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Use water, stones, reating a personalised candles and incense to altar is a great way to evoke the four elements express yourself and bring a spiritual focus Cinto your home. It acts as a catalyst for lifting you out of the everyday, and its appearance The rite stuff is entirely up to you. Simple to set up, an altar helps to Create your own sacred infuse your domestic space with a sense of the sacred, space at home with these and provides a place for you to perform rituals or spells magical altar designs on a daily basis. Historically, altars were often constructed outside – situated high up to bring them closer to the heavens – but people also built them where they lived, so they could worship at home. This tradition is still maintained by Buddhists and Hindus, and pagans and Wiccans also use small altars in their home rituals. However, anyone can benefit from one of these sacred spaces – you can even create several different altars, if you wish. There’s no hard-and-fast rule as to how your altar should look, and it can be as GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT simple or as elaborate as you Start by placing a piece of cloth in your life. Your altar is then like. It’s also up to you where on your chosen surface. It could be ready for you to use. you put it – the corner of your a cloth related to a pagan festival, Altars can be used for all sorts living room is just as acceptable such as Yule, or something in a of purposes, from finding love as a quiet guest bedroom. colour that has meaning to you. to helping with your career. While The important thing is to feel Each altar needs to incorporate you can take inspiration from any comfortable about where you the elements of fire, water, earth discipline, such as Wicca, Buddhism create this special place. and air, in order to ground the and so on, the joy of creating your However, it does need to space. For instance, water can be own altar is that you’re free to adapt be set apart from the busiest represented by a bowl of water, fire it according to how you feel. areas of your home, built on with candles, earth by a stone and As well as trinkets or mementoes, something solid and relatively air with incense. We’ve provided you may like to use symbols from high up to avoid being knocked more ideas in the examples below nature and the seasons. At this time over, such as a mantelpiece, and over the page. of year, look for sprigs of berries, windowsill or bookshelf. Aim Once you have grounded your mistletoe, holly leaves and nuts. to use natural, organic materials altar in this way, you can begin to All offerings are worthy, if they’re such as wood, paper, stone add items that are meaningful to brought with devotion and have or glass, which are more in you and carry a spiritual message. positive associations for you. The tune with spiritual forces than You could place photographs of only limit is your imagination. anything synthetic. people you love, or objects that Here are three different altar remind you of important events suggestions to get you started.

ceramic disc with the five-pointed star on your altar, or Wiccan altar embroider the shape into the altar cloth. Alternatively, make a pentagram using twigs, as we have in this picture (left). Witches usually have a personal shrine or altar permanently Wicca often focuses on balancing male and female set up in their homes, so they can harness the energy of the energies, and the Goddess and God can be represented five elements (including Spirit) when they perform their by contrasting coloured candles such as white and red. spells. Witches align these elements with the directions of the It’s also typical to honour them with a food offering in the compass, with fire at the south of the altar, earth in the north, form of a small cake and a goblet of juice or wine. air in the east, water in the west, and Spirit in the centre. Colour can be used on a Wiccan altar to create a specific As an alternative to physical symbols of the elements – such energy or atmosphere, and using the right one can enhance as water, candles, stone and incense – you can use coloured your ritual. For instance, red is associated with excitement candles to represent them. Put a green candle in the north for and passion, and can be used to stimulate and excite, while earth, a yellow one in the east for air, a red one in the south green has steadying and harmonising qualities linked to Place a pentagram on your Wiccan altar for fire, and a blue one in the west for water. The Spirit element stability, generosity and prosperity. Add extra items to your to unite earth, air, can be represented by a pentagram. Place a wooden or altar in these colours, such as green leaves or red berries. ➜ fire, water and Spirit

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moon altars, with one metallic candle (gold or silver is fine) in Moon altar the north for earth, and another In many cultures, the full moon in the south to represent fire. is thought to endow living things A bowl of water in the centre with a potent dose of life force. It’s symbolises that element, and often related to rituals involving acts as a medium for raising the creativity. To harness this creative energy. Surround the bowl with energy, create a moon altar on a moonstones or white shells, and flat rock or a table set with a silver burn an incense stick such as tray or a circle of white stones, jasmine or lemon to the right of glass or shells – or use a black the bowl, representing air. If you cloth embroidered with silver. have a willow wand, lay this Moon altars can be based directly in front of the bowl with around the colours, symbols, the tip facing west – this is the crystals and herbs associated with direction of the water element, different lunar goddesses. As the governed by the moon. moon embodies the feminine Moon spells should tie in and symbolises the cycles of with the lunar cycle. If you nature, decorate your altar with want to acquire something, representations of the three such as love, money or a job, goddesses: Maiden/waxing, work your magic when the moon Mother/full moon, and Crone/dark is waxing, or getting bigger. If moon. Teresa Moorey’s books you want to diminish something, are a good place to find out more like ending a relationship or about the goddess connection. reducing tension between you Visit www.teresamoorey.co.uk and a difficult neighbour, get In these photos, we’ve shown to it when the moon is waning, you how to create two simple or getting smaller. Evoke the moon’s energy with a silver-flecked cloth

A grid in the centre of the altar radiates energy

Combine crystals FROM THE GODDESS AND THE GREEN MAN and candles for added potency candles ignites the crystals’ power. Crystal altar A pattern of stones in the centre will This altar will bring light and energy to radiate energy outwards – bronzite, you and your home. You can work with selenite or quartz work well. There are the individual properties of the stones different shapes you can use, but the FROM REBEL ANGEL (01225-309207; WWW.REBEL-ANGEL.CO.UK) to achieve your goals – for instance, most common are square or circular rose quartz is associated with love and with a central stone, such as selenite self-love, while agate is connected with or quartz, which enhances energy, strength and courage. cleanses the space and raises vibrations.

Group the crystals on the altar into Use your intuition to work out which GOBLET ON WICCAN PENTACLE ALTAR categories. You could shape is best for you. keep all the gems that Cleansing If your altar is crystals in are good for healing distilled dedicated to angelic LUCY BRYANT in one place, with water presence, use ALTAR FOR CRYSTAL CRYSTALS another section for celestite, angelite or meditation crystals. amphibole. Whatever Add objects that are crystal you’re using, STYLING special to you, such as cleanse it first – for photos or souvenirs. example, by washing

As well as using it in distilled water – SUSSIE BELL candles to represent and dedicate it for each element, you its purpose and the can use the relevant highest good of all. PHOTOS stones, such as To find out more haematite for earth, about crystals and sunstone for fire, blue their properties, try A willow wand calcite for air, and reading one of Judy creates a strong link to water LOUISE RAMSAY blue aventurine for Hall’s books. Visit

water. Lighting the www.judyhall.co.uk TEXT (01458-834697; WWW.GODDESSANDGREENMAN.CO.UK)

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