#i'm hoping if i get my crafting stuff organized i may actually use it some

[misscrazyfangirl321]

Have finally started the cleaning project that has been overwhelming me for weeks.

Predictably, a bit overwhelmed atm, but I'm excited to get this done!

[northwest-cryptid]

Mabiiji is possibly my favorite Mabinogi character challenge I've done yet, because I already have it all mapped out, I know how I'm going to pull this off; and it's very doable if I get good enough at using the skills I have.

However on the surface, if you told someone you were making a Mabinogi character who can't rank any damage skills, or skills that buff your damage (masteries/passives) beyond rank F; I think they'd feel like you're insane.

Sure he may not be a powerful warrior like the game expects him to be, but he's going to become extremely powerful in his own ways. It starts with hoeing in the ground for potatoes to scrounge up the money for a shield and being scared of white spiders, but I assure you that Mabiiji is going to cross that finish line all the same.

Not only am I doing this to prove a point, that you truly can play Mabinogi however you want. I'm also doing this because I have wanted to do a character like this for such a long time to show off the more hidden nuanced mechanics of the game.

Which is silly because there's two kinds of hidden nuanced mechanics I'm talking about, the first is stuff like how despite not saying it ANYWHERE in the game; shields have various size categories that effect their ability to buff Defense.

Small Shields reduce the total damage taken by 50%

Medium Shields reduce the total damage taken by 70%

Large Shields reduce the total damage taken by 100%

Giants (such as Mabiiji) are the only race in the game who can actually use Large Shields, which is why I made him a Giant in the first place. If I can't rank my offensive skills, then I can still make him an absolute defensive powerhouse thanks to how Defense actually works.

I also really hope to show the mechanic that:

Starting at Rank 5, surrounding players gain a defense bonus while Defense is active.

Players do not need to be in the same party.

This does not affect the user.

However, the buff range is extremely small; they must be almost on top of the Defending player to obtain the bonus.

But then you also have the hidden nuanced mechanics like, my favorite Mabinogi mechanic; wholesome interactions with strangers.

Yeah yeah okay I know this sounds cheesy and cliche, but I'm serious; one of my favorite moments from the stream is when a pair of strangers passing by saw me attempting commerce from Dunbarton to Bangor and decided they wanted to tag along to assist me.

At the time they didn't know I was streaming, nor that I was doing a challenge run; they merely saw a player running commerce and decided to lend a hand.

While I don't doubt I could have done just fine without them since I easily avoided bandits without any issue. The fact of the matter is that their assistance not only made it faster, but significantly safer for me.

While I refuse to let people outright give me overpowered items, gold, or assist directly with the run. I have nothing against organic interactions. Mabinogi is an MMORPG, and when I say you can play it however you want; a big reason as to why is because there will always be someone else who can cover your weak spot.

Mabiiji or Mabi Iji, named after the Blacksmith from Elden Ring; is going to become one hell of a crafter. Going hard on the production front is going to be my only way to supplement base stats that I'm sorely lacking, and I recognize that this means I'll not only be needing to make a lot of things; but I'll be crafting some extremely powerful items late in the run.

So I've taken to adding anyone who organically assists me on my journey, when I begin actually crafting worthwhile items they'll be among the first (as will my twitch stream audience) to be given the things I craft but may not be able to use or have need of.

This will be my way to give back to those who have been there for me, or who have supported me through some of the slower parts of the stream. As you can imagine, 4.5 hour streams of gathering and crafting and gathering and crafting; can be a bit slow at times.

So getting to stream the full experience, chatting with my audience, and generally engaging with others while I toil away at my trade; has been greatly appreciated.

[orcboxer]

Do you have any of your own recommendations for choicescript/interactive fiction? Your game was pretty much my entry point for choicescript and I'd love to find more

Oh yeah! So it won't come as a surprise to anyone who's played ORCS RPG but my favorite choicescript games tend to be the crunchier ttrpg-inspired kind. I won't get super in depth about it but suffice to say I prefer a high amount of interactivity. (also I'm gonna mention up front that all of these are ongoing series, none of which have wrapped up as of yet)

My current favorite is Breach: The Archangel Job, by Michael Maxwell and Ben Luigi, a heist thriller where you join a crime organization called The Archangels and well, you do heists. There's a ton of customization, lots of characters, a dice rolling mechanic, and even cheat codes if you like playing around with those. It's very high-energy, very silly, and you can play as almost entirely nonverbal if you want and nobody minds, which is a massive plus for me, as someone with selective mutism. I would love to see more choicescript games like this one, it makes great use of the medium, and I hope it sets some lasting trends in that regard, if I'm being fully honest. Also you get to design and wear your own special crime mask, and masks are badass. I love not having a face.

