Saving Money and Making Your Own!
When people first start out on the wiccan path they may think that they need to buy all the expensive tools and supplies that they can. This isn't true, some things can be expensive but things like wands and herbs will probably work better if you have made/grown them yourself, because then they are personal to you. Here are some money saving tips:
- Wands can be hard to buy, so you may thinking about buying an athame, however these are expensive and sometimes difficult to find. Wands are very easy to make. I made mine like this:
Go to a tree which has preferably soft wood (I used an apple tree) and ask the tree if you may have a large twig. Cut (or better yet see if you can find one on the ground) a peice of wood that you think would make a good wand. It doesn't have to be completely straight, but it might be easier to get the bark off if it is fairly straight. Leave something at the tree, such as corn, sea salt or some ribbon, in thanks for taking your wand. This is where the fun begins! Now you don't have to remove the bark from the wand, but I did. If you want to then use a knife (be VERY carefull, or better still get someone to help you!) and sort of peel the wand. You'll get green stuff all over you, so make sure you do this at a table where you can clean up after yourself. Now you can choose to leave your wand blank, or paint it with symbols and different colours, or maybe even carve some runes into it. Wands make lovely gifts from any witchy friends that you might have!

- Try to share books with your friends or rent them from your local library. When you borrow books photocopy pages which you'd like to keep. Also take a really good look at the book you're about to buy (maybe check out reviews on
amazon.com), because you don't want to be wasting money on a book that won't be helpfull

- When a ritual says to use wine, why not use apple or orange juice? Cheaper, sometimes yummier and probably better if you're under 18.

- Runes and bags for keeping charms/crystals can also be made. See the
runes page on how to make runes, charm bags are simple, all you need is a little bit of material, some chord and some thread.

- Why not try making your own lip balms, face masks and body sprays? These might be better for people with sensitive skin, and make great presents. Check out the
recipes page, and maybe have a look at Kate West's 'The Real Witches' Kitchen'

- Grow your own herbs! In my garden I have lavender, sage, rosemary, mint, thyme, parsley and marjoram. Not only will homegrown herbs taste better, you'll never run out. It's very rewarding growing your own, you don't have to be a great gardener either. You can sure that there have been no pesticides used, it will attract insects to your garden and make smell and look lovely too!

- Search the web. If you need some info and are thinking about buying a book about, why not look for it on the internet. Books can have great information, but if you don't want to shell out then you could print it from a website.
Me planting my herbs! They have grown loads since, you can't even see the earth they are planted in now!
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