Creating an Altar

If you’re new to the world of witchcraft and have been feeling confused when you see things like ‘time to change up my altar’ or ‘left an offering on my altar’, don’t worry because I got you.

What is an altar?

A witch’s altar is their personal magickal workspace. Although we can make magick anywhere, the altar is a focal point for our magick and our craft. Typically, we think of the altar as a space for casting spells, performing rituals, practicing divination, and even a space to meditate with divine or sacred energy.

Beyond a workspace, it is a microcosm of nonphysical reality and energy. This microcosm mirrors all that the magick circle is and represents! Your altar allows you to bring the sacred into physical representation in your space. Honestly, I think creating a physical representation of your craft this way is like sympathetic magick. In doing so, you invite the sacred into your everyday life.

As a witch who deals with bipolar disorder, my altar is a physical reminder of my spirituality and creates a foundation for my practice and commitment. Even when I’m not working there, I have a visible reminder that the divine and the sacred are always in my life.

Every witch’s altar is different and unique. They can express not only our beliefs and our craft, but also our personality, aesthetics, and taste. Don’t be afraid to do things differently than everything you read and see around you!

How to Set Up Your Altar

If you’ve never created an altar before and you want to get started, then hopefully this will help you get started! And if you’ve already established an altar and reorganized one to the point where you feel like a pro, I hope what I have to say can give you some new ideas!

Personally, every time I read about sacred space or see another witch’s altar, I’m immediately inspired to try something new with mine.

First, the most important thing to decide is where you’re going to put your altar. Likewise, you’ll also want to start thinking about how big your altar will be. In other words, while you’re thinking about where to place the altar you should also think about what to use as its base. For example, my current altar is set up on a small IKEA drawer in my living room. I wish I had more space in my house but you work with what you have. Your altar can be almost anything! Perhaps it’s just a shelf on the wall or part of a dresser. On the other hand, maybe you want to use an entire desk or build your own table to use!

Once you’ve figured out what to use, it’s time to figure out where you want to set everything up! Ideally, we all would have as much space as we want to design and set up our workspace. But realistically most of us will be constrained to a smaller space. A lucky few may have a whole room dedicated to their craft – which I’d love to do one day. For the time being, if you’re like me, you’ll have to stick with just part of your room. Truthfully, the size of your altar doesn’t make a difference. You could have a massive altar, but if you never work with it what’s the point? Don’t feel bad if your altar is smaller than some or you can’t do all you want yet. The key is that the space is sacred to you and functions for what you want to do. ♥

There is no right or wrong way to make a sacred space. Your altar should live and breathe your magic.
It should enchant you and remind you that anything is possible…that the placement of a crystal, the flame of a candle, and the setting of intention have the power to change your world. It helps to keep you connected to your intentions, and the divine and serves as a reminder that life is worth celebrating.  

I include some tips below, but please, please, please allow yourself to make this space your own. The magic is in the making. My hope is to inspire you, not to instruct you.  

Some traditions say that the altar must face a particular direction or cannot touch the wall. Personally, I don’t adhere to a particular path. As a result, I’ve set up my altar using my intuition and whatever felt right. My altar along with many others is situated against a wall – and I don’t think that’s a problem.

First Clear And Clean Your Space  

This is the only step that’s required. Before setting up your sacred space, make sure you clear and clean it. Not only should you psychically wipe down the area to clean it, but also clean it energetically. Use smoke, sprays, or sound to clear it. An altar is a way to hold space for things in our life. It is a physical representation of the life you have and want, so you want to start on the right foot.  

Represent the Elements  

Witchcraft is full of tools! I mean, we have a lot of magickal tools for spellcasting, decorations, and a wide variety of supplies such as crystals, herbs, jars, and so much more. But where should we put all of it?
This is where I started: a clay plate with a leaf imprint for the earth, a chalice for water, incense for air, and a candle for fire. Don’t think you need to buy a bunch of stuff to make this work. Part of creating a sacred space is seeing the symbolism in items. What items do you already have to represent the elements?  

The four elements in witchcraft in magick are utilized mostly when we cast a circle and evoke them through Calling the Quarters. However, each element relates to a different type of nonphysical energy – each element also has corresponding tools and should be represented on the altar if you work with them.

• Earth – Salt dish, Peyton (Altar Pentacle. Also can represent spirit), Crystals, stones (direction: typically north in the northern hemisphere)
• Air – Athame (some say fire as well) Feathers, Censer, Incense holder
• Water – Chalice, Cauldron, bowl
• Fire – Wand or Athame, candles

Set your Intention 

What is it you want from your altar? Will it be a place to renew your energy, find peace, honor spirits, perform rituals or ceremonies, and be completely at one with your moment?

