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Episode 14: Altars
1.3k Plays2 years ago
Welcome back Witches! This week we're coming at you strong with a deep dive into altars. While having an altar is not a requirement, we also know that it can be an overwhelming topic for those new to the craft. So get in losers, and lets discuss Altars.
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Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio- The Witch
- Fredette, Meagan. 13 Must-Haves for a Powerful Magic Altar. (2020). CafeMom. https://cafemom.com/lifestyle/how-to-witchcraft-altar
- Patterson, Rachel. Ending and Disposing of Spells. (2020). Patheos. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/beneaththemoon/2020/08/ending-and-disposing-of-spells/
- Donahue, Bevin. Spellwork Do’s, and Don'ts, and Building an Altar from Green Witch Robin Rose Bennett. 2018. North Atlantic Books. https://www.northatlanticbooks.com/blog/spellwork-dos-donts-and-building-an-altar-from-green-witch-robin-rose-bennett/
- YouTube:The Witches Cookery
The Witch of Wonderlust
Spells8
Imogen aka missimoinsane
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Transcript
Introduction to Witchcraft and Altars
00:00:00
Speaker
Do you feel drawn to learn more about witchcraft in the occult, but feel lost on where to start? Then welcome to Get In, Loser, We're Doing Witchcraft, a podcast all about what it means to be a witch and where to get started on your journey. Join us as we navigate through various witchy topics and share what we have learned about the craft. So get in witches and let's learn about altars.
00:00:27
Speaker
On today's episode, we are going to be covering altars, what they are and how to use them. Altars just as a topic in itself can be something that is intimidating to some, especially if you're new to witchcraft or paganism. And unfortunately, there's so much information online. And as we've mentioned in previous episodes, there's also a lot of toxic information out there as well, because social media is flooded with perfectly curated images of what an altar is
00:00:55
Speaker
quote unquote, supposed to look like. But we're hopeful that with this episode and the information that we discussed today, we'll make the information on altars easier to digest and more accessible.
Personalizing Your Altar
00:01:06
Speaker
With that being said, a lot of what you will find online is information on Wiccan altars, which is amazing, especially if you're a seeker or you're going through the process of initiating into a Wiccan coven. However, altars are not something that only Wiccans use. Anyone can have an altar and there are many different types of spaces that can be considered altars.
00:01:26
Speaker
So with that, it's important to understand exactly what an altar is. An altar can be defined as a designated sacred space that you set an intention to work your magic on with or around.
00:01:38
Speaker
It's something that's personal to you and looks how you want it to look. It's a place for you to get in touch with yourself, with the world around you, and a space for you to work your magic on. It can be on display to others or it can be kept in private if you're worried about others seeing it. If you share a living space with family, you can keep it somewhere like a bedroom or a closet or
00:01:58
Speaker
have it in a box to keep it private and you can pull it out when you're using it. But it should be noted that altars are personal to you and your craft so you don't want others touching your altar unless it's one that you share.
00:02:12
Speaker
If you have pets or children, make sure it's out of reach for them if you're leaving offerings on them. I'm someone with cats and my cats are like on everything. And we talked about this in one of the episodes. We were, I can't remember which one it was, but we were talking about leaving offerings of like milk for, it was like milk and honey. I don't remember, I just remember this snippet because we laughed about like, I couldn't even leave out an offering if I wanted to because my cats would probably get up there and drink it.
00:02:41
Speaker
I don't remember which episode but...
00:02:44
Speaker
Um, and to kind of pivot off of that, um, my children just know not to touch anything on my altar. And the only time I ever get iffy about it is if we have friends come over with their children, because I used to have my altar in my bedroom, but I've since moved it to the landing by my stairs, which works better for me. But when we have guests, I will deconstruct my altar or move things temporarily to my room because I don't want little fingers messing with my shit.
00:03:11
Speaker
I think it's important to note, and it's on topic, obviously, but it's not necessarily to what you're saying.
The Flexibility of Altar Practices
00:03:19
Speaker
It's important to note that you don't have to have an altar to practice. If you don't have an altar, you shouldn't feel like
00:03:27
Speaker
Oh, now I have to do this other step. I personally, Sam and I were talking about this before we started. I don't actually have an altar. I don't work on an altar. I do most of what I do. I do in the kitchen. But I did learn through this process that people that do kitchen witchcraft will have altars in the kitchen, which I didn't even think of or know about. Or if you work with plants, which I do both kitchen and
00:03:55
Speaker
kind of green witchy stuff they'll put it out in their garden or like somewhere where they plant their plants they'll have an altar but it's not necessary to have one to be pagan or to be a witch like you don't have to go out and do these things but if you want to
00:04:12
Speaker
It's important to have the information. So, altars are used to perform spells or rituals on. They're a place to meditate or to pray, if that's your thing, a focal point for energy, a decorative display, a place of remembrance and worship. It helps you shift your mindset from the mundane to the magical.
00:04:31
Speaker
And you can have more than one altar too, if you practice eclectically, which is kind of what I was talking about. Like some people will have one in their kitchen for kitchen witchery, but then they'll turn around and put a second one out in their garden for, you know, working with their plants. And then they might have one, you know, in their bathroom or out of vanity to do like glamour magic or self-care or self-love stuff. So.
00:04:54
Speaker
You don't even have to have just one specific alter either. Yeah. I love this idea. And it's something that I want to practice and make happen in my own life. Unfortunately right now I just have the one. So I think in a great example of this is a YouTube channel that I have recommended so many times already. I should sponsor.
00:05:16
Speaker
She has so much amazing stuff on her channel and she is one of my favorite YouTubers and she lives in this house that is super old in Georgia with a lot of different like mantles and fireplaces and she has altars set up throughout her house on different mantles and I
00:05:35
Speaker
I'm obsessed with that idea. Yeah. And this can be even as simple as, you know, especially if you don't have a mantle, like I don't have any fireplaces or mantles in my house, but you know, you could create an entryway altar, which is something that I've been brainstorming the past few days and like,
00:05:53
Speaker
trying to come up with exactly what I want it to look like and feel like, but I love the idea of creating like an entryway altar with bells wind chimes for energy cleansing crystals incense plants.
