Creating Your Personal Altar - Part Two

What Should Be On Your Altar

There are many items that you may want to add to your altar based on the workings you're doing. If it's a ceremony for a Sabbat or a ritual for magick work, additional items might be needed to connect or cast your energies. This is just a small list of a few examples:

Magickal Tools

There are items that should be included on your altar:

• Ceremonial Candles- This is a general purpose candle used to begin and set the focus of your energy and protection.
• Candles/Statues: They represent your chosen deities usually silver for the Goddess and Gold for the God. 
• Ritual Candle(s)- These are candles that you may want to use within your ritual workings.
• Working bowl(s):  one for salt, one for water, and one for the libation.
• Cauldron: metal pot for magical work; when burning a candle inside it, you might want to put a layer of clean sand on the bottom of the pot; must be large enough to hold melted wax and to burn twigs inside without creating a hazard. Lidded is best, but if not possible, get a separate lid for covering when ready to put out any fire within.
• ritual/offering plate: one to hold the bread or other such food blessed in the Cakes and Wine ritual.
• ritual cup or goblet: used for the beverage of Cakes and Wine, Esbats, etc. May be of pottery, silver, brass, crystal, wood, etc.
• Book Stand for your Grimoire/Book of Shadows: Whether you're referring to your book for reference, or to record your experiences, there should be a place for your book. Personally I rarely have room on the altar itself for my Grimoire. 
• Athame/Ceremonial dagger: Athame: a ritual knife used to direct magical energy; this is usually a black-handled, two-edged knife, meaning the blade is sharp on both sides, but it may be dull rather than sharp as this is not a cutting tool. 
• Bell: may be a tiny bell with a delicate chime, or a larger bell, used during ritual and to call upon the Faery Folk (if delicate in tone); may be of brass, ceramic, crystal, silver, etc.
• Boline: a cutting tool used in magical work to inscribe candles, cut herbs, cut thread, or any other such use. Traditionally a wo-edged blade, with a white handle, but any tool designated as the working tool may be used.
• Broom/Besom: a ritual broom not used for housework, but for clearing the ritual space during Circle Casting, and for spell work.
• Pentacle: a flat disk with the five-pointed star in a circle engraved or painted on it; may be of wood, clay, ceramic, wax, brass, silver, gold, or simply drawn on a piece of paper.
• Altar Cloths: a variety of coverings for the altar depending upon the ritual and the season; attractively patterned sarongs are often used for this purpose.

This is my everyday altar. it's not very elaborate and sits on top of my bookshelf that hold's my coven's library. I can't wait to move to a new space with a backyard so I can put a shed in my backyard and set up my very own temple.