Modern Ingredients

There are a lot of Pagans and Witches both, who insist that tools and supplies for magical work should be home-grown, hand made and natural. Metal is kind of in the middle....some tools, like a blade, are acceptable in metal (though some still stick to the fact that you should forge your own blade). Plastic is typically shunned.

I'm kind of on the fence about this one. Some things I really like with natural and more traditional supplies, and some I really embrace our modern equivalents. Part of it is practicality...my BOS is a three ring binder with a canvas cover (the cover was made for school useage, so it has handy pockets in it). Part of it is affordability...I can buy a packet of incense or a bag of tea candles at the store for much less than it would be for me to make my own. Part of it is time...sometimes I use birthday cake candles because I don't have an hour to let the candle burn down.

Don't get me wrong, I love hand made things, and I'm one of those people who likes doing things the long way. I like cooking from scratch, doing crafty type things like making paper or binding books, and even have a strange fascination with sanding wood. But life is hectic and I'd rather do what I need to do then feel I can't do something because I don't have the ideal tools or supplies.

I've found that I love dental floss for things requiring string. It's strong, and I like the fact that you can get it waxed (and mint if that matches what I am doing). I remember a lot of cord magic that I first was exposed to included sealing a working with wax, and to my mind, if the cord is waxed, you have that covered already! Plus, it is easy to tuck away in a purse or small magical kit and have a ready supply on hand without needing a lot of space to carry it.

I love working with birthday candles. They come in lovely colors and are also easy to carry. I have a small 'on the go' kit that has a couple in there. I also keep a few packets of salt (like you get from fast food places) and some chunks of rock salt (which I gathered one winter when I was a teen and a neighbor salted his walk). It's an easy way to have a small amount of salt handy without needing a special container to carry it about in (although I also have two wooden boxes that seal really nicely to carry loose salt in when I need to go out).

I'm not the most herbally oriented person, but everything I use magically comes from my kitchen cabinet. And not just the more traditional sage and rosemary. I think a lot of food has wonderful magical capabilities, from honey to pepper to rice.

In fact, I was thinking about it the other day, talking to a friend who walks a shamanic path and offers up cornmeal and tobacco every morning, but to me cornmeal doesn't have a special significance...rice, however does. I think that is part of the key to approaching modern supplies: think about the meaning behind the item and not just the item itself.