aggie-the-poet

[aggie-the-poet]

Reblog the Princess ™ for future happiness and mental stability. Let her cuteness cleanse you.

[aggie-the-poet]

Altars and How To Build Them

- From my Grimoire

What is an Altar?

A really good place to start when looking into building an altar is know exactly what an altar is. Essentially this is your place of power, and where all of your magickal workings will take place. They can also be places to worship or show reverence to your deities or to a spirit. The uses of altars can be endless, and they’re all unique to the individual and the purpose they’re making it for. 

When building your altar, get creative and have fun with it. It’s connected to you and your energy, so making it personal to yourself is the most important aspect of creating one. I’ve even seen online and drawn altars, so feel free to think outside the box when it comes to yours if you can’t afford to make one that’s big and fancy. Your connection to it is what’s important.

There are also different types of altars and different themes and subcategories. The Altar I’ll be walking you through making today is a combination altar that’s centered around the Sun and Moon. Along with this, don’t feel like you can only have your altar up during specific times. If it’s a personal altar than it’s supposed to stay up year around c:

Types of Altars

As I usually say, this is not an inclusive list by far. Like I stated about, there are endless types of altars and even subcategories for the types. The kind of altar you make is completely up to you, so don’t feel like these are your only options.

House Altar - This is the energy center of the house and an altar for the entire family to use and draw power from. Usually this altar is located in the center of the house or the living room that way is accessible to everyone. These altars often change with the seasons, and have some sort of object or thing to represent every member of the family.

Personal Altar - Usually only connected to one of two people, and most often kept in a bedroom or closet. This type of altar is very personal to the person who makes it, often representing everything that they love and have passion for. It’s full of things like personal items, patron deity statues, and anything that has value to them.

Working Altar - This is an altar that is usually only put up when it’s needed. Used mostly for spell work and spell casting, it’s unique to the spell and intention. When building this kind of altar, think carefully about every aspect of it and how it can add to and enhance your spell.

Shrine - A type of altar made to honor a specific (type of) deity or spirit. These usually have things like idols on them and a space to give offerings. When building this kind of altar, work closely with the being who it’s meant to honor. Figure out what they like or don’t like.

Travel Altar - Often seen in mint canisters, these are a small collection of trinkets or items that you carry with you daily or only during extended stays and you want to keep a magickal connection. Use things that you care about, but are also easy to replace in case anything ever goes missing.

Supplies You’ll Need or Want

Here’s a list of some really basic supplies that you’re probably going to want when building your altar. That doesn’t mean these things are necessary, always make sure to use what works best for you!

Flat Surface - This can by anything from a windowsill to a table. Just any surface that’s flat enough to display everything properly. Personally I like to use a dresser because altars like to grow and expand, and having the extra storage space is nice.

Cloth - This is not only to protect your surface, but the cloth can be a sign of respect if you’re making a shrine.

Incense Burner/Oil Diffuser

Candles(and holders)/Wax Melts

Bowl - Used mostly for salt and water, but also to make offerings

Pentacle - A Sign of protection, feel free to draw this on your cloth of even a piece of paper.

Cup/Chalice -  Used to hold water for blessing, cleansing crystals, or to make offerings of any drinks.

Cauldron - Used to burn or mix things together.

Bottles 

Matches/Lighter

Salt and Water

Crystals/Stones

Some other, more traditional things you’ll see on an altar are things like:

Athame - A knife used for directing energy (sometimes used as a boline as well)

Boline - A knife used to cut herbs or branches, inscribe candles or carve runes/sigils into anything.

Bell - Used to call on spirits or the divine. Basically opens up communications with the spirit realm.

God and Goddess Idols - Idols representing someones deities

Wand - A tool used to direct energy, usually gifted to you by nature but can be bought or crafted as well.

Mortar and Pestle - Used to grind herbs, bones, or any other materials.

Building Your Altar: A Tutorial

Here’s the section everyone is probably waiting for, just exactly how do you build your altar? Well, there really is no direct way to build one but I can offer some basic guidelines. Never feel like this is the only way to build an altar because you can do whatever feels right to you. As long as it looks good to you, and works with your energy well, it’s perfect.

My methods of altar building have more traditional roots, but I’ve put my own spin on it to make it unique to me, so please do the same! ^u^

First off, you’re going to want to think about exactly where to place your altar. Think about the energy spaces in your home and room. What is your favorite spot or place? What makes you most comfortable? Also take into consideration if you have pets, or high traffic areas. If you’re going to have breakable things on your altar you don’t want your cat jumping up there, or someone bumping into it. Think carefully about everything!

Secondly, find your surface. My first altar was on a dinner tray table, so just about anything will work! It can be as big or small a space as you need. I chose a dresser that’s been in my family for a long time. 

Next is to get your cloth. I personally like to get fabric from the craft store. Solid colors are cheap, and theres tons of them. I like to draw on mine to make them more personal. As for colors, use what works best for you. I like to use light colors during the warmer seasons and dark colors in the colder seasons.