My second favorite is Zombie Exodus: Safe Haven, by Jim Dattilo, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like, a zombie survival game. I don't even normally like zombie stories, but this one kicks ass. Again, high customization, dozens of characters with their own arcs, a big inventory system, lots of exploration, crafting and shelter-building mechanics, it's buckwild how much stuff is piled into this game. This one started years ago and it continues to be one of the all time greats in terms of gameplay. I'm very much looking forward to Part 4.

If you prefer a less crunchy experience with higher emphasis on storytelling, may I direct you to the singular exception to my "don't talk to me about superheroes" rule -- Fallen Hero: Rebirth, by Malin Rydén. In this one, you play as a former hero who has decided to become a villain. Your power is telepathy, and my god, telepathy can be terrifying. The storytelling is incredible, and the massive sequel, which dropped this year, did not disappoint. This one dips into some very dark waters, particularly in regards to identity and depression and trauma, but it is also an exceptionally cathartic experience. I know this one is popular because I've seen folks taggin posts as "sidestep" in my activity feed.

Another story-based one with minimal crunch, and somehow the first fantasy genre game I've mentioned: I, the Forgotten One, by John Louis. I actually should have put this one before Fallen Hero because I am still reeling from how much I loved this one. You play as the Marshal, bastard child of the late king. Long ago disinherited and sent off to die in a bloody war that failed to kill you, you now find yourself in the unenviable position of not only delivering news of the king's death to a court that despises you, but also having to take up your sword to defend them all from a second war that is being waged against them by one of your old trusted comrades. And you are, unfortunately, incredibly good at your job. This is a story about trauma and violence and the horrors of war, and it is so, so, so good. Again, it touches on some very dark topics, so be mindful of the content warnings. But this one drew me in like a gotdam riptide, I could not put it down. Can't recommend it highly enough.

[the-clumsywitch]

A Very Basic Affordable Witchy Christmas Gift Guide

So, you've got a witchy friend or significant other and your frazzled, what the hell do I get them? And you also don't want to spend an arm and a leg on that gift, look no further My Dear!

Affordable Crystals

Clear Quartz (Can serve in the place of all crystals, this may not resonate with everyone though), Rose Quartz (love), blue quartz (peace & calming) amethyst (psychic protection & intuition), black obsidian (protection & grounding)

Note: Each of these crystals have more than one purpose/correspondence, often overlapping another, these are just the most common correspondences.

Affordable Herbs

This category of gifts is incredibly simple, as most witches do not care if they're herbs come from a metaphysical store or a grocery store. However some do prefer organic, especially when burning them. For this type of gift you don't just have to focus solely on herbs found in a bottle, you can also purchase tea bags. Tea bags can come in handy when you are looking for an herb that you would otherwise have to visit a health food store for or order online. Just rip it open and use it in your spell. Below are some affordable tea brands 🫖.

Carrington Teas

Celestial Seasonings

Dollar Tree's brand (in my opinion the only ones that taste good are the black and green teas but all of them can be used in magick.)

Pretty much any store brand of tea.

Cauldrons

Everyone's needs for cauldrons are different, some people need itty bitty cauldrons, others need large ones, some want them only for burning and others want to cook in there's. Either way, these are the most affordable places I've come across to purchase both.

New age imports (For smaller cauldrons, typically no bigger than 5 inches)

Yogi depot on Etsy (Medium sized cauldrons up to 7 inches, which is actually much larger than you would think. I think they sell smaller ones too.)

CindysEyeofthemoon on Etsy (She sells small cauldrons and large ones, with feet and without them and if I'm not mistaken they're all food safe! Not to mention, her customer service is top notch!)

Magick.com

Incense & Candles

Would this even be a witchy Christmas list if I didn't add candles and incense?

Magick.com

Shopafrocosmetics on Etsy

Dollar Tree

Craft stores (See if your craft store has coupons or an app that has discount codes)

Books

Five Below (All of their books I've come across are excellent for all levels of magick. You won't find books about more advanced magick though.)

Barnes and Noble bargain section (which actually carries a lot of the same stuff as Five Below just in hardback.

Books-a-Million or BAM (Which also has an amazing bargain section!)

Magick.com

More Wonky Affordable Gifts

A jar or bag of pennies and other coins (I'm starting to think witches are just crows in disguise because we really like shiny things.)

Coloring books and crayons (Inner child healing anyone? Actually, probably only do this if they are doing inner child work.)

Salt and a jar to put it in (I know this might sound weird, but it's yet another thing no one ever brings up about witches, we freakin' love salt!)

Charcoal Tablets for burning loose incense

And don't forget...

