The Wiccan Altar Workshop

This talk takes a look at Wiccan altars—the basics and how to customize your own to fit your spiritual practice. While this workshop is geared towards newcomers to the Craft, the information can benefit all experience levels. I will also share the rite I wrote and use for cleaning and rededicating mine for each Sabbath.

Transcript

I receive a lot of questions about something that very few people other than me actually see,

My altar.

So whether you're new to the craft,

An experienced practitioner,

Or not Wiccan or Pagan at all,

Welcome!

I'm going to gear this workshop more towards those who are new or fairly new to Wicca,

Recognizing that we're all continually learning and growing,

Regardless of how long we've been practicing.

So I'll start with how the altar in Wicca tends to differ from those in other spiritualities.

First of all,

There isn't a separation between the altar and the home,

As is common in mainstream religions.

We don't necessarily gather in a particular building that's dedicated just to ritual.

Frankly,

There are some of us who are solitary practitioners and don't gather at all.

Altars are typically in the home,

But they can be anywhere.

They can be fixed or temporary.

An altar can be set up on a picnic table in a park or in a garage.

One altar isn't more valid than another.

There are no rules.

For purposes of this talk,

I'm going to be focusing mainly on home altars that are at least semi-permanent,

But what I have to share can be applied to any altar.

Secondly,

The Wiccan altar isn't a place for atonement,

Which is another key difference.

The Wiccan altar is a dedicated place for connecting with the divine and holding rituals.

Dedicated place is the operative phrase.

We can connect with the divine anywhere and at any time,

But having a place reserved just for that is a way of grounding ourselves and fully engaging our senses.

It's quite similar to a yoga studio.

Yes,

You can practice yoga almost anywhere,

But when you walk into a studio,

Your mind is triggered to recognize that you are in a special place for a specific purpose.

An altar can be any shape or size.

Mine is on a bookshelf,

And I'm quite happy with it.

There are no standards.

The most important takeaways I want you to leave with are,

One,

Your altar should be fashioned in a way that works for you and makes you comfortable,

And two,

It should be a place where you are able to check out from the ordinary or secular.

I'd now like to cover what a typical altar setup is.

If you don't have all of these things,

Or if you don't want to have any of these things,

That is perfectly fine.

Again,

As with anything in magic,

Your intention is the key ingredient.

Everything else is an external of that.

Typically speaking,

A Wiccan altar will have a candle for both the god and goddess,

As well as some type of representation of each.

There is usually a cup or goblet,

An incense burner,

An athame,

A wand,

A bell,

A libation bowl,

And a pentacle.

Most altars will also be draped with a cloth.

Again,

It's up to your preference,

And whatever you wish to have in your sacred space can be customized any way you prefer.

For example,

On my altar,

I have a round orange crystal to represent the sun or the god,

And a round quartz crystal to represent the moon or the goddess.

In my practice,

I also have representations of my spirit animal,

A cauldron,

A stang or a staff,

And a besom beside my altar.

So with this very basic setup,

We can see representations of both the masculine and feminine aspects of the divine,

As well as the elements,

The cup for water,

The wand for air,

The candles and athame for fire,

And the pentacle for earth.

For the sake of time,

I won't go into how each of these are used individually,

But this is a very typical setup.

It can be as individual as you'd like it to be.

The altar is your sacred space.

The altar serves as a place for conducting rituals and observances,

But it can also be used for meditation,

Reading,

Or chanting.

I spend time before mine every night.

Sometimes I will speak to the deities and spirits I associate with,

But more often than not I stand there in complete silence to decompress.

Some practitioners make slight modifications to their altar to reflect the current Sabbath.

When I first started out,

Mine had the same cloth on it all year long,

And I didn't do any sort of seasonal decorating,

But the longer I've been Wiccan,

The more it speaks to me to have a cloth that's the color of the Sabbath and some kind of seasonal decor.

For example,

With Mabon approaching right now,

Mine currently has a red cloth and is decorated with wooden apples and acorns.

Whether you keep the same altar setup year-round or change it to fit each season,

I do recommend cleaning it and cleansing it energetically on a regular basis.

The reason for this is twofold.

You are showing respect for the divine,

And you are showing respect for yourself.

So what I'd like to share now is the rite I wrote and perform eight times a year when I do a bit of seasonal change-out.

Everything including the cloth comes off the altar and is replaced once I have cleaned and rededicated everything.

What I'm about to share with you isn't written in stone.

It's at best barely a suggestion.

I encourage you to modify this rite and make it your own.

A white candle is lit.

By the light in which cuts through darkness.

By the fire in which burns within.

By my will which stirs the elements.

Let nothing that is harmful in.

The altar is washed with moon water and dressed with frankincense and other seasonal oils.

As I'm washing my altar,

I will say,

Spirit before me,

Spirit behind me,

Spirit to the right of me,

Spirit to the left of me,

Spirit above me,

And Spirit below me,

Bless my intentions and keep me safe.

So mote it be.

The besom is swept counterclockwise.

As I'm sweeping with my besom,

I will say,

Round,

Round,

Round about.

I sweep the old and useless out.

Smoke of air and fire of earth,

Hallow now this home and hearth.

Drive away all bane and fear.

Only good may enter here.

As above,

So below.

So mote it be.

The incense is lit.

As I sense above and around my altar,

I will say,

I call upon the power of these herbs to act as a barrier of protection for me and for my home.

Energies of protection I here combine.

I hallow these blessings of the divine.

Here do I bring prosperity,

Abundance,

And protection to this home and all who dwell within.

Grant health to body,

Mind,

And spirit.

Strengthen our foundation as well as this home's.

In the names of the elements and of the Lord and Lady,

I consecrate and form this protective boundary within and around this altar.

Here am I in perfect love and perfect trust,

Within a sacred space where no harm may come to me.

By the powers of the Old Ones and the sun and the moon,

This boundary is now hallowed.

So mote it be.

And now the altar cloth is placed.

The goddess symbol is placed.

Blessed be Mother Moon,

Provider of life itself,

Protector of the Wicca.

The god symbol is placed.

Blessed be Father Sun,

Lord of all that's wild and free.

The wand is placed.

Blessed be the element of air,

Provider of the breath of life.

The athame is placed.

Blessed be the element of fire,

Eternal source of inspiration and might.

The cauldron,

Goblet,

And libation bowl are placed.

Blessed be the element of water,

The constant flow of energy.

The pentacle is placed.

Blessed be the element of earth,

Strong support for all forms of life.

Pale glow of moonlight fixed,

Spells of magic now betwixt,

Helping hands and knowing eyes,

Incense berms and smoke doth rise,

Plume upon the mountain's crest.

How many hours do we now invest to learn and teach and reap and sow and tread where only wise ones go?

By all seasons,

Night and day,

From the old ways,

Do not stray.

Through spirit eyes,

The truth is shown.

By light of moon,

All is known.

Reviews

I loved the idea of changing your alter cloth with the seasons.
Ive recently got my 1st alter cloth and love it
So now i will keep my eyes open for differnt 1s for differnt seasons and sabats.
I also have deveopled a few differnt lay outs depending on a full moon or new moon or a sabat.
And my stones and crystals in differnt ways and places also.
Thank you so much for this wonderfull track and it gave me lots of new ideas on this new moon
Blessed be ✨️❤️💫

Extremely useful as it takes a fresh look at something I’ve been doing for a long time. I feel I’ve got a new take on the altar and that’s a good thing.

I have been brainstorming making a new altar. I am new the the craft and this was not only educational it was perfect timing. Thanks again my friend.