I have been deep diving sacred space lately and altars are amazing! They are unique to each person, much like our own flavors added to our practice of witchcraft. The truth is, even before I claimed the title “Witch” I have had many altars without knowing it was an ‘altar’, but they all had a specific purpose and I counted it sacred.
The possibilities are endless…
Everyday Altars
The Kitchen
As an adult, I have always lived in a home with an island in the kitchen as a requirement to me even moving in. I never understood why until I had to explain its importance to my husband a few years ago: that is where my seasonal set up goes, to bring in the energy of the season into our home. He did not understand why I needed a wreath with specific items on it, specific candles, pretty rocks, and certain “plant baby droppings” as he so eloquently puts it.
It brings in the abundance of a season to my family, in the place where we all join together, creating the space of love, trust, and wholeness in the home…
Windowsills
Hello mini-altars! From charging stones to one in the kitchen with bay leaves in a small salt dish for charging my rings, window sills are magic! I have a friend who has specific windows with little amulets to honor the directions and the elements.
Super simple and super powerful!
Working Altars
Working altars are altars I am actively engaged with. From the crystal grid on my bedside table arranged as a part of my nightly ritual to the ones I use for specific workings. For me, working altars are altars that I touch daily or I am building a certain energy on.
Most of the time I have a traveling altar. I use a picture frame that has been cleansed for each working with removable inserts allow me to create the sigil or the energy for the working that is placed inside the picture frame. I have the freedom to take it perfectly prepared and attuned to the magic I will be working to any place: outside, a different room, or (as has happened before) the trunk of my car. I even have a whirring wheel for my traveling altar.
I have used a make-shift altar, placing a black pillowcase over a piece of wood that I sat across a small nightstand that worked beautifully. I have used side tables. I have used my glass-top stove as an altar for a working too. The most important part of any altar is me, my intention, the allies and creations I place upon it, and how I connect to them all.
There is no one right way to have an altar in the same way that there is no one right way to ‘witch’…
Altars are a key. They allow us the connection to our allies, our ancestors, and Hekate (or the Universe, however one might experience the divine). They are our beautiful signature to the Universe and reflections of our intention!
A candle and a key,
Stormie
Feature Image Credit: Jen Theodore via Unsplash