbons, fabric, craft pieces ect.

And yeah, like Nuri said. Yard sails. Love them.  

[TheDisreputableDog]

The only things I've really bought that had anything to do with magical practices are good-quality notebooks, because I haven't had the time, energy, or means (like transportation stare ) to get any "ritual supplies," especially given the fact that I still don't have a clear idea of what I am. The altar I do have I furnished with theme-appropriate items that I've gathered for totally different reasons over the years, but they all mean something to me. I have no wand, no incense...the one candle I have on my altar is a tealight I'm technically not allowed to have and so I don't light it. Besides that, I would never light a candle on my altar as it currently is anyway because I'm kind of a klutz, tealights go liquid really fast, and spread on my altar is a beautiful scarf I was given in Italy. Wax + scarf = gonk

Anyway. Given the assumption that most pagan religions are trying to have some semblance of historical accuracy, I wouldn't think it would be such a big deal to substitute what you have for ordinary ritual items (unless the diety in question really wants a particular thing, as Jishin said), because the "ancients"/pagani/normal people back then (and most of us are normal people for our time) wouldn't have been able to afford shiny new candles for every devotional they wanted to make to their god(s). For the religions with gods that were sticklers about quality, showy-ness, etc. (i.e. the Greeks and Romans?), that's what the public rituals were for--the big important things were paid for by the state, and if you wanted to pray for a healthy son you would probably go to the temple and buy a small candle or time in front of the altar or petition a priest to make your prayer for you, and then go home.

And if you're following your own path, can't you decide yourself how accurate you want to be? Most of us have lives. Some of us have families to support, ourselves to support, school to pay for and attend...get supplies where you can. It's economy and it's perfectly reasonable. Your god(s)...shouldn't...get angry... 3nodding  

[WebenBanu]

You might want to pick up some of the Cunningham encyclopedia series (those books that begin with "Cunningham's encyclopedia of ______," as they generally have lists of their subject matter arranged by magical goal at the back, and you can just look up what you want to work on and find a whole range of possible ingredients to choose from. Cunningham was really big on magical substitution, so some of his books come with tables of correspondences.

Personally, I found that there are usually a few all-around great things to have, and you should stock up on those first. Then look through a few spell books or tables, find areas you're likely to want to work on and look at what sorts of ingredients are generally used (and why). Then you can make yourself a "wish list" of herbs, crystals, or whatever and buy them as the funds come to you. Shop on sale and stockpile, so that when it comes time to do that spell you don't have to break the bank going out to get everything all at once. Herbs like frankincense, rosemary, and dragon's blood are almost always useful, I've found. Patchouly's a good one, too. Everybody has their own favorites, so ask around and start tallying your list.

I currently have about 12 different types of incense underneath my altar, and about as many oils- all blended to specific deities- and I'm always on the lookout for more. I don't even work with some of these deities right now, but in my pantheon it's not unusual for one to stop by for a surprise visit, or for a person to need to go to one they don't usually see for a specialized request, so I'm keeping myself prepared. I also tend to buy (or pick up from my daily surroundings) stones, feathers, jewelry, small votive statues, and what-have-you and keep them in a certain hollow of the altar to be used for impromptu offerings.

When I was Wiccan, I used to hoard stuff for spells- here are some pictures taken in my old altar room. They're kind of blurry, since my scanner's finally given up on me and I'm reduced to taking pictures of photos.^_^'

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In the first picture you can see the old magazine rack that I used to organize my candles. I found a place which sold solid color candles (not the ones with the white cores, though those will work too if you can't get solid color), and started picking up two or three here, two or three there, and kept the thing pretty well filled most of the time. On the shelves to the right of the rack, second shelf from the top, you can see some small glass bowls where I'd collect stubs from the old candles, melt them down, and re-dip wicks to make my own candles. It conserved the wax. On the top of the cabinet you can see a little cornucopia- that's where I stashed bottles of oils for magical purposes. The lower shelves are covered with different kinds of crystals, as I recall.

The second image shows my desk, and you can sort of see the shelves underneath the golden cat statues (I worshiped Bast, even back then^_^). The upper right shelf has many jars on it, each of them holds a kind of herb which is labeled on the bottom of the bottle. On the lower left shelf are some brass containers which hold shed claws, whiskers, and fur from my cat- which I would use in protective, perception, and wealth/stability spells, respectively. The fourth brass container holds a gold chain and obsidian pendulum.

I didn't start out this way- just like most folks, I started out in my parent's house, with a few more or less discrete figures on my dresser, a couple books stashed away unobtrusively, and maybe a pinch of incense in a drawer somewhere. You start there, and just build your way up- don't try to rush it.^_^ Right now my altar room and religio-magical set up are completely different from what I had back then. In every case, work with what you have and build toward what you want.

I suggest looking through dollar stores and those old country-bumpkin type decoration stores, you never know what you might stumble across in one of those. I was also a big fan of Pier 1 Imports, as they frequently had nifty bottles and candle holders. I've picked up quite a few candle holders in my time- depending on the design they can make great platforms for offerings (things like honey, or small precious stones, etc.), and who knows what else if you apply your creativity. I frequently buy things and use them in ways for which they were never intended, but they work great! It's kind of fun just to walk through a store and think of potential uses for things, and if you do it in a place which is affordable (like a dollar store, or a garage sale) you will build up your ritual stock and tools naturally, affordably, and in a way which is tailored to your own personal style.  

[IsobelRose]

As with anything it's going to take time to find where you're comfortable in the Craft. You can do a ritual with all the pomp and ceremony but if it doesn't move you then whats the point? Listen to your heart when you shop, when you study the gods and goddess'. You have a right to pick and choose what fits you best. And also keep in mind that not every witch is going to be good at "witchy skills". Some excel in divination, others at spells. For myself, my skill is in healing and herbal creations. Test out everything. There is no one but yourself to say that you can't.  

[TheDisreputableDog]

There's a lot of cool old stuff in flea markets. I haven't actually bought anything in one yet, but there are usually a lot of old crystal or glass goblets. There's a red, a blue, and a green you see commonly, as well as clear. Knives, swords, old letter openers, cheap tables and cabinets... Just make sure to CLEAN everything thoroughly. eek And check for lead, too, depending on how old it is.  

[TeaDidikai]

For me, it depends on the spell. I do craft most of my spells myself, but there are some traditional spells that I do not make substitutions for- more out of respect than need.

There is also the theory that the harder/more expensive the spell is, the more energy is already woven into it. For example- a spell that uses Gofer Dust, Coffin Nails, three drops of blood from the person you are casting the spell on, a black beeswax candle, a chicken's foot and a crossroads stone- all that effort put into getting those things? That's energy put towards the spell naturally. Same with expense. The energy you spent working ten hours so you could buy X,Y and Z- is energy put towards the spell.

Subtitutions are great when you NEED to do a spell on the quick. But I avoid them if I pre-plan my spellwork.