Representation of the Divine  

Most commonly, candles are used to represent the divine. Personally, I have a black candle on the left side of my altar to represent the goddess and divine feminine. And on the right, I have a white candle to represent the god and divine masculine. I associate the left with being receptive (as I am right-handed) and the right as projective, receptive energy is associated with feminine energy while projective is associated with masculine energy.

Additionally, I use a black candle for the goddess because black is said to absorb all colors —making it receptive as well! Recently, I also read about someone else who did the same because of the imagery on the priestess card in the tarot. Along with these two candles, you may wish to include one for the divine mind/great spirit. This one could be a color that corresponds with the season/Sabbat as well if you’d like!

In addition to the candles, I have a small statue that represents the goddess to me. Many others have figures like these or perhaps symbols associated with them or even paintings. Anything that connects you to divinity works!

Keep your Journal  

A magical journal is one of my most powerful tools. I keep track of any magick I’m working with, dreams, ambitions, knowledge, and prayers. Witchcraft doesn’t come with a manual; you have to write your own. I keep my journal on my altar to honor its importance in my practice and to keep it near when I’m meditating.     

Honor your Ancestors  

You can place photos or mementos from loved ones or ancestors in your space to remind you that you come from a long, long, long line of ancestors. They are part of you. Honor this chain of life with offerings, objects, or photos.  

Make it a Space for Candle Magick 

You know I’m all about candle magick! When I’m working with a particular intention, I usually place that candle prominently on my altar. I may surround it with crystals. Or if I know I’m going to turn my candle into a spell jar, I might put some of those items near it as well.

Celebrate the Seasons

Finding a connection to the earth is so vital in witchcraft. We find it through the cycles of the moon and the changing of the seasons. You can use color, plants, stones, and colored candles to represent the world around you. How do the seasons represent specific intentions? Spring might be suitable for planting seeds and rebirth, summer for cultivation, fall for letting go, and winter for reflection. 

Charge Your Altar  

Lastly, and maybe most importantly, your altar is a workspace. It’s a space you hold to connect with the divine in your life. By chanting, meditating, praying, and using the area regularly, you transform it from a table with just stuff into a space of creation and worship. You’re feeding your altar, and in turn, it feeds your spirit.   

Other Tools and Supplies

There are a lot of other tools and items that can be represented on the altar. I was going to create a list, but I think that’s counterintuitive. The tools and things that you work with and find sacred should go wherever feels natural to you.

If you’re stuck, try meditating with your altar and tools and see what feels right and wrong. You’ll figure it out! Besides, I enjoy reorganizing my altar more than any other type of cleaning.

One that I feel isn’t mentioned enough is plants! Mine has a lot of plants. Well, my house is full of plants (45+ and counting). As a pagan, it is the perfect way to connect with nature and the divine within all things.

 Ideas of items that may blend with your altar’s intention are…

• For scent: incense, essential oils, pure resin.
• For sound: chimes, bells, music, a singing bowl(.
• For color:  you may want to choose a single color theme, such as pink for love, green for healing, purple for vision, or black for higher learning; or an eclectic color theme for fun and for wherever your mood may take you.
• Connect to the elements: air, fire, water, earth, and ether; with feathers, candles, shells, flowers, stones, plants, herbs, leaves, and crystals.
• Add any special objects: photos, statues, talismans, totems.
• Once your altar is set up: smudge your space to cleanse, re-energize, and protect it. I think smudging every time you use your altar is a lovely way to set your intention afresh, banish anything negative, and create protective energy.
• You can add your own special words: to your smudging if you wish, to add further power to your intention.

This is my “altar”… It could be better but as I said, I lack space

Some items I found in nature, some from the thrift shop.
The skull – which my boyfriend thinks is creepy and weird having it in the house- I found during a walk in the mountains in Norway a few years ago.

As I said, there are no rules. Creating an Altar is purely for you ~ to follow your heart and connect with your quintessence.

Your magickal workspace can be a powerful tool in itself. Additionally, it provides you with a physical representation in your space of all the things you find sacred and valuable! Have fun starting your altar or redecorating it. I wrote this post because I realized how difficult it can be to get started. And how overwhelming it can become trying to change things up.

I hope that everyone can find a way to make their altar truly magickal to them. Altar tours on YouTube and photos on social media are some of my favorite parts of witchy content.