Witches Weekly
May 27, 2004: Altar/Shrines
1. Do you have an altar/shrine?
Short answer: yes. Long answer: several. One main altar, which is surrounded by four small wall shelf shrines (two for me, two for HRH). We have a shelf shrine over the mantel with our main deity statues. I have a mirror/flame shrine which I use for writing. I created a small St Brigid shrine which hangs on a wall which is devoted to writing and spirituality.
2. If you do, what objects do you have placed on it and are any of them homemade or natural objects (ex: feathers, rocks, crystals)?
The main altar has a variety of stones for various purposes (i.e., the altar stone which is the heart of our altar, various river stones for healing work), plus hand-made candles, boxes, pouches, and so forth, including a lovely handmade statue of Hecate in her maiden form of the torch-bearer created for me by a student; the wall altars have piles of stones, feathers, acorns, etc, as well as statues; the divinity statues have stones in the offering hollows as well as being surrounded by hand-made Brid’s Crosses and a pile of wheat stalks. My St Brigid shrine has small stones piled in the cup designed for holy water.
3. If you don’t, (you can answer this if you do have one as well) do you have an area where you focus on your spirituality?
Anywhere I go, there I am… It’s good to carry sacred space within you. Being limited to a physical place is dangerous, in my opinion. All the same, it’s nice to have a material focal point, too. If I’m travelling, I use any kind of candle; I consider consecrated flame to be a physical manifestation of my internal sacred space.
4. How do you feel when you are settled at your altar/shrine (or area)?
Depends how I come to it, and the answer I require. Sometimes I’m angry, sometimes, I’m frustrated, sometimes I’m serene. What I get out of it is what I need to get out of it: either relaxed, energised, or even more angry (this last usually depends on how much I need to get accomplished in a given period of time).