#kmartaus

my beautiful baby puppy girl, Bambi

Kmart

Kmart is hands down my favourite place to shop. You can get all sorts of witchy things from Kmart, you just have to know where to look. Kmart stock candles of all sizes from just $1AUD. I've also found essential oils for $3AUD and oil diffusers for about $20AUD. In the arts and crafts area Kmart has a great range of notebooks, stationery, stamps, stickers, washi tape, paper embellishments; basically anything you'd need to start or add to your grimoire. Also in the craft area, I have picked up some suede lengths that I've hung crystals on and turned into necklaces & bracelets. Kmart has a selection of coloured ribbons that could be used to decorate your altar or to tie in your hair. In the home decor area I've spotted some cute little shelves that would be perfect to display crystals on as well as little drawers to keep them safe in. There's always cute little dishes & jewellery trays that would be perfect for crystals or keeping witchy trinkets in. If you're not bothered by what your storage shelves/drawers look like, the storage section has everything you'd ever need from tiny jars to big heavy duty containers. In the gardening/outdoor section you can find plant seeds and basic beginner gardening equipment as well as potting mix, pest control stuff and even cute pots to start your seedlings in. I have found some lovely pieces of witchy clothing from Kmart (bell sleeved shirts, cardigans, flowy maxi skirts) - if you're petite like me don't forget to look in the girls section, my best friend found the cutest celestial themed skirt from the girls section that fits her perfectly even though she's 21. The girls section also has a waaay better sock selection than the ladies area, we have both picked up some black frilly socks and I've noticed brightly coloured striped socks for anyone daring enough to wear them haha. Finally, don't forget to check out the accessories section - there's always cute witchy hats and a wide variety of jewellery and hair accessories starting from just $1AUD.

Big W

Big W is another Aus Wide department store that sell lots of cool witchy bits & pieces. Big W also sell candles although they probably aren't as cheap as the Kmart ones. I've noticed wax/oil burners at Big W as well. In the home decor section there's always little trinket trays - I've found lovely little ceramic bowls in the kitchen section for about half the price of the trinket trays so don't be afraid to scout around in other areas for multipurpose items. While you're in the kitchen section take a peek at the selection of jars and glassware. I always check out the herbs and spices racks/jars/storage. If you're after basic grimoire supplies, Big W should definitely have what you're after; notebooks, pens, basic craft bits & office supplies. Big Ws gardening section is (IMO) better than kmarts as it has a wider range of gardening accessories and they stock higher quality brands. Same as Kmart, Big W sometimes has cool witchy clothes in the clearance section (I always try to buy things on sale to save $$ [also keep in mind we don't have coupons in Aus!]). Another thing that Big W does better than Kmart is the book section. I bought my very first tarot deck from Big W (its a fairy themed deck by Doreen Virtue) for $15AUD. They usually have 4 or 5 different tarot decks to choose from as well as angel oracle decks and kits. I bought an awesome dream interpretation book from Big W just the other day. Finally, Big W ALWAYS has jewellery on clearance for as little as $0.50 - don't be afraid to buy some pieces of jewellery and DIY them to be a little more witchy or personal to you.

Spotlight/Lincraft

Probably the biggest craft stores in Aus, Spotlight and Lincraft stock literally EVERYTHING arts & crafts wise. Both stores have such a wide variety of stationery, pretty craft papers, stickers, fabrics, beads, pens, paints etc etc. Too much to list haha. Spotlight has a decent selection of candles although be prepared to spend some $$ here because they are pretty pricey. I always check out the Spotlight home decor section because they have really pretty bits and pieces.

