It's easy to fictionalize an issue when you're not aware of the many ways in which you are privileged by it.
—Kate Bornstein
This section gets a bit personal to me, and to many I feel like would fall into the category of lower- or working-class witch. During my time creating content in the public eye, the term plastic witchcraft has been thrown at me on public forums, direct messages, and emails typically after I give tips for budget witchcraft. I see myself and others routinely get called a “plastic witch,” and am told that I promote “plastic witchcraft,” which was harmful not only to “real witches” but to the environment as well. The people who fling this term around are often not working-class, and speak from a place of spiritually bypassing privilege.
I believe the term plastic witchcraft is twofold in its meaning. First, “being plastic” refers to being superficial and fake, like the Plastics clique in the movie Mean Girls. Second, being deemed a plastic witch literally refers to using plastic products. However, the term itself is very condescending and shows an aggressive amount of spiritual bypassing. That is to say, calling someone a “plastic witch” often takes empathy out of the equation and allows for more privileged witches to ridicule and scorn less fortunate witches.
Another factor that compounds the issue is that there are people who enjoy the aesthetic of witchcraft. There is nothing wrong with embracing the things that bring you joy, but it makes the divides between different camps in witchcraft fairly obvious. There are those who don't care at all about aesthetics and just practice, regardless of anyone's opinion. There are those, like me and many others, who have a strong online presence but don't really adhere to any specific aesthetic. And then there's the last category, who have a strong online presence or strong personal presence with a carefully crafted aesthetic, usually found on YouTube and Instagram.
Having an aesthetic does not mean that your witchcraft is any less genuine or real. I do not consider myself to be a plastic witch, but I understand that some people might think that because I have a strong online presence, I am somehow less genuine. I'll just say this: at the end of the day, only you are going to be able to know if your practice is true or “plastic.”
Western society has capitalized on the aesthetic of witchcraft. After years of being hidden, we have become a target market that is surprisingly willing to drop a lot of money on our spiritual practices. You can buy cheap witchcraft supplies online from China, or at the dollar store, or in Whole Foods even! This ease of access creates a disconnect between what is spiritually bound and what is impulse bound for our spiritual purchases.
Our energy creates the money we have to spend, so as we spend our energy, it is important to be intentional about who and what we support when we spend it. Amazon has become a staple for many witches due to ease of access and ability to search and read reviews. What this process takes away is the chance to learn firsthand from other witches and support local communities and keep those resources in place. Shopping small is a step any witch can take on a grassroots level to build up and support the things that matter to them!
A quick glance through Instagram or Tumblr will bring tons of pictures of aesthetically pleasing, new agey, lightworking witchcraft photos. As scrolling becomes a way to disconnect from our physical worlds, we are thrust into the virtual world of aesthetically targeted and marketed witchcraft. It doesn't take much effort to find altars full of figures and candles and crystals, or conversely shelves and shelves of books, and you'll want to have them. It becomes something that we can compare ourselves to, something that marks us as “devoted.”
This aesthetic version of witchcraft is like witchcraft on steroids. Personally, I've never felt as though I connect to hoarding tons of statues, or crystals, or herbs. I do collect books, but I also read all of my books and find they are useful to my personal growth. Enjoying something and wanting lots of it doesn't make you any less of a witch, just as not having lots of things doesn't make you any less of a witch. Witchcraft is, at its heart, your strength and ability to manifest your desire with what you have right in this very moment.
We are being sold products that pander to the new age and lightworker communities rather than witchcraft directly. A good friend of mine, Dr. Timothy Heron, has pointed out both in personal conversations with me and in his talks that witches are not the same as lightworkers. I do tend to agree with his opinion, but I do not intend to gatekeep witchcraft from anyone that uses either term. Instead, I'd like to show the clear and obvious divide in terminology. I believe his words sum up a good distinction between the two without much bias:
There is confusion between pagan beliefs and new age beliefs. . . . Witchcraft is a practice that is usually rooted in pagan thoughts. . . . New age practice [includes] the following: a deep attraction to crystals, energy healing, and to transcending their bodies rather than being grounded. The focus is much more spiritual than earth centered.
The way that witches, and pagans in particular, become a part of the natural world around us is part of what makes us different! Witches aren't a group of consumers to be sold to; they are part of an ancient connection to the energy of the earth regardless of aesthetic or superficial approval.