Creative Altar Ideas and Inspiration
00:06:08
Speaker
Um, really anything that sets the energy intention for yourself or anyone that's entering into your space. Something along that line too. And it was just, I don't remember if it was something I read or something that I saw in one of the videos that I was watching, but.
00:06:24
Speaker
Um, someone said that if you practice like cottage witchcraft, which I, again, I don't know much about this one. They actually use their entire house as their altar. So like every room will be dedicated to a specific piece of their craft. And then they use that room for whatever it is. Like if this is my safe space, that's peaceful and quiet where I meditate, this is my meditation room. And then like every single room has its own like,
00:06:53
Speaker
use though, which I thought was really cool, but that is really cool. Maybe when my kids get older, I can do, I mean, I feel like at this point though, cause they know not to touch my altar downstairs that they would all have been my stuff. And they're a bit, I mean, they're like, they're seven and 11. So they're not like super young, but I feel like it would be better. Maybe if you
00:07:13
Speaker
didn't have children. Yeah, well, yeah. Yeah. Like your kids had like their own little altar that they had and they set up for themselves, which is also really amazing if you do that. Yeah. But I love that idea. Yeah. Well, and I think that
00:07:28
Speaker
I think it was a YouTube video I was watching and I'm pretty sure the girl that did it was she didn't have kids and she had like a single cat where I have like multiple cats that are all terrors in their own way. I feel like you would have to have like a very calm
00:07:46
Speaker
house to do that. It's important to understand that there's not a set of rules to follow or one single way to set up an altar. Of course, some practices will have guidelines, but your altar should be a space that fits your craft and a space that works for you. Setting up an altar should be fun and it should never bring any negative feelings. Be creative if you want to set up an altar and then watch your altar change as you change in your craft.
00:08:13
Speaker
There are also shrines. So a shrine is put up as an offering. This is seen a lot in ancestral magic and maybe a term that people are more familiar with is an affrenda. Could be saying that wrong from Coco. This doesn't even have to be something that is used during Samhain or Day of the Dead. It can be something used all year round or if you have a specific spot for an ancestral altar or if you have like multiple altars in your home.
00:08:41
Speaker
And then for deity practice, there are tons of deities in the pagan pantheon and to simplify it, you can pick a deity that is associated with a season along the wheel of the year and print out a picture of them, draw your own picture of them, or get a statue of that deity for your altar. So it doesn't have to be anything like super crazy where you have to have a deity altar set up for all the deities and the
00:09:07
Speaker
Pantheon, like whatever Pantheon you follow. Right, like whatever works for you.
Types and Uses of Altars
00:09:14
Speaker
And with that there's obviously more than one type of altar. Like we've already mentioned that there's Wiccan altars and those include like elements and ritual tools. You can have altars centered on deity worship and
00:09:29
Speaker
and work, or even just shrines, like we just talked about. Religious altars dedicated to your path, secular altars that literally have nothing to do with religion and just whatever you want them to be. There's ancestral altars, again, like Sam mentioned, these are dedicated to your ancestors, and those often include photos of those ancestors, or even like, maybe a trinket that, you know, if it's someone that you knew, like a great-grandmother or something, or a great-grandfather,
00:09:59
Speaker
that gave you something or wrote something to you, you can include those on that altar. Altars are culturally influenced and they vary widely from culture to culture. There's also just niche altars that are specific to your own craft. So like I was talking about kitchen, which is having altars in the kitchen since that's where they practice their craft. Cottage witches that use their entire house as an altar.
00:10:24
Speaker
green witches alters that are often in a space dedicated to their plants or spaces that they work with plants. When possible, they'll place an outdoor altar somewhere near their garden. Crystal witches
00:10:37
Speaker
could have alters that are just for their crystal collection, for crystals that they're currently working with at the moment, whether it's like in a spell or if they're just trying to like bring peace or protection, they can place those specific crystals on the altar. Self-care alters can be in a space where you practice your self-care.
00:10:57
Speaker
glamour magic or self-love and other self-care practices are done at this altar and they're often set up in front of a mirror. So it could be like a vanity, a dresser, your bathroom. Then you can have seasonal altars if you're working with the will of the year and you can change these out for each sabbat. Like everything that you're celebrating you can go outside and like
00:11:19
Speaker
at Christmas time if you have a pine tree like maybe add some pine to your altar in the spring when flowers are blooming maybe put a flower on your altar so again it's just it's personal to what you're working with and then portable altars are kept in like a small box or container so you could use like a photo box or even something as simple as if you had like
00:11:43
Speaker
a Ment 10 or an Altoid 10, you would just have to have really small items that go into those photo boxes. I felt like a photo box was a good example because like they do give you a little more space and then if you don't have the option to set up an altar, like a physical altar, you can also visualize it. It doesn't have to be something that's physical that you can see and touch and work with like before you do your spell work or if you're in a meditate
00:12:10
Speaker
You can just sit and visualize what your altar would look like to you and then go about your practice once you have that down. So some uses for altars. You can have an altar for pretty much anything. Like obviously we just gave you a bajillion different types of altars and what they're there for, like what they're used for. They're just designated space that you can create for your designated intention. And then you can have multiple, like we keep saying,
00:12:39
Speaker
that you designate two different things within your practice or different spaces within your home. You can use your alter space for manifesting, use it as a vision board and put items on it that fit your manifestations. And as those manifestations come into fruition, change them out, or as they progress, like add things to them so that you can see that you're working towards that manifestation. I actually saw a video on TikTok, I think yesterday,
00:13:06
Speaker
of someone, she did a money bowl, like a prosperity bowl on her altar. And she started off with a dollar bill. And every time she gets a bill that's bigger than what's in her bowl at the time, she swaps it out for the larger bowl, just to continue like seeing money coming to her, which I thought was kind of cool, like a cool visual way to just keep that mentality of money coming in.
