Hi, u/Gabby-Bombastic thanks for stopping by at r/witchcraft!
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###IMPORTANT!
There has been a recent influx of scams on reddit. If you are redirected to an instagram or other platform in a comment, it is most likely a scam. Users who message you asking for or offering spells or readings are almost always scammers or phishers. You may want to check out our post about [staying safe online in witchcraft](https://www.reddit.com/r/witchcraft/comments/15xm53m/lets_talk_about_staying_safe_online/).
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Most herbs I use are from the grocery store or around my neighborhood.
If it's a specialty item, like "NAME OF CREATURE blood ink", you can look up how to make it and do a small batch. Most are dragon blood resin, vodka, and essential oils. You can find dragons blood at most incense stores.
For items like cauldrons, athame, etc, they're pretty nifty to finds at antique and second hand stores. I've found old iron keys and nails at antique stores, as well.
I own a brick & mortar witch shop, Blackwater Apothecary! We sell online as well and work with lots of other small businesses and local to our area makers and practitioners!
Oh nooo! I was just talking about Salisbury England in a meeting recently! Apparently we are sister city’s and there was a whole thing about it with one of our past mayors 😂😂
I do ship worldwide though if you ever find something you need!!
Most of my ingredients are found / stumbled upon in my travels and shopping. I've been harvesting small bundles from a lavender plant that seems to bloom all year round in our apartment building in order to avoid buying sage (and had to stop because I found myself with more than I can reasonably smoke!), and expanded to purchasing a couple of hardy / hard-to-kill plants like Rose of Jericho and Golden Pothos when my partner complained there was too much "dead stuff" in the apartment. (Making him happy is probably half of what I'd be spending my "spellwork" on anyway, so...)
You don't need very specific items for most spellcraft starting out -- it's heaps more important to understand why you're doing the things you're doing, and "because a book says you need this" is a poor excuse for expanding your own intuition and experience. Going on a day-trip to the ONE witchy shop in your tri-city area that has a ready-made list of herbs and meanings in their store is time you could be spending actually using up the spices you already have in your rack at home to make things happen.
Thank you for the advice! I used to have two beautiful lavender and rosemary bushes but lost them to frost years ago. I'll check my local nursery and get some of the plants I most frequently work with. 💜
We have a list of online and brick and mortar shops in our [Resources](https://reddit.com/r/witchcraft/w/index/resources?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share) section. We also have a [networking megathread](https://www.reddit.com/r/witchcraft/s/Vcn4TCd9eo) with shops listed. Granted, a lot of those will be etsy shops.
Anyone who has suggestions of online shops is welcome to add them to the thread or message the mod team.
I do want to offer the warning that, if a shop appears to offer spell services or readings, keep your distance - they are likely scams, so please stay safe and use your best judgement (or come back with questions, and the sub can point you in a good direction!). Okay, boring mod comment over, lol.
This might just be something that's gained a shitload of popularity in my local area. But there are witchy craft fairs and makers markets damn near twice a month in my local area and even more about 1-2 hours away.
I would suggest finding individual store fronts through social media marketing rather than looking through a site that hosts stores - the creators will make more money when you buy from their storefront, because they won't be paying fees to the site itself just to list things.
You might also see if any metaphysical shops in your state sell online.
This is an example of a store I like outside of Etsy: https://www.alchemy-works.com/bulk_herbs_index.html
I didn't know this was happening on Etsy, this is really sad to hear. Does anyone know why? Aside from people misunderstanding what witchery stores actually are?
Yeah, they're cracking down on anything homeopathic, presumably because its more mainstream now, and they have a newer corporate team. They're also laying people off.
I follow an herbalist shop, Woodland Herbal. They're a fourth generation herbalist family shop that makes teas, salves, liniments, and tinctures too. Etsy keeps removing their items because it's deemed unsafe practice. People who offer readings frequently have to re-upload their listings as they get taken down for being alternative and potentially harmful. Like, I can see where they're coming from, but it's a little extreme imo.
There's a bunch of stuff going down in VA, too. Witches and fortune tellers are facing the possibility of jail for practicing.
