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| An altar is a place where you work magick, commune with your chosen deities,
have a quiet contemplative moment, or just ground and center to re-energize
after a hectic day. Many Pagans just starting on their path, or even some
that have been on their current path for a number of years, have yet to set
up an altar, and indeed may even be a little intimidated by the idea of getting
it 'just right'. Also, some Pagans who do not consider themselves Wiccans
may wonder if an altar is necessary for them. Even many Wiccans may wonder
if they real need an altar. Many 'experts' consider an altar to be of utmost
importance. Others think the only importance is what the individual places
upon it. Thus, in this light, an altar may or may not be important to an
individual; and a non-Wiccan Pagan may have the same regard for an altar
that any Wiccan may. Thus, an altar can and, if right for the individual,
should be used by non-Wiccan Pagans as well.
But what if you set up an altar and you don't 'get it right'? This is impossible. Setting up an altar means setting it up properly for you; the Goddess and/or the God won't care whether the altar is 'perfect' or not. Perfection is in the eye of the altar-maker: What seems right to one person may not have any meaning at all to another. That's the beauty of Paganism; if something doesn't feel right to you, change or trash it! The joy and meaning of Paganism comes from the heart, the mind, and the body; not from some external source that must be appeased. 'Thou art Goddess. Thou art God.' While these phrases are most often found in Wicca, other Pagans can, and do, use them and find the full meaning in them. Since the Goddess/God (sometimes referred to as 'God/ess') is within us, is part of us, whatever feels right for us will feel right for the God/ess (within reason, of course -- murder may 'feel right' for some people, but murder is a negative, destructive activity that no Pagan would think is part of her/his religion/path/tradition). "John" recently built his own altar. He started with the wooden stand for an old fishtank, since it was sitting around just collecting dust. He then set up five candles on it, one for each element/direction (yellow for east/air, red for south/fire, blue for west/water, green for north/earth, and white for spirit), and placed them in the appropriate places, although north is set to the northeast, east to the southeast, south to the southwest, and west to the northwest, with spirit being true north. Between/among these candles (which are held by brass candleholders), he has a woven basket of autumnal potpourri, his athame (which is a dagger-like letter opener with a metal sheath), a tea-candle/cone incense burner in the shape of a mound of jumbled skulls (representing the God of the Dead, perfect for the season), and a cauldron (speckled-green, and originally a candleholder) to represent the Goddess. This setup is not complete; he also wishes to find an appropriate altar cloth to cover the untreated wood of the old aquarium stand, as well as other trinkets and symbols that would complete it (such as a pentagram of some sort). Also, it would not have the same meaning for everyone. For "John", it works, which is an example of how the altar should be geared towards yourself and not just set up because a book or someone else told you that was how to do it. Next, the altar should be dedicated to the Goddess and the God (or whatever deities are in your pantheon). When "John" dedicated his, he first grounded by imagining the power of the earth below his feet to be flowing into his body. Next, "John" invoked the directions by lighting the yellow candle first and inviting the Spirits of the East/Air to witness the dedication; then the red for Spirits of the South/Fire, blue for the Spirits of the West/Water, and green for the Spirits of the North/Earth. Then, he lit the white candle and invited the Goddess and the God to witness the dedication. "John" lit an incense and put it in the incense burner, and used the smoke from it as the consecration/purification medium, passing the tools over it, then over the flame of each of the candles, in the order in which he had lit them. Next, "John" verbally dedicated the altar and all the tools to the Goddess and the God, pledging that he would never use the altar or any of the tools to bring harm to another or to produce negativity in any way. He ended by extinguishing the candles in the reverse order that he had lit them and thanking the Goddess and the God, and each of the Spirits, for attending, then grounded again, imagining the energy flowing harmlessly back into the earth. Then, "John" was done. An altar does not always have to be any man-made item, nor does it have to be indoors. Indeed, given that Paganism is a Nature-oriented religion, the best place for ritual is outside (in the woods, on a night of a full moon...or wherever). A large rock, a tree stump, the ground...all of these make perfect altars. As for the tools? Tools are really unnecessary; they can make you feel more attuned to what you're doing, they can help to ground and center, and they can help direct energy for magick or simple worship, but they are not necessary. You are the direction/energy/guiding force in your ritual. Therefore, you are also your own altar. Always do what feels right at the time; listen to the advice of others, follow it if it feels right, but most importantly, do what feels right to you as you worship your deities in your own way. The setting up of an altar may or may not be important to you; if it is important, fine, do it, but do it your own way, so it'll be an extension of you, rather than some table that eventually becomes disused and a nuisance. |