00:13:35
Speaker
That's amazing. Yeah, I thought it was really cool. Normally, you know, you see people will put in like a dollar or some coins or whatever, but that's just, that's it. They never go any farther with it. But she literally every time she gets a bigger bill than what's in there, she'll swap it out. Your altar can be workable or it could be a decorative surface too. Like
00:13:55
Speaker
you don't have to make it so that it's like my altar has to be a certain space like a certain way so that I have room to work a spell or do something on it you can just like I have these pretty crystals and I have this candle that I like or I have a really cool end sense holder that I want to be on display and you can put those on there and have it be decorative too like
00:14:19
Speaker
it doesn't have to be something that you're like super worried about making sure that you have everything right for a spell on it.
Setting Up and Maintaining Your Altar
00:14:25
Speaker
Just make that space work for you so you can even use an ultra space say if you have like an kitchen altar or a hearth altar really any altar space you can even use it to dry your herbs like make that space useful for you. You can have an altar that you keep put away and you only bring it out when you're working with your craft
00:14:47
Speaker
we've actually kind of mentioned, you know, Sam said that she has an altar, but when she has friends come over that have children, she'll pack it away and put it, you know, put it away until they leave so that they don't have, like you don't have to worry about like their kids messing with it. So it doesn't have to be something that's out in the open, especially if you're like still in the broom closet or, you know, you just don't want to share that aspect.
00:15:12
Speaker
I know a lot of people that I came across in trying to research this talk about how they don't share their altar. They don't post pictures of it. They will talk about the altar, but they don't show it because it's very like private and personal. And then some people are like, I don't care. This is my altar. Look at it. It's really cool.
00:15:33
Speaker
And if you have an altar that you are using as a workable space, you're performing spells on, there's really not any hard or fast rules on how long your spell should remain on your altar. So, um, if you're working with like the moon cycles or whatever, it may make sense to keep a spell out for a specific time, like whether it correlate with the moon cycle or correlate with the specific goal that you have in mind. It really just depends on the spell and how you work.
00:16:03
Speaker
Um, but if like, for instance, you have a spell set out on your altar and you know that you're going to have like in my case, like friends with children coming over, I will know like, and just kind of plan ahead. Okay. If I'm going to construct this spell and I'm going to perform this spell, but I know this weekend I'm going to invite some friends over. I may not even put it on my designated altar space. I might move that somewhere in my bedroom where I know that nobody's going to go in.
00:16:33
Speaker
And it is safe from anybody messing with just, I mean, I know it goes a little bit further into like, that's like more talking about like spell work instead of just like your altar. But you know, I feel like that's something as a new, which no one really talks about. I feel like is how long once you're, once you have completed a spell and you've done a spell, how long do you keep that on your altar? What do you do next? Like, what is the next steps? What is this? What is that? No one really talks about that. And so I think it's important to kind of discuss it.
00:17:03
Speaker
I think not only that, but like, like you said at the beginning, no one really talks about altars in general. Like obviously it's going to be personal to you and your craft, but for somebody who's new that comes into the craft or, you know, they're new to paganism and all they know is that, well, everyone has an altar. So I guess I have to have an altar and it's like, well, not necessarily. You don't have to, you don't want to. And then they're like, well, now I kind of want to have an altar, but I have no clue where to start. And there's not a lot out there, like.
00:17:33
Speaker
As someone who doesn't have an altar, knowing that we were going to be doing this episode, I tried to do a lot of research for this topic and it was very hard. It was hard to find information that didn't conflict, you know, the last thing I watched or the last thing I read and it was very back and forth. So this could be a very confusing topic for someone coming into this.
00:17:55
Speaker
So let's talk about what goes on an altar. Many people will set up their altar either facing east where the sun rises or facing north. However, with that being said, that may not work for everyone. Currently, my altar is set up facing west because in my home
00:18:11
Speaker
There really isn't a place facing east that would work for my altar setup. And again, just like we've mentioned, time and again, do what works for you. And this is something that I did. I encountered it in a couple of videos and some people were like, you absolutely.
00:18:29
Speaker
have to have your altar either in the east or the north but then everyone literally everyone else is like just have this is my altar it's in a shoe box or this is my altar it's outside like it's so confusing for somebody that doesn't really know when you're trying to learn about it so this also needs to be prefaced with the fact that altar setup is subjective and it should be something that you are emotionally and spiritually bonded to
00:18:58
Speaker
It should make you feel good. It should make you feel powerful and calm and happy. Don't let others try to depict your craft. So just because some people say it needs to be on the east or the north, you don't have to do that. There's no one specific way to set up an altar unless you are
00:19:18
Speaker
on a certain path that depicts that or you know like wiccans have very specific things that go on an altar and you know very specific places on the altar that those things go but if that's not like what you're following
00:19:32
Speaker
do what feels right and what works for you. Basic alter suggestion is that it's obviously a space, it's tools and it's symbols. So whatever space is comfortable, whatever tools that you use, you might not work with tools. You might not have something to put in tools or maybe you have
00:19:52
Speaker
you know a candle and so you put like matches or it doesn't have to be like over complicated it can be something simple and then symbols some examples that I saw that were having like a pentacle or um runes or you could even use like a daily tarot pull and that's like your symbol for your altar. That's something that I use I will use like I have um a couple of different tarot decks and so like two that I will
00:20:19
Speaker
like practice and like work with just tarot. These are my tarot decks that when I'm doing a reading or something, I will use those. But outside of that, I have a tarot deck that is specifically for my altar. And so if I'm doing spell work or anything where I need a physical representation of whatever it is I'm working with, I will use tarot cards a lot as just a visual symbol of what I'm working with or what I'm wanting to manifest or whatever the case may be, I will use a tarot card for that.
