I am preparing to set up my first permanent altar soon. In the past, my altars have been small and erected for a specific purpose and then taken down. This will be a permanent established space set aside for spiritual purposes.
I was wondering if any of you had permanent altars or similar sacred spaces in your home, and if so, what they included.
My altar, although permanent for many years, has never been static. I have added to it consistently through the years. Mine is an assortment of candles that represent the God & Goddess, a Gaia sculpture, various other Goddess sculptures and mini-cauldron, a bell, inscense burners, a chalice, an athame, and natural objects I've found or been given as gifts. I also have polaroids (remember them?) of when buddhist monks came to my college and created a mandala.
*A*
i don't have one now but when i did - i actually built a little book case and made a little curtain for it to cover the shelves - where i kept all my supplies and books and things and then i kept everything i wanted out on top. it worked really well for me.
I have a corner 4 shelf unit that I have set up as my permanent altar.
My altar is static as well - it contains everything from candles, owl pellets, bird nests, God and Goddess statues, my hand made runes, shells, rocks I have found, feathers, tarot cards and all kinds of other things that "speak" to me.
Having moved recently my space is a bookshelf where I keep my God and Goddess symbols and candles, my cauldron and my tiny broomstick as well as elemental symbols (salt, incense,shells, stones). I have an Athame but I keep that hideen away with my BOS (I hate calling it that, it sounds so 'Charmed' heh). So much of my items on there at the moment are from the beach or sea because I live by the coast and I feel a deep connection with the sea. I love having my little space there, whenever I look over to it I smile inside and out, it also provides a good focus for meditation. However, if I am performing a rite I move my tools and symbols to an altar I set up specifically for that purpose, but more often than not I won't perform ritual magic or hold rituals with an altar or tools, it's just me and the Goddess and God, so my bookshelf serves me well.
How did your setitng up go Tera?
Last edited by going2Bhealthy; 11-13-2008 at 08:06 PM.
Mine is crowed and changes with the seasons, some of my favorite things include, a moss covered branch (from Mt Rainer) Goddess sculptures that I am very connected to, several clay dishes filled with various spell oils and incense, sacred white stones, my cauldron where I light small tea lights in celebration & thanksgving to name a few..
We also use another table for larger display at Yule, but I got an Ikea Molger mirror on purpose for use as a wall altar kind of space as well as a mirror for the foyer area.
The mirror is inset, so we can rest things on top and along the bottom because the frame can work like shelves where we can place items. For Imbolc -- Child made a pipe cleaner Brigid cross and I put a lot of taper candles. She and I keep adding to it until it's time to change it around for Ostara. But because it is high up, then she can't be messing with it and has to ask me to put stuff in or take it out so this helps a lot with a small child.
Under it there is an Ikea Expedit shelf on wheels with cubbies. This keeps our shoes, backpacks and all that organized in the foyer. But the top is sometimes used for "touchable" altar bits that the child can freely play with.
Given the age of child, our stuff is very kiddie craft. I avoid breakables where possible and when not, I put them up on the mirror. She enjoys bringing nature in. We also have been enjoying the tutorials at
I generally just use the floor or ground for ritual, but I do have a semi-permanent devotional altar set up above my fireplace. I bought a beautiful black table runner that's embroidered with different colored patterns that fits nicely on the mantle, and a narrow wooden tray to hold various items. I change the setup throughout the year, and light candles at certain times. It's unassuming and quite pretty I think, and it's nice that the vast majority of people wouldn't recognize it for what it is.
Mine includes several pentacles, various forms, incense burners, fairy stones I have procured over the years, my tarot cards, my brothers tarot cards, herbs of various kinds, my abalone shell for smudging sage, my hawk feathers for blessing things and people, my scrying bowl, my scrying stone, etc. It changes from day to day, ritual to ritual.
I have a small alter set up in my bedroom. I'm hoping to have another one because I don't like the old falling apart piece of furniture my alter is on/in. Inside I keep candles, incense, my stones, my spare tarot cards (I keep my main deck in other places), my runes, things like that. On top I have a moon and star, some stones set up that I like to keep on it, a candle, and my incense burner.
Altars, anybody?
