#WitchKitChallenge

Recently, witch kits have seen a revival (err.. revile?...pardon the pun) in and out of the Pagan community. In a recent blog, and through many discussions with you all on social media, I’ve heard that many of you don’t necessarily mind the idea of an all in one kit. But not every kit has what you want, and even if it has all the “stuff” it might not look like something you’d want to prominently display. And, even if all that is true, it still might not be something you can afford or access. Thus, I am giving birth to a new project I like to call the...

#WitchKitChallenge

The goal of the challenge is to take a budget that more or less most people can afford - if not all at once, realistically over a short period of time - and shop only at stores that most people can access to see if you can build a solid “kit” of everything the starter Pagan might want/need to get their witching off right. 

The rules

• Budget - no more than $50 pre-tax
• Must get everything on the list, or have a reasonable substitution that makes sense for your practice (but you cannot get fewer items...no saying 1 item does 3 things)
• You can only shop at 1 of the approved chain stores, or a similar chain establishment that most people have access to (you cannot go to, say, 3 different chain stores to get everything)
• You don’t have to purchase everything, but you need to record the pre-tax prices for all items and take a picture or video of your “kit”. 
• No seasonal items! For this challenge, you must resist the urge to go spelunking in the Halloween decor. 
• Post it to social media using the hashtag #WitchKitChallenge
• Challenge 3 people to do the same

The List

• 4 Elemental Representations
• 1+ Representations of Spirit/Deity
• 1 Knife or Carving Implement
• 1 Offering Dish
• 1 Blank Book
• Something to do (this piece is open ended to allow for variety... You could choose a divinatory tool such as a scrying mirror, some dice, a deck of cards. The choice is yours, but it should be something you can do magically at your witchy workspace.)
• Bonus Points if you can also squeeze in a place to put your kit - a shelf or cabinet or something - but it’s by no means required (and would be quite difficult at most of the stores on the list, but you get bragging rights if you can fit it in)

The Stores

Remember, each “kit” can only be comprised of items from one of these stores. No combining items from different stores.

• WalMart
• Target
• Goodwill
• Dollar Tree
• Dollar General
• Home Depot
• Lowe’s 
• HomeGoods
• Ross
• Michael’s
• TJ Maxx

My First Challenge

For my first challenge, I went to Target. Because...of course I did. I saw my first $20 eaten up pretty quickly with a beautiful metal charger and a complimentary blank book. But, like...they were really pretty and I became convinced my kit would simply be incomplete without both of them. 

My items were:

• Blue drinking glass for Water - $3.99
• Metal charger/offering plate - $9.99
• Playing cards for divination - $2.99
• 2 taper candlesticks - $1.99/ea
• Paring knife - $3.99
• 2 Taper candles (black) for spirit - $3.99
• Blank book - $9.99
• Salt for earth - $2.09
• Dish for salt - $1.99
• Bubble wand for air - $.98
• White candle for fire - $4.19
• Total pre-tax cost of my kit - $48.17

(Oops! Here’s the candle...)

I wanted a few “nicer” things like Himalayan pink salt, but that was $6, and have I mentioned how much I wanted that charger in my kit instead? I had also originally selected a much nicer knife, but that was $7.99...and I was already at the limit. 

Some limitations were trying to find a suitable representation of air. I also wanted an actual living plant as my earth element, but this Target didn’t have anything like a succulent or air plant or something beyond the fake, plastic potted decor. I fully realize that if I’d chosen a cheaper book I’d have had room for nicer things, possibly even a shelf, but I found something I liked...and that’s kind of the point of the challenge. To surprise yourself. 

I plan on repeating the challenge at some of the other stores in the coming weeks. It’ll be interesting 

The Gauntlet

I challenge Velma Nightshade, Cory Hutcheson, and Chris Orapello! 

And, of course, if anyone else wants to play along, feel free to post your photos using the hashtag #WitchKitChallenge! I’ll be reposting all of the ones I can see. (So make your posts public! Or, better yet, tag me!)

tl;dr 

Here’s a video:

Love and Lyte,

Fire Lyte