Altars

[Pieces of Mind]

In what direction should my alter be facing?  

[dark_angel_32189]

Some say East, because that's where the sun rises. But, some say North... I forget why.

I face mine towards the East.  

[Zsa Zsa]

Pieces of Mind

In what direction should my alter be facing?

I personally keep my altar on the North wall of a room. For me, it has nothing to do with what book, or a more experienced Wiccan told me to do. It's strictly a personal quirk of mine; North is up in my brain, just as if you looked at an atlas. I also have a powerful internal compass, and almost always know which was is North (even if you blindfold me and spin me in circles), so it's might as well be North for me. I have heard, though, like Dark Angel, that it should face East.

Maybe I should look that up, it sounds interesting... I just thought of something. If you were to perform a ritual, say for Samhain, would it be more appropriate to face the dieing sun than the reborn?
Should you face in the direction that most strongly collates with your element (though many people don't bother with the elemental stuff)?
Should it change throughout the seasons?
Does Gardner state a reason why he chose one direction over the other (if he even did, I never looked into that before)
I don't know. I'm so intrigued now, I can't wait to do some book and internet searches!

shivanti

Hey i dont really have an altar right now but i have an idea and question about them. Could you use stones on an altar eg. tigers eye, amethyst.etc? and is there and spells or rites needed or used for offically declaring or making a new altar?

Crystals and stone are totally okay for an altar!
You can always cleanse and sanctify your altar. I do not have any spells off hand, but you can ritually sweep the area, aura cleanse or burn something like sweet grass or incense on the table top. Some times you don't need a spell, persay. You can chant, basically, what is needed for your sacred space "Banish negative energies (repeat, repeat, repeat)"

lord of the 4 realms

Okay. Where would I get such statues

Link for God and Goddess statues
http://www.abaxion.com/statue.htm  

[Faedyn Kali]

Crystals and gems on an alter? Of course. In fact, mine (before it was taken down and put into storage) consisted mainly of crystals, sized from some being as big as my head to as small as my pinkie finger nail. All colors and types. Then came insense, dried flowers, etc.

I told dad it was just a pretty way to portray my gemstone collection. He believed me. xd  

[Funa Spectrum]

I missed the altar showoff in the 20k celebration by a few hours, and I'm not wasting this photo (however bad it is).



It faces west. I'd rather it faced north, but that's not practical in my room.

The cup and dish often contain little offerings for the gods and spirits, and there's always water in the cup... unless it's Amé... well, there's always liquid in it and it's what represents water. The grey thing behind the cup was from a river in Japan.

I have celestite, carnelean, citrine, tiger's eye and fluorite in the middle there for various reasons. There's gold flakes in a bottle for attracting money, and the bracelet is a symbol of my two best friends.

Candles on the left, incense and a little feather in the front, and a little vase thing with salt in it on the right. My sister added the agate slices and the starry boxes (which have crystals in them). Ask her about it. Up back is the altar candles, my wand and athame, and the pentagram statue. I think I just put them there to make a point of "this is an altar, this is my area!"

Below it all are my books and various failed attempts at BOSing.  

[shivanti]

thank you and my next question is, can i use crystals in place of the elements, i mean do stones even half elements tied to them?  

[buwieshingo]

shivanti

thank you and my next question is, can i use crystals in place of the elements, i mean do stones even half elements tied to them?

Yes you can. Yes stones do have elements tied to them. Some have more elements or another element than others. There are two ways to figure the element of a stone one is to remember where you found the stone such as if you found one by the water or in the water of a natural lake (natural lake would have a purer reading then a man made lake but a stone from any lake is good), creek, river, or ocean. You can also read the energy it gives off too. I myself have lava rocks that my dad personally sent me from Mt. Vesuvius so I have them if I need to use them for a ritual of some kind.

Hope this helped you somewhat.

~Buwie  

[Deletemeplease80]

Look at the 4th post down:

http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=3810849


I don't know if I would use all stones on my alter though. I mean the elements are very diverse- shouldn't the symbols for them be too?  

[Foxmore]

I face my altar west for a couple reasons. One, if I faced it north, fire would be up front right next to either where I would be or the edge of the table. Either way, not good for me. Two, if I faced it east my chalice would be up front and that would look weird because it is the tallest thing on the altar (I don't have any statues yet).

Here is a picture of it (the event was over by time I got my camera back)
 

[Ich bin Q]

don't get any big ideas, they're not going to happen...

I don't think I was around for the show-off event, so I'm just going to show off here. I desperately need some sort of moody awesome decor. The little wooden chest isn't usually there... I kept telling myself to move it before I took the picture, but I guess it wanted to stay in razz

...you'll go to hell for what your dirty mind is thinking.

 

[kajido]

Bother.

Botherbotherbother.

Hmm... In regards to Altars...

I don't often have one.

But when I do, I'll spend a couple of days rearranging things and decorating.

I don't have one atm, but that's just due to a lack of space.

My boyfriend has one, but it needs redoing as he hasn't tidied his room in a while razz

But mine will face East when I get my own place.

Firefirefirefirefirefire.

Heh.

 

[Deletemeplease80]

I think the alters looks really nice; and I appreciate you sharing them! biggrin

Ich bin Nackt; I love all youre candles. xd Very colorful, and you seem to have everything an alter could want! smile Out of curiosity, what is the bent wooden item next to your cauldroon?

Foxmore; I LOVE the way yours focuses on the 4 elements. I will have a very similar approach to my alter. smile What kind of stones are you using? and what is in that little bottle next to the flowers?  

[Ich bin Q]

don't get any big ideas, they're not going to happen...

The thing at the back? Just a part of the desk I have my altar set on. My guess is that you clip a desk lamp to it. I'm sure I'll find a use for it one of these days.

I love love love my candles... can ye tell I'm a fire? xd

...you'll go to hell for what your dirty mind is thinking.

 

[EdanaDesmond]

Personally my alter faces the north or south, because those are the two direction I have internalized. Since I only have a moble alter at the moment I can't say anything.  

[Foxmore]

Kareena80

Foxmore; I LOVE the way yours focuses on the 4 elements. I will have a very similar approach to my alter. smile What kind of stones are you using? and what is in that little bottle next to the flowers?

The stones are some onyx, rose quartz, fluorite, a couple stones that I just liked and I have had for a long time, and the long one to the right is selenite. The bottle is lavender essential oil, and there is another bottle of an air elemental blend that I made.