diff --git a/salt/defaults.py b/salt/defaults.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4ae27cabcc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/salt/defaults.py
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+'''
+Default values, to be imported elsewhere in Salt code
+
+Do NOT, import any salt modules (salt.utils, salt.config, etc.) into this file,
+as this may result in circular imports.
+'''
+
+# Default delimiter for multi-level traversal in targeting
+DEFAULT_TARGET_DELIM = ':'