One of the greatest places to look for witchy gifts can actually be at the thrift store or charity shops. My favorite shop has soooo many things that almost any witch would love to have, swing top bottles and jars, gorgeous crystal glasses, candle holders, candles (Did I mention how we really do love candles?). I've even purchased a cauldron there and the best part about thrift stores/charity shops is that you're helping the environment and you'll never know what you will find!

I hope this little list helped you! I come across witchy Christmas lists too often that only have pens and notebooks as affordable options (which I think any witch would agree are always welcomed). Or will tell you which gifts to buy but not where to find them. For this list I wanted to focus on where to find these witchy items affordably. If you have any other witchy Christmas gift ideas please feel free to comment on this post!

⛄Merry Christmas!🎄

- Erika, The Clumsy Witch

[icewindandboringhorror]

Daily Log 9

Trying out (probably just temporarily) making short daily-ish notes about things, in an attempt to see if it helps me be more reflective or productive lol.

Activities: Worked on the previously mentioned tapestry style painting thing for like 5-6 hours today (with a few breaks in between), and that's just for the border around the main picture lol.. I think all the little sections and detail always take longer than I think they might. But hopefully the final product will look interesting! :0

I feel like I'm entering another Sick Phase where I just am weird/ill/sleepy/having joint pains much of the day (probably some vitamin deficiencies or hormone imbalances or general bodily inflammation or whatever nonsense seems to randomly pop up from time to time lol), so couldn't focus on anything more intensive like writing or editing videos, unfortunately. It's good to have smaller crafts I can do that don't take much mental effort and are just menial hand tasks (like carving, painting, sculpting, etc.), but I still always feel frustrated falling behind on the things I see as much more broadly significant to my overall life and potential career (making games, writing, finishing videos, socializing, costumes, etc.)

Organized my desk a little. Responded to some doctor emails. Paid bills.

Planned out something I might make with pressed flowers tomorrow.

Edited like 4 costume photos.

Also have a lingering sense of dread due to the weather. The heat often makes me feel terrible, and if I'm already in kind of a Bad Phase at the moment, I'm afraid of it making it even worse... stimky..

Which I know these temperatures are nothing to some people but.. to me... aUGHHHH... I am abnormally heat sensitive + live in a dinky old apartment with no ventilation that gets direct sun the hottest part of the day.. on a 90F day outside, it literally gets about 84F inside.. like.. even people who love the heat I feel like would struggle to sleep at night if their bed is 85F lol... hewwo.. You can spray yourself down with water, drink ice water, put a fan on yourself, etc. etc. but.. sometimes it just feels so oppressive and inescapable..

ANYWAY. Aside from painting, feeling weird, and dreading the upcoming heat/contemplating my entire life and how to get enough money to move to a different climate somehow one day/existential exhaustion/etc., I didn't accomplish very much lol

Spent maybe 30 minutes thinking about a little more worldbuilding stuff, and some things in reference to the game I mentioned resuming work on at some point.

Notable sights: The clouds were really pretty and pastel this afternoon, and some stars are visible in the sky for once since the nights are beginning to be clearer. The 'forget me not' flowers that I thought had died after transplanting actually seemed to be perked up and healthy looking today, and perhaps may actually survive. >:3

Goals moving forward: Do new poll adventure post. focus on social activities, finding new friends in the places I want to move, communicating with the ones I have. Physical therapy exercises. Finish and upload videos, edit costume pictures & etc. Do the new costumes I've planned. MAKE SCULPTURES at some point, I miss them.

Notable foods: Not much, kind of a warm day so didn't really want to use the oven. No idea how I'll handle the diet I've been put on by my doctors (involves usually cooking all food fresh, using the stove a lot, nothing is supposed to be canned or processed or premade, so that eliminates a lot of 'quick easy simple warm weather' meals, etc. etc.) during the heatwave. I might just have to break the diet a little and hope it doesn't give me stomach pains while I'm already hot and feeling sick lol..

I did have a boiled egg with some green onions on top, which is very simple but was refreshing somehow lol. Another ice cold ginger ale treat today, and some cold prune juice (which I know most people find gross/it's an old person food/etc., but I like that it's a smooth textured and not very sweet juice? Like it's slightly thicker than apple juice, has a lightly bitter taste, etc. I just find it nice for some reason. More evidence I am secretly an 85 year old wizard)

[goron-king-darunia]

Annon-Guy: 1. How's progress on the Shawl? 2. Do you still have the Syphonia/RWBY BBTAG interactions in you Ask Box? 3. I hope you liked my Tales Of fighting game idea video.

Hit a snag. The yarn I wanted to use seemed like a big ball of thin yarn so I thought it would work, but I underestimated how big the shawl was. So I tried to buy more but the colors I'm looking for just... don't exist? This is gonna trigger an unskippable cutscene. Sorry. I am full of stories.

