The Wiccan Altar

The Wiccan Altar is a reflection of your own spirituality. It will change as you grow and become more comfortable with your craft and will revolve around the four elements, sabbats, esbats, festivals as the earth’s seasons turn, and correspondences needed in ritual.

Magickal Things You Should Know About Your Altar:

Your altar becomes a focus of positive power once activated – yours and that of Spirit.
The altar was originally designed to request the presence of deity.
Where you put your altar isn’t as important as how you use it.
The shape of your altar is a personal choice.
You can have more than one altar.
Having an altar for spiritual reflection isn’t against any religious dogma.
Before use, your altar should be sprinkled with holy water and salt, infused with incense smoke, blessed with holy oil, and empowered in the name of Spirit.

Altar Placement: The Wiccan Altars can be outdoors or indoors, in a spare closet, a room in your home, or a space in the garden. If you are unable to keep your Wiccan Altar up all the time, you can create an altar using unusual ways, and your imagination. It’s up to you how you want to create it, whether it is a box, dresser drawer, suitcase, trunk, or whatever is available for you to use for the purpose of storing your altar.

When I first started, I was a total closet witch. No one knew and I used a gift box you buy at Dollar General (which is a good place to find some unusual finds for the use of the craft, I also find a lot of stuff at my local craft stores, Home Goods, Marshalls and TJ Maxx, such as salts, herbs, crystal and wooden bowls, statues, etc.).When Amazon became big, I then bought a small kit that came in a small wooden box, it was trunk looking but bigger than what I had and sturdier. I then considered myself a Solitary Witch and came out to my family. I used that for a while, until I no longer could fit anything in it. I then created an altar that I made in a wooden sewing box that opened up in layers, to which I have all my tools and corresponding candles, herbs and crystals. I’ve used wooden trays that I found easy to move from place to place in the house. I used a bookshelf that had a top that was the perfect height and width to set up and it had wheels, and I was able to move it also.I joined a local group to which had a class called Wicca 101 and learned that this world is huge. It’s not just something the young do but people of all ages. That there is a huge community to witch (pun intended) I can get more information and support from. I have become the person I always knew I was all of my life and feeling fulfilled, I have been reborn into my own mind, body and spirit. Although, I still consider myself a Solitary Witch, I have become more open in communicating with friends and family all of my craft findings and I have graduated to a designated room in my home when my youngest moved out. Now my sewing box is now my Travel Altar that I can grab-n-go, taking it with me when I visit a local park or woods for some earthly connections.

In short, there is no right or wrong way to set up and use your altar. You will learn ways for the best results for the tradition you are using and rituals you are performing. For example, in the Celtic tradition the goddess candle is on the right and the god candle is on the left, but in other traditions, they are opposite. Or some change the direction of the altar with the season of the Wheel of the Year.

The most placed altar is to the North, the physical realm or the East, the realm of beginnings.
Some scholars believe that the first altars were actually tombs of the dead where offerings were made to deified ancestors.
For the sake of this blog, I will keep it to the basics of what is the normal tools used, no matter the tradition.

Below is a common Altar Cleansing, Altar Blessing and Empowerment you can adopt for your own.

Altar Cleansing: Supplies needed are incense, red candle, bowl of salt, bowl with water and a small besom (broom). These are the most common items on your altar for they represent the four elements and directions that create powerful energy. This is performed when an altar is erected, and before your circle cast or any other magick.

