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Thursday, February 21, 2013

Setting Up An Altar/Devotional Space

You don't have to identify as a witch to have your own altar and/or devotional space. And if you do identify as "witch" then you may be surprised to know that your altar does not have to follow any kind of format. I spent a long time thinking that it did. That I had to place candles at the right sides to line up with their corresponding directions and have certain colours for certain things, etc.

But then I learned something new. There are no rules when it comes to personal spirituality. What an incredibly freeing realization!

Spirituality is a free-form thing; an energy creature that moves through us and embodies all that we love and the passions that stir our blood. There is no format, no rules, no initiation. It is not the same as religion. It is the expression of our innermost soul. And an altar/devotional space should reflect that.

This is my altar. It is a collection of stones, candles, shells, statuettes, and other odds and ends. It hold my handmade wand, a curiousity jar by ForestFernCreations, my soul journal, and a small fox pelvis from DesertRoseTaxidermy. I also keep art pieces and metal pentacles with bells hanging on the wall above it.



I keep things that mean a lot to me or symbolize something that is special to me on my altar. Rose quartz for love and friendship, a cat statuette as a nod to Bastet, a piece of birch bark and twigs for my love of the forest, salt to keep away negative energy, and lots of candles that all have different purposes. My altar is personal and doesn't follow any guidelines. It is constructed in the way that I feel is right and vibrates with my energy harmoniously. To me that is what an altar should be.

So if you are thinking of creating your own sacred space I am here to reassure you that it doesn't have to be as intimidating as some books or websites would have you believe. Just collect things you resonate with -statuettes of patron gods, stones, candles, sticks, shells, symbols, art, etc. Remember, no rules.

Does anyone else have a scared devotional space like this? I would love if you shared!

Lady Unlaced

4 comments:

  1. Such an amazing post, thank you so much for sharing your altar with us all! It is so beautiful.
    I think this post is so important because making an altar can sound really scary and like it has to be this perfect, serious thing. I sometimes feel a little guilty when I read a book and the guidelines are so specific because my altar is nothing like that, and my spellwork is usually quite different too.
    I have a main altar in my bedroom/main room which is on the mantlepiece and a smaller one on top of the bookshelf next to it. I think I'll do a post to share it since I loved seeing yours so much.

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    1. Reading in books about how altars should be put together makes me feel slightly guilty too but then upset that other people don't realize that there shouldn't be rules for it. I would love to see yours as well! I find other people's devotional spaces to be fascinating and insightful :)

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  2. Beautiful! I definitely agree, making it personal is the way to go.

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  3. I love it!!!!!!!! so pretty. I love your candle holder. (Love the new blog design. It's so pretty!!!)

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