Altar Basics

Even the most simple altar is made up of the same few things: a bell, a chalice, an athame, a white candle for the god, a black candle for the goddess, a pentacle/pentagram talisman, an altar cloth, and the altar itself.

Now, can there be more things?  Of course!  Can there be less?  Sure!  Not everyone is going to go out and buy all those things at once.  Basically, if you have candles and a bit of space to practice, you can have an altar.

This is my current altar.  I'm still collecting all my basics, so, as of right now, I only have the altar box, a bell, a pentagram talisman, a Goddess talisman, a mini cauldron, and two brand new candles with their holders.  For my personal altar, I still need an altar cloth, an athame, and a chalice.

Like I said above, this is different for everyone.  You can have crystals, necklaces, flowers, more candles, etc.  Your altar can be a box, a shelf, a bit of space on your desk, a tree stump, etc.; the list goes on forever!  There are so many options for each of the things you could ever want for your altar!

As you can see, mine is mini.  Everything I have and I am planning on getting fits or will fit into that altar box.  Why?  Because I like to take mine with me and I don't have my own house at the moment, so I can't exactly put an average-sized altar up to use.  A mini altar was the best option for me, especially considering the one I had on the top of my desk shelves kept jumping off whenever my son came near.

So!  If you think you want an altar or you are interested in the idea, why not try it out?  See how you like it?  Everyone is different, so don't expect two altars to be alike in every way.  Just have fun with it and do what you feel is right.