Place your supplies on your altar. Before you begin, you need to get into the right head space. Take 3 big breaths, as you release out, release any negative energy or unhappiness you may feel.
Close your eyes and rub your hands lightly together, the deep breathing helps you relax and the friction you create with your hands activates the chakra points (energy fields) in your palms. Closing your eyes helps you to ground and center and prepare for a magickal workings. Say: “I feel the power of Spirit in and around me. So mote it be.” Open your eyes.
Hold the red candle and say “May you be cleansed, consecrated and blessed in the name of Spirit” (or you can say the Lord & Lady).
Light the candle, then hold the candle out in front of you, over the altar, saying: “From the black and formless void, light blossomed into existence. By igniting this candlewick, I bring the grace of Spirit (or our Mother) into my life and onto my altar. Element of fire work your will by my desire.”
Pass the flame three times in a counterclockwise (widdershins) direction over the altar, saying: “I banish all negativity from this (wood, stone). Nothing evil or nasty, real or imagined, can ever abide here.”
Set the burning candle safely to the side. You will be using it again. Hold your hands over the incense and say: “Element of air, may you be cleansed, consecrated, and blessed in the name of Spirit. (or you can say the Lord & Lady).”
Light the incense from the candle flame. Pass the incense smoke over the surface of the altar three times in a counterclockwise (widdershins) direction saying: “Element of air work your will by my desire. I banish all negativity from this (wood, stone). Nothing evil or nasty, real or imagined, can ever abide here.”
Set the burning incense safely aside. You will use it again. Hold your hands over the salt, and say: “Element of earth, may you be cleansed, consecrated, and blessed in the name of Spirit” (or you can say the Lord & Lady).
When your palms begin to tingle or grow warm, sprinkle the salt lightly over the top of the altar surface. Just a little will do! Say: “I cleanse this altar with the salf of the earth. Elements of earth, work your will by my desire. I banish all negativity from this (wood, stone). Nothing evil or nasty, real or imagined, can ever abide here.”
Set the salt bowl aside. Pick up the bowl of water, and say: “Element of water, may you be cleansed, consecrated, and blessed in the name of Spirit. (or you can say the Lord & Lady).”
Place the bowl of water in the center of the altar. Add three pinches of salt, stirring clockwise with your finger after each addition to the water. Imagine the water glowing with a soft blue or white light. Pick up the small besom and sprinkle with both salt and water, saying: “Besom may you be cleansed, consecrated, and blessed in the name of Spirit. Work the magick by my desire.”
Dip the besom into the consecrated water and begin sprinkling tiny drops of the liquid onto the altar in counterclockwise direction, saying: “I banish all negativity from this (wood, stone). Nothing evil or nasty, real or imagined, can ever abide here. So mote it be.”

Altar Blessing and Empowerment (to follow altar cleansing): Supplies needed are same as above and scented oil or perfume.

We will pass the four elements (red candle, incense, salt, and water) over the altar three times in a clockwise direction. As doing this imagine that you are stirring positive energies into action. Once this is done, place each element in their perspective direction on the altar. This being the incense in the east, the red candle in the south, the water in the west, and the salt in the east.
Dab the scented oil on each corner of the altar, and then in the middle saying: “I bless and consecrate thee, O sacred altar, in the name of Spirit. May you repel negative energy and collect positive energy from this day forward until the end of time. So mote it be.”
Draw an equal-armed cross in the air over the altar surface to seal the positive energeies tot he stone/wood. Tap the edge of the altar four times, once for each direction. Then say: “As above, so below. This altar is sealed. So mote it be!”

You are now ready to work any kind of magick!

Altar Setup and Supplies: It can be simple and still be overflowing with power. The items most commonly used on every altar are oil, salt, incense, candles, and water (and of course their vessels to which hold them) because they represent the four elements and are used in blessing and consecrating your altar and your tools. The rest of the items are by preference and magickal working.