00:20:50
Speaker
really with tarot, especially if you, I still feel like I'm pretty novice at tarot. Like I'm not that great, but if I don't know like which card I should use for this or what, I mean, each tarot deck should have a little, yeah, Bible thing in there. I call it a Bible. It's not really a Bible, but a little booklet that comes with your tarot deck that kind of explains what each card is and like what it means when you draw them and
00:21:16
Speaker
Yeah. Positioning means, et cetera. Or you just Google it too. Like, I mean, I know we talked about in our, I think it was the budget witchcraft episode where you can even print off tarot decks online. You can even like do that if you want to and just research the card that you're wanting to use as your symbol for your tarot or for your altar. And my chair is making a lot of noise. So I apologize.
Altar Tools and Symbolism
00:21:39
Speaker
But I thought about that when you were saying, I actually bought a book.
00:21:43
Speaker
to help me better understand it because I read through like the little tarot Bible that came with my tarot cards and I was still like, but what does this mean? So I bought the modern witchcraft book of tarot and it's a complete guide to help you like understand tarot. So it's like, it starts with the literal basics for like somebody that's brand new to just opening a tarot deck and some of the history of it, which really helped me. So interesting. Yeah. Yeah. But like it helped me to understand like,
00:22:13
Speaker
how Tarot got started and why it is used the way it is today. I am in no way, like I am below a novice, whatever, like whatever that is.
00:22:26
Speaker
I'm the court dresser of tarot, okay? I still have to look up literally everything if I pull a tarot card and I'm just like, I don't even know what this means. So if you don't understand it, you're not alone. We'll all learn it together. So also too, before you add items to your altar, you should know the meaning and the uses of the items.
00:22:51
Speaker
That you're placing on your altar and then keep your altar devoid of clutter like you don't want it to be super messy. You should we talked about in our cleansing charging and vanishing episode, you should cleanse your altar I think it was like once a month.
00:23:08
Speaker
Yes, like at a minimum once a month, you should take everything off of it, wipe it down, you know, get all the dust off the items that are on it, get rid of like anything old that you don't want on it anymore. So definitely go back and listen to that episode for that portion of it. But just make sure it's not like messy clutter, you want it to bring you calm. And if you're like me,
00:23:33
Speaker
clutter definitely stresses me out. And while the space is very personal to you, if you're using your altar as a workspace, it is a necessity to actually have a place to work.
00:23:44
Speaker
So a working altar shouldn't be a catch-all for everything. I have storage cubbies underneath my altar where I store additional supplies like candles, incense, books, crystals that I'm not using, spices, and things that I've collected to use during specific times of the year, like pine cones, seashells, rocks, really anything. So just make sure that if you, you know, there's nothing wrong with just having a decorative altar and putting all of your things on there and decorating it however you want.
00:24:14
Speaker
If you are having a working altar, make sure that you actually have a space to work. It's also recommended to have an altar cloth to cover that working surface of your altar. So while they can be decorative and they can be really pretty, they also protect your workspace and help to keep it clean, like from candle wax or incense mess. Or, you know, if you're using herbs in your spell word.
00:24:38
Speaker
I know even when I'm just cooking, I get herbs all over the place. Like when I'm sprinkling them in a pan, it'll be all over my stove. So having the altar cloth down is just kind of like, it helps catch all of that and keeps it from getting on your actual work surface. Yeah. And it doesn't have to be anything fancy. Like it can literally be something as simple as a piece of scrap fabric that you have there at your home.
00:25:01
Speaker
or that you buy at the store for super cheap. Like it doesn't have to be anything crazy. Maybe you have like an old dress that was like your favorite and you don't wear it anymore or it's like maybe ripped or something. You can cut that and use and repurpose. That is beautiful. I love that. Something else that you can store on your altars, your Book of Shadows, or just other books that you frequently use in your craft. Like Sam said, she has like a cubby underneath that she puts all of her books in. If you're working with candle magic,
00:25:29
Speaker
make sure you have at least one candle holder on your altar, but it's good to have more. And then you can even put like an incense holder on the altar or use your cauldron to burn like the loose incense in. I mean, you can even burn like what cone, cone incense or whatever works for you. We keep saying that. Yeah, whatever you use, you don't have to go out and buy like special things. Exactly. Whatever you have already, that is perfect.
00:25:57
Speaker
And to kind of hinge off the cauldron topic, like you, if you use this in spellwork as no, I use this in my spellwork and especially because I use a lot of candle and fire magic. So cauldrons are safe places to burn things that are in your spellwork. You don't have to make like soups or anything like that. Literally it can just be like.
00:26:20
Speaker
Okay. Like sometimes I'll put my candle holder inside my cauldron, put the candle in the candle holder inside my cauldron and then do like any of the spices and stuff around my candle. Um, I'll put the tarot card in there too. And I'm not having to eat my cauldrons. It's not like huge or anything, but it's big enough where it doesn't really burn the tarot card or anything.
00:26:42
Speaker
Um, but I love that because it's a safe space to like burn things, especially like bay leaves, because once you catch those bitches on fire, they go up in flames and just like, okay, let me just drop this in the culture real fast. Um, so cauldrons are amazing to use in spell work. If you don't have one, no worries. You don't need one. You can even just use a little pot if you want to, like anything crazy.
00:27:07
Speaker
Yeah. A Dutch oven, like a cast iron Dutch oven. Yeah. Or like we had mentioned in our previous episodes on budget, which tips you can even use like old, like cleaned out candle holders, like the bath and bodywork candle holders. They're already like heat, like they're already heat safe. So it's perfect. Um, really anything that you're drawn to and anything that you're interested in can be used on your altar.