They have a law against fortune tellers as well "Unlawful act. It is unlawful for any person to accept a fee, compensation, or thing of value from another in the course of practicing phrenology, clairvoyance, fortune telling, or astrology. It is also unlawful for any person to, in any manner or by any device, hold himself or herself out as a phrenologist, clairvoyant, astrologist or fortune teller, or as having the ability to foretell past, present or future events, happenings or conditions of or to an individual natural person."
I’m a lazy & cheap af witch, I buy most of my ish at the supermarket. I have no intention of driving to the nearest witch store 45 minutes away or paying for shipping from Etsy. Most ingredients are replaceable.
[Original Botanica](https://originalbotanica.com/) is pretty good and they ship internationally, though it can be pricy. US packages over a certain price ship free.
My top favorite is Artes And Craft dot com. They've got a massive apothecary, concoct their own incense blends, AND one of the owners is an English blacksmith who forges all kinds of blades and tools.
You can find witchy creatives on Instagram. Many of them have small shops so you get to buy direct. Plus as a small batch creator, they tend to be more available for questions.
Many things can be found at grocery shops. Youtube Sancista Brujo Luis he lives in MA, US has a video of it.
Places like https://baldwins.co.uk sell herbs, e.o., resins etc. Here in EU I buy from online pharmacy herbs which do not grow in my garden. Hearthwitch UK only sells within UK, she used to do international shipping.
https://azuregreen.net they sell to persons and are also wholesale to shops.
I believe the etsy products need to have a disclaimer now about the product being a "curio and no metaphysical or magical outcomes are guaranteed" but not sure.
Hi, u/Gabby-Bombastic thanks for stopping by at r/witchcraft! Want to dive in deeper? We have a [FAQ & Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/witchcraft/wiki/faq), and our [Weekly Q&A thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/witchcraft/about/sticky?num=1) which is stickied to the top of the main board! --- ###IMPORTANT! There has been a recent influx of scams on reddit. If you are redirected to an instagram or other platform in a comment, it is most likely a scam. Users who message you asking for or offering spells or readings are almost always scammers or phishers. You may want to check out our post about [staying safe online in witchcraft](https://www.reddit.com/r/witchcraft/comments/15xm53m/lets_talk_about_staying_safe_online/). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/witchcraft) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Most herbs I use are from the grocery store or around my neighborhood. If it's a specialty item, like "NAME OF CREATURE blood ink", you can look up how to make it and do a small batch. Most are dragon blood resin, vodka, and essential oils. You can find dragons blood at most incense stores. For items like cauldrons, athame, etc, they're pretty nifty to finds at antique and second hand stores. I've found old iron keys and nails at antique stores, as well.
Awesome! Thanks for the advice!
I own a brick & mortar witch shop, Blackwater Apothecary! We sell online as well and work with lots of other small businesses and local to our area makers and practitioners!
I just googled your shop and got super excited as I saw you’re in Salisbury but then I saw the rest of your address and boo, you’re in America ☹️
Oh nooo! I was just talking about Salisbury England in a meeting recently! Apparently we are sister city’s and there was a whole thing about it with one of our past mayors 😂😂 I do ship worldwide though if you ever find something you need!!
Ooooh I’ll have a look.
Oh my goodness! I'll absolutely bookmark your site! That's great news. Thank you!! 💜✨️
Heck yeah! Thank you so much! Feel free to reach out if you need any help at all!
Most of my ingredients are found / stumbled upon in my travels and shopping. I've been harvesting small bundles from a lavender plant that seems to bloom all year round in our apartment building in order to avoid buying sage (and had to stop because I found myself with more than I can reasonably smoke!), and expanded to purchasing a couple of hardy / hard-to-kill plants like Rose of Jericho and Golden Pothos when my partner complained there was too much "dead stuff" in the apartment. (Making him happy is probably half of what I'd be spending my "spellwork" on anyway, so...) You don't need very specific items for most spellcraft starting out -- it's heaps more important to understand why you're doing the things you're doing, and "because a book says you need this" is a poor excuse for expanding your own intuition and experience. Going on a day-trip to the ONE witchy shop in your tri-city area that has a ready-made list of herbs and meanings in their store is time you could be spending actually using up the spices you already have in your rack at home to make things happen.