Discount Variety Stores

Almost every town/city in Aus you can find at least one discount store. These are the BEST places for candles, incense, essential oils, oil burners, IMO. You can get any of the above for under $5AUD. I've even seen herbs and sage sold at various discount stores. Occasionally discount stores stock crystals (tumbled rocks or sometimes raw crystals in a little set). The arts and craft area usually has all your grimoire needs and then some - don't forget to look in the cards and wrap section; some wrapping paper has really pretty designs sometimes better and cheaper than stickers. This is usually where the ribbons are kept as well, in my experience discount stores have a better ribbon selection than Kmart and Big W. Discount stores generally have a gardening section; seeds from $2AUD, basic gardening tools, basic pots and basic pest control. Probably the best thing about discount stores is the glassware and jars area. You can pick up the tiniest little jars from $0.50 with cork stoppers or twist top lids to big solid 10L jars. If you want LITTLE TINY jars always have a look in the craft section, sometimes they have glitter in them but you can always decorate your grimoire with the glitter or incorporate it into your makeup to empty the jars. Organza or drawstring bags can also be found in the craft isle. It's usually where the sealable bags/zip lockbags are kept - these could be really useful for keeping seeds in, dried herbs, dried flowers etc. The craft area has lots of bits and bobs including little packets of bells, which are sometimes hard to find. Finally, as well as bells most discount stores sell wind chimes - pretty noises to attract faeries.

Officeworks

If you need a one stop shop for just your grimoire needs, Officeworks is it. They stock literally everything you could need from paper, notebooks, pens, pencils, art supplies, office supplies like glue, staplers, erasers etc etc etc. The coolest thing I've found in Officeworks is parchment paper, it was $6AUD for 20 sheets of high quality parchment paper. If you have an online grimoire, Officeworks still has everything you could need from memory cards, USBs, external hard drives to actual laptops, tablets etc.

Woolworths/Coles

The supermarket is where I buy all my herbs and spices (well the common ones, anyway). Right beside the herbs and spices you can usually find the salt - a basic protection tool for every witch. Supermarkets also sell matches and sometimes unscented candles. Finally, the tea and coffee section is my very favourite section in the supermarket. My local Woolies stocks almost every common tea variety you can think of and if theres a tea flavour not available I check my local T2 or Teacentre.

Australian Geographic

This is a shop I wouldn't think many witches would bother checking out, but please do next time you pass by one. I picked up the prettiest agate bookends on sale and it was hard not to buy ALL of them haha. Aus Geo also have a decent selection of books, some particularly interesting ones on rocks, minerals, fossils as well as a TONNE of astrology books. Also they have the best selection of telescopes if you're really into star gazing.

QBD

This is the only book shop I've found that have a good selection of witchcraft, wicca, divination and the occult books. If you're not sure where to look, I find all the witchy books in the New Age section. There's usually a wide variety of tarot decks and kits as well so if you're a beginner tarot reader this is where I'd look for your first deck - pick whichever one calls out to you. There's no right or wrong first tarot deck, you can always try others if the first one doesn't vibe with you.

The Book Depository

This is my favourite online book shop. All of my most interesting and informative witchy books have been bought from the Book Depository. Shipping is free worldwide. Please check this site out if you're on the hunt for witchy books! You can also get tarot decks off the Book Depository.

Op Shops

Op shops, donation shops or second-hand stores is probably where I have found some of the most unique, cool witchy bits ever! All of my crystals live in delicate crystal bowls that I have sourced from several different op shops for just $0.50- $2.00. I keep my sea shells in second hand vintage teacups. Almost every doily in my house is from an op shop or passed down from my mum/grandma. I picked up an awesome vintage tarot book recently from an op shop - you really never know what you will find you just have to start looking and be willing to dig for the gold.

Aliexpress/Wish

This is another place I shop that I'm not sure many witches would think to look on. Aliexpress is where I buy most of my crystals, you can literally find any crystal on there for pretty decent prices. I have bought rose quartz, amethyst, clear quartz, labradorite, celestite, tigers eye, blue goldstone, aura quartz, citrine and carnelian pieces both raw and tumbled off aliexpress and have yet to have any issues at all with any order. Shipping takes a while but when I'm paying a couple dollars for a hunk of amethyst I don't mind waiting. Wish also has a decent selection of crystals as well as rune stones and crystal balls. Both apps have reeeally cool inexpensive jewellery, crystal necklaces, woven bracelets - I've also found really pretty vintage looking brooches and pins.

Other

Finally, if you are ever holidaying or live by a beach you are pretty much guaranteed to find a hippie crystal shop. Some of my most magical crystals were found at little locally owned stores by the beach.

I hope this list was helpful to any of my fellow Aussie Witches ! If you have any recommendations to add, please don't hesitate to let me know 😄

[Image description: a square cushion covered in gold and black reversible sequins; the sequins are showing gold with a heart shape traced in black.] 

Gold and Black Sequin Cushion, $12AUD at Kmart in Australia!