Do you have an altar in your house?

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[Laura Stamps]

I love to hear about other Witches' altars!  Tell me about yours. 

I'll go first.  I have two altars:
 
1.) THE ALTAR IN MY HOUSE (actually it's in my office).  My patron Goddess is Bast, the Egyptian cat goddess.  I don't have a lot of room in my office for an altar, so mine sits on top of a table full of file boxes.  I made it a portable altar in case I need to lift it up and get to the box of files underneath it.  It is made from a box of 500 #10 envelopes, and I attached the lid against the back of it so I could decorate the inside with pictures of Bast I have collected from different places as a backdrop.  The floor of the altar is covered with a bright pink bandana blessed with holy water.  The centerpiece of this altar is a fabulous 8 inch wood statue of Bast that I bought at Dragoncon last year in Atlanta.  Next to that sits a smaller statue plaster of Bast a friend gave me a few years ago.  Crystals and blessed objects of different kinds surround these statues.  My life is full of ritual, most of which I perform in my office.  I have a morning ritual I do every day before I start my day that includes this altar, so you could say it is very important to me.  I also have an evening ritual I do before I go to bed each night with the altar.
 
2.) THE ALTAR IN MY CAR.  There is another altar to Bast in my car in that 5 inch x 5 inch cubbyhole space behind the gear shift.  I have a lovely brass statue of Bast in there as well as different rune sigils for protection, health, and prosperity.  Every day when I get in my car to run errands for my book publishing business I say hello to that statue of Bast and run my fingers along her beautiful brass body in welcome.  I also the touch each rune spirit through their sigils and speak to all of them before I start my car.  Believe it or not, I got the idea for an altar for my car from one of my novels.  Yup, no kidding.  One of my characters kept a staute of her patron goddess in the glove compartment of her car and set it on the passenger seat every day to accompnay her home from work.  Since I had a tiny brass statue of Bast I thought it would be a neat idea to make a permanent altar in my car.  I guess you can tell how real the characters in my novels are to me.   
 
Look forward to hearing from others about their altars!

Magickal Blessings...

[Star]

I love to hear about other Witches' altars!  Tell me about yours. 

I don't often use the term "witch" anymore, but I'll share anyway. 

I don't have a big altar as such anymore.  I used to, and my practice has been kind of...  changing lately.  So the trappings have changed with it.  Now what I have are two shrines in my house and one...  I dunno if it's properly a shrine, but something at work.

The table that was my altar when I was using it generically got decomissioned and transformed into my shrine to my Patron (Apollo).  It's a small wooden file cabinet in which I store various religious supplies (incense and charcoal, spare candles, even a couple of books).  On top there is a white altar cloth with some simple sun-shaped embroidery done by yours truly.  Then there are two taper candles and a votive--I'll tell you the truth, I don't know exactly why the tapers are there, other than they seem right.  The candles are all beeswax, because the color's nice and I like the natural materials thing and it seems to suit Him.  There is a dish in front of the votive containing spare change, which occasionally gets donated to various related causes (mostly health-related at the moment).  Dishes for incense, other offerings, etc. get brought out as I need them; they don't stay on the shrine all the time.

The Hestia shrine in the kitchen is simpler.  It's a small candle and an offering dish near the stove.  That's it.

The thing at work is another little way of honoring Apollo, just some stuff pinned up on my cube wall.  There's a sun graphic (the same one I used as a template for the aforementioned embroidery, and actually the same shape as is in my avatar but without the fire in the middle), and a couple of health-cause pins (breast cancer and women's heart health, for no better reason than those are the ones I have).  And there's this, because...  well, because:
http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=2277

That's it for now.  We'll see what the future brings.

[Aster Breo]

And there's this, because...  well, because:
http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=2277

Thanks for the comic, Star.  That's just what I needed today.  It has not been a great day.

As for the OP's question:  I also do not use the label witch, but I'll answer anyway.  Brighid has a shelf next to my bed.  It has many candles on it, in several different kinds of candle holders, all of which have some kind of Brighid-related meaning to me.  There's also one oil lamp, which was the first flame I lit for her.  In addition to all the fire, there is a stone from my back yard (for earth), a blue jay feather also from my back yard ) for sky, and a small dish with some tiny shells from the beach at Hilton Head where my family had a happy weekend (for sea).  There's a small, rather abstract feminine scultpure that makes me think of motherly things.  And, finally, there's a small dish for offerings.  At the moment, it has the two bracelets I wear during my Cill flame tending shifts, and a chocolate truffle.  Oh, and there's a little sheep my daughter made several years ago -- sheep are associated with Brighid because of her link to Imbolc.