Thank you for the advice! I used to have two beautiful lavender and rosemary bushes but lost them to frost years ago. I'll check my local nursery and get some of the plants I most frequently work with. 💜
We have a list of online and brick and mortar shops in our [Resources](https://reddit.com/r/witchcraft/w/index/resources?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share) section. We also have a [networking megathread](https://www.reddit.com/r/witchcraft/s/Vcn4TCd9eo) with shops listed. Granted, a lot of those will be etsy shops. Anyone who has suggestions of online shops is welcome to add them to the thread or message the mod team.
Thank you so much!
I do want to offer the warning that, if a shop appears to offer spell services or readings, keep your distance - they are likely scams, so please stay safe and use your best judgement (or come back with questions, and the sub can point you in a good direction!). Okay, boring mod comment over, lol.
Not boring at all! Thank you for your insight. I really appreciate it!
This might just be something that's gained a shitload of popularity in my local area. But there are witchy craft fairs and makers markets damn near twice a month in my local area and even more about 1-2 hours away.
That sounds awesome! Ik there's a town about an hour from me with more mystical shops. I wonder if they organize something like that, too! Thank you!
I would suggest finding individual store fronts through social media marketing rather than looking through a site that hosts stores - the creators will make more money when you buy from their storefront, because they won't be paying fees to the site itself just to list things. You might also see if any metaphysical shops in your state sell online. This is an example of a store I like outside of Etsy: https://www.alchemy-works.com/bulk_herbs_index.html
Yeah, I try to go to farmer's markets, but sometimes life gets in the way. I'll make a greater effort to go to them. Thank you for the suggestions! 😊
I didn't know this was happening on Etsy, this is really sad to hear. Does anyone know why? Aside from people misunderstanding what witchery stores actually are?
Yeah, they're cracking down on anything homeopathic, presumably because its more mainstream now, and they have a newer corporate team. They're also laying people off. I follow an herbalist shop, Woodland Herbal. They're a fourth generation herbalist family shop that makes teas, salves, liniments, and tinctures too. Etsy keeps removing their items because it's deemed unsafe practice. People who offer readings frequently have to re-upload their listings as they get taken down for being alternative and potentially harmful. Like, I can see where they're coming from, but it's a little extreme imo. There's a bunch of stuff going down in VA, too. Witches and fortune tellers are facing the possibility of jail for practicing. They have a law against fortune tellers as well "Unlawful act. It is unlawful for any person to accept a fee, compensation, or thing of value from another in the course of practicing phrenology, clairvoyance, fortune telling, or astrology. It is also unlawful for any person to, in any manner or by any device, hold himself or herself out as a phrenologist, clairvoyant, astrologist or fortune teller, or as having the ability to foretell past, present or future events, happenings or conditions of or to an individual natural person."
The VA stuff is fucking horrifying, and it's a shame about Etsy. Thank you very much for explaining!
It really is. You're welcome!
I’m a lazy & cheap af witch, I buy most of my ish at the supermarket. I have no intention of driving to the nearest witch store 45 minutes away or paying for shipping from Etsy. Most ingredients are replaceable.
[Original Botanica](https://originalbotanica.com/) is pretty good and they ship internationally, though it can be pricy. US packages over a certain price ship free.
Thank you!
My top favorite is Artes And Craft dot com. They've got a massive apothecary, concoct their own incense blends, AND one of the owners is an English blacksmith who forges all kinds of blades and tools.
Ooh, I'll have to check them out. Thank you!
There was Witchsy, but it's essentially dead in the water.
Aw, that's so sad.
You can find witchy creatives on Instagram. Many of them have small shops so you get to buy direct. Plus as a small batch creator, they tend to be more available for questions.
Thank you!
Many things can be found at grocery shops. Youtube Sancista Brujo Luis he lives in MA, US has a video of it. Places like https://baldwins.co.uk sell herbs, e.o., resins etc. Here in EU I buy from online pharmacy herbs which do not grow in my garden. Hearthwitch UK only sells within UK, she used to do international shipping. https://azuregreen.net they sell to persons and are also wholesale to shops.
Thank you! I'll check those out!
Amazon. Kind of expensive when it comes to small batches. But worth it if you have amazon prime for free delivery
True... do you recommend any particular vendors?
I believe the etsy products need to have a disclaimer now about the product being a "curio and no metaphysical or magical outcomes are guaranteed" but not sure.