Must Haves for a Beginner's Magick Kit

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

In a perfect witchy world, one could begin their witchcraft journey with a list of needed supplies sent to them via owl à la Hogwarts. Unfortunately, this isn't the case and if you open any spellbook, geared toward beginners or otherwise, and try to buy everything listed, you're going to find yourself in some serious credit card debt.

A while back, I received a request from Maurissa Roberts on my YouTube channel asking for guidance on a starter's kit of must-have herbs and spices. (She did specify "for beginner Wiccans" and while I'm going to try to make this article apply to witches in general, I'm not a Wiccan myself and so I might be leaving some Wicca-specific things out. If you are a Wiccan and have some input, I'd love to hear it in the comments below.)

Additionally, while Maurissa asked about herbs and spices, and I promise I will include those toward the end, I wanted to take this article a step further and include what I believe to be all the must-haves a beginner witch should be sure to pick up.

Magick Journal

Every magick practitioner needs a magick journal. You can jump into the deep end and begin putting together your Book of Shadows already if you like, but don't go out and drop several hundred dollars on a replica of the one from Practical Magic just yet. This can be as simple as a spiral notebook from the dollar store, or you can purchase the one I made here (paid link).

The purpose of this journal is experimentation and discovery, and it is one of the most useful tools you will ever use in your craft. When you keep a record of the spells you've done, specifics on how you did them, when and how and if they manifested, you will start to see a pattern of what works for you and what doesn't. Consider it your scratch paper before you begin devoting time and energy to crafting a full-fledged Book of Shadows or Grimoire. It's also nice to keep a record in case you ever need to go back and undo something you've cast--don't worry, it happens to all of us.

While the journal I published and linked above is designed just to track your spells, I also made one for divination and another for dreams. To be honest, I'm only mentioning these because, while I do think they will be useful to you eventually, I'm the one who self-published them and I guess it's therefore also on me to market them. But I really do believe that as a beginner, you should start with just a simple Word doc or notebook because the ones I published are guided but don't provide any pages of blank space.

You don't just want to track your spells, divination readings, and dreams. Record everything that strikes you as magickal in your daily life. Like I said, this is a tool for discovery and it's a beautiful thing to train yourself to see magick in the mundane around you. Take note of synchronicities, possible signs and omens, a cloud shaped like an animal, a pretty rock you saw that called out to you, the fact that you ran into someone when you had just thought of them an hour before.

All of these things have meaning in your practice, but if you don't get into the habit of truly noticing and noting them, they'll pass right by you.

For more information on keeping a spell record, see my video below:

Divination Tools

The practice of divination--any type, really--isn't just about foretelling potential events to come. Divination is a tool to strengthen your intuition, a direct line of communication with Spirit, and a way to gain insight with yourself. No matter what form you decide you like best, I recommend you begin practicing early on. Learning to read and interpret is a skill that must be built.

Don't think you need to buy an expensive tarot deck or rune set to get the ball rolling. Go scavenging for flat stones and paint the runes on them, convert a playing card deck into tarot, tie a ring to the end of a string to use as a pendulum. Keep it simple for now and just begin playing around. Not all forms of divination will suit everyone, so experiment and save your money until you find a good fit.

Meditation Apps

Far too many practitioners overlook the extreme importance of meditation in their practice as well as their mental health. Meditation can be a difficult habit to build, either because it's frustrating early in or it takes up time, especially as it should be done daily. However, there are limitless free apps available to help!

Whether you want to get started with guided meditation or just a bit of music, there is an app for it. Many also come with timers or a variety of session lengths, and all you have to do is start with five minutes a day. Personally, I enjoy the app Meditation Music by Maple Media for Android (I'm not even paid to say that), which allows you to create a custom track of music and nature sounds as well as set a timer.

For more information on why you should be meditating and how to get started, read my article Meditation & Magick.

Library Card

Reading, studying, and researching isn't just for beginners. Advancing your craft is a lifelong pursuit, but let's face it, the cost of books can add up fast. I cannot recommend taking a bit of time to apply for a library card enough. Not only will you have access to the entire catalogue of physical copies of books available at your local libraries, but most memberships now include an online account with digital copies and audiobooks.

8/28/22 Edit - Viewer Learn. Make. Repeat. commented the following useful information on my YouTube: Most people don't realize that if your library doesn't have a book, they can often get it for you by borrowing it from a library that does have it (interlibrary loan), so don't be discouraged if your library doesn't have the exact book you're looking for. You can ask in-person about this option or ask via email (or virtual chat, if your library has that service). ❤📚

Simple Cleansing Tool

Most witches understand fairly early into their studies the importance of cleansing their space, tools, ingredients, and self, so I won't belabor the point here. Find yourself a simple cleansing tool that can work for all of the above. A bundle of rosemary or sage can last months, or years even. Or better yet, you can use a smoke- and waste-free alternative like sound cleansing with just a drum or bell.

