Category: Altars

Witchcraft Bare Basics Part 3 – Simple Altar Set-Up

Simple Altar Set-Up

Many people think that to set up an altar for anything witchy that you need a lot of things. Let me bust the stereotype to say to begin you only need 5 candles or something to represent each of the 5 elements and a personal taper candle. You can add whatever else you want as time goes by such as individual items to represent a Goddess and God, an Atheme (ceremonial knife), Wand (there are many choices for what a wand is made from I will go into this more in Part 3), etc. The items on an altar should always reflect the person whose altar it is and what the altar is for. Always keep in mind that a person private spiritual journey is one they have chosen to walk and the only limit on your ceremonial items is what that person decides to use. A cloak is not a necessary item for a witch either it is a personal choice to wear one or not. When I work alone, I rarely wear a cloak and with my coven it is up to the apprentice leading the Sabbat gathering whether we wear them or not.

It is strongly suggested and not just by me that any bowl or dish or whatever kind of container you decided to use to hold your water and earth is kept solely for your ritual usage. (How to cleanse your magickal tools will be in another post in this series.)

 

The picture illustrates where each item representing each element should be placed in the northern hemisphere. In paraeneses will be the placement of each element for the southern hemisphere)

Above Spirit when not using a candle larger than a tealight one is where I prefer my personal candle to be. (More on this topic in another post in this series.) If I am using a larger candle for Spirit, I place my personal candle to the right of the element of Water. I have seen left-handed witches place it to the left of the element of Air. This is a safety thing as most people will be less likely to get burned by or knock over their personal when placing it in one of these locations.

At the top for Spirit, you can use a white candle or whatever represents Spirit to you. Spirit to me is a representation of the Universe as a whole and my spiritual path. I usually use one of these a white candle or angel statue or a clear quartz crystal.

Going around clockwise: For Water (Air) you can use a blue candle or a bowl of water or seashell(s) or a figure of a fish or whatever will represent Water for you. I usually use a bowl of spring water with seashells in it.

For Fire (Earth) you can use a red candled or a small figurine of a fire or whatever represents Fire for you. I usually use a tealight size red candle.

For Earth (Fire) you can use a green or brown candle or bowl with dirt or table salt without iodine or stones or pieces of wood or whatever represents Earth for you. I usually use twigs I have picked up in my yard or a walk through the woods or stones (I gather stones from many places I go because as an Earth witch they call to me) or prettified wood.

For Air you can use a yellow candle or incense or feathers or a figurine of a bird or butterfly or anything in nature that flies. I usually use feathers with an incense burner also going.

If you have any questions about this post, please ask in the comments or email LCB at ladybeltane@witchesofthecraft.com.

Copyright 2021 by Lady Carla Beltane All rights reserved. This post cannot be reblogged, copied and pasted or in any other way be reproduced for any purposes without express written permission from Lady Carla Beltane. Any violation of copyright laws will be dealt with through legal means.

Some Ideas for Office Witchcraft

Spell for Sunday – Ra Egyptian God of the Sun

(YOU CAN COPY AND PASTE ANY OF THE SPELLS POSTED TO A DOCUMENT TO PRINT AND/OR SAVE ON YOUR COMPUTER)

Set Up An Altar for Ra Egyptian God of the Sun

Setting up an altar for the god Ra is a great way to invite him into your spiritual practice and life. It creates a meeting place for you and your god to connect and communicate. Any flat surface will work such as a table, nightstand, bookshelf, counter, etc. Then add things to represent Ancient Egypt and the god Ra to your altar including: crystal pyramids, a statue of Ra, the Eye of Ra symbol, candles, incense with an incense burner, sun decor, a bowl of water, etc. Cleanse and bless your Ra altar before use.

Wearing Ra Amulets Source: otherworldlyoracle.com

Traditionally, amulets were worn by Ra worshipers to invoke their beloved deity and to show their dedication. Select an amulet that means something to you, but also reminds you of the sun god’s unique qualities. Perhaps a stone the Egyptians revered such as lapis lazuli, quartz, turquoise, or onyx. More appropriately, a sunstone would make a great Ra amulet. Cleanse your new amulet, then ask Ra to imbue his power into it. I like to set my amulets on my gods’ altars to really soak up their energy. Then wear the amulet daily or during special sacred rituals in honor of Ra.

2,700-year-old temple with altar overflowing with jewel-studded offerings unearthed on Greek island

2,700-year-old temple with altar overflowing with jewel-studded offerings unearthed on Greek island

Archaeologists in Greece have discovered a 2,700-year-old temple that houses a horseshoe-shaped altar overflowing with offerings.

Constructed of bricks, the temple is 100 feet (30 meters) long and is located next to the Temple of Amarysia Artemis, a sanctuary dedicated to the Greek goddess Artemis, which researchers found in 2017 on the island of Evia, according to a translated statement from Greece’s Ministry of Culture.

During excavations in 2023, archaeologists found the second temple.