I tried to color correct the pic so you can see the colors as they look to me in real life since my room lighting is bad. But let's start at the beginning.

Be me, age 11-13. Taught how to knit from the young age of 5 with more freedom to spend my own funds on craft stuff once I got to the double digit ages. Dollar Stores and craft stores are on practically every corner (along with video game stores, both of which I miss.) Buy tons of novelty yarns in bulk from places like Big Lots and Michaels with my spending money because they're pretty and I am an ADHD hoarder who may as well be a dragon. Have pretty yarn for years that I'm too nervous to use because I want to use them on something good. Wind the yarn into balls to fit the storage bin better. Forget I own umpteen billion yards of yarn. Move on to sewing as a hobby and buy the crap out of fabrics and Joanne's, barely make the head and arms of a Tails Plush because you couldn't win one at the faire that set up in your neighborhood for a week. Rinse and repeat for several hobbies. Spend most of the time gaming.

Become adult. Realize your home is a mess and at least a little of that is your fault. Get on a cleaning spree to at least organize your things. Start finishing old projects like the Tails Plush because it feels good. Use finishing projects as a reward for cleaning because unlike video games as a reward, you actually keep tidying if you aren't distracted by the other stuff on the computer and only have minimal distractions of meatspace. Clean out a box with some white yarn and find a half-finished knitting project along with instructions. Realize you have no idea what row you're on so you frog the project (unravel the yarn) and start over. Use the knitting as a reward for cleaning. Realize that hey, this pattern is cute and it's summer and, at the rate you're knitting, you could probably complete the whole afghan in time for Christmas to make a Christmas present for your partner. Knit as a reward and during free time (except when you get wildly absorbed in Eggtober.) Succeed in making a cute, heart-themed afghan for your bae. Look for other patterns to make for other friends and family so I can use up this metric ton of yarn. Decide on a cute shawl pattern. Find a pretty ball of yarn that seems big enough. Start shawl. I will refer you back to the image above.

The bottom bit is the shawl I started and the top one is the shawl I'm working on since the new colors don't match the old colors. See, shopping for yarn can be hard, especially if you're like me and don't keep the tags the yarn comes with (I am filled with REGRET. Why would younger me toss those out?) The bottom yarn's colors are, to me, magenta, lavender, blue, and turquoise, primarily Magenta and Turquoise. So I figured "This is a pretty distinct set of colors, I can't find the tags but I can probably find these colors..." So I search online. The first thing comes up is the Red Heart Super Saver Bon Bon print yarn. Colors are hard to tell online but they look similar enough and none of the other yarn that comes up seems close. But I don't want to buy without checking, you know? So I go Michaels near my house to see if they have that brand and print or anything similar. They do not. So I go to Walmart which supposedly has that brand of yarn in that print. I do not find it and the closest thing I find is too saturated. So I go to Joannes and their selection is better but still no luck. Bon Bon doesn't exist anywhere near me to compare it to and all the other yarns just aren't the right colors. Decide to just buy Bon Bon yarn online since it looks cute and it might be the correct colors. Yarn arrives in mail. Yarn is the right brand and print but alas, Bon Bon is not the correct color. Bon Bon is Bubblegum Pink, Hot/Neon Pink, Cotton Candy Blue, and Sky Blue.

Decide that if the yarn is this hard to find, it probably doesn't exist anymore. Admit defeat and resolve to just make the shawl with Bon Bon print instead.

Not sure what I will do with the original pretty yarn. May make it a scarf and carry it with me on the off chance I find something with the right colors to match with it. Either way, it won't be wasted, I just can't make a shawl that's completely that color. Maybe I'll frog it back a tiny bit so it's at the start of a row instead of the middle and just complete the shawl with a neutral color like white so that I have a shawl with those pretty colors. I still think that could look nice. Or maybe I'll frog it all the way back and make something else like a central motif square on another afghan? Who knows?

All I know for sure is that I currently cannot complete my initial shawl that I first started, so I'm doing the same pattern in Bon Bon because I ordered enough yarn for it and it's still kind of cute. Might gift this one to my mom since she's cold often or I might make another for her in some other colors I have? I recently saw this cute Yggdrasil Poncho pattern circulating on Tumblr that I might want to try. It looks like it works well as a pattern for several different colors of yarn. Like I said, younger me bought lots of novelty yarns, but in small quantities, so that mostly lends itself to granny squares, small projects, or things like this that incorporate many colors. Point being, I have lots of unusual yarns to make use of so what started as a reason to use up old yarn ended up with me buying more. Like a doofus. Because they probably don't make the color combo I'm looking for anymore.

2. Probably. It's most likely just buried in my ask box. 3. I do like the idea! I just haven't finished watching the video yet because my attention span is GARBAGE.

