** This article was also posted at Serenity Garden, who have my permission to post it. **

The altar can be an extension of ourselves. It provides a physical place for expression, visualization and centering and the setting up of one can be a spiritual experience itself. I learned quite a bit about myself creatively and about how to express my inner witch during the process. And I had a lot of fun with it too! :o)

I do reccommend before setting up an altar that younger witches (under 18), talk with their parents. Many times people can be reached if we give them the opportunity to hear us. If a teenager's parents refuse to allow an altar to be created or the practice of witchcraft to be undertaken in their home, by all means respect that! Whatever their motivation may be, the negative energy created by doing something on the sly could alter or cancel out anything magickal you're trying to do. At the very least your spell may not work because your focus is on the fear of getting discovered. Ask if you can have scented candles or incense in your room and do your daily prayers and motivations. Those things can be done without tampering with your sacred space or conscience.

The only real preparations toward the creation of an altar is to make sure there are no curtains or other flammable objects that might blow into the flmes of your candles, and making sure little children or animals don't get into your tools. They carry positive energy so their touch wouldn't be harmful but the tools themselves might in some way cause injury.

Cleanse and consecrate your tools and space.

Now you're ready to get started! :o)

**What goes into the creation of an altar?

**Think of the four corners and their elements.

East-Element of Air

South-Element of Fire

West-Element of Water

North-Element of Earth

If you have a compass, use it to decide where to put the elements, then you can choose what to use to represent each one. This is where you get to be really creative. Who are you and what do you care about? If you love animals, try using a bear for North, a bird for East, a fox for South and a dolphin for West. If you love the ocean, use a sand dollar or seashell for North, Maybe a red glass fish or piece of coral for South, a manatee or any other sea creature for West (or a small bottle of holy water made by you), and a seagull (or other) feather for East. You know who the Goddess and God are, setting up your altar also gives you a way of telling them who YOU are.

This is the way I set mine up:

*East-Glass and brass Celtic Faerie candleholder. I put a white tealite in it to represent Air.

*South-Brass celestial candleholder with red candle to represent Fire.

*West-Jar of seashells and a starfish to represent Water.

*North-Bag of stones (amethyst, turquoise, lapis) to represent Earth.

Those are the basics. The things that represent me are:

*Little glass heart with ribbons of color going through it.

*Leprechaun figurine.

*Jar that says "MAGIC" (closed w/a cork).

*Medicine bag that holds my mother-of-pearl frog fetish.

*Glass turtle.

*Stone whale.

*Ceramic "CAULDRON" (Not really. It's shaped like a cauldron, but is white and has Beatrix Potter illustrations painted all around it. It held a floral arrangement that was sent to me while I was in the hospital having my second baby. It represents the child in me - I think it's beautiful!) :o) It now holds a little Madeleine doll and two tiny teddy bears.

The altar itself is a computer desk on wheels that opens in the front. I store my wicca/witchcraft books, all of my tools and a set of teakwood bowls inside that I use for my rituals. I'll probably add more things to my altar as time passes.

If you decide to make your altar portable, remember to let your candles go completely cold before packing everything up. If you set it up for an outside ritual, please remember while you're blessing your items to ask for the permission of the nature spirits and elementals (faeries), to use their space.

I'm including a list of things that you can use on your altar to represent the elements, but these are only suggestions. Use your imagination!

THINGS YOU MIGHT PLACE ON YOUR ALTAR:

AIR

* Feather (any color)

* White Candle

* Incense (any scent)

* Bird Figurine

WATER

* Fish Figurine

* Small Vial/Bottle of Holy Water (made by you)

* Sand Dollar

* Sea Shells

EARTH

* Small Bag/Dish of Salt

* Small Bag/Jar/Bowl of Various Stones (however many and whatever kind you like)

* Animal Figurine (anything that walks on the Earth)

* Small Plant

FIRE

* Red Candle

* Small Bag/Jar/Bowl of Bloodstones (amount not important)

* Red Bird Figurine

* Red Feather

"YOU" ITEMS * Anything that describes who you are and what you love! (Pictures, Art, Figurines, Jewelry, Books, Flowers, Candles, Written Poems & Devotions)

If you're unsure about the placement because you don't have a compass, don't worry. Just do the best you can. You can always go back and rearrange things once you are able to determine the true positions.

The altar is not only a tool, but an extension of yourself. It also serves as a physical object to focus on, so an altar can also be of tremendous help during visualization. It becomes both a sender and receiver of energy. The most important thing is to feel grounded and enjoy the experience. :o)

By Sionainne, Copyright 2002

Please don't copy or post elsewhere without permission.

A link to me will also be required. Thank you.