This post first appeared on my Patreon, where you can find many other goodies. I warned my husband when I moved in that I was apt to turn any flat surface into an altar. I believe he thought I was kidding. I am demonstrably a fan of setting up and maintaining an altar as part of your regular spiritual practice. How do I do that? The Basics You can set up an altar nearly anywhere you can fit the items you want to put on it. I have used a mantel piece, various shelves, an antique buffet, an antique wash stand, a step stool from my childhood, a large rock, and an assortment of tables from a fancy antique corner table to a folding table I bought at Walmart.
Cloth to cover the altar makes it look pretty and the colors will generally be dictated by the intended purpose or your personal tastes. Candles likewise. There are also substitutes for incense which I will go into when I talk about personal cleansing.
Devotional Altar Usually this is for a deity you have a strong relationship with, but you can also set up an altar for your creative muse or for your dreams, which may have some elements of a spell altar which I will talk about below. Ishtar likes beer, lapis lazuli, and the best incense you can afford, for example. Lilith on the other hand seems to like things that are kind of broken, repurposed, or weird. Your mileage may vary. In that case you will have representations of deities usually a god and goddess, depending on the tradition and symbols of the four elements which are usually also your magical tools.
Ancestor Altar Arguably an ancestor altar is a form of devotional altar, but focused on your ancestors. I generally have both a boveda and a separate ancestor altar, especially at Samhain. For the latter I use a crochet doily that my grandmother made, and sometimes a black or blue cloth. I have photos or other mementos of both my ancestors of blood and ancestors of spirit the Mighty Dead of my witchcraft traditions, other people I admire from the past , and my Beloved Dead, those whom I have personal connection to whether kin or not.
I have a statue of Epona whom I have long associated with ancestor reverence, usually a white candle sometimes a skull-shaped one , perfume Florida water, rose or lavender , tobacco, and food offerings. The food offerings are frequently whiskey corn whiskey, by preference , coffee, or food I know my ancestors liked. They get their food before anyone else does.
