Altars

As a personal practice, it is rewarding to establish an altar to the Gods and Goddesses in your home. An altar helps to set your focus for rituals, ceremonies and magic workings. This space should be alive and teaming with energy. In other words, don't use it just for decoration or to display decorative items. Items that are used in each ritual and items that provide you focus and inspiration should be maintained on your altar.

This is your work space and it should be large enough for you to conduct your spiritual work upon. So you don't want to overwhelm your space with unnecessary statues, knickknacks and unused objects.

The altar should be geared toward your personal beliefs. This is a spiritual altar and you'll want to honor your beliefs and the Divine energies that are present in you space. If your beliefs are aligned with Celtic practices, give your altar a Celtic feeling. If you work with specific Gods or Goddesses, a statue of the appropriate pantheon you align with is a good thing to maintain in your space.

It can be a worthwhile practice to also establish an altar or home for your house wight right in your home. Or establish a place in your yard to honor the land wights. They tend to like gifts, beer or shiny objects. Many of our ancestors saw the house wight as being associated with the hearth or fire in the home, and this was always in a central location.  Where the center or "heart" of your home is located?  Where does most of the activity take place?  Where can you place a wight's home so that its right in the mix...part of the action?

An altar can be a permanent table you use in a special room designated for spiritual work. It can be a table you put up and take down after use. You can also find portable altars in various forms and shapes. From briefcase type carrying cases where you can store your altar items, so simple tables you set up and collapse to put away out of sight. There are many sites online that offer altar tables, but don't rule out some enterprising shopping at your local stores.

It is good for this altar to be given some prominence in your home, and this can be done in a number of ways. For instance, a table or bookshelf in the main living room of your home would denote the importance of the altar. If you had a spare bedroom or office in your home, setting up your altar there would give it its own space, in a sense. There is no right and wrong answer to where you place the altar, unless you are considering sticking it in some musty corner of your dark basement.

I think it is good to have your altar dedicated to the Gods and Goddesses in a location where you see it often. The altar can take many forms. It can be established on a beautiful table, a set of shelves, the fire-place mantle, or you could even build a free-standing altar out of wood, bricks, or stone. I know folks with cats or other pets, that establish their altar to the Gods and Goddesses in a standing cabinet with glass or wooden doors, to prevent their animals from disturbing the items on the altar. Really, your options are limitless.

What you place on your Gods and Goddesses altar has practically infinite possibilities and is personal to you. Consider that you are creating a space to honor and gift your Gods and Goddesses, and attempt to give it the attention they deserve. In whatever way possible, you should make it dignified, beautiful, meaningful, and focused on our Gods and Goddesses. When first starting out, it may be as simple as a table with a nice table-cloth, a Mjolnir or Valknut symbol, and perhaps a few images of our Gods drawn or printed out on paper or in frames. Over time, you can add things that personally represent the Gods and Goddesses for you. Often you will see ornately carved hammers, statues of specific Gods and Goddesses, a beautiful wooden, metal, or horn bowl for presenting offerings, a spearhead or full boar spear leaning up against the altar, runes, amber jewelry, or other symbols of our Gods and Goddesses.

Ultimately, your personal altar is 'correct' if it serves the purpose of connecting you and your family with our Gods and Goddesses, allowing you to give them gifts, honor them, and represent their spiritual presence in your home. The exact means for doing this is personal to you.

There are items that could be included on your altar:

• Candles:
  • A Ceremonial Candle. This is a general purpose candle used to begin and set the focus of your energy and protection.
  • A Ritual Candle(s). These are candles that you may want to use within your ritual workings.
• A set of bowls to hold any ingredients that might be used in your workings. Such as a set of 4 ceramic colored bowls. Each one represents one of the 4 elements - blue for water, white for air and so on.
• A mixing bowl or cauldron to combine your working ingredients in.
• A ritual plate or serving plate. Could be a flat brass candle holder as a serving dish for offerings. Sometimes these are cakes or cookies to share with others who are present. Sometimes it holds a small seedling that you could plant in honor of the Great Spirits. A serving plate has a wide range of uses and often comes in handy.
• A ritual cup or goblet. If you share wine or grape juice as part of your workings, a decorative cup adds to the essence of your altar.
• A place for your Grimoire or Book of Shadows. If you're referring to your book for reference, or to record your experiences, there should be a place for your book.
• Other Magical Tools - Bell, Amulet, Cauldron, Divination Tool, Wand, Runes...
• Inspirational Statues. If you feel connected to salamanders, then a small ceramic salamander can decorate your space.
• If you like incense with your workings, you'll need to add an incense holder. But you might also add a decorative feather for smudging.
• Crystals are also helpful energy conductors.

Before you begin any ritual or ceremony, you should Clear and Cleanse the area where the work is to be done.  Once your work is complete, you must close the energy around your altar.

You don't need to start with everything.  Take a walk out in the forest and see what you find.  Start with some leaves or maybe a rock that catches your eye. Overtime your altar will grow, you may even build more than one.

 

Great Spirits, I bring to light this blessing flame,
to bring forth divine light for my workings,
to provide security and success for my offerings,
to share in love, friendship and wisdom for my blessings.

 

Altar

Book of Shadows

Circle

Elements Table

Elements, Crystals and Minerals

Hammer

Smudging

Talisman