30 Days of Witchcraft ~ 30-Day Challenge ~ Day 4 Altars

 

It is Day 4 of our "30 Days of Witchcraft'' Write Your Craft 30-Day Challenge! I hope you’re enjoying it so far! 

Today is about our altars. I had mentioned we'd get back to tools and things as we discussed altars later, so here we are.

Here are the basics:

• Your altar is your ritual space and can be set up anywhere you have space.
• It does not have to be big.
• It does not have to be fancy.
• You can set your altar up with traditional tools, but the key component is staying within your budget and needs.
• Before beginning your ritual or spell work at your altar, always have what you need there, on hand, rather than having to leave your circle to get it.

I will first discuss this basic altar setup that I used previously, as it is the one I started with and am most familiar with. I will touch on travel altars, and broom closet altars. There will be a whole post tomorrow about these and themed altars.

First, you'll notice that it is clean, simple, and tries to be fairly symmetrical. From our previous post about basic witch's tools:

• Paten or Altar Plate
• listed as "pentacle" on the diagram
• a flat plate-like surface 
• symbolic of the element of earth
• usually carved with a symbol, often the pentagram
• used to bless or charge items
• often fireproof to act as a trivet for objects that use flame
• Athame
• a knife, doesn't have to be sharp
• symbolically represents the element of fire
• it can be inscribed
• used to direct energies for ritual purposes
• is usually only used for spell work, and not for everyday tasks
• Wand
• yes, that kind of wand
• symbolically represents air
• can be made from any material or a combination of materials
• as the athame, it is for directing energies that aren't drawn to an athame/knife.
• Chalice
• listed as "cup" on the diagram
• also known as a goblet
• is symbolic of the element of water
• Can actually hold water on your altar
• similar to the Christian "Holy Grail"
• it is symbolic of the Goddess's womb in many traditions.

Also listed are:

• Goddess Idol & Candle
• This can be your chosen Goddess, a Triple Goddess, or 
• any way YOU want to represent it;  I've used a printed picture.
• The candle can be in the shape of the Goddess, becoming both items, or just a color to represent Her.
• God Idol & Candle
• literally the same as the Goddess.. in male form
• Incense in a Burner
• also symbolically represents air and fire.
• if you use a wooden or pottery burner, it can also represent earth.
• you can use different scents for different purposes:
• sage for cleansing
• rosemary for protection
• rose for love, etc.
• Bowl with Water
• literal representation of water
• I symbolically represent water on my altar with seashells I've found at the beach.
• Bowl with Salt
• literal representation of earth
• Since I gathered my seashells at a saltwater beach, they symbolically represent salt/earth as well.
• Bell
• This one is a little more in-depth, as a bell represents many things.
• It is said that every time a bell rings, it indicates a change.
• a wind chime marks a change in the wind.
• a cat with a bell around its neck is silent until it moves
• a doorbell represents a guest
• the sound changes the energy of its space
• Altar bells can be used for:
• cleansing the energy of the room
• it both attracts good energy and repels negative energy
• invoking spirits
• magical seals
• during yule time, bells are said to bring back the sun
• protection, as on a door of your home
• cleanse your personal energy
• connect with some deities
• to introduce meditation or other liminal work

Other things you can put on your altar:

• Your Grimoire and/or Book of Shadows
• Offering plates
• for offerings to the Goddess and God on your altar.
• Cauldron
• for holding fire-lit things like powdered incense and dry herbs

There's more, but let's keep this simple for now ;)

This is one of my altars, my main altar, where I keep EVERYTHING. I rearrange it often and have a shelf (that one with the cool platter-looking thing near the bottom) that is for my Godson to play with. He has his own crystals, I let him collect his own seashells, sticks,  and things. He's not quite 2 yet, so there's Lego on there, too! It's his important things.  The only problem is that when we go to crystal shops... he thins he can touch them all, like he can at Nannan's house LOL! He gets cranky sometimes and we have to explain why and usually they let him touch.

Witches are awesome. ;)

Until tomorrow...