[mr-entj]

Mr-entj, I'm a senior in college and starting my career soon which this blog has been an abundance of valuable information. What have you seen in your experience as the biggest jobs hunting MISTAKES college students make at this phase? I would like to learn from those common mistakes if possible because I do treasure wisdom and experience. Thank you.

Related answers:

Resume and Cover Letter Guide

Job interview tips

Job hunting 101

Off the top of my head, top 3 below.

Top 3 job hunting mistakes college students make

1. They think it’s easy

This is how most students think job hunting goes (theory):

I attend college

I do relatively well and graduate with a degree

I submit some job applications to my favorite jobs

I interview

I get a job offer!

This is how job hunting actually is (reality):

I attend college

I do relatively well and graduate with a degree

I submit some job applications to my favorite jobs

I get all rejections or no responses from the jobs

I apply to more jobs

I get no responses

I apply to more jobs

I get no responses

I apply to more jobs

I get maybe 1 interview

I interview but I don’t get the job and have no idea why I didn’t get it

I start to get frustrated and lose hope

I have been unemployed for months post-graduation

I start to panic

I settle for a crap job

WTF happened?

It’s overconfidence mixed with a huge dose of naivete due to a lack of real world experience.

To avoid underestimating this process:

Understand that job hunting is a highly subjective process– it’s not an objective process. That’s why it’s so difficult, it’s like dating. A candidate can have all the qualifications and be a “perfect” fit but can still be rejected because the company didn’t “like” the person or the timing was off or the position was filled or the company knows someone internally who’s a better fit or [insert other rejection reason here]. There are many unknown variables that are invisible to the job applicant. Often times, job applications submitted via websites are rarely seen, interviews are expedited for people with specific connections to the company or skills relevant to the role, schools/majors/grades weed people out immediately, and offers are only extended if the stars align for the candidate. This is why preparation is critical to success.

Understand that job hunting is ultra competitive. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of people applying for the same position and they’re just as smart and just as qualified– if not more. Often times, students think because they academically excelled at their specific university that they’re competitive against a field of graduates from other universities when they’re actually a big fish in a small pond. This is a mistake. Exercise humility, treat every position and organization with respect, don’t assume you’re a special snowflake overachiever, and always assume that you’re the underdog.

Prepare like hell. There are tons of resources on this blog and everywhere on the internet to help craft compelling resumes, make professional/industry connections, improve interview performance, and give huge advantages to people that seek them out. Be proactive.

2. They don’t leverage their network

Pop quiz. What’s the advantage of going to college if you can learn most of this stuff on the internet? Why are you paying $XX,000 thousands of dollars per year for an education if Google, free visits to the library, and discount books online can relay the same information? Why?

Answer: The main advantages of a formal education from a reputable university are that it establishes external credibility, grants an academic cohort that eventually becomes a professional network, and provides career resources.

Advantages are only advantages if you actually use them.

To leverage a network:

Attend career campus events. Colleges work around the clock to get companies to come on campus and hire their graduates– do not miss these events. Polish your resume, dust off your suit, and come with your best smile to explore opportunities and meet students.

Visit the university career center. There are people employed and paid solely for the purpose of getting you a job. Any company or alum looking to hire a graduate from your school will go through the university career center so staying close to the staff here will get you first pick.

Use the university job board. These are positions usually offered by alums in other companies that are exclusive to your school. This gives you first pick of positions that may or may not be live on other job websites.

Network with alumni. Get a professional mentor, reach out on LinkedIn, volunteer at alumni events. Alums are former students who have been in your exact position so they understand the struggle. Any alum who commits time and energy into attending an alumni event usually has school pride and wants to give back. Engage them.

Join on-campus professional groups. Professional frats, affinity groups, study groups, etc. Shared interests = shared bonds = relationship building.

3. They start too late

I’m going to repeat this over and over until people get it: the most difficult time to get a job is straight out of college when you have little to no relevant work experience that separates you from a sea of candidates. For this reason, do not procrastinate.

Remember that employers want to minimize the risk of hiring the wrong person and maximize the chance of hiring the correct person which is why college graduates have a tougher time entering the job market than experienced professionals who have projects, references, and bodies of work (empirical evidence) to vouch for their abilities. Once a college graduate accumulates years of experience this problem goes away but until then they need to be proactive in searching for opportunities while in school. It’s imperative that students start job hunting, internships, and recruiting activities before they graduate college to avoid missing critical deadlines only available to them as students.

