Altar Design & Setup

Creating and maintaining an altar can be a very rewarding task. A personal altar or shrine can provide a safe place to meditate, can be a workspace or ritual area, and more. When you create a personal altar, you are truly creating what is literally your sacred space. It can be your place to welcome the sun or meet with the gods. Here are some things you might want to think about as you design and create your personal altar.

 

1. Preparation & Finding the Right Place

Before you begin to plan your altar and space take a minute to think about why you are creating it. What is your purpose, why are you deciding to build this now? What kind of things will you be doing with/at/near/on it? Will it be used for ritual work? Perhaps you plan to meditate or perform ritual at it. Maybe you will use it to write on when doing your magickal journal. Do you have ritual tools and will they sit on it? Why? Will you dedicate it to any particular Deities/Elements? You can have more than one altar if you wish, or one with many purposes.

When you have completely thought out the whys and whats of your altar, then begin to plan it. First, decide where you want to place your altar. Do you want it indoors or out. If indoors, what room will you be most comfortable in? Will the altar stay in that place or will you be moving it for rituals, etc? Which direction will your altar face? This can be an important choice. Many people like to face their altar East because that is where the sun rises. Mine faces North as I am comfortable in this ‘home' element. If you need a certain energy in your life, you may want to face your altar in that direction . Research and meditate on your element of choice before you begin because that choice will affect how you feel and what you do there.

 

2. Construction

Now that you know what you will be using the altar for and where you will put it, you can decide what to make it out of. You may decide to build a table from scratch or to buy one specifically for your altar. But don't think that you absolutely must do either of these. You may have an old endtable or cabinet lying around that can do perfectly well. A box or even the seat of a chair can suffice if need be. Mine is a cardboard box with a noteboard on top covered with a cloth. Keep in mind that the tools of the Craft are practical tools; household items are just fine. Any flat surface will do really, as long as you don't mind getting wax on it.

For a permanent altar, you'll have to take into consideration your preferred position for using it. Will you be standing, sitting, kneeling, using a chair? You'll need the altar to be at a comfortable height. And don't neglect safety, either. Ritual has a way of being interrupted when the curtains hanging above the candles catch fire. Make sure the surface is secure and safe before using it.

You'll also need a place to keep things handy; books, candles, incense, etc. You may decide to keep everything handy by having shelves or drawers on your altar. Or you may prefer keeping a cabinet or bookcase nearby. Think about this when designing your altar and space.

 

3. Cleansing & Dedication.

Before setting up your altar, you should cleanse it in the ordinary way with dustbuster in hand. It's important to get rid of all the physical dirt before anything else because no matter how many candles you burn it still isn't "clean" if it's covered in dirt. When you are finished that, it's a good idea to purify the space. It's up to you how you want to do this. You can set up your altar now or after you do this. You can sprinkle with salt, invoke the elements, or mentally clear out all the "ickies" from the space. However you choose to do this, the point is to get rid of any unwanted energies from the space to create a clean working environment.

It's up to you whether or not you want to bless your altar. By ‘bless' I mean to make it sacred, to make it a fitting place for the gods to visit. You can do this by consecrating the space with the elements, by doing a dedication or consecration ritual, meditating on the space, or creating sacred space in another way that is meaningful for you. What's important is that this is Sacred Space; a place you can come to when you want to express your spirituality. This is a safe place; a peaceful place. Treat it with respect and it will always be there for you.

 

4. Setup

In writing this article, I am assuming that you are an Eclectic/Solitary Wiccan/Pagan of some sort. As such, your altar setup is largely up to you. Do you want God & Goddess candles? Element symbols, an incense holder, tools? Or perhaps you prefer to simply keep personal objects on it. Where will everything be placed? Think about the directions and their meanings. Decide what things will make your altar space most meaningful for you. Don't just read someone's altar setup and use it without considering why you're using it. This is your spirituality; not theirs.

You may decide to keep representatives of the elements in each of the directions. Maybe statuettes of the Goddess & God might be nice. Do you use gemstones? How about placing them on your altar. You may keep divination tools on your altar, or maybe magickal herbs enhance your space.

Don't feel too limited by what is "supposed" to be on an altar. Whatever is meaningful for you can be there. That being said, however, be careful to think things out before scattering objects across your sacred space. Think about why you are placing this on the left side; this on the right. Why is that object in the South and why is this one in the center. Why is that object far from you and why is this one near? Consider these questions when setting up your altar, and experiment with it.

That all being said, here is an altar setup based on a popular solitary method. This is a only a guide for you who have no idea where to begin. Your idea of what should be where may differ wildly. But again, please don't just copy this wholesale and use this as your setup. Only include those objects which have meaning for you, and place them where you feel is right.

 

5. Maintenance

Yes, it's true; you have to maintain your altar after you create it. Keep in mind that your altar is your sacred space, and as it gets dusty and the water bowl dries up and the flowers slowly die so too is your sacred space affected. It's like inviting a guest to dinner in a room piled with leftovers and dirty dishes. Not quite the impression you want to make.

If you keep a water bowl make sure to keep it topped up. If you have flowers or plants on your altar make sure they aren't dead. Dried, sure. But dead, rotting flowers on an altar isn't exactly a shining example of your personal sacred space.

And of course you can change things to match the time of year. Think about the seasons and the upcoming Sabbat. Do you want your space to reflect this time? Perhaps an egg at Ostara or a carved turnip at Samhain might help you find that seasonal mood. Fresh flowers in spring, a green plant in summer, or dried herbs in winter might be nice. Just remember that if you have a plant on your altar that it is important to take care of it.

Hopefully you found something interesting or useful in this article. Having a personal altar can be a wonderful expression of your Craft. It can provide you with that personal "safe" space you can go to whenever you are in need of a little bit of peace.