Incorporating Personal Interests
00:27:35
Speaker
So you can use things found on nature walks, like sticks, rocks, and flowers. If you are a kitchen witch, you can use kitchen spoons. If you are really into the beach, you can use seashells. You can even use star sign symbols if you're into astrology and really any hobbies or interests. Of course, make sure that you're trying to incorporate those into your altar. Like for me, I really like to draw and paint
00:28:03
Speaker
And it's something that I feel like I'm pretty decent at. I don't know, but I will oftentimes like draw pictures and stuff or like draw pictures of like runes or different symbols or whatnot. And I've used those on my altar as well. Another thing to use on your altar, obviously, and to have just nearby to your altar are your cleansing tools. So whether this be like, if you're using smoke to cleanse incense, cedar, sage, or rosemary bundles would be great to use this.
00:28:33
Speaker
You can use bells for like sound cleansing. You can even just like clap or something if you don't have access to any of that. But having that is great to have with your altar. With that, you can also keep your divination tools on there. So like your, like we said, using, you know, your altar space for your tarot cards. Keep your pendulum on there if you have one, if you use a scrying mirror.
00:28:54
Speaker
These are all things that can be kept on or stored at your altar. And then, as we said before, using crystals. So keeping your crystals on your altar lets them absorb the energies around the altar and in your spellwork while also amplifying spells when they're used as correspondences. Information on crystals and their correspondences can be found online.
00:29:18
Speaker
Or you can pick up the crystal Bible and there's many different additions to this one, this is a great book and it has a lot of information about crystals and how to use them, so if you are interested in learning more about crystals.
00:29:30
Speaker
And using them in your work, I definitely recommend the crystal Bible because I can never remember what each crystal means, what their properties are, what their correspondences are having the crystal Bible on hand. It's just a really quick way to be like, okay, wait a second. I know I'm going to do this spell. I want to set these intentions. What crystals can I use to help me with these intentions and to help amplify that the crystal Bible is amazing for it.
00:29:58
Speaker
I need to buy that book because I have so many crystals that were like thrown in like a box of something that I ordered or whatever and I have no clue what they are. Like, you know, I know my basic crystals like my amethyst, my
00:30:12
Speaker
rose quartz, my citrine, tires, I like those things. But like, there are so many crystals that I have that I'm like, I have no clue what this crystal is. I tried using Google lens, and that was no help. So definitely going to be adding that book to my shelf because I don't know what half of my crystals are. Yeah, just sit there and look pretty.
00:30:34
Speaker
That book is amazing. I need to get it. If you do deity work, if deity work is part of your practice, then you might want to have a statue of your chosen deity or a little figurine of it that you put on your altar as well. You can even print pictures off the internet of the deity that you're learning to work with. Or if you're artistic, you can use your own drawings or what your interpretation is of that deity for your altar.
00:31:00
Speaker
So it doesn't have to be something like, like say, for instance, if you're wanting to work with Odin, like it doesn't have to be the traditional representation and completely perfect. How you visualize that God or goddess is fine. I wish I was artistic because mine would be stick figures. Hey, you know it works. True. Stick figure with an eye patch. Right. And a swoop bird.
00:31:29
Speaker
Perfect. I would know. I would appreciate it. Time to draw. Yeah. Yeah. All five seconds. It would probably take me a lot longer, even if it was. Let's take the year. Look.
00:31:43
Speaker
Some people just have that. I'm not that talented. If you have a Wiccan or any other earth-based altars, you would set them up in cardinal directions. So I found all of this information online. If it's wrong, I'm really sorry. I tried my best to research this, but it's really hard to find this information. So according to the internet,
00:32:06
Speaker
um you would have earth on the north side of your altar and for this some of the examples was that you could use a bowl of salt um you could use a plant a bone a rock that you found outdoors to represent earth and then you would put that item on the north side of your altar yeah and you can also even use like a pentagram whether it's something that you've bought at this door or something that you've drawn um or crystals those are great for earth sorry no you're good i was like
00:32:36
Speaker
And do I go? Yes, you do.
Unique Altar Items and Arrangements
00:32:41
Speaker
Air would be on the east side of your altar and for this you could use incense, a feather, a diffuser, or even wind chimes. I saw two different examples with wind chimes and one they hung it above their altar on the east side and the other one they just laid wind chimes on it so I guess it doesn't really matter
00:33:02
Speaker
how you do it. Wow. Yeah. I mean, wind chimes on the altar like that before. Yeah. Which is, I mean, but that works for them. So it's fine. She had the cutest little, it was like a tiny little wind chime set and it had feathers in it too. So it even had like the feather like aspect to it, which I thought was pretty cool. That is cute. You can also use, I didn't know about this because I've not used this before, usually with air.
00:33:27
Speaker
I will use incense on my altar to represent air, but you could use a magnifying lens, which I'm not sure why, but- I would feel like that would be like fire. Same. You could set fire on things. Yeah, but a magnifying lens, a pen, an athame, or like a knife or a sword can also be used in the air section.
00:33:52
Speaker
And then you would put those items to the east or on the east side of your altar. Then you would have fire and that would go on the south. And for this, you can use a candle, volcanic stones, or even spices like cinnamon or pepper that you place on the south side of your altar.
00:34:11
Speaker
Additionally, you can use orange flowers, red, orange, or yellow crystals, or even matches. Like if you don't have access to candles or you can't light candles in your home, but you have matches, there you go. Perfect representation. And this, I want to make sure that I'm understanding it right. Like the orange, the red, the yellow are because they're like the, like basically the color of fire.
00:34:34
Speaker
Yes. Okay. Again, I'm learning too. We're all learning together. Um, and then last you would have water on the west side of your altar. And for this, you could use a bowl or a chalice of water. I also read that it could just be like symbolic. So you don't even have to have the actual water in the chalice or the bowl, or if you don't have a chalice, you could probably just use a cup, a shot glass, whatever you have.
00:34:59
Speaker
I've literally used just a glass on my kitchen. Yeah, I feel like I don't have a chalice. That seems very fancy. I mean, I have a lot of cool stuff from when we lived in Germany, but none of my cups are chalices. I'm on the lookout for a chalice before I leave here. It's happening. A lot of people find them in Goodwill's and stuff or at yard sales. Yeah. It was something I think I mentioned that in our budget, which took episode.
