“A” Pagan Blog Project

Over on One Witch’s Way, Rowan has started up the Pagan Blog Project where bloggers are prompted to post on a topic every Friday. The topics are defined by the letters of the alphabet, so this week we start with “A”.

I’d like to start of the year with a post on Altars.  I’ve already talked about setting up your own Sacred Space, so I’d like to share some of the altars that I’ve created over the last few years. Altars are very personal things and each altar will be different .. even when it’s the same person making the altar!

In each case I have collected items that are of importance to me at the time that I built the altar.  Candles tend to appear on all my altars, as does a number of crystals and some celebration of greenery.

Don’t be afraid to use items for a different purpose than they were created.  On the Druidic altar (above left) I use an oil diffuser as a bowl to hold water for my rites.  The little bowl sits on a box with celtic knotwork in it and it works for me 🙂  I also have a little silk and plastic tree to celebrate the World Tree, and a candle from the Sacred Mists Shoppe represents Fire.  The other items on the altar are a rock crystal candle holder to help set the mood, a bit of amber for Freya, and a beautiful piece of quarts for scrying.

The Wiccan altar (above right) has a few similar items .. a candle from Sacred Mists, the same oil-difuser-turned-bowl, silk flowers and leaves, a Sacred Mists Sigil and a backdrop of a green man face that I created and decorated with feathers.

Both altars were created by me in the last couple years, but they each have a different focus.

You can also make altars for specific purposes.  Above is my Wiccan Yule Altar and my little office altar.

The Wiccan Yule altar (above left) has an incense burner for air, a pentagram and my green man for earth, candles for fire, and a bowl for water.  The bowl didn’t make it into the picture.  I’ve also added poinsettia that I associate with this season, and my Holly King tree topper that I was thrilled to find one year.

The office altar has a collection of items that represent the different elements that I can safely have in my office without breaking any rules or attracting un-due notice.  The blue thing on top is a little flute, the ruby is for fire, the adventurine ball is for Earth and the bowl is for water.  There is also a copper pendulum in there for spirit.