Most common items on the altar are the following: athame, candles, cauldron, chalice, incense, pentacle, wand, broom (besome), Book of Shadows, altar cloth, Goddess and God representation, spell or ritual correspondence. Some other that may be used are a basket (to collect magickal ingredients in), and a bell.
Each of these items are your choice of what you feel comfortable using. It is said that the best tools are found in nature and or given to you as gift, but you can buy items yourself or buy the materials to make something. As long as you bless and consecrate your tool, you will find what fits you by using what is available. The wand I use currently is a driftwood branch I picked up on the beach nearby. It is about 8 inches long and is a little bit twisted but straight and smooth with no bark left. I also have a Willow branch wand that I started to create but is not finished yet. I did a ritual to find it, and blessed and thanked the huge willow tree for the gift she had given me. They will be a reflection of your spirituality choice, need and practice.
Spell or Ritual Correspondence will depend on what you are looking for as results. They can represent the four elements, numbers, wood, candles, colors, days of the week, months of the year, time of day, moon phases, zodiac signs, astrological, chakras, herbs, tarot, sigils, symbols, & the magickal alphabets, runes, sabbats, esbats, stones, minerals, crystals, and the list goes on and on. This is a blog of its own. As I said before, for the purpose of the blog, I am going to do the basics.
There are a variety of ways to cleanse and consecrate your altar. Keeping your altar clean will help keep negative energy from settling, for as you know, dust is a negativity magnet!
Altars that are left setup and unattended should be cleansed regularly.

Awakening the Tool – Many people believe that once the tool has been cleansed, consecrated (dedicated to Spirit), and blessed (asking Spirit to fill the object with positive energy), the tool should be awakened. Simply hold your hands over the tool, tap three times on the altar, pass your hands over the tool and say: “Waken ye unto life.” This is a trigger for the mind that the time for magick has begun.

Note Worthy Altar Tools:

The Goddess and God – There are many ways to represent the goddess and god. You don’t need to spend lots of money on a statue unless you want to. A candle can represent them. Usually silver and gold but substitute colors can be used. The candles are lit when we want to invite them into your circle. These energies invoke the energies of the divine. This will vary to what traditions you follow and practice.
The Pentacle represents the Earth Element, and Centering Energy. It is used to focus energy and consecrate whatever is placed on it. The pentacle is a symbol of protection, and each point of the star represents a cardinal point/element, and the fifth, the Spirit or Essence, surrounded by a circle. A very important tool to have on your altar. Doesn’t need to be an expensive one. You can make one yourself. Pentacles can be used to charge your magickal items.
The Bell – used in cultures around the world in spiritual situations even going back to medieval times. For Wicca: 1 ring denotes the beginning of a spell or ritual. 3 rings are for a pause and for clearing items of negativity. 4 rings seal a magickal act. 5 rings invoke quarter energies. 7 or 20 rings call the dead. 9 rings invoke deity.

The Altar setup in accordance with direction.

North ~ Earth Element: Pentacle, bowl of salt, stones, plants, flowers, green candle (could be different with different traditions), offering cakes.
East ~ Air Element: Incense, feather, bell, wand, yellow candle
South ~ Fire Element: Red Candle, athame, Boline, anointing oil, candle snuffer.
West ~ Water Element: Bowl of water, seashell, chalice, blue candle, cauldron

Left-side of Altar: Goddess candle, Goddess statue, chalice, water, Asperger, cauldron, pentacle, bell, crystals & stones, libations dish (cakes & ale)
Right-side of Altar: God candle, God statue, wand, censor, salt, athame, Boline, lighter.

Preparation before beginning any spell or ritual:

What type of spell are you performing? Write down any materials you may need.
When and where will you be performing the spell?
Re-check all your correspondence.
How will you cast your circle and call quarters?
Prepare the ritual space.
Re-check your list and make sure you have everything.
Then after you are finished, clean up after by disposing properly and storing away your materials and tools.

Silver Ravenwolf is one my teachers. I love her books and I follow a lot of her workings in the craft. She has been a huge part of how I practice today and is a huge part of my blog as well because she is my teacher. I used her book Solitary Witch: The Ultimate Book of Shadows for the New Generation. See pages 119 through 155 for a more detailed outline of the altar and the tools used by a renowned writer and author of Wicca books. I admire her ways of teaching and the way she conveys in a way I understand! I use what serves me and the rest is always there if I need it. I use all of the above and have adopted the practice. I just added her books to my site, so make sure you check it out by clicking on this Solitary Witch: The Ultimate Book of Shadows for the New Generation link!
Silver Ravenwolf A Witches Notebook – Lessons in Witchcraft, has a lot of information on corresponding elements to help you further your craft.