Thriftcrafting: Witching on a Budget

Rethinking Tools
Witches are typically pictured with a cauldron or a besom – or both. That’s because a cast iron cooking pot and a broom were ordinary household objects, safe to be seen with when it wasn’t safe to be a witch. The same goes pretty much for all tools used in witchcraft – which shows that you can use objects you have on hand in magical ways.

The cauldron is a symbol of transformation, wisdom and the womb. To my knowledge, a cauldron is always cast iron – the witch’s metal, having strong protective powers – but there is no requirement that it have three legs and rounded sides to successfully hold magic. It can have straight sides, a lid, handles and a flat bottom – or not. While cauldrons can be found in witch shops, they can also be found at camping stores, antique shops, tag sales and flea markets. When you are ready to own one, you can be sure it will appear. Who knows, you might have a friend who, like me, is a tag sale junkie and can never pass up a good deal, and ends up gifting them.

A besom is simply a broom used in a magical way – to cleanse or purify a space. It can be any broom, from the corn brooms with wooden handles found at hardware stores to the lobby brooms with a steel pole and angled nylon bristles found at Ikea to handmade ones of scotch broom with carved handles and crystals.

I attracted several besoms of various shapes and sizes over the years. There is a hearth broom from a friend’s family, a broom found in the garage of a very special woman after she died, one purchased at a pagan festival and two decorated as coven crafts. The small ones with the beaded handles are from a fair trade craft sale, the cinnamon broom was a gift and others were found along the way. While I have a favorite, others have called to be used at different times.

For little or no cost, you can also make one using twigs, willow branches and other natural materials secured to a pole or stick with cording. I think there would be something quite powerful in a besom crafted from herbs I grew myself, and it’s something I hope to do one day.

An athame is essentially a knife. What makes it magical is the witch using it. It can be handcrafted or purchased, gifted or found. I have seen them made of bone, stone, crystals, metal and wood. While typically it is double edged and not sharp, that need not be the case. A butter knife works perfectly well, as does a letter opener and that knife used to cut your wedding cake. Someone I know uses a long antique crystal stopper from a decanter for her athame; another used her husband’s switchblade.

Wands are another tool that need not be purchased. A stick or an antler found in the woods, a bone, or a piece of felspar or selenite would all work wonderfully. These may be embellished or not, as you choose.

I know a witch who uses her mother’s wooden spoon for her wand. Another uses a skeleton key hung on a thong around his neck as a traveling wand.

While I have used a glitter-filled tube, primarily I reach for one of two plain wands I’ve always meant to decorate, but then when I take one out to start planning what objects to use, I always end up stroking the wood fondly and returning the wand to its place on the altar.

Another tool is the chalice. It could be just about any wine glass or goblet – or any vessel that you find pleasing.

Many years ago, I began with a blue pottery goblet I found at a tag sale. Soon a heavy blue glass wine glass found its way into my life. A dear crone who’s become a mentor gifted me her beautiful pottery chalice with women dancing beneath a moon on the sides. I also have a silver-plated goblet that belonged to my mother. Recently, I found a set of large black wine glasses at a thrift store in a local senior center for less than $2 each I hope to be able to use for Samhain.

The pentacle is the last of the witch’s primary tools. Long ago, they were made of wax so that they could be thrown into the fire and melt before raising suspicion. There are many for sale in all price ranges, but you can also make your own simply by drawing on a piece of paper, paint it on a rock or using a sand dollar. Just let your crafty self play around. The results will be meaningful.
I suggest that when you have a need or a desire for a particular tool, make the request to the God and Goddess and then be ready to receive it with reverence because it will find its way to you.