Homemade Altar(Indoors)

Altars are not hard to make. They can be small, or large, or any size in between. They can have one object, or fifty. I could literally set up an altar, here in my bedroom, in probably less than five minutes. But, what makes an altar, well, an altar? Here are a few things I’ve found:

• The energy surrounding an altar must be sacred.
  • Therefore, the area must be kept clean
  • There should be no clutter around the altar

• There must be a way to ensure that the area is respected
• There must be, if possible, a way to cast circle around your altar, that it may come to use to you (Wiccan, specifically)
• There must be some sort of offering to the Gods made, even if occasionally

Some people prefer altars to be related to one specific thing – be it a spell or a goal they’re working on, a specific deity, or a specific time of year. Some things to consider:

• Colors – what colors relate to your purpose?
• Balance – have you given all four elements thoughts and places? What about the Gods? What about your Ancestors?
• Living things – keep in mind, before you place food or plants on your altar, they may attract insects…or your dog.
• Water and wine spill – but wine’s a lot harder to clean up.
• Objects – are the objects that you’re placing on your altar energized the way you want them to be?
• Surface – what surface is your altar on? A floor? Inside a closet? How might that affect the energy you’re working with? Is the surface clean? Pure?

Some ideas for altar locations:

• Top shelf of closet
• On top of a dresser or a file cabinet, where small hands and furry paws can’t reach
• A small card table, set up in a corner of your room

Granted, if your entire family is pagan, or you’re head of the household, you can do whatever you want. Ideally, when I get my own place, I’d like to devote a room just to ritual.

But right now, I’m stuck with the top of a college dresser in a dorm room used by god knows how many people, for gods know how many things…

My next article will relay the finer workings of outdoor altars. These I’ve actually built 🙂