Another issue that the internet seems to have with plastic witches is accessibility. I like to put accessibility with gatekeeping and privilege, because it really does keep some of the more disenfranchised population in the witchcraft community at the “gate,” so to speak. With books on witchcraft being written similarly to cookbooks, beginners just starting out might feel as though they need a ton of supplies to be “real.” First and foremost, this narrative is wrong, and it leaves many beginners unsure of how and where to source their supplies.
I feel many beginners aren't being taught that they have everything they need without spending a dime. This might sound chaotic, and it is; however, witchcraft is in the heart of the witch—not in the tools or supplies. An experienced witch can get more done with a piece of paper, a pencil, and their will than an imitator can with all the supplies in a metaphysical store.
The way that I've worded that might seem like I'm “gatekeeping,” but there is a difference between someone who claims to know something without ever putting in effort and someone who dedicates themselves to their spiritual path through hard work and devotion. Anyone who decides to join the path of witchcraft and wants to be a witch can! There is no prerequisite like being hereditary (being descended from a long line of witches) or coming from a particular background or race. However, what one does with that desire to truly explore and learn determines what kind of witch they will be.
A witch without any studying has no grounding to produce the energy needed to manifest their desires and will. Beginners just starting off will not know as much as an advanced witch, and that is not only okay but highly encouraged and to be expected. No one becomes an expert in anything overnight—and witchcraft is no different. There is a distinction between calling yourself a witch and truly being a witch. Witchcraft is found in the soul; it was present when you were in your spirit form, it is here now, and it will be there once this life is through.
Plastic witchcraft often gets confused with budget witchcraft by the pretentious, and I've noticed the intersection of these two when I am helping beginners through budget witchcraft. Budget witchcraft is not the same thing as being a plastic witch; frugal does not mean fake. Just because you're strapped for cash and using cheaper resources doesn't mean that you care any less about the earth, its resources, or the spirits that you will be working with. You are allowed to live within your means and still practice resourceful witchcraft.
Witches do not need anything in order to practice witchcraft. In a capitalist society strongly influenced by trends, it might seem as though to be a witch one would need all kinds of trappings—but there is one thing that I can swear by and that is that a witch needs nothing. Tools such as candles, jars, bells, and incense are used to focus and raise energy, but they are not essential. When a beginner is just starting out in their journey, tools such as these aid in learning how to focus intention and manifest the witch's will.
When you are just starting out, it might feel overwhelming figuring out what is “right.” It might seem as though you need a book of shadows, or an altar, or any number of other things. While I don't discourage acquiring these things eventually, you really only need two things to start: a dedicated space for focusing your energy and a notebook to write things down so you don't forget. The earth is an altar for all its children, free of charge and abundant in space. And walking outside on a nice day is as soul-satisfying as building and cleaning an altar for a god or ancestor.
Some of the “necessary” basic supplies are the easiest to source. I say necessary because there are certain tools that help us progress in our growth; however what is necessary to me might not be necessary to the next witch. In that list of essential tools is a book of shadows or what is commonly referred to as a grimoire. Both of these terms are fancy ways to describe a spellbook. A book of shadows is a personal book of spells, notes, and rituals feeling very similar to a journal but a little more formal. This is a Wiccan term and not every witch keeps a book of shadows. Similarly, a grimoire is a formal book of spells and useful information that is often passed down in lineage or shared by a coven or group of witches. Not every witch keeps a grimoire.
Personally, I like to keep a physical journal and digital notes. I use the note section in my phone that backs up to my email account to store all of my book of shadow/grimoire/magickal entries. I organize this and keep it as a much more accessible resource for quick reference throughout my day. In my spare time, I use a paper journal to write notes on books and my various thoughts. In this way, I have created a practice that is both sustainable to me as an individual witch and useful. I don't write things in these books that can be easily looked up online, such as moon phases or color correspondences. I can pull any number of books off my shelves or do a five-second search to get the answer. I write about my thoughts and feelings when I read things or how I interpret the energy of particular things such as moon phases. A witchcraft journal/book of shadows/grimoire can be literally whatever you want it to be!
In witchcraft, like in everything else, live within your means. Even if those means are conventional. Bought something in plastic? Reuse it or recycle it. Ended up in the fast fashion cycle for whatever reason? Repair it instead of throwing it away. Don't forget that fast fashion is some of the only fashion for certain sizes. Taking care of yourself financially goes hand in hand with taking care of your mental and spiritual health. Don't allow anyone's opinion about what a witch “should” be make you feel lesser-than for living within your means. You don't have to be anyone's flavor but your own.