It’s exponentially more difficult to find a job after graduation because all the desirable positions will have already been filled. One of two things tend to happen to people who don’t recruit well during college and who graduate without a job:

They’ll scramble for low-level positions they’re overqualified for that don’t require a college degree, that are lower paying, but more difficult to get because of the larger applicant pool

They’ll apply for positions for experienced professionals that they’re underqualified for because the new grad entry-level positions are already gone but they also have no substantive work experience for these experienced positions

This is a form of professional purgatory where they’re neither here nor there; a college graduate overqualified for menial jobs but also underqualified for entry-level jobs that require 1-2 years of experience. This is not a good position to be in; do not be in this position. Career procrastination and the failure to recruit properly during college will create something called career debt because bad job placement post-graduation will set a career back years especially in pursuit of leadership positions.

To get a head start on job hunting:

Have meaningful internships throughout your college career. Graduating without an internship is not a good look. It basically tells the world that you didn’t do anything outside of the classroom; no exposure to the professional world, no extra effort into researching your career, and no additional parties to vouch for your work. This means that in a crowd of graduating students, nothing differentiates you from the herd. Search online for internships, there are tons of resources for this and most companies will post internships directly on their career pages:

Indeed

Glassdoor

LinkedIn

Apple internships

Amazon internships

Start job hunting 6-9 months before graduation. There are positions aimed specifically for new grads and they’re marked with (wait for it) “NEW GRAD” in the job title. They’re hard to miss. These positions are specifically for college students without any work experience but they have strict deadlines and cut-off dates that shouldn’t be missed. Examples of those are below.

Deloitte New Grad Portal

PwC New Grad

Google Students

Facebook New Grad

JP Morgan New Grad

Kaiser Permanente Early Career

CNBC Early Career Opportunities 

[sylvaetria]

Hi Hi! I've been interested in secular witchcraft for a long time, but i'm finally starting to stop just researching, and I want to try and start practicing! I've collected a bunch of resources, but what are some of the first things you'd suggest picking up from the store? Candles, herbs, oils, etc? Also, any beginner posts you could link me to would be wonderful. I'm all ears! Have a wonderful day

Hey, congrats on deciding to practice and doing your research! Are you excited? Nervous? Enjoying what you’ve seen so far? Is Tumblr your primary resource? :)

I wanna learn so much from new witches omg. (There’s irony in there.)

Well, it honestly depends on what you wanna do and use yourself. Because personally, I picked up a few of each - I got some tealights from WalMart, bought some cheap incense from somewhere else, picked up some dried herbs from the grocery store that I didn’t already have in the kitchen, and found like five or six crystals I liked from Green Earth. I spent maybe like twenty bucks. That was my beginner’s witch kit.

But, again, it all comes down to what you want to use. Are you more interested in working with candles in magic? Candle magic *is* a really easy but effective method of magic, and candles are everywhere, and really cheap. Most spells use candles in them, not necessarily as the focal point of the spell, but they also do wonders for boosting energies. A bag of 100 tea lights goes a long way in witchcraft. Color correspondences can help, but isn’t necessarily required.

Or maybe crystals are where you wanna go. Crystals have amazing energy, but are a bit more on the pricey side. It can also be hard for people who don’t know a lot about them to tell them apart - the “danger” in this is being swindled by people claiming their crystals are something they’re not. Doesn’t mean they won’t work for their “declared” intent, necessarily, but it means you just dropped a lot of money on something worth a tenth of that. 

That doesn’t mean it isn’t worthwhile to work with them, though. Because they’re an amazing tool, really - you just gotta do some more research, and be confident in where you’re buying from. Finding a reliable dealer with decent prices is where it’s at. But then, once you’ve got some crystals, they’re really versatile. They can be used on their own, or in conjunction with other spells, put them in jars and sachets, or in poppets, make grids, use them to charge other things, just stick like ten of them in your pockets - boom, witchcraft. 

Oils aren’t something I necessarily recommend, to be honest. Not because they aren’t useful, because they are, just like any other tool can be (just gotta know how to use them). I just don’t know a lot about essential oils. xD If that is the area you wanna go in, however, it’s worthwhile to know that you’re gonna want to do some more research on the topic, and be wary of any allergies you may have, and for the love of god don’t put a crapton of pure oil straight on your skin.

Herbs is a little bit of a tricky area too, especially when using them as medicine. It requires a lot of research and safety if you plan on ingesting herbs for actual remedial purposes. If you just want to use dried herbs in, like, jars and spell bags, it isn’t nearly as bad, but you still want to keep an eye out for any poisonous / toxic plants and allergies. The stuff you can get pre-dried from grocery stores and dollar stores are honestly enough in most cases, and there’s lots of substitutes for more expensive or exotic plants, depending on intent.

If you wanna grow your own herbs too, that’s an option, but another area I don’t know a lot about, so I can’t give you any more advice on that besides do some more research. (It seriously never ends, so I hope you like studying.)