Related: 2,800-year-old figurines unearthed at Greek temple may be offerings to Poseidon

“One of the peculiarities of this temple is the significant number of structures found inside it,” the researchers wrote on Jan. 9 in a translated Facebook post detailing their finding.

Those structures included several hearths located in the temple’s nave, including the ash-caked altar stacked with offerings such as pottery; vases; Corinthian alabaster, or the carved mineral gypsum; gold and silver jewelry studded with coral and amber; amulets; and bronze and iron fittings. The altar also contained several pieces of charred bone.

Some of the pottery pieces predate the newfound temple and were fired during the late eighth century B.C., leading researchers to suspect that the altar may have once resided outside the temple and was later moved indoors.

In the sixth century B.C., brick partitions were placed at the sanctuary’s heart for added support, leading researchers to think that the temple was “partially destroyed” by a fire, according to the statement.

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Beneath the temple, archaeologists found several dry stone walls from a different building that once stood at the site, along with several bronze figurines shaped like bulls and a ram. They also unearthed remnants of buildings from the eighth and ninth centuries B.C. next to the first temple, as well as a fortification system dating to the more recent early Copper Age, or roughly 4000 to 3500 B.C.

Some Ideas for Inviting Fairies into Your Garden to Go With Today’s Spell

Fairies. How has it taken me this long to cover these amazing magical beings? As a hedgewitch, working with the spirits of the land is just one of the many things I do, and fairies are a pretty important one. I’m not going to go into too much detail about fairies in this post, but if you are interested in learning more about fairies, please refer to W. Y. Evans-Wentz’s book The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries. This amazing piece of literature is just one of several texts on which Traditional Witchcraft, including hedgewitchery, is based and is a must read if you wish to work with fairies or even understand the history of witchcraft and folk magic. But I digress! Today we are going to look at how you can invite fairies into your garden to help it grow and add a bit more magic to it.

Grow Specific Flowers

There are several ways you can attract fairies to your garden. They are pretty picky creatures, so making them happy is the key to keeping them in your garden once you have invited them. First, make sure you have the flowers they love. Anything bell-shaped will attract fairies to your garden, as well as hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees. Not sure what to include? Try adding these plants to your garden:

  • Lamb’s ear
  • Yarrow
  • Coneflower
  • Rosemary
  • Lavender
  • Rose
  • Lilac
  • Morning Glory
  • Foxglove
  • Thyme

I planted almost all of these in my garden. I’m only missing coneflower (which I will plant next year) and lilac (which I will likely plant next year too). The best part of these particular plants is they are also ones you will often use in magical workings, recipes, and herbal remedies. Foxglove and morning glory are toxic, so don’t use those, but the others are safe!

Set up a Fairy Altar

Have all the flowers but want something more? Try setting up an altar specifically for fairies and make regular offerings. You can include a fairy statue, tea lights, electric fairy lights, and crystals such as quartz, rose quartz, or moonstone on a flat rock or surface in your garden. Once your altar is set up, be sure to leave offerings on the altar or in small walnut shells. Offerings include:

  • cream or milk
  • beer
  • wine
  • cider
  • honey
  • nuts
  • chocolate
  • flowers (see above)
  • shiny objects like coins and jewelry

Sacrificial altar among 13,000 relics unearthed at Sanxingdui archaeological site in China

A turtleshell-shaped box and a sacrificial altar are among a treasure trove of 13,000 relics dating back over 3,000 years discovered by archaeologists in southwest China.

The relics – many made of gold, bronze and jade – were unearthed in six sacrificial pits at the Sanxingdui archaeological site, near Chengdu, Chinese state media reported Monday, June 14, 2022.

Historians know relatively little about the Sanxingdui culture, which left behind no written records or human remains, though many believe it to be part of the ancient kingdom of Shu. It’s hoped the latest finds will shed light on the kingdom, which ruled in the western Sichuan basin along the upper stream of the Yangtze River until it was conquered in 316 BC.

A joint team of archaeologists from Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute, Peking University, Sichuan University and other research institutions have been excavating the six pits at the site since 2020.

In the most recent excavation, archeologists found 3,155 relatively intact relics, including more than 2,000 bronze wares and statues, China’s state news agency Xinhua reported.

New finds from the past

Researchers described a turtleshell-shaped box made of bronze and jade as among their more intriguing finds, saying it was the first time they had uncovered such an item.

“It would not be an exaggeration to say that the vessel is one of a kind, given its distinctive shape, fine craftsmanship and ingenious design. Although we do not know what this vessel was used for, we can assume that ancient people treasured it,” Li Haichao, a professor at Sichuan University, told Xinhua.

A bronze altar nearly 3-feet tall (0.9 meters) was also found in one of the pits, where people of the click here to read the rest of this article

Some of the Color Correspondences for Magickal Workings – Printable

These colors can be used for altar clothes, candles, clothing, Sabbat, and other things. Some of the colors also correspondence to a specific day and/or month.