00:35:27
Speaker
You could also use seashells or a jar of rain or moon water, and then you would put those items on the west side of your altar. And additionally to these, you can also incorporate a mirror, or if you have salt or river rocks that you've collected from a river, they can also be used to represent water. I never even thought of using salt for water, but obviously there's salt water.
00:35:55
Speaker
And then something that I saw for this too, like all of these items are really cool. And if you have them, use them obviously, but you can also just use four different candles in different colors that represent that element. Or if you don't have colored candles, you could also just use white candles in place of those and just put them on the four sides of your altar. Yeah. That's a really good tip because you know what? That's a really simple, easy thing. You can find tapered candles anywhere.
00:36:24
Speaker
Um, especially now that I've seen them at Target recently, like the last time I was just like, what? Even at the dollar store now, and they'll have different colored ones, like based on the season. So if you go now, because of like Eastern stuff, they're all like the pretty pastel, like inks and greens and yellows and stuff. Like at Christmas, they'll have like the reds and greens fall. They'll have all those like earthy tones, like oranges and yellows and.
00:36:52
Speaker
Oh, what an amazing time to be a witch. Man, I wish we were living in the States right now so I could stock up on all these candles. Yeah. Yeah. Well, you know, if you need it, you know, I can send it to you. Right. Yeah. Here's my list. I really need this, this, and this. Or even like Target, the dollar section of Target has had so many things that I'm like,
00:37:16
Speaker
These could be very witchy. Oh, man. Love it. I can't wait to visit the States. I can't wait for shopping. I can't wait. And as we've kind of mentioned some of these already, but in Wiccan practice, there is also the addition of ceremonial tools on the altars. And I know, Tiffany, you've mentioned this, like the ceremonial tools, they're related to the elements, they're placed in specific spots, like what you had just mentioned,
00:37:44
Speaker
And these ceremonial tools are the chalice, wand, athame, and pentacle. And while these are used specifically in Wiccan practice, they're not solely used by Wiccans. And you can use these in your practice if it's something you're drawn to. Don't feel like you have to go out and get a chalice, wand, athame, or a pentacle to have.
00:38:02
Speaker
They look really cool, but if you're not drawn to them, then don't have them. And if you feel like you are, like you want to have them and you're drawn to them, you can definitely make your own wand. You can make your own athama. You can draw your own, um, pentacle and you can use a cup for a chalice. It doesn't have to be anything crazy. And for the pentacle too, it doesn't have to be.
00:38:25
Speaker
Like if it is something that you purchase, it doesn't have to be something that's like super fancy or super expensive. I actually have a pentacle that was like thrown into a box of bath bombs that I got. It's plastic, but it's cute. It's pretty. And I even, again, watching these videos, trying to learn more about this topic.
00:38:45
Speaker
There was a woman and it's basically it's the same pentacle that I have. They have a little notch on them to put like on a cord or on a key chain or whatever. She took and clicked the little loop off of it and like kind of filed it down and sealed it.
00:39:02
Speaker
with, I forget what she sealed it with, something that seals plastic. But to keep it from cracking or peeling, because they're colored and she wasn't sure if it was painted or if it was actually that colored plastic. So she sealed it just to be safe. And she kept it, because they're tiny, she kept it in a super small little travel altar that she has. That's like an amendment 10. I love it. Yeah. Yeah. And she puts it inside this little dish that she was given to burn.
00:39:32
Speaker
instance cones in. So it's really cute. That is really cute. Doesn't have to be anything fancy. It doesn't have to be super expensive. Like use what's in your budget. And if you already have it, don't feel like you have to go out and buy something nicer.
00:39:46
Speaker
You can add any tool that you work with to your altar, or even your witchy books. We've said this several times in the episode already, but you know, just store them somewhere or put them on your altar if it's a book that you're working with for a certain spell. Really any sacred objects that hold meaning to you, you can replace anything with items from nature as well.
00:40:10
Speaker
or items that you already have. Again, you don't have to go out and spend extra money just to build an altar. If it's something that you already have, use it. If it's something that you found outside, put it up there. Nobody's going to come in and be like, that's not allowed.
00:40:26
Speaker
So it's personal to you, it's subjective. Keep it simple, keep it fun, and don't let it become negative. This is a space to also leave offerings on, a space for spells that you're working. You can put incense on it, really anything that's going to amplify your craft or things that you're also drawn to. Alters are highly personal, and the aesthetic can be very basic to however fancy you want to make them be.
00:40:56
Speaker
You can include art letters, you can put your favorite mug on your altar. Maybe every morning you go to your altar, you get your mug, you make a cup of tea or a cup of coffee, and then you set out your altar and meditate with that favorite mug. And then when you're done, you rinse it out and put it back on your altar.
00:41:13
Speaker
it could literally be anything goes on that altar. And then, um, I came across this video on YouTube. This woman was showing how she does her personal travel altar because she was hoping to help people that just really are new to it. And she has a job that like kept her on the road all the time. So she, like, she wanted to help people who were constantly traveling, who also like to keep an altar as part of their path. So she,
00:41:41
Speaker
went out on eBay and she purchased an old jewelry box for like, I think she said for two pounds. She was in the UK.
00:41:50
Speaker
probably be like, what, $4? Probably. Nothing, nothing too expensive. She literally was like, what is the cheapest thing I can find? Because I don't want to put a bunch of money into the carrying case for it, when I would rather spend my money on these things that are going to go inside of it. So she found this cute little jewelry box. And it didn't even have the key kind of thing. So she didn't have a way to like lock it. And she wasn't really worried about that. But
00:42:17
Speaker
Basically, she went and found tiny little vials or jars to store her herbs in that she wanted to have in her travel altar to store candle anointing oil in, to store salt in, and to store other eggshells and other correspondences.