I guess this sort of answers your questions, but not really in the way you wanted. So, long story short, what you pick up depends on what and how you want to practice. However, I’ll give you a list of items I would recommend, purely based on my own craft, but I feel they’re pretty good staples to have all around.

candles - versatile as all hell; can be used on their own or in any other spell; bags of white tea lights are super cheap and easy to find; worry about colors later; scents can be used as correspondences as well but don’t hinder in any way

also, if you can’t have open flames for whatever reason, they have LED / battery powered candles in some dollar stores now; not to mention, tech magic?!

matches - they smell nice, and can light candles; suuuper cheap, but in bulk; unless you’re allergic to sulphur, then just a lighter will work

herbs - dried herbs from the grocery store seriously do the trick just as well as fresh / organic stuff; Bulk Barn / Barrel has a lot of awesome stuff for super cheap too; start off with just a few general / all-purpose ones, and then add to your collection as you go along; it starts to build up over time, trust me

sea salt - cleansing and protection; can be used as a base for most herbal mixtures

rosemary - considered a substitute for most other herbs

basil - has like a shit ton of correspondences

cinnamon is useful to have too

if you wanna curse, pepper flakes, paprika, or cayanne pepper should do the trick

jars - do I even need to explain?; dollar store, man; even thrift stores have some pretty amazing and cool looking bottles and stuff

notebooks - not something necessarily overly witchy, but more so to write down what you learn; trust me, you’ll wanna do that, especially with correspondences; also, sigils

also, though, keeping a blog can be a great way to have a magical book; can be password detected / kept secret; tags are useful for organiazation; and then you have us assholes in the community to hang out with too xD

writing utensils are also kinda required to, you know, write in books; black Sharpies are useful for actually drawing on stuff - candles, sachets, etc.; good for sigil work

scrap fabric - but some cool patterns from thrift stores or whatever; useful for making sachets and poppets

sealable plastic bags can do in a pinch though, really; also can be drawn on with Sharpie for easy sigil application

string / thread - tie up bags, herb bundles; make sachets and poppets; also useful for bindings, and that’s a good skill to know

mini sewing kit - super useful to have in general, and all parts of it can be used for something, somewhere

tea bags - seriously, tea has magical properties too; super discreet; and easy as hell; play around with different flavors for intents

crystals - clear quartz is super cheap and all-purpose; buy like five of them and just use them over and over; again, another thing it might be useful to have like three or four basic ones and then build your collection over time; that’s how most of us get our arsenal of supplies

clear quartz - substitutes for any other crystal

amethyst - super cheap and easy to find; variant of quartz; good for sleep and peace and divination; also purple

tiger’s eye - I’m biased because this is my favorite crystal; good for protection and courage; did I mention it’s awesome to look at?

incense - not necessarily required, but I like to have it; smells nice, useful; so many scents; can be found pretty cheap all over too

again, if you can’t have open flames in your place, you can try those wax melters; definitely pricier, but versatile for magic as well; and I mean, they just smell, so, good; my mom has one with like sugar cookie wax cubes; and I come home and think she’s baking, and I get super excited; but it’s a lie

So, yeah, that’s my list, and reasons for what I wrote. That’s just some ideas to get you started. If you choose a path that doesn’t need those things in them, obviously don’t bother then. And depending on what “type of magic” you wanna do, your basic supply list might be very different. For instance, a sea witch probably won’t care so much about kitchen herbs, and stock up on sand and seaweed, sea shells and salt water. 

Since you asked for beginner’s posts, too, you can have my whole list:

Advice for Witchlings: [Part 01]; [Part 02]

[How to Start Being a Witch] (an ask)

[How to Begin to Do Magic, and Other Questions] (an ask)

[Advice to Baby Witches]

[Becoming a Witch] (an ask)

[For a Beginner] (an ask)

[Getting Started]

[How Do You Even Begin?] (tw: gif)

[“I’m Interested in Witchcraft, Where Do I Start?”]

[The Newbie Witch - What Others Often Don’t Tell You About Beginning the Practice]

[9 Practical Tips for New Witches]

[NSFW (Not Safe For Witches): Staying Safe in Magic]

[100 Tips for the Secret Witch]

[St.’s Short and Sweet Guide to (Not Asking Her) How to Get Started in Witchcraft and Magic]

[10 Common Misconceptions of Baby Witches]

[Things I Wish Somebody Had Told Me in the Beginning: Witch Edition]

[Tips for Beginner Witches] (an ask)

[Tips for Beginners] (an ask)

[Tips for Extremely New Witches] (an ask)

[Tips For Those Who Are Considering Witchcraft]

[Top Witch Tips]

[What I Wish I Knew Starting Out]

[“Where Do I Start?”]

[Where to Start] (an ask)

[Witchcraft, Where to Start?]