Of course, don't overlook simple resources such as sun or water cleansing. However, some crystals might fade in the sun or dissolve in water and you may not want to go wetting all your herbs when you intend on burning them. So yes, while you don't want to not utilize free, sustainable, and easy-to-access options like these, I recommend an additional tool like selenite, smoke, or sound cleansing as well.

Okay, okay... Spell Ingredients

Hopefully you didn't immediately scroll all the way down here, but realistically I know this is what most of you are here for. While I do have my opinions on why you should discover correspondences for yourself, I do believe there is something to be said for ingredients that are collectively agreed upon to have a wide-ranging set of magickal properties.

In addition to a journal, divination tool, cleansing tool, a library card, and something to assist with your meditation, here are the top ingredient items I recommend for a beginner's kit.

White Candles

While yes, white is used for healing and purity among other correspondences, here is a simple trick of the trade: a white candle can also be used in place of any other color candle. Is it nice to work with color correspondences? Sure! But it's much easier and saves time, space, and money to buy white candles in bulk.

Olive Oil

What the white candle is to other colored candles, olive oil is to other oils. Don't bother loading up on thirty different oils just yet. Olive oil will work as a neutral oil that can replace others in your workings, and you can always mix in herbs and spices to add a little oomph and make it more specific to your intention.

Clear Quartz Crystal

This is another "neutral alternative" item. But in addition to that, the clear quartz crystal can magnify power and intention and really pack a punch.

Salt

Salt is many witches' go-to when it comes to protection and purification. You can use it for drawing a circle during ritual (keep it off the grass, though!), in ritual baths, in doorways and windowsills, or add to jars and bags.

Black Pepper

For an extra layer of protection, black pepper works well for banishing and warding.

Rosemary

Rosemary is simply one of those nearly-all-purpose herbs that every witch should have on hand. It can be used for purification, blessing, love, wealth, and healing.

Bay Leaves

Not only are bay laurel leaves another multi-purpose ingredient, but they can also be used for a simple spell all on their own. Most have already heard of this one, but I'll repeat it just in case: write a one-word or short, simple intention on a bay leaf and burn it while visualizing the results of manifestation. That's it!

Bonus

While I feel those four herbs and spices should be more than enough to get a new witch going, here are a few more that cover a nice variety of intentions:

• Lavender: for easing anxiety, sleep, beauty, love, dreaming, healing

• Thyme: for boosting overall positivity, intuition, courage, friendship, love, health, wealth

• Cinnamon: for luck, strength, protection, drive/ambition, success, good health, prosperity

• Mugwort: for deep sleep, prophetic dreams, divine connection, astral projection

• Sage: for cleansing and purification, abundance, youthfulness, wisdom, and knowledge

Bonus: Additional Options

Harvested Items

If you're really itching to start off with a wide variety in ingredients and items, try harvesting items that are local to you. It's fun, free, you get in tune with your environment, and as long as you're respectful, you are ensuring that your ingredients are harvested ethically. You don't have to be an expert at identifying plants (although they do have apps for that and you should at least be able to identify poison oak, ivy, and sumac on sight for your own sake) and as much as we all love shiny crystals, regular rocks are perfectly valid minerals too!

Ask permission and if you can, make an offering (water a nearby plant, pick up some trash, it can be simple) before just snatching things up. As I said, be respectful. Don't rip up endangered plants or disturb an animal's home. Hold the item in your hand and draw on its energy, just enough to feel it tingle and get acquainted with it. This will take some practice, but your intuition will guide you to know the magickal purpose of the item.

8/30/22 Edit - Neon Titanium commented on YouTube: Note for any UK witches who go foraging for ingredients: it's illegal to "uproot" wild plants without permission. Quote: "Legislation under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) makes it illegal 'to uproot any wild plant without permission from the landowner or occupier' in Britain." The term 'uproot' is defined as “to dig up or otherwise remove the plant from the land on which it is growing”. I know he may or may not be a witch, but my dude AtomicShrimp (known for spambaiting, but honestly has such a cool mix of videos) does a lot of UK foraging videos and has a lot of useful advice for starting foraging, choosing safe plants, and the laws around foraging in the UK.

Get Specific

While I wouldn't say this is necessarily a "must have", this is a great way to get you focused on one technique at a time so you can start practicing while saving yourself some energy and money. Pick a specific type of magick technique and buy some ingredients just for that. Say your interest has been piqued by candle magick. You can easily, and affordably, purchase a pack of multi-color chime candles to get you started. Candle magick can be as simple as carving symbols into the candle and lighting it with intention. Later on you can add candle dressings such as herbs and oils, but to start just keep it simple.

If you feel I left anything out, let me know in the comments below! I hope this is more than enough to get you going. Enjoy your journey ✌