Witchcraft 101 — how to set up an altar
As we approach Yule in the northern hemisphere, many of you have probably already begun decorating your homes with seasonal plants, wreaths, lights, and other symbols of the festive season. This is a tradition that comes directly from the pagan celebration of the darkest day of the year and the miraculous rebirth of the light that follows. Christianity basically came and plonked itself down right on top of them, and the rebirth of the sun became the birth of Christ…“The Son”.
Of course, modern Witches love to decorate their houses all year round, just like their Witchy forebears. One of the staples you’re likely to find in a Witch’s home is an altar — or possibly even several. An altar is a sacred space that often serves as the central focal point for a Witch’s craft. It can be as small and simple as a shelf with a candle, or as large and elaborate as you like.
Altars are entities that tend to take on a life of their own. I started working with altars in 2019 when I began learning and practising energy healing. At first, I kept my sacred objects in a glass-fronted cupboard and would set them out as a sort of pop-up altar for energy healing sessions, but I always missed my sacred space when I put everything away again. Then, I began setting up seasonal altars around the Sabbats, which would remain in place for a week or two on either side of the festival.
Eventually, my altar decided it wanted to become a permanent fixture of my home, and it remained in place, shifting and changing as subtly but perceptibly as the seasons themselves, both adapting to and shaping my spiritual practice in a bidirectional energy exchange.
Although an altar isn’t necessary for a Witchcraft practice, it can help you deepen your craft in several ways.
1. It creates a sacred space
Witchcraft is all about moving energy in an intentional way — therefore, the mind is one of the most important tools in our practice. Creating a sacred space that you can step into whenever you want to turn inward can help quieten and focus the mind.
2. It reminds you to practice
Seeing your altar every day can be a visual reminder to make time for your practice — even if it’s just taking five minutes to meditate with one of your crystals.
3. It strengthens your practice
Working with my altar has definitely strengthened my Witchcraft practice. Whenever I need to get grounded, talk to my guides, pull a few cards, write in my journal, meditate, or practice yoga, I gravitate towards my altar and light a candle or some incense. Having that space both encourages me to practice and gives me a place to focus my mind and energy.
4. It brings positive energy to your home
An altar is full of sacred objects — crystals, candles, items from nature, incense, pictures of ancestors or deities — all of which emit their own energy signature. By working with your altar over time, it becomes infused with the energy of your intentions and magical efforts and begins to emit an energy of its own that permeates your space.
How to set up your altar
While there are many rules (particularly in the Wicca tradition) about what should be included in a Witch’s altar, as always in Witchcraft there are actually no rules and whatever works best for you is perfect for your purposes. However, here are some suggestions as to what to include.
God and Goddess
The Goddess and the God represent Nature and Divinity, considered one and the same by Witches. They are the Divine Feminine and Masculine that inhabit and animate all things in the Universe.
There are many ways to represent them on your altar, for example, with candles — such as a silver candle for the Goddess and a gold one for the God.
The four elements
The four elements — earth, air, fire, and water — are fundamental to Witchcraft since they are the building blocks of the Witch’s temple, the natural world. They also correspond to the four directions, which are honoured during magical work.
Here are some ways to represent them on your altar.
Earth (North) — stones, pieces of wood or bark, pine cones, fruit, flowers
Air (East) — incense, a feather, or a bell
Water (West) — water in a small container, seashells, sand from the beach
Fire (South) — candles, volcanic rock such as obsidian or black tourmaline
There is some variation in these correspondences depending on the tradition, the practitioner, or whether you live in the northern or southern hemisphere. Feel free to use the correspondences you’re familiar with or that make the most sense to you.
Ancestors and deities
Keep pictures of any ancestors who you want to communicate with or deities you want to work with on your altar.
If you work with a deity, make sure to give them daily offerings, such as fruit, flowers, nuts, or sweets (you can eat them at the end of the day or return them to nature as an offering).
Objects from nature
One of the most fun things about working with an altar is that you get to decorate it however you want. Your altar needs to be refreshed periodically to keep the energy from getting stagnant.
Most Witches love to keep their altars seasonal — I like going for walks in nature and collecting seasonal items to decorate my altar, before returning them to nature once I’ve finished with them.
Crystals
Are you even a Witch if you don’t have a crystal collection? I’m joking, but I seriously have never met a Witch who didn’t love crystals.
Keep them on your altar, charge them on the Full and New Moons, meditate with them, place them on your chakras, wear them in your bra, sleep with them under your pillow...the possibilities are endless!
You don’t even have to keep them on your altar — you can place them strategically around your home such as next to the front door, by your laptop, or anywhere else you might need energetic protection or a boost. I keep them on my altar because my house is small and I like having them all in one place.
If you’re looking to expand your crystal collection, here are a few recommendations:
Rose quartz — for loving vibes
Clear quartz — for divination, enhancing psychic powers, creativity, and general all-rounder crystal (I use a pointed clear quartz in most of my candle spells)
Smoky quartz — for absorbing negative energies
Black obsidian — for protection (Witchy tip: place either side of your front door to prevent negative energies from entering)
Amethyst — to alleviate stress and worry
Citrine — for positivity and abundance
Hematite — for root chakra balancing
Black tourmaline — absorbs negative energies and electromagnetic frequencies
Aventurine — for confidence, motivation, and creativity
Other magical tools
Cauldron — can be used in spell work, for example, for burning incense, fire magic, or water scrying. Also represents the Goddess and her womb.
Chalice — like the cauldron, the chalice represents the Goddess
Wand — for directing energy during spells
Athame — a magical knife, usually with a black handle, also used to direct energy
Pentacle — symbolises the five elements: earth, air, fire, water, and spirit
Candles — for use in magical efforts, meditation, or simply to focus your mind
Moon water — charge a jar of water under the Full or New Moon and keep it on your altar for magical workings.
Working with your altar
Once your altar is set up, you can use it as a focal point for your spiritual practice. I like to use my altar in my daily routine — for example, lighting a candle to greet the day, honouring my ancestors, or simply reconnecting to my magical self — as well as for more formal rituals.
I sit at my altar to meditate, journal, pull cards, or when I want to talk to my mum. I light a candle or incense when practising yoga to help me stay focused. On Sabbats and Full or New Moons, I move it out of its corner and make it the central point of my ritual space.
Another nice way to work with your altar is to activate it each morning using the four elements. For example:
Placing fresh fruit or flowers to represent earth
Lighting a candle for fire
Lighting incense for air
Refreshing the water in your cauldron or container
How you work with your altar is completely up to you, but as you do, you will probably notice you develop a relationship with it and that it becomes a powerful part of your practice.
Caring for your altar
Clean your altar regularly to prevent energy from becoming stagnant, and return any natural elements to nature once you’re done with them.
You may find you want to add and remove items depending on the seasons or simply based on the natural ebbs and flows of your practice and what serves you.
I hope you enjoyed this guide to setting up and working with an altar. What else would you like to know about altars or any other aspect of the craft? Hit reply and let me know!
P.S. Tonight is the New Moon in Sagittarius, so don’t forget to plant those dream seeds and set your intentions for this new lunar cycle!