[Thorn]

And there's this, because...  well, because:
http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=2277

Thanks for the smile!  I have been so addicted to Sinfest lately, but I haven't seen that one yet.

OT:  I have:

1. A fairly generic "family" altar set up in my living room.  It is where my SO and I tend to do our magic. A 2.5 - 3 foot diameter table.  No god images (though there is a painting on the wall over it that was inspired by Brighid.)  A couple of candles, an incense burner, and a large flat slice of a geode that I used as a "pentacle" in my neo-Wicca days.  (It's very convenient for any work that requires a flat surface.)  A large piece of driftwood, lots of polished stones, feathers, and shells.  Oh, and the "altar cloth" is a large piece of purple crushed velvet, but it will be replaced when I find something more suitable.

2.  A small shrine to Bast in the same room.  Many, many cat statues - the central one a reproduction of an Egyptian cat - and an offering dish.  I make offerings here for my cat's sake, since she can't do it herself. *grins*

3.  Where I do my "real" work, a small shrine to Brighid in my studio.  It is on top of a small chest of drawers, about 1 foot deep and maybe 1.5 feet wide.  It holds a wonderful statue of Brighid (http://treesong.org/art/brighid-wood.jpg) that I came across on my second Flamekeeping shift, a candle holder with a pillar candle, an iron cauldron containing a large chunk of rose quartz and a necklace of amber beads that I wear during my shifts.  (The cauldron, quartz and amber represent smithing, healing, and inspiration in my mind), and occassionally an offering dish (when I am offering something other than flame.)  On the wall above it, the newest addition, is a Brighid's cross that I wove a couple of weeks ago.  (The stuff I bought to do it on Imbolc turned out too brittle so I wasn't able to do it then...)

[Thorn]

The thing at work is another little way of honoring Apollo, just some stuff pinned up on my cube wall.

This is a wonderful idea, mind if I nick it?   

I've currently got a prayer to Brighid (in gaelic, so as not to be too obvious, I'm sorta in the closet at work) pinned up in my cube, where I can read it throughout the day.  I love the idea of adding more, though...

[Star]

This is a wonderful idea, mind if I nick it?   

Be my guest--I think I got it from somewhere else too.    (And happy to share on the comic.  I'm glad y'all liked it--and yeah, it always makes me smile too.  )

[EverFool]

I love to hear about other Witches' altars!  Tell me about yours. 

Many members of The Cauldron aren't witches or Wiccans.  With that disclaimer aside...

I don't have an altar.  I don't worship any Gods.  If I owned my own home, and lived alone, I'd consider going to the effort of attaining Ceremonial Magick tools, and construct a magician's altar.  That set of circumstances is unlikely to occur however; house prices being what they are, I shall probably always be living with someone else.

[Jorgath]

I don't have an altar because

a) Ninety-five percent of the time I perform my workings with no tools except my will and the power lent to me by the spirits, the Earth, and my gods.

b) I don't have the time, money, or space to put one together.

Between those two, an altar is one of those "It would be nice but isn't necessary" deals.

[HeartShadow - Cutethulhu]

Again, not a Witch.

But the closest thing I have to an altar is the top of my monitor.  That's where I keep my candles for meditation.  Of course, I also have a container of CD-roms, my "baby owner's manual", and a couple of stuffed frogs.   So I'm not sure if it counts as an altar or just a convenient place to put the candles.

But I do feel better when I see them.  They are a devotion that is ongoing even though they're not lit.

[pandrous]

me and my husband built me a little table for me an altar, we made it short like those tables chinese movies show, and i took a wood burner and engraved/burnt symbols into it, one in each corner for the elements, pentacle, triquetra, triple goddess and horned god its almost at 3 by 3  table and stands about a foot and a half off the ground..i actually just completly finished it tonight my son bought me my varnish, so finally it is all the way done... lol.. i love it it sits in my office with me, i am a stay at home mom, of a not so healthy son, and he is homeschooled. so i have my own room, for all my supplies and stuff...then i have my own closet and shelves, and such to put my stuff away so my family doesnt mess with it.. this is not the best picture. but i am not good at the webcam stuff.

[attachment purged 11 Oct 2008-- older than one year]

[SunWolf]

I love to hear about other Witches' altars!  Tell me about yours. 

I have a main altar in my bedroom.  Under it is a basket with supplies - candles, incense, etc.  On the first level are an incense burner, a Green Man plaque, a statue of Pan, a "Venus of Willendorf" figurine, a ceramic owl, and two heart-shaped rocks I found.  On the top level there are several statues of Bast, one that is hand carved and came directly from Egypt.  Those statues sit on a box decorated with hieroglyphics and other Egyptian symbols.  Inside the box are spells I've done and some "rocks" (what I call my crystals).  Also on that level are a picture of Ra in a frame that came to me from the island of Murano in Italy, a statue of Anubis, a yellow candle, a red candle and an offering dish.  Attached to the altar are a fake crow and a string of white Christmas lights.  Next to the altar is a ginormous statue of Bast that was a gift.

I also have a little area in my bedroom that has candles, a statue of the Laughing Buddha (Hotei), a figurine of Rafiki, (from The Lion King), a little silver frog and a couple of "rocks."

In my car, I have a pewter wolf and I used to have an image of Bast, but it seems to have run away from home, since I can't find it.

At work, in the midst of all my gargoyles and bats, I have a statue of Bast, some candles, some "rocks" a blue glass evil eye averter and another eye thingie with bells and beads that was a gift.  The bells and beads eye thingie is from Egypt and I'm told it brings good luck. 

I try to bring a couple of things to make mini altars if I'm going to be away from home overnight, as well.  It just makes me feel more comfortable in a strange place. 

SunWolf

[Purplewitch]

my "baby owner's manual", and a couple of stuffed frogs.

OT first: there's a manual? How come I never got one??:p
But I'm with you on the stuffed frogs....

Anyway, ahem... back on topic....yes, I have one, and *looks around nervously* unlike many who've already replied I am a witch - in as much as it's what I call myself although other people call me different things...
I have an altar, although most people wouldn't necessarily think of it as such if they saw it. There was a seriously convenient shelf/alcove when we moved into this place that I just claimed - sadly everything there will have to move very soon and find a new home as the demon will soon be able to reach it... and I've no idea where to move it to... bah...

Currently it has a candle/brass candle holder, that's frequently lit, a silver goblet, a large quartz point, a shell holding a collection of stones, crystals and stuff, a jar of salt and rosemary and a stuffed dragon (Bagpuss seemsto have migrated to the toybox...) *looks at shadow* and whatever else is temporarily sitting there. Then again, I've never had issues with people touching my stuff or putting stuff on the altar... something to do with having had several kids I think lol

Funny thing... says me thinking about it now.... there's nothing specifically related to my goddess there.... so far She hasn't complained... *looks round and ducks*... so far...

[Lifewish]

I love to hear about other Witches' altars!  Tell me about yours. 

Not a witch, but I do have an altar.  It's in the bedroom on a bookshelf, and presently holds statues:  Ptah, Sekhmet, Neith, Bast, Sobek, Maat and Heqet, which will go into a naos that is still under construction. The shrine false door will open in the middle, and the two inner surfaces will hold needlepoint representations of Seshat and Nefertem that I completed some time ago.  I really need to get the shrine finished.

 The bookshelf altar also holds a gold-colored necklace with a pendant of Nefertem, a repro heart scarab, a lotus-shaped offering dish, a red glass goblet, a red-globed votive holder particularly dedicated to Sekhmet, a blue stained glass votive holder, a repro Egyptian oil lamp, and a little alabaster vase of fresh flowers.  The flowers are an on-going offering to Nefertem.  On the floor beside the shelf is a smoke bottle for incense, since the altar is too close to the curtains to use an open burner.  It gets moved to the altar for use.

Lifewish

[Oceanlizard]

I love to hear about other Witches' altars!  Tell me about yours. 

I wouldn't quite say I have an altar. It's more of a shrine. It takes up a small part of my book case in my bedroom. Statues (they're all quite small) on it are: two statues of Bast, one of Anpu, one of Sekhmet and one of Heru the Younger. There is also an aloe plant on there in a red pot, various crystals and rocks, a red glass candle holder with a red candle, a rock with a small crocodile attached (for Sobek), a blue candle, a gold coloured necklace with an ankh and some magpie feathers.

I also have a few other things sitting in a special box that will get added when I set up a proper shrine. This includes various coloured candles, another red glass candle holder (Sekhmet seems to like them), a glass perfume ball thing and a green 'cat eyes' necklace.

[Dania]

I love to hear about other Witches' altars!  Tell me about yours. 

Not a witch, but I'll chime in anyway.

My altar is in my bedroom, it has a largeish stature of Iuppiter, raven feathers to represent Morrigu, an amber necklace and labradorite pendant to represent Father God, an african violet (because I like to have something living on my altar. I use offerings of fresh flowers in summer but the violet does well in winter), an amethyst sphere that I think Iuno has taken a liking to, and an old lion pendant from an antique store that Apollo happens to enjoy.

I have an incense burner/potpourri holder and a large dripware planter/offering bowl, and a feather I painted for Iuppiter which I used until I got the statue (I didn't feel right about getting rid of the feather though so I kept it.)

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