About Altars

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About Altars
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Post # 1

Altars

To me, altars are a very fun thing to make. I like to rearrange them, add things, take things away. But some people are curious as to what to put on their altar, which is why this post was created.

Now, what is an altar? An altar is a surface or space used for religious, magickal, or ritual purposes. It is like your own working space, your circle, your haven. It may be directed to one deity, or just to magick. Maybe even a little bit of both? Everyone has a different view on the ways they set up their altars, and that's fine. There is not set-in-stone way. Now here's how to make or design one.

When it comes to surfaces, you can have a temporary altar that you pack up and set out whenever you need it (a suitcase/briefcase would be good for this. You can use a windowsill (be careful of flame hazards), you can use a cleared off table, a nightstand you don't use, even a cardboard box. It's all about you here. Use what you want and can use. No need for blowing your bank on some fancy table with shelves and all that.

You don't necessarily need an altar, but it is recommended to have one for many reasons. If you've read a few books, you'll see all these layouts and tools and all this stuff on the altar. Now I want to point out you do not need this. At all. These are simple templates you may or may not want to use. You don't even have to go by the book either. It's your altar, do what you want with it, place whatever you want on it. It's no big deal. However, there are a few things I'd suggest:

  • An Offering Bowl: If you're creating an altar for a deity, it would be handy to have an offering bowl on your altar.
  • An Incense Holder: These are good for just whenever you feel like burning incense, or for ritual usage. Since the smoke pleases benign/positive spirits and drives away the negative ones.
  • Crystals: I find placing crystals that are related to the deity or whatever you are making the altar for a great thing to have. You may use your favorite stone(s) or ones that go with the color scheme.
  • Candles: Candles are kind of a no-brainer on this one. You don't need them, but they add a little witchyness to it that I just love. They're also handy for ritual purposes or to be used in spells. You can go along with the color scheme for a little more aesthetic value.

Now the rest is up to you. You choose what goes on your altar, no one else but you. You can put all the tools you want on it, no tools, a lot of candles, etc. It is your altar, so it should directly relate to you, not something out of a book that you "have" to do.

I hope this cleared up a bit of the confusion, Be well.

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Re: About Altars
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Post # 2

Awesome post Hex! My altar is currently constructed of three cardboard boxes. I lay a cloth over it and it looks pleasant. As for gems I have a representation of the nine worlds made of various semi precious stones. I will have to upload a pic of it. My candle holders are very precious to me. They are silver plated brass holders and they were a gift from some pagan friends. Offering bowl was also a gift from friends. The other tools and such I have on my altar I made. Altars are a great place to do magic, worship, and just meditate.

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Re: About Altars
By: / Beginner
Post # 3
Good post, altars are really fun to make and are so beautiful. Sometimes I look around on the web looking at other people's altars because everyone's altar is different.

I actually have three altars, my main altar where I do most of my work, my Divination altar and my consecration altar where I empower anything I need, I also make my herbal recipes on my consecration altar, since it doubles as a herb cabinet.

I always like looking for new things for my altar, its really fun to look around
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Re: About Altars
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Post # 4

Neat post Hexe!

I would like to quickly point out that altars don't necessarily have to be luxurious or sumptuously designed, as you've already mentioned in the article. The actual thing here is to magically exploit the altar by all vital meaningful manners it serves.

I had a few items to make an altar stashed in my room for rituals. As soon as the ritual was over I'd take it down and put the stones chalice etc back in drawers and what not. Another altar I had was a simple one made of stones in the backyard. It looked like just another piece of the yard and was very easy to maintain. Usually I left offering at that one and occasionally went out for a full moon ritual.

Keep making great posts like these. :)

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Re: About Altars
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Post # 5
Very cool. I like it a lot. So many have questions about how to do this, and what to do when. You have simple ways to make them understand. Very nice, Hex.
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