A Witches Altar: How To Decorate for Esbats, Special Rituals and For An Altar Not In Use
Over the last few weeks I have been blogging about the witches altar. It's a very important part of the practice of witchcraft and it has definitely needed this lengthy dialog to go over it. The first part was about general construction, placement and what should go on your altar. Last week I went over the Sabbats and decoration for each of the major holidays. Today's blog is going to be about the Esbats, decorating for individual rituals that are not holiday related and of course what should you do with your altar and how it should look or be decorated when you aren't using your altar.
Let's start off with the Esbats. Personally, I don't do anything special for the esbats. If you want to then you'll need to keep a very close watch on when there will be a full moon and the types of full moons. I plan on doing an article on Lunar Magic but for right now I would just check out a farmers almanac as it gives dates and times for the moons in 2013 as well as 2014. It also lists the name of the moon. I.E Wolf Moon, Blood Moon, ect if you are unfamiliar with those. It gives some names I haven't heard of but different cultures have different names for the moons anyways.
If you have a Drawing Down The Moon ritual in your arsenal, an esbat is typically when you would preform it.
So in addition to your usual magickal tools you will need:
*White unscented, pillar candle that is decorated with sigils and moon symbols. The moon candle I use I used silver ink to inlay the sigls and symbols I carved into it to add more power to it. I also tied a silver ribbon around it and hung a crescent moon charm from it.
So what should you do with your altar if you aren't using it, it isn't a sabbat or esbat and you aren't doing a special ritual? Well, you can either keep the decorations you have up until the next holiday. For example, you'd keep the Samhain decor up until you change it for Yule then keep the Yule decor on until Imbolc and so on.
You can take everything down completely and have a blank slate. This would be perfect if you aren't very open to outsiders, you are sharing a space with someone else who isn't of the Craft, if you are traveling, or if you have an altar that it outside and you don't want someone to stumble upon it or it to be effected by the elements.
Another option is that you can do what I do and do a "Un-Holiday" Set up (you know like an un-birthday?). It's just a generic set up that I keep around until I am ready to do a ritual (I typically use this set up for my specific rituals) or for the holidays.
I have a Black Altar Cloth (or more recently, no altar cloth because otherwise the cats pull it down) and my God and Goddess Candles. Then I have my wand, athame, incense burner, cauldron and mortar and pestle as my usual tools.
I then have my statuary: Bear to represent myself, an Owl to represent Athena and I haven't really found anything I like to represent Cernunnos yet. I just devoted myself to him recently and as such have been on the hunt for the perfect depiction of him. I do have a piece of bark that I found that was unusual that screamed "take me home with you" that is on my altar and is sort of a place holder for him.
Then there are various stones I am charging on my altar as well as my "stone box." It's a small wooden box, very intricate in design that has various gemstones inlayed on it already. I keep a collection of stones in there at all times.
As you saw in the pictures from taking pictures of my altar I put rose petals on there. I typically put a few found objects on there to charge or beautify it and then they come off. For example, my mother has an African Grey parrot and he is currently preening his feathers so when a few "good ones" come out I collect them (without him trying to eat my hand - it's a game we play) and put them on my altar and then add them to my feather collection or place them in my book, ect.
You can do whatever feels best for you and works best for you with your altar. It will always be changing so make sure it isn't a lot of serious work for you to set up and take down your altar decor every time you do something. I like this set up because whenever I do a ritual that isn't for a holiday I already have the basics on there I just have to add my bell, my bowl of water and my bowl of salt plus the other things that I need and then I can clean up and my altar is already set up for the next thing. I only do a major adjustment at every holiday.
That is pretty much everything that you might need to know about altar creation, placement, contruction and decoration! If there is something I missed or you have questions or comments as always feel free to leave a comment and I will be most happy to help you in any way that I can. Enjoy your day.
Let's start off with the Esbats. Personally, I don't do anything special for the esbats. If you want to then you'll need to keep a very close watch on when there will be a full moon and the types of full moons. I plan on doing an article on Lunar Magic but for right now I would just check out a farmers almanac as it gives dates and times for the moons in 2013 as well as 2014. It also lists the name of the moon. I.E Wolf Moon, Blood Moon, ect if you are unfamiliar with those. It gives some names I haven't heard of but different cultures have different names for the moons anyways.
 |
| Moon Candle |
If you have a Drawing Down The Moon ritual in your arsenal, an esbat is typically when you would preform it.
So in addition to your usual magickal tools you will need:
- White or Silver Altar Cloth
- Bowl of Water
- Moon Candle*
- Mirrors
- Silver Ribbons
- Various white gemstones - Moonstone is preferred
- Pictures/ Statuary of the Goddess Diana or other moon Goddesses that are sacred to your path
*White unscented, pillar candle that is decorated with sigils and moon symbols. The moon candle I use I used silver ink to inlay the sigls and symbols I carved into it to add more power to it. I also tied a silver ribbon around it and hung a crescent moon charm from it.
 |
| This is a candle used in a Dark Moon esbat, if it were white it would look identical to mine. |
So what should you do with your altar if you aren't using it, it isn't a sabbat or esbat and you aren't doing a special ritual? Well, you can either keep the decorations you have up until the next holiday. For example, you'd keep the Samhain decor up until you change it for Yule then keep the Yule decor on until Imbolc and so on.
You can take everything down completely and have a blank slate. This would be perfect if you aren't very open to outsiders, you are sharing a space with someone else who isn't of the Craft, if you are traveling, