Hey Guys Myst here,
Does anyone have an Ideas for an Altar? because my bedroom's quite small and i pretty much don't have much space to put an altar there so can anyone help? also does anyone know any good spirits/deities to work with?
I do not really follow any tradition myself so my space is compiled of many things. I have a little bed side table that I have been using for years. It doesn't take up much space. I have a blue crystal ball, bells, my cards and runes, candles, incense, a box full of herbs and other things, and more on mine. I have known people who have used the tops of their dressers. Anything that will work.
As far as deities go that is rather personal. It all depends on what you believe and feel is right. If you are following a set tradition then there are deities in that tradition. Some have alters that honor their ancestors, some that are geared towards nature, some are seasonal, some gear them towards deities. It all depends on what you want it for.
I live with my 2 kids and husband in a studio apt. right now and my alter is the top of my microwave where i am working 2 honey jars and keep an offering jar for the house spirit. By the way, if i do not keep fresh delicous offerings then the microwave freaks out and starts beeping and flashing 666 and wont work, as i previously damaged it with gold on a bowl and am lucky it works at all. If you dont beleive me ask my husband. I primarily work in the kitchen unless its a full moon and i am performing a ritual,that i do in the living room/bedroom as i live in the city and on the 5th floor. Rituals tend to go speedily in my household.
I don't see why you can't come up with a creative way to have a alter on the wall. A couple of small shelves for items and candles. As for deities, i agree with the previous posting. Its a personal path, in whatever you are spiritually connected to.
Unless you are working within a specific Tradition that has a certain way of setting up your altar there are no rules about where it should be placed or what you should put upon it. The altar is the place where you interact with the Gods so it should represent that interaction to you in whatever way you find best.
"Traditionally" an altar would hold a representation of the God and Goddess, symbols of the four Elements, some candles to see by, and your working tools.
In many Traditions the altar is placed either in the North or sometimes the East of a room. But again this is not a hard and fast rule. If the way your room is set only gives you room to put your altar in the West then do it that way. We Witches may be traditional, but we are also practical and we can work with what we are given.
Your altar cloth would typically be made of a natural fabric such as cotton. When starting out check out places such as Walmart for inexpensive table cloths. I recommend inexpensive because sooner or later it's going to get dirty or have candle wax spilled on it and you're going to want to replace it.
For representations of the God and Goddess you can either use candles or you can use statues of the Deities. In the beginning it is probably easier and less expensive to go with a couple of pillar candles. The Goddess candle goes on the left upper corner of the altar and the God candle on the upper right.
To represent the Elements you can use the following:
East/Air - incense
South/Fire - red candle
West/Water - chalice or cup of water
North/Earth - a small dish of salt or dirt
There's a pretty good you-tube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1a9mAaESiQ that might give you some ideas as well.
And it's possible to find small items to represent the Elements and the Deities if you think about it a bit. I have a minature, travel altar that fits into a wooden cigar box, so finding space in your room for something like that shouldn't be too difficult.
