Post-Secondary Basics for Witches

For many witches, the experience of going to post-secondary education is a chance at freedom to practice or expand your craft. It's hard to know what to bring or what to get to practice your craft so here are a few basic things to get you through your first year.

• Your BOS/grimoire if you have one in a book or external storage device
• ONE deck of tarot cards, rune stones, pendulum, or other divination tools
• Basic things for your altar (if you want/have one) such as a few clothes, candles, gemstones, shells, and anything else you can keep on a small table/section of a table
• Kitchen equipment such as jars, herbs, spices, wine (maybe), bottles, and pots
• Candles (if you're allowed, otherwise LED candles)
• Things for basic upkeep of an altar like batteries
• Sprays, scents, and other materials for cleansing a new space

Gemstones

Here are a few gemstones and crystals that are really good for helping you during your school year. They can travel with you or sit in your living space:

• agate: calming, protection, courage
• crazy lace agate: decision making, focus
• abalone: handling emotional situations, psychic development
• green millennium: balance, harmony, reduces anxiety
• howlite: decreases stress
• amethyst: protection, anti-anxiety
• clear quartz: all purpose
• rohdenite: confidence, memory, talent
• citrine: confidence, happiness, mental clarity
• urquoise: peacefulness, calming, communication including public speaking and speaking your truth
• flourite: memory, mental focus, clarity, fights colds

Scents

Here are a few scents that help you study and stay calm within your household:

• angelica: protection, harmony, integration, insight and understanding, stability and meditation
• anise seeds: meditation and emotional balance incense
• basil: concentration, assertiveness, decisiveness, trust, integrity, enthusiasm, mental clarity, cheerfulness, confidence, and courage
• benzoin: clears negative energy, emotional balance, eases sadness, depression, weariness, grief, anger, anxiety and to attract prosperity
• cardamom: mental clarity, concentration, confidence, courage, enthusiasm, and motivation
• lavender: induce rest and sleep, attract love-especially of a man, cleansing, healing, happiness, and relaxation
• lemongrass: mental clarity
• sage: to cleanse your space
• violet: wisdom, luck, love, protection, healing

Easy-to-Get Tools

There are a few tools that you may want to get in school that you don't always have the money for or can't bring in. Here's an easy way to incorporate your craft while following the school or housing rules.

Sage, basil, bay leaf, cinnamon, thyme, black pepper chunks, and other herbs that are commonly used for basic magic come in any pre-filled spice rack. Table salt comes in bulk at fairly cheap prices and works well for anything that requires salt (not as good as sea salt but good enough).

Tools like athames, wands, brooms, chalices, and others can be found, or purchased cheaply, in or around the kitchen. An athame can be any kitchen knife that you use solely for witchcraft. It can be a steak knife that you have multiple knives in a set or a knife that can be easily replaced from the Dollar Store or second-hand stores. One-use wands can be easily found in chopsticks which can be cheaply purchased in bulk or most post-secondary institutions have trees and other foliage that you can (discreetly) get fallen twigs and branches from to make your own wand. Your regular broom can be used as a ritual brook or you can find smaller ones at Dollar Stores. Chalices can be very expensive, but places like Value Village sell them for $10 CAD or you can use a favorite mug, wine glass, or cup. Otherwise, any of these can be found at a second-hand store, Dollar Store, or buy a design-your-own cup.

Clothes such as dresses, capes, hats, jewelry, altar cloths, or other things you want to incorporate in your craft can be found in second-hand stores for really cheap. Boxes, jars, and other finds such as stone coasters or candle holders can also be found for very cheap in these stores. The only thing that I will say about getting anything from a second-hand store to cleanse it in some way.

Jars can also be reused from pasta sauce, garlic, and other resealable food containers.

Bells can be found at second hand and dollar stores along with small pouches that can be used for gems, leaves, petals, and more.

Cheap and Easy Stores

Everyone needs their own store they can shop at for any of their sudden needs or desires.

• The Dollarama/Dollar Tree: candles, craft supplies, flowers, seasonal decorations, small glass stones you can use for making rune stones, incense sticks, fragrances (Febreeze can be used in place of essential oils in a pinch), bottles, jars, altar decorations, school supplies (pens, notebooks) and spices.
• Wal-Mart: incense sticks, candles, bottles, and jars.
• Second-hand stores: jars, candle holders, clothes, jewelry, jewelry boxes, clothes, Halloween costumes, and more.
• social media: crystal shops have flash sales where you can get crystals at low prices.
• Wish or Amazon: crystals, incense, and just about everything else you can get at a semi-reasonable price if you shop the deals and sales.

Altar

An altar is a basic for any practicing witch, but it can be difficult to have all the right things. First, the area the altar is on can be anything. People usually have small tables or shelves out on the side of the road that you can pick up or free (just make sure to cleanse and clean it before use) or you can use things you've already got in your room such as dressers, windowsills, or shelves. Altar cloths can also be found easily. They can be made out of scarves, shirts, blankets, or tablecloths. The items can be anything, including jewelry, written prayers/poems/incantations, water, dried herbs/plants, fake or real plants (as long as the altar gets enough light), candles, pins/buttons, patches, homemade crafts, stones/gems/crystals, and photographs.