Next thing you’re going to want to decide is your theme, or what kind of intentions you have for your altar. Find yourself a center piece. Something that you’ve made or connect with and that really means a lot to you. My Centerpieces are my crocheted God and Goddess dolls. This is more traditional, but if you’re curious, the feminine or spiritual side is the left side and the masculine or more physical side is the right side.

Next thing I focus on when building my altar, are where the candles and incense burner are gonna go. If you’re working with candles, HAVE FIRE SAFETY IN MIND ALWAYS. For me, I like to keep my candles in the middle away from everything else, and my incense burner fits nicely on the side.

After that comes your tools. Things like cups, bowls, athames, anything. Figure out where you want to put these tools that way they’re easy to access. My tools in the middle, I have laid out to correspond to the elements. Water(chalice), Lighter(fire), Salt Bowl(earth), and Bell(air)

The next part is to add some personal belongings and really set the mood for the altar. Me personally, one of my specialties is crystals, and that’s heavily reflected in my altar. I like to use the pentacle in the middle for crystal grids. It basically gives me a control panel for the altar, and allows me to change the mood for it whenever I feel like I need to. Some other things I added were a spell bottle my fiance gave me, an origami piece i was given by another covenmate, and a pinecone that just fell right in front of me on day.

And those are the basics to setting up an altar! If anyone has and questions or would like some advice, please feel free to send me a message or ask. Hopefully this helps some of you!

[aggie-the-poet]

RUE HOUSE CLEANSING SPELL (photo taken by Mara Light: me)

You Will Need:

- Fresh Rue **NOTE: IF PREGNANT DO NOT TOUCH** - *White Sage - Salt in a vessel - Blessed water in a clean vessel - Black Candle

Directions:

- Get your ingridents ready in your sacred space/altar. I used my kitchen altar. Ground and center.

- When you feel calm and ready and your energy focused, light the black candle and say “By fire and flame I banish negativity from this space.”

- Pass the salt over the candle saying “by fire and air I bless and cleanse this earth.” Do the same for the water. 

- Put the salt in the water and stir in clockwise manner until dissolved. Now, take up the sage and light it. Starting in front of your altar/sacred space, go in a clock wise manner and say “By fire and air I remove all negative and old energies” around your whole house (or room) repeating this until you end where you started. Put the sage out if it’s still burning.

- Now take your bunch of Rue and your water. Dip the Rue in the water and flick it on your sacred space saying “ By earth and water I remove all blocks from this space.” Going in a clock wise manner, do this to your whole house/room. When you’ve ended where you started set the bowl down and say “By fire and air, by earth and water, I removed all blocks and negativity from my life. Let my life be open and ready for new opportunities and positive energy. SO MOTE IT BE.”

I hope this helps you guys! I just did it myself and am looking forward to the results!

*If you’re in a position that you can’t light sage then you can use a room spray that contains sage–most new age stores and even ones on etsy have them! Also, if you don’t like the smell of sage, cedar or rosemary are good alternatives! 

[aggie-the-poet]

let 2k19 be the year the non-native witch/pagan/wicca community stop appropriating the term ‘spirit animal’

[aggie-the-poet]

ALTAR 101 🔮✨

•••☽◯☾•••

Here is a guide to setting up your altar based on common traditions for those new to Wicca or interested in beginning or even those practicing wiccans just looking to shake up your current set up!

•••☽◯☾•••

The most important step in setting up your altar is choosing its location; finding a spot where you are comfortable and feel positive energy is SO important! Even small things such as choosing directionality of your altar is important - if you will be using a round table/stand, directionality may not be as important, but if you are using a square set up or intend to always face the same direction when using your altar, choose the directionality which you feel closest to (you can also change directionality with certain spells if you like):

• North: Earth 🌏

• South: Fire🔥

• East: Air 💨

• West: Water💧

It is optimal to purify and cleanse the area you intend to use for your altar as well as the table/stand you choose to use.

•••☽◯☾•••

What you choose to set up your altar on is 110% a personal choice. If you don’t want to spend money looking for a specific altar table or building something special to use, simply using something you have laying around already is absolutely fine! For instance, I used an old coffee table that I had laying around not in use. As long as you purify the item with your intent, it can be anything you need. Another consideration is storage - some altars I’ve seen online have drawers and storage beneath which is a great option if space is limited! You will need someplace to store candles, herbs, stones, etc. Also important is deciding how mobile you need your altar to be - if you are a closet witch, mobility is important and a formal set up may not be plausible. Here are some beautiful altar table examples:

•••☽◯☾•••

Items of the Altar Include;

⭐️ Athame: A ceremonial blade; primarily this is used as a tool to channel energy through - this is not traditionally used as a cutting tool. Can be used to cast your circle as well as to invoke the elements of the four directions.

⭐️ Bell: Used to open and close rituals - typically associated with banishing of negative influences and energies.

⭐️ Boline: Traditionally used as a cutting tool for herbs, ribbon, flowers, etc.

⭐️ Cauldron: Used for burning of herbs, mixing of herbs, burning of symbols / paper. This should typically be cast iron since it will contain fire often times.

