It's always a good idea to start the new year out right. I like to have my house reasonably clean, but this year I took that a step further and dismantled, cleaned, and rearranged all three of my altars.
Needless to say, not everyone has three altars (or even one--if you don't have one, this might be a nice time to create one as a spiritual center to your home). But if you have even one, it is a good idea to periodically clear and cleanse it--nobody likes a dusty altar--and check in to see if it is still what you need in its current incarnation.
My main altar, in the dining room/office, gets cleaned pretty often for the most part, since I use it the most. I did, however, find that the top section was dusty and that some of the items that had been living up there no longer seemed right for the space.
In the end, I took almost everything off, changed the picture over the altar and everything sitting on top, and moved some things from my bedroom altar (which used to be my primary one, and now is mostly decorative) to this one. In fact, I also cleared off my "creativity" altar in the living room, switched things around there, and had three clean, shiny-energy, recharged altars to start the new year off right.
The creativity altar, with items that connect to my current writing project.
The bedroom altar. The wood candle holder above, the star-shaped glass candle holders, and the candles themselves are all handmade by local artisans. The clay god and goddess figures were made by my former high priestess.
It feels really good to clear away the dust and cobwebs of the old year, and start out fresh.
Do you have an altar? If so, what kind of things to you have on it? And have you cleaned it lately?
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I now have a table in my bedroom that is going to have to do triple duty: storage, a place for the paperwork in my life, and an altar to many things (will include my Happiness Jar, for example). But first I have to clean my way TO it before I can clean it and set it up. Lots to do but I want to give it a serious try.
ReplyDeleteI love your altars! I'm definitely giving them a look for ideas. Thank you for sharing your altars with us!
Altars aren't just for witches, either. Lots of religious and spiritual practices use altars, or have a niche for the household god or goddess. It's nice to have a place to focus on the spirit.
DeleteBeautiful! Where did you find the candles on your creativity altar? I love the spirals.
ReplyDeleteI have a writing altar in my office that definitely wants dusting, a bit of rearranging, and maybe more space. A burgeoning creativity altar that I haven't quite decided the shape of just yet is starting to form above my standing desk, as well.
The candles were made by a former artist at the shop I run, who sadly doesn't make them anymore. (So I refuse to burn these last ones.)
ReplyDeleteYay for your altars!
I have a lot of altar spaces in my home that my fiance and I both find meaningful. We have a music and creativitiy studio space where my fiance works on producing music and I have a desk where I do my tarot and things. We have a small creativity/productivity altar in there with pieces of citrine, pyrite, an incense burner and some other meaningful knick-knacks. In our living room, above the TV we have a shelf chock full of deities. I have always collected figurines of different gods & goddesses so we have them displayed there with another incense burner, some candles, and a nice tie-dyed cloth hanging like a curtain above it. I then have my main altar with my silver and gold god & goddess candles, a small cauldron, my athame, a pentacle tile, a feather, candles for each of the 4 elements, and various special crystals and gems. I also draped some sparkly rhinestone and pearl necklaces around this area to decorate it and make it look beautiful. Lastly, I have a kind of Mexican day of the dead altar, where I have a lot of 7-day candles, skulls, flowers in colorful vases, and a few other deity figurines including La Santasima Muerte. This is all centered around a gorgeous gold ornate antique shelf, and a photo of my fiance and I in an ornate gold frame. Oh and last but not least, I keep a candle and a piece of citrine in some rice in my kitchen for the kitchen gods/goddesses. :) Before I even really started studying Wicca I was prone to creating altars like this, even back when I was a kid, so it just seems very natural to me. I love to decorate my home and surround myself with things that I love and inspire me. And yes, I do regularly dust them and do my best to keep them all clutter-free! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your altars for the new year! Maybe I will rearrange one of mine or try a new one in my bedroom! :)
Your altar spaces sound fabulous!
DeleteSadface for those candles' availability. They're gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteWe have a new candlemaker who makes ones that are almost as nice...
DeleteHello! Thanks for a great post - I'm currently in the process of trying to set up an altar in my bedroom. I have been planning on doing this for several years but something always held me back, usually the fear that I was going to do it "wrong"!!! It was actually the book "The Goddess is in the Details" that helped me to realize that there was no right or wrong ... I'm still not entirely clear WHAT I want on my altar (I like to keep things simple, for the most part), but DEFINITELY candles and a potted plant to represent the green Earth! Thanks for inspiration :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad both the post and the book were helpful! And there is nothing wrong with simple. I love simple. (Less to dust!)
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