00:42:36
Speaker
And then she said that she adds varying colored birthday candles for candle magic because they're some of the smaller candles that you can get and you can get them an array of colors. So she puts those in there. She adds chalk. I don't know what, she didn't say like what specifically she used the chalk for, maybe like drawing symbols or something, but
00:42:58
Speaker
Yeah. I wasn't sure. Cause you can draw sigils and stuff with them. So I'd imagine. Yeah. She was just like chalk and then moved on and I was like, okay. And then she also adds a couple of tea light candles and she'll use those ones too. She'll carve sigils into them with toothpicks. She keeps toothpicks in there to do that and then anoint them with oil and put herbs on them for her candle magic.
00:43:26
Speaker
And then she puts coins in there that she uses as offerings and I, again, this is not something I really know a lot about, but she with the coins on one side of them she draws.
00:43:40
Speaker
the five-pointed star before she uses them as an offering. And I didn't know like the reason behind it, or if you would know, but I am not sure, because I've not used money before as an offer. Yeah, I don't think I had ever heard of that until like this, like I know obviously we talk about like prosperity and money bowls and stuff, but I had never seen the coins used for that kind of thing, so I wasn't sure. She also keeps a D20,
00:44:09
Speaker
in hers that she uses as a spirit dice. If you don't know what a d20 is, it's a 20-sided dice. I always forget that not everybody's a D&D nerd. It'll be like a d20 and they're like all it. Yeah, I had no clue what that was. Yeah, I kind of saw it on your face and I was like, let me say that really quick. Yeah, so it's a dice that has 20 sides.
00:44:34
Speaker
Um, and she said she uses it as a spirit dice, but she'll also use it. Like if she's trying to make a decision on something, she'll list out like 20 different like outcomes and then roll the dice. To me, that's a lot of outcomes. I would do probably like a six-sided dice or, you know, they literally have dice from like three sides all the way up to a hundred. So you could, you could pick whatever
Portable Altars for Travel
00:44:59
Speaker
you want. So.
00:45:00
Speaker
She uses a D20 and she uses it for those things. She has small symbols that correspond to her magic in there. So this was where I was talking about the little plastic pentagram or pentagol that she keeps in there. It's like super tiny. So it's like perfect for a tiny little altar like this. She gives a small pocket knife to draw sigils in her candles or to cut her herbs. She uses it as a working knife.
00:45:27
Speaker
but she did say like you could have it symbolize an Athame as well, even though like, I don't know, I found conflicting information on that one too, like that you shouldn't use a pocket knife.
00:45:40
Speaker
I mean, I guess because like maybe it is just because it's a ceremonial tool or something. And I don't have one because I'm not Wiccan and I'm drawn to that. But from what I understand, they, I believe they use it to like in casting a circle. And I can't remember what else I use it to. I know they use it to cast a circle. I don't know. I think maybe because of it, it's ceremonial use that maybe. Yeah.
00:46:03
Speaker
I don't know. She said that she uses hearts for that or as a working knife because it's a small space and she doesn't have space for both. So again, like obviously there's reasons why, but if this is what works for you, make it work for you. Don't let people tell you you can't do things. Um, she keeps a lighter, uh, oils like anointing oil for your candles.
00:46:25
Speaker
cone or she has many ensign sticks, which I didn't know existed. They're like little birthday candle size ensign sticks. She keeps a feather. There's a mirror built into it and she covers her mirrors with lace or like crocheted fabric. She doesn't like direct
00:46:46
Speaker
Like I forget the exact term she used, but basically like she uses her mirror for scrying, but she doesn't like it to be just open. Like she likes it to have covering for some reason. I'm not a hundred percent sure on that one. And then smaller crystals or crystals that cover multiple areas. So she gave examples like black tourmaline, amethyst, citrine, or clear quartz.
00:47:13
Speaker
would be like good staple crystals to have in a smaller like travel altar.
00:47:18
Speaker
And then keeping sage or other cleansing herbs and your pendulum in there. I love that. Also real quick too, I just wanted to mention a couple of things that I feel like, yes, you know, we've talked a lot about what you can have on an altar, which you should have on an altar if you want to have one. But I think really quickly I wanted to just talk about what you should never have on an altar. Um, you know, obviously it's very personal to everybody.
00:47:43
Speaker
As we, as we've discussed, like this is a sacred space for you. This is it, whether it be a decorative space, whether it be a working space, I do not put my cell phone on my altar. I don't put my altar like nothing that is going to change the energy of my altar. I don't put anything on there. And so like, this is important to, I think if you have like an entryway altar or.
00:48:08
Speaker
Um, even a kitchen altar, especially if you're living with other people, just making sure that they understand that nothing else goes in that altar. Like, even whenever I had like my altar in my bedroom, I, you know, my husband, like he would come in and like sometimes because where I would had, where I had my altar at in my bedroom was where I had my vanity before. And so like, he was just used to like, if he was coming in and he was taking off like his watch or his wedding ring or
00:48:34
Speaker
laying down a cell phone to go to the bathroom or something, he would put those on my vanity, which I didn't have with that. But then sometimes he would forget that my altar was there and I'm like, no, no, no, don't touch it. So just like anything that because this is a sacred space, anything that falls outside of that sacred space does not belong on your altar. It shouldn't be a catchall. It shouldn't be a place where, you know, if
00:49:00
Speaker
You like, for instance, since mine is at the top of my stairs, like if it's something, if I know that I have a bunch of stuff that I'm trying to take downstairs, I would never set that on my altar as like a place to set it before going downstairs. Yeah. Make sure that like your altar space is sacred. Keep it sacred. And you know, I don't put any drinking glasses on there like that. I'm drinking from, like if it's a glass and I'm putting on there to represent water or as an offering or something, that's one thing.
00:49:28
Speaker
but the glass that I'm drinking out of, I don't put that on there. Like I said, I don't put keys, cell phone, my laptop, anything that isn't magical that I'm not using in that space does not go on my altar.
