Brigid Amor
One of the most wonderful things about paganism is that worship can be conducted within the home and can be infinitely personalized. Usually, in the pagan home, the altar is therefore the center of worship. The altar is typically a sacred space for you to meditate, pray and perform rituals and spells. It is to be respected by both yourself and others and can be as elaborate or simple as you so choose. Some choose to have their altar as a small area on their dresser while others use a whole room for their worship. It’s your altar so make it as personal and meaningful as possible as it as an expression of yourself and your relationship with the divine.
To begin with, choose a quiet place where your altar can remain and you can work free from distractions. Usually an altar would face north as is traditional but please feel free to use your intuition and discretion as to where your altar should face. Once your space is chosen, purify it with your besom or by sprinkling salt water, burning sage, or ringing a clear bell in order to break up the former energy of the space and repurpose it. Cast a circle, ask the spirits of the elements and directions, as well as the God and Goddess to bless your altar space, then open the circle and place a low table or box (kneeling height) in your sacred space.
Once the space is sanctified and the table placed, you may begin to decorate your altar. Most individuals prefer to first lay the table with an altar cloth, be it a simple table cloth or something more elaborate. Next, place your tools in their quarters and in an accessable fashion.
To the North: Place your pentacle, a stone, or a bowl of salt to represent earth energy.
To the South: Place a candle or your athame to represent the energy of fire.
To the East: Place an incense burner, a feather, or your wand to represent air.
To the West: Place your chalice, a seashell, or a bowl of water to symbolize water.
If you have statues of the God and Goddess, feel free to place them on your altar as well as any candles, stones, divination tools and your book of shadows. Depending on the season, you may also wish to place symbols of the upcoming holiday or season and flowers or greens.
Whatever you choose to make your altar out of and however you choose to make it look, please remember two things: your altar is sacred and your altar is yours. The sky is the limit.
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