So your new to magic and eager to get started, thats great! Plenty of people on this forum are stoked to help you master the internal aspect of sorcery, perceptual control, and spirit contact, but how do you accomplish such fantastic things inside of the sometimes suffocating constraints of the logistics of mundane life, like the fact that you cant afford to drop $600 on the coolest custom made circles and the most infernally consecrated athames right this second.
It can be hard enough to dedicate the time and energy to magic, but not to worry you’ll probably find that it pays off in spades. Here is how you can build a suitable sacred space for under $20 and use that investment until you can afford much grander settings.
Much of what we’ll be utilizing will seem tacky even a little silly at first, but when these elements start compounding together you’ll find yourself staring at a bonafide ritual space that even the most potent demons will respect - as long as you do.
The Altar:
For new practicioners the altar is often the most intimidating item to aquire, it requires a certain amount of space and is usually imagined to be heavy. In actuality a bannana box available freely in most produce sections of your local grocer covered with a black dress shirt (You may want to even ritually dress it, but that is another post) will be the perfect height and width for candle magic, sigil opening, and scrying.
Price: Free
If space is an issue a black or white bandanna is an easily portable, concealable, and suitably ritualistic (especially if you do not normally wear head scarves) to act as an altar by itself.
Price: Your local walmart will stock them for a dollar a piece.
Athame: The ritual dagger! Pocket Knives, Kitchen Knives, Bowie Knives, and the like are all acceptable athames. Note that the items power rests not in its appearance but your reverence for it. If the idea of tracing pentagrams with a butchers knife takes you right out of the warlock mindframe martial arts stores often stock ornate daggers for a reasonable price.
Price: $4-$15
Chalice: A wine glass will do just fine, you probably have one in your kitchen cabinets, just keep in mind that once the chalice is indeed consecrated as a chalice and nothing else it is not to be stocked or cleaned with regular dishware.
Price: Free- $3
Incense: Walmart stocks 40 cone packets of nicely scented incenses for a dollar a pop. Options include dragons blood for demonic work, lunar incense for scrying and meditations, and myrh for necromantic operations. The cones generally put off a decent amount of smoke but be aware neither these nor the sticks even when burned in copious amounts produce a smoke screen suitable for evocation. They are however ideal for consecrations, offerings, and evrey other type of ritual.
Price $1
Candles: Tea light candles are your freinds! Small, safe, bright burning, cheap and appropriatly colored for all types of magical work. $3 invested in tea light candles at a dollar store will allow you to work through whole pathworkings. Note that these are strictly for in door ritual, for outdoor work evocation in particular, you will want catholic glass candles to withstand the wind. 2 white glass cased candles are fine to start with and will usually run you about $2 a piece.
Price $1-4
These supplies will get you started, so stop stressing and get practicing!
