Let's do this then.. do we have everything we need? Better check that list again.
Black candles.. ✔
Sage incense.. ✔
Cauldron.. ✔
Broomstick.. now where did I put.. a there it is.. ✔
Piece of paper with some scribbled spell.. I wish I could read my own handwriting.. ✔
Hair of unicorn.. ehm?
Eyes of a newt.. mmh.. what's a newt again?
Pinky finger of an executed thief.. hang on, is this even legal?!
You probably have guessed that I am not serious. The reason why I am posting this is simply down to the fact that over the years I have noticed a lot of postings and questions on a number of different communities where people ask if for example, it was alright if they combined two religions. No! Of course you are not allowed to keep your Christian roots and study Druidry, Wicca or whatever else at the same time. And you over there in that corner, you're Jewish, right? Put that book about Thor down! Now! Joke aside.. of course you can! We all have the right to believe in whatever we feel is right. If you want to call yourself the High Priestess of the Rainbow Coloured Seahorse and combine this belief with Buddhism, use only pink candles and turn your whole house into the rainbow coloured shrine of the Goddess Bubblegum then by all means do so!
Also questions if any other colour of candle was alright, or if they could replace such and such crystal because they don't have that specific one and the only one they found on Ebay was just shy of £50. Or if sage is really necessary as it stinks the house out and makes their hamster cough.
Quite frankly, I can’t help but wonder where such questions come from? Keep in mind, that everything you read in books, every experience that is being shared with you on whatever platform is an experience by another person. You are your own person and you have to make your own choices. And these choices are yours. If there is one thing I learned over the last 20 odd years then it is this: relax and enjoy your path. It is yours and nobody’s footprints will ever fit yours.
So if you don't have black candles.. use any other colour. It does not matter! If you want to save your hamster from choking to death, then use any other incense or just leave it. Same goes for your crystals, your broomstick or your wand. Leave the poor unicorn and the newt alone, and pinky fingers of hanged thieves are just vile. Always remember, that your magic is YOU, and nothing else. You need no tools, you need nothing but yourself. By all means, read other people's experiences and pick out what is right for you.
So put one foot in front of the other, enjoy the journey and most importantly: stop worrying.