How do you create an altar that doesn’t look like an altar?

People who ask this question have concerns ranging from the fact that they live with non-Pagans to not
wanting to upset visitors to their homes to just wanting something to honor their gods without making their house look like an old-timey witch’s hut. So, how do you do this? With an empty shelf, a table of
correspondences and a little creativity, you can create an altar that no one could object to!

I mention an empty shelf, because this is the easiest way. Of course, you could always use a mantle, or an occasional table for the setting of your altar, but since you probably don’t want your altar messed with, you might want it in a place that isn’t easily accessible to the casual visitor to your home. (One couple that I knew had a bookshelf with a built in cabinet. They decorated the inside of the cabinet and set up a full, traditional altar- complete with all their tools, and when company came, they simply closed the cabinet doors.) The important thing is that you want your altar where you can see it. The purpose of such an altar is to remind you of your own spirituality and to connect you to your gods.

The second thing you need is a table of correspondences. There are literally hundreds of tables available on the world wide web, and books galore on the subject. (Most beginning Wicca books will have a table of correspondences someplace in that book.) The easiest objects to “disguise�?are natural objects- like a stone, feathers, shells, etc., but there are many more objects that you can use to represent the elements and your gods. For instance, the element of Air is associated with communication. What about using an old dictionary, or a favorite book for that element? Fire can be a difficult element to represent, but nearly anything a red color, or that indicates movement can represent
Fire. The important thing is to keep in mind as you look through these correspondences that you want to find objects that you associate with each element and your gods.

Finding correspondences for your gods can be just as easy. If you simply want to add masculine and feminine symbols, that can easily be done. A flower (for the female), and an acorn or other phallic symbol can be added to your altar. One idea that I have overlooked for a long time is a lamp as representing the Sun! You can also find symbols relating to your specific deities as well. Reading about your specific deities can reveal all sorts of symbols that can “hide�?in plain sight!

Most of all, when you are creating your altar, you need to use your creative muscles. Gather up what you have decided to use as your correspondences, and arrange them in a manner that is meaningful to you, and pleasing to the eye. If you want to keep everything in it’s proper quarter on your altar, and you don’t have the room, or it’s otherwise impossible to place your objects in that way, consider making left
“West�?and “North�?and right, “East�?and “South.�?And then look over your arrangement with a critical eye to see if someone might guess the purpose of your arrangement. Chances are, they won’t.

With a little bit of creativity, an empty space filled with objects that correspond to the elements and your gods can become an altar that won’t upset the neighbors, is pleasing to your eye, and more importantly, is pleasing to your gods.