⭐️ Chalice: Used to hold blessed wine or water during rituals or spells.

⭐️ God Candle: Can be yellow or gold in coloration; Used to invoke masculine energies

⭐️ Goddess Candle: Can be white or silver in coloration; Used to invoke feminine energies

⭐️ Pentacle: Used to invoke positive energies into a circle; often times items can be “charged” upon a pentacle

⭐️ Wand: Another tool of invokation used to invoke the gods and sacred energies. Like the athame, this too can be used to cast a circle.

•••☽◯☾•••

One option for setting up the altar is a more “traditional” set up dividing the table into feminine and masculine energies. The left side is traditionally meant for femininity with items such as your goddess statue, goddess candle, chalice, bowl of water, cauldron, pentacle, crystals, and bell. The masculine right side includes your god statue, god candle, incense, wand, salt, athame, boline, and matches. The center of the altar is dedicated to ritual and magic set up.

•••☽◯☾•••

Another common style is an elemental set up with items representative of water (chalice, bowl of water, cauldron) being set to the west, air (bell, wand, incense) to the east, earth (pentacle, salt, stones) to north, and fire (athame, boline, matches / oils) to the south.

•••☽◯☾•••

Other items you could consider adding to your altar representative of each element:

💧 Water: Seashells, Ace of Cups (Tarot), Rainwater, Mirrors, Driftwood, Seaweed, Crystal Ball, Goblet

🔥 Fire: Cactus, Volcanic Stone, Ash, Ace of Wands (Tarot), Lantern, Dragon Statue, Cinnamon Sticks, Incense

🍃 Earth: Ceramics, Coin, Stones, Soil, Salt, Ace of Pentacles, Seeds, Herbs, Flowers, Bone

💨 Air: Diffuser, Ribbons, Wind Instruments, Fans, Butterfly Imagry, Feathers, Ace of Swords (Tarot)

•••☽◯☾•••

I hope this was helpful as a basic guide! As always I encourage everyone to do things along their own personal style and employ things meaningful to you. ♥️

[aggie-the-poet]

i hope you have a nice day and keep in mind that you are amazing 💗 even thougu we met recently i already like you a lot 🧚🏻‍♀️ stay safe honey

Thank you so much! I like you a lot too❤️💗 I’m glad we started talking!

[aggie-the-poet]

the joker isn’t harley quinn’s love interest he’s her origin story

[aggie-the-poet]

🗻place correspondence🗻

ARIES

deserts

woodsheds

places where fire is used and jewellery is manufactured, forges

TAURUS

orchards

pasture land

storehouses for food, like granaries or silos

GEMINI

hills

riversides

resorts of acrobats and gamblers and musicians, circus

CANCER

reservoirs

reed beds

rivers

LEO

fortresses

king’s palaces

quarries

VIRGO

concert halls

threshing floors

cultivated fields

LIBRA

palm groves

observatories

plains

SCORPIO

places of grief and mourning

deserted places

vineyards

SAGITTARIUS

temples and churches

arsenals, armories

lime pits

CAPRICORN

castles

harbours

water wheels

AQUARIUS

standing water

taverns

birds’ nests and resorts of aquatic birds

PISCES

abodes of holy men and priests, monasteries

lake shores

salt marshes

[aggie-the-poet]

Super update: more hair fell out so now I’m just gonna shave my whole head

Fun update: I found a fucking bald spot on the top of my head

[aggie-the-poet]

Fun update: I found a fucking bald spot on the top of my head

[aggie-the-poet]

He got cold feet and didn’t even show up. If you need me, you can find me ass deep in blankets crying my eyes out.

Your girl got a date tomorrow! I’m so excited but also nervous as hell… if anyone has advice for me about dating, I’ve got open ears!

[aggie-the-poet]

“her race isnt an issue but isn’t starfire supposed to be orange.”

“okay but she looks like a ghetto crackwhore hooker in that getup”

kory in literally a bell bottom suit and mini-dresses with and w/o a fur coat.

multiple starfires from in the comics who are apparently modest as hell:

“k, well her hair was never like that in the comics or cartoon.”

“she doesn’t shoot actual fire, the writers are idiots.”

“whatever I didnt wanna say it but she isn’t supposed to be black.”

[aggie-the-poet]

Your girl got a date tomorrow! I’m so excited but also nervous as hell... if anyone has advice for me about dating, I’ve got open ears!

[aggie-the-poet]

Marvel stole the infinity stones gauntlet thing from Danny Phantom, and that’s the real tea🍵

[aggie-the-poet]

[aggie-the-poet]

why are there so many creeps like i just want to find a nice man jesus christ

[aggie-the-poet]

Can I have an Eddie/Venom x Reader where the reader suddenly brings a new odd pet home? Like a hedgehog? And Eddie isnt that bother by it and actually likes the little guy but Venom is all pouty and jealous because its taking all the readers attention. Thanks (Btw if you pick hedgehog his nane should by Ozzy, kinda like Ozzy Osbourne lol)

Aww this is so cute! I’ll add this to my list! Thanks for the request!