Start Here — Your First Ritual

Nineteen first pieces, one per practice: a sage bundle, a selenite stick, a pendulum, a tarot deck, a new moon candle, spell kits and books, each marked by its maker as beginner-friendly. From $4.95.

In short: buy one piece for the practice you keep reading about, use it a dozen times, then choose the second.

An unlit white pillar candle on a brass dish, a small clear quartz point and a plain closed book on dark green marble in warm low light

Start here: how to choose your first ritual piece

Nothing on this page was chosen for being cheap. Every item states in its own product text that it suits a beginner, that no prior experience is assumed, or that it is the piece the rest are measured against, which you can check on each product page yourself. A shop this size makes it tempting to assemble a kit before you have lit anything. The better order is the other way round: one piece, used often, and a second purchase that answers a question the first one raised.

Clearing a room and your stones

The two cheapest pieces here are the two most basic tools. The Organic White Sage bundle ($6.95, 4 inches) is the plain bundle every blended one is a variation on; its maker’s advice is to start with it, learn how a room responds, then branch out. The Selenite Stick ($4.95, 3 inches) is the stone said never to need cleansing and to clear what sits beside it; keep it dry, because water damages selenite. If you would rather have everything in one box, the Energy Cleansing Gift Box ($52.95) is its maker’s best-selling set of herbs, resins and a small cauldron, “the kit people buy when they do not know where to start”. It makes generous smoke, so open a window, and check whether charcoal is included before your first resin burn. To make the holder yourself, the DIY Air-Dry Clay Kit ($39.95) includes tools, paints and a step-by-step template, with no kiln needed; seal the finished piece, since air-dry clay is porous.

Cards and a pendulum

For tarot, The Witch of the Forest’s Tarot Magick Deck ($26.95, 78 cards) is built on the Rider-Waite system, so every beginner book and course applies to it, and it comes with a guidebook of meanings and spreads. Its maker’s method: one card a day, one sentence about it, and the guidebook as a second opinion rather than a first. If you would rather skip the 78-card structure, the Moon Witch Oracle Deck ($23.95, 42 cards) prints a ritual or spell on every card, which gives a newcomer a clear next step. For yes-and-no questions, the Stone Pendulum ($12.95, about 1.75 inches on a 7-inch chain) is, in its maker’s words, the most forgiving format to learn on: ask it to show you a yes, then a no, and note the directions. The Rose Quartz Set ($29.95) combines a bracelet, a stone and a dowsing pendulum, so you find out which of the three you keep reaching for.

A first candle and a first spell

The New Moon 7-Day Candle ($10.95, hand-poured) is one flame held to one decision, lit on the day of the new moon or within about 48 hours after, with two quiet minutes a day beside it. The Inner Eye Intuition Spell Kit ($14.99) brings a candle, a stone, a flower and instructions that assume no experience; its maker’s tip is to read the whole ritual the evening before rather than during. The Seven Knob Candle Spell Kit ($51.95) is a handmade beeswax candle in ten colors with herbs, oil and instructions “clear enough for a first ritual”: one knob a day for seven days, and one intention rather than seven.

Stones, a cup and something to read

The Rainbow Fluorite Point ($14.95, about 50 g) is described by its maker as an easy first crystal point. The Clear Quartz Sphere (from $122.95 for 60–65 mm) is the expensive end of this page, and nothing about beginning requires it. Thriving Tanzania ceremonial cacao (from $29.95 for 1/2 lb) is the smooth, high-butter one; its maker suggests starting below a full serving for your first few cups. If you would rather read first: Manifest Like a Witch ($35.95, 272 pages) is candle magic and spell jars written for complete beginners, Alchemy ($45.95) is a beginner’s guide to the principles and symbols, and two Prabhupada paperbacks, The Science of Self-Realization ($7.95) and The Nectar of Instruction ($8.95), serve as entry points to Vedic philosophy. The pocket-size 365 Days of Yoga is sold out at the moment.

From the magazine: Witchcraft for beginners: tools, ritual shape and ethics · Best first tarot deck compared · Tarot vs oracle cards · How to use a pendulum · Candle magic for beginners: what you actually need · How to smudge your house, room by room · How to use selenite. When you are ready for the second piece: Tarot, Books & Divination, Smudge Sticks & Sage, 7-Day Vigil Candles and Candle Spell Kits.

Frequently asked questions

What should a beginner buy first?

Whatever practice you keep reading about. For smoke, the $6.95 organic white sage bundle; for stones, the $4.95 selenite stick; for cards, the $26.95 Rider-Waite-based tarot deck; for a first spell, the $10.95 New Moon candle. One piece you use beats a set you feel obliged to.

Do I need a full kit to start?

No. Most practices start with one tool and a quiet place. If you prefer everything in one box, the Energy Cleansing Gift Box and the Inner Eye Intuition Spell Kit bring all you need for a first session, with instructions.

Should a beginner start with tarot or oracle cards?

Tarot if you want a system you can study, since the Rider-Waite structure is what nearly every beginner book teaches. Oracle cards if you want to start reading today: each Moon Witch card carries its own meaning and ritual, with no suits or numbers to learn.

How do I use a pendulum for the first time?

Hold the chain still, ask the pendulum to show you a yes and note the direction, then do the same for no. Those directions are personal to you. Start with simple questions you already know the answer to.

When should I light a new moon candle?

On the day of the new moon or within about 48 hours after. Decide your intention first, say it in one sentence, then return to the candle for a couple of minutes each day while it burns. Never leave a candle burning unattended.

Will a first ritual work?

Results are personal and never guaranteed. Everything here is traditionally used in ritual, reading and meditation practice; nothing on this page treats, diagnoses or cures anything.

Traditional associations are described as traditions. Nothing on this page is a medical claim or a promise of results.