Altars are important to most witches, and each one is as individual as a book of shadows or grimoire! I am a folk witch, and my altars reflect that. In many books on Wicca, you will find detailed instructions on what tools you should have to build your altar, where it should be placed, and what should be on it. In The Spiral Dance, Starhawk describes the altar this way:
The tools [of a coven] are usually kept on an altar, which may be anything from a hand-carved antique chest to a box covered with a cloth. When used for regular meditation and magical practice, the altar becomes charged with energy, a vortex of power. Generally, a Witch's altar faces north, and the tools are placed in their corresponding directions. Images of the Goddess and God—statues, shells, seeds, flowers, or a minor—take a central position.
Personally, and as a folk witch, this is not how I work with altars at all. In folk witchcraft, you make an altar where you're guided to with the materials you are guided to. I'd like to mention that there is absolutely nothing wrong with creating a more ritual-based altar. This works for some witches and allows them to truly focus their energy in ways that they wouldn't be able to with the chaos that is a natural folk altar. However, this is one of the most time-tested and accessible methods of creating an altar, in my opinion. Additionally, using a more folk-based method versus ritualist method allows for the moving pieces of the altar to ebb and flow with the changing of the season.
So how do you make such an altar? Well I'm glad you asked! First, allow yourself to release the idea of what an altar “should” be and what should be on it. Think about your space and your purpose. Are you creating an altar to celebrate a season? Are you creating an altar for a deity? Are you creating a working altar to handle all of those topics and more? Once you have identified why you are making your altar, the fun truly begins.
Let's identify a few common altars and how you would make them—travel altars for roaming and closeted witches, seasonal altars, and a general working altar. While there are many types of altars, mastering these three makes it easier to create any other kind of altar to suit your needs.
There are a few questions you need to ask yourself before you start building any kind of altar:
What is important to me?
What items can I incorporate or symbolize that?
Do I need lots of space or a little space?
Do I want to stand or sit at my altar?
Will any of the items I choose need to be routinely changed out?
Your answers will be unique to you and you alone, and they may change as time goes on and your needs and interests evolve.
Travel altars are typically miniature versions of a general working altar. They allow the witch to connect back and ground themselves for their spiritual practice no matter where they are. Common items in travel altars include mini pencils (like the kind from IKEA), a piece or two of paper, matches or a small lighter, a birthday candle, a small crystal (typically quartz), bagged herbs, and a pendant of some kind. These travel altars are typically held in a candy or mint tin, but have occasionally been seen in larger containers such as shoeboxes if it is just a working altar for a closeted witch.
I like to pack my travel altar in a makeup bag I got out of the dollar bin at Target. Included in it are the following items: a mini Polaroid picture, a lighter, cone incense, a tealight candle, salt packets, and a quartz angel statue. Also, while it's not technically in my travel altar, I always carry a deck of tarot cards in my purse or backpack. There is no right or wrong way to make a travel altar, and they're superfun to assemble!
There are two primary ways to make a seasonal altar: indoors or outdoors. I think that creating a seasonal altar outdoors lends an extra element of connection with the energy of the earth, but I also recognize that this is not always feasible or accessible for every witch. If an outdoor altar is possible for you, wonderful! If it isn't, and indoor altar will work just fine. Seasonal altars can be made to celebrate the literal season, or they can be made and changed with each turn of the wheel.
When creating an outdoor seasonal altar, start by closing your eyes and allowing the energy of your surroundings to flow through you. Where are you called to place this altar? When you find the spot, look around. Are there any rocks or pieces of wood or naturally carved-out spots that seem like natural places for an altar? If this is a temporary altar that you will be packing up when you leave, you can use any supplies that you brought in, such as tables, cloths, statues, candles, etc. If you are crafting a more permanent altar to last through the season that you can return to again and again, it is best to use the material that nature has supplied to prevent damage to the space you are in.
When creating an indoor altar, all bets on decoration are off! I recommend setting up a seasonal altar in or near a windowsill that faces east or west. That way this can be a place of peace and reflection during either the birth or death of the day. Currently, I have a seasonal altar that is mounted to the wall with my windowsill. Your materials and the size of the altar will depend on what you'll use the altar for—general seasonal offerings, sabbats, or a mix of seasons.
