What should be on your altar

The candle on my personal altar is topped off with mystical extras like crushed petals and crystals, and I recommend that route if you want something that channels a specific energy like self-love or strength. And speaking of crystals, it's always energetically wise and visually charming to use them on an altar.

Rose quartz, amethyst, and selenite are popular go-tos, but don't neglect stunners like fluorite , which is a gorgeous aquamarine stone that aims to help you stay focused on your personal path. If you practice a spiritual discipline, your altar is the place you'd keep your tools. I personally use my altar to house my classic Rider-Waite tarot deck, but I love this super saturated, holographic hot pink rebrand.

Again, these are just thought-starters for various items that includes items that have specifically worked for me. But, not everyone has the same taste, styles, or spiritual inclinations. With that in mind, remember that so long as you're true to your heart and select things joyfully and intentionally, you're bound to have a spot that's absolutely magical. Oh hi! Use the below as a guide, but the real power behind altar rituals is your heart, meaning and intent and so use the symbols and tools your inner guide suggests to you as these will always be the most powerful.

Altar cloths represent the sacred area of protection during a ritual. As this is your central focus, it's a good idea to choose a cloth that represents your approach to magick. Throw rugs, such as the pagan calendar throw, are great for a portable altar kit as there is room for you to sit as well as cast your ritual. Round throws can be altered to double as a pouch or bag easily enough too. Spirit board and om altar cloths. A lit candle represents the fire element, and the colours of candles take on different meanings for particular rituals.

Because colours have different meanings and what matters is your intent behind choosing, chime or spell candles are an easy way to draw elements of focus into your ritual so are a must-have for your altar setup. An offering bowl, sometimes called a libation dish, is again dependent on your form of magick, but they are essential to most rituals in some way.

Offerings give thanks, or invoke requests from the spirits and are a sign of acknowledgement that you are asking the universe to grant you what you desire. If your offerings are organic, such as flowers or herbs, these can be returned to nature after use for further effect.

Crystals have a broad range of uses on altars, but generator crystals specifically, those with 6 faces that come to a point on one end, are designed to generate and project energy during spells and rituals. Rainbow moonstone, for example, is great for helping you attune erratic emotions. The triple moon symbol, which represents the three stages of womanhood maiden — mother — crone is also powerful symbology with a strong history of use in magick.

When using either of these symbols on the surface of the altar, power is enhanced by placing ritual items strategically on the points of each symbol. Collect four items that represent the four elements of earth, air, fire and water. Candles are the easiest way to represent fire, and you can start simply with a black pillar candle and then grow your collection with symbolically coloured candles for specific needs.

For water, an elemental resin or chalice filled with distilled water are good choices. For earth, crystals are the perfect starting point, particularly as most have multiple meanings and so building a crystal collection meets both the elemental symbology, and addresses specific focus needs.

For air, a feather, athame, a wand, windchimes or bells are all good options. How to organise it is up to you and your personal style — some like to divide with stick-in tabs to create sections, and others prefer a more linear approach, in which you can flick through and relive your magickal progression. Refer to our blog post on substituting spell ingredients for ideas on how to substitute.

Many ritual workings will require you to burn or smoke spell ingredients, burn resin incense for ambience, or have liquids or other substances such as sand nearby. Obviously, you'll need candles, and a lot of them. They symbolize the fire elemtn. Different candle colors are used for different types of spellwork, so pick up a pack of multicolored tapers and get to chanting.

The chalice is a ritual cup that represents water, and it has historical uses in sooo many different traditions, notably, the Catholic Eucharist. You don't need anything fancy — even a plastic cup will do — but be sure to keep it separate from your usual drinking glasses. To represent the earth element, you can lay flowers at your altar, or collect dirt and sand into a cauldron. I like collecting leaves from fallen trees and dried flower petals, and burning them in my cauldron with sprinkles of herbs and incense.

A Book of Shadows, like this vegan leather journal by Magic of I. And lastly, you'll need a Book of Shadows to collect your rituals.

In your BoS, you can write down your favorite potion blend recipes, chants and prayers that are especially meaningful, and record your night and day dreams. Meagan Fredette meaganrosae.