Don't buy what you can make yourself. So if you want - for instance - a wand, one which you've carved and decorated yourself may not look as pretty as one you bought in a new-age emporium, but boy it will be attuned to your energies, and the magick will hum from it. One of my wands is made from a branch of a past Yule tree. Goblets and athames can be found at thrift stores or garage sales. I use a seashell for West and a feather for North on my altar. Remember, the magick is already inside you, tools are just touchstones to help boost your spells. Anything you make or repurpose yourself would have more of your own personal power. IMHO

It took me well over a year to put together my altar. I waited until I found just the right first piece, an Abby Willowroot silver wand, and then slowly collected the other pieces, often through flea markets and second hand shops. Because I live at the meeting of the Atlantic Ocean and the Delaware Bay, shells and rocks found at the water's edge are also a part of my altar. Take your time, be open to what appears to you. There is no deadline.

Acoutrements are not needed. You don't have to use tools or anything. You can use things that you have around the house or pick up in thrift stores, garage sales, found in the wild. I have pieces that I have collected over the course of more than 30 years of practice and some that I have made from found items then there are the times I don't use any of these things and strictly visualize. There is no requirement to use tools unless you really want to.

I remember wanting to get everything! but faced with cost reality, most of what came to me was through thrift store finds, or repurposing things I already had. I used rocks for the directions. petrified wood for north, pumice for east, lava for south and a fossilized shell for west. I now have an altar tile that was painted by my mother, and is the one she used. I have others that I purchased over the years, but I usually prefer the one she made. I stone representations for the deities especially for Esbats. a round selenite sphere for the Goddess and pillar point quartz for the God. But before I got those things they were small things I had found that spoke to me, like feathers or acorns. My first Athame was a letter opener, but I could have easily used my finger.