[Witchling Tips]

I did it! I made a post that wasn’t mostly links! :o Anyway, sorry for my smartass mouth, I was having fun with this. I hope you enjoyed reading, and I hope it gave you some ideas, and helped you out! Good luck! And if you need any more clarification or have more questions, you know where to find me. :D

[kissmymongoose]

Really want to start a side blog for cleaning and organizing. The more I do, the more excited I am about it. By Christmas I'm gonna get out junk room clean and set it up,for the kids. They really need their own space, and I believe I can do it in about 3 days. I don't want them to know I'm working on it, so next Monday, while they're at school I'm gonna start it. Then on Christmas morning I just wanna lead them in there and be like "ta-da"! With all their stuff set up for them, all their toys divided up and put in their own storage spots. I wanna get an old school deal for them to share also, so they can do their homework one at a time at their desk, so they can have portly of bodily support, and an old school school desk may make it more exciting and fun for them. I had one as a child and it was great. I'd go have a seat, do my homework, and when I was done that was it. We didn't use it for anything but school work. Helped me stay in the zone and focused.

The sky is beautiful this morning.

Ready to take my boos back the the fair one more time. Saturday were taking the kiddos, then Nanny is gonna pick them up at the gate and me and David will get to ride some rides and hang out without kids for a few hours.

I've beat the elite 4 on Pokemon fire red. I'm in the sevii islands and I can fight the elite 4 again, once I train a little more. I always enjoyed the Pokemon games that let you fight the e4 more than once and with the e4 having different and stronger Pokemon. I really enjoy catching the 2nd gen pokemon, and if my old silver version wasn't messed up, I'd play 2nd gen.

My fig trees are about ready to come in, it's been pretty dang cold the past week. I have 4 out of 5 figs that survived. Which, with my usual luck, is pretty damn good.

The elderberry grove is doing great and this spring I will be moving a hand full to start a new, separate grove.

I get to go see Mikey at 9. David is supposed to go, but he's being an ass this morning. He will probably still go, but he won't be super happy about it. I wanna make some ham steak and some toast and coffee. I wish I could take him some sugar cookies. Gonna talk about all the stuff I'm making for thanksgiving and Christmas. Hope I don't make him too hungry. I will of course promise him to make whatever he wants to eat when he's home again.

I'm gonna clean the bathroom and hallway today, then I'm gonna work on my mountain of clean clothes again. I actually got ALOT done in the past 2 days. Made a huge dent. The end is almost in sight. And man am I ready to stop looking at a big ass pile of clothes! Starting with a lot of clutter, this was a very difficult task. When you're pulling out half of your clothes because they don't even fit anyone or because it's got a huge hole in it from ages ago.... Bleh. Over time I've put most of these useless items aside and planned to sell, donate, or use as crafts, but somehow they always creep back onto the couch full of clean clothes. So I sort through them over and over! No wonder I was getting no where! Now I get them out of the living room completely if it's not a good set of clothes. I'm getting there.

And that's why I want a side blog. All of the cleaning and organizing seems so difficult and like a huge task. We were literally drowning in clutter when I started it all. My brothers, their girlfriends, they children, me and my brothers as children, my aunts, uncles, cousins, my mom and dad... We have all had a hand in cluttering this house. And my momma Sheila doesn't deserve everyone dumping on her house, then dipping out without taking all their bullshit. This has been going on for like 30 years! So now I'm stuck dealing with the carnage. And that's okay. Its not gonna get done otherwise, and my, my family, and my momma deserve to feel happy when we walk into our home. We deserve to be able to find what we were looking for easily, and overall we just really deserve a functioning home. I'll say this again, when I was a teenager, we ate at my grandmothers, never at home. Our kitchen became so cluttered that it wasn't even usable! The stove was covered in empty pots and pans. The cabinets were covered with pans. The table was just a pile of junk! Now, we have a fully functioning kitchen, plenty of counter space, and I clean the fridge and freezer once a month. The stove is always wiped down. And now, at any given time, if I wanna hop up and make something, it's so easy and actually nice. I can find all of the supplies and utensils I need. I'm actually gonna make some cut out sugar cookies in a bit, and I don't have to wonder if I'll be able to get it done, because I know I have space to work, and my ingredients are all put in their spaces nicely and neatly.

It has made a huge difference in my mood. And the same with the rest of the family.

Gwen and Adon said I was doing a good job and that they loved their house. Makes me feel good, because as a child, I was always embarassed to have company. The only thing I want to look into now, is maybe an air purifier. Our house is pretty dusty, even though I air it out a lot and I dust it often, I just can't seem to get rid of it all. I think an air purifier should help suck up A lot of the dust and other impurities in the air. Anyway. I guess it's smoke time then I'm gonna get ready to see Mikey.

I'm sure David forgot about our visit.

Anywho. Gonna go do the damn thing.