For me, this altar only acknowledges the four major seasons—autumn, winter, spring, and summer—plus Samhain and Yule. It is decorated with fresh seasonal flowers, seven-day prayer candles that match the season (black or orange in autumn, red or blue in winter, pink or green in spring, and red or yellow in summer), art from various pagan artists depicting gods and goddesses, a grapevine pentacle, and typically books. This is not an altar where I specifically petition for things, so unless I am working on an active spell, there aren't any offerings since it is in a common area of my house and I have pets.
Working altars are typically extremely anti-aesthetic and hidden in a private area of the home. They are what most people assume a witch's altar is, based on fiction. This type of altar is typically built on a shelf, desk, or table and may include items such as books, journals, chalices, athame, crystals, candles, statues, photos, money, trinkets, offerings, or decorations. This is a place where a witch can come to connect with their ancestors, guides, higher powers, and themselves. The work done on these altars can be introspective (shadow work), productive (manifestations), or baneful in nature.
Working altars do require the most maintenance out of the various types of altars we have gone over. They need to be cleaned regularly to show respect to ourselves and the spirits we work with. Perishable offerings need to be changed and replenished often. Candles need to be replaced when they have run their course, and spellwork needs to be disposed of.
As a side note, one of the most common questions that beginner witches have when first starting out is to find out what to do with spell remains. There are various ways to dispose of a spell once it is finished with at your altar. You can bury it, leave it at a crossroads, or throw it away. Depending on the type of spell, you might consider doing one of the first options before you choose the trash, as there is a good chance you will not want those spell remains lingering around your house or property for any prolonged period of time.
To sum it all up, an altar is what you make of it. Christians refer to their body as a “temple,” and this thought isn't necessarily wrong. No matter where you are, the connection to spirit is there with you. All you have to do is reach out!
If you're a budget witch, you understand the importance of a good abundance manifestation without needing to be told. I've been working with and modifying my bare-bones abundance ritual for years now and have found that this budget-friendly setup is good for the wallet while maintaining the integrity of the magick.
When we manifest anything, it is because we are looking to gain or change something. Manifesting abundance is no different, except that it requires us to look at what we already have been blessed with before we will be given more. If you come from a place of me, me, me, your abundance rituals will always fail. Abundance requires us to see, appreciate, and be grateful for the things we are blessed to have before we will be given more. In this way, receiving an abundance is a lot like a thanksgiving. We bless ourselves with more blessings and allow the universe to bestow additional blessings on top.
SIMPLE ABUNDANCE RITUAL
Simplified rituals are some of the most powerful and abundant rituals that there are. They are a reminder for witches of every level that we really can change our reality with little more than the power of our mind.
You will need:
Before beginning any ritual, I like to take a few minutes to quiet my mind and focus. Meditation opens your mind to accept your spirit and merges your conscious mind with your subconscious mind. Allow yourself about ten minutes to focus and center. This will ensure that you have the proper attention to create what you are trying to manifest, and it allows your mind and spirit to reset from being digitally and physically connected to anything other than the intentions you are about to set.
After calming your mind and calling in your energy and spirit, it is time to focus that energy. The easiest way to do this is by lighting a candle.
Under the light of the candle, with a reset and focused energy, visualize all of the abundance currently in your life. Abundance could look like a stocked pantry, a living room full of friends and family, a college degree, a library full of resources. Write down each of your abundances individually. Once you've completed the list, one at a time, say each blessing out loud. Thank the universe for the blessings in your life, and burn the list in the candle's flame.
Next, you will manifest future abundance. This part is especially important to stay focused for. Do not allow doubts and fears to gain traction as you work through the visualization of your future. Fear has no place here.
Close your eyes and visualize what abundance will look like in your life. Wealth? Health? Family? Career? Whatever it is, visualize yourself in it. What are you doing? How do you feel? How did you get there? The more vivid your manifestation, the more powerful it will be.
Once you are done visualizing this abundance, write the scene on a piece of paper, beginning with the phrase “I am.” For example,
“I am surrounded by an abundance of friends who support me.”
“I am financially self-sufficient and comfortable in my lifestyle.”
Next, fold the paper three times and set it in the flames. As it burns, close your eyes and continue to visualize your manifestation.
If you aren't using any tools, you can visualize a candle in your mind's eye and keep a mental list of your blessings. Allow the images of your blessings to approach and vanish with the flame when the times comes. Again, if you are only visualizing this blessing, allow the images to approach the candle in your mind until they vanish.