00:49:41
Speaker
that's like a point and it goes back to like making sure that you keep your altar also like clutter free you don't want a bunch of shit that doesn't belong there or that's not like amplifying what you're doing on there because again you don't want to uh like change that energy disrupt the energy of what you've built by creating your altar and working on it
00:50:04
Speaker
me in like keeping it a sacred space. So some while researching this, I found some kind of interesting things that I had never heard of
Activating and Maintaining Altar Energy
00:50:14
Speaker
before. And I thought they would be kind of cool to mention here. But someone said that you have to activate and deactivate your altar. And I never heard that before. So some people apparently will cover their altar when they're not using it, like with a decorative towel or like a lace covering.
00:50:34
Speaker
And then others will use candles as a way to activate and deactivate. So when they are using their altar, they'll light a candle. And then when it's like, either they'll let that go all day and before they go to bed, they'll stuff the candle or like just while they're working a spell, they'll activate it by lighting the candle. They'll work their spell or do a meditation or whatever it is they're doing at their altar. And then they'll snuff the candle to kind of like close out that session.
00:51:06
Speaker
Um, with the cloth, he would put the cloth over when he wasn't working on it. But yeah, I just, mine just out. I like the idea of putting a cloth over it. And I just haven't done it because I'm not even looked for a cloth that I wouldn't want to put over it. But because like, I mean, especially where we live, we live on a military installation. We always have like maintenance in and out of our homes. And then like, it would just be nice not to have to like, just put the cloth over it.
00:51:27
Speaker
My dad used to do that.
00:51:34
Speaker
not have to worry about it. And then another thing that I found was that when you're building an altar, spring is considered to be the best time of the year to actually start a home altar since this is like a time of renewal. So there's renewal in the air and it's the beginning of the life cycle as flowers and trees start to bloom. And it's the time of like cleansing and decluttering your house that this is like the perfect time to
00:52:00
Speaker
start an altar with the appropriate energy, like going into it. So if you're listening to this and you don't have an altar, but you're wanting to set up an altar, this is a perfect time to do it. And I know I kind of mentioned this earlier when I was talking about if you do have an altar that is a workable space and you're performing spellwork on it, along with the same line of activating and deactivating your altar,
00:52:24
Speaker
Something that you should be thinking about is if you are using your workspace for spells, when you finish with a spell and you're wanting to release a spell back to the earth, what should you do with it? Really releasing a spell or ending a spell.
00:52:39
Speaker
It's a very personal thing. And depending on the spell that you've worked, there's really no cut and dry rule for how long you should keep a spell up. And so if say like your intuition could be telling you that it's time to redo the spell, or you could just, you know that like, I did this for this moon cycle and it's the next month. Maybe I should dismantle this spell, whatever the situation is.
00:53:05
Speaker
Um, whenever it's time to take down that spell and release it back to the earth, just make sure that you're dismantling your spell and your altar correctly. So if you use crystals in your spell, cleanse them and you can bury their remnants of the spell, like whatever the ingredients are in your backyard, as long as they don't contain salt or anything that would harm the earth. Or you can put it in like your compost pen.
00:53:31
Speaker
Sometimes the remnants of your spell can be disposed and running water or flushing down the toilet. But again, just make sure that whatever you're putting in running water, even if it's just flushing it down the toilet is safe because that water eventually goes out to like streams and rivers and whatnot. And so just make sure that it's safe for wildlife and the earth in general. And then if you use candles or just like the incense,
00:53:57
Speaker
ashes and whatnot, those odd bits of like candle stubs and incense ashes, and what all can't be disposed of back to the earth can be thrown out. So just an FYI, if you are dismantling your spell, just make sure you do it correctly and make sure that you are doing it respectfully. Because I mean, especially considering
00:54:24
Speaker
whenever we do spells, if you have a working altar and you're using that to create spells, once you have received what you've asked for, whatever that intention you put out for, you put out in the universe and you've received it, you want to make sure that you're giving back respectfully. Hopefully you all have learned something from
Community Engagement and Conclusion
00:54:46
Speaker
this episode. I know I have as someone who doesn't have an altar and who's never
00:54:51
Speaker
built an altar. This was kind of eye opening for me. And again, it was really hard to find the information. So hopefully this helps at the very least give you like basics on how to start one if you're wanting to start an altar 1000%. And then if you have questions, we're here. I mean,
00:55:10
Speaker
Obviously I know like Tiffany did a ton of research on this, but you know a lot about alters now. And then for myself, like I have a working alter and I mean, I just have the one, I don't have like many throughout my home, but, um, if anyone has any questions about alters, definitely reach out to me, I can help you. Um, and yeah, just know, no question is a stupid question and we're all here to go through this process together.
00:55:36
Speaker
If you feel like your question is dumb, I can guarantee I probably had one that was dumber.
00:55:45
Speaker
And then if you want to share your altar set up with us, feel free. Like tag us in a post on Instagram or share it to our Facebook. You could send it to us if you want us to share it on our socials. We are here for all of that too. We like to see what you guys all are doing and how everybody has a different
00:56:08
Speaker
set up and a different interpretation and everybody works differently. So it is cool to see everyone's set up or like what they're doing at the time. We would love to see any of that.
00:56:27
Speaker
That's it for this episode of Get In Loser Where You're Doing Witchcraft. You can find our source material for this episode linked in the show notes. If you love this episode, we would be forever thankful if you leave us a five-star review on wherever you listen to your podcasts. If you really love this show and want more Get In Loser content, check out our Supercast link provided in the show notes or search the Supercast website for Get In Loser Where You're Doing Witchcraft. There you can purchase a membership to our podcasts and obtain exclusives like Getting Episodes Early, Shadows on the Show,
00:56:57
Speaker
access to our Ask Me Anything forum, our monthly newsletter, a promo code for merchandise, and more. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at Get In Witches, or email us at weirdoingwitchcraft at gmail.com. Check us out next week, where we will have our first deity episode all about the god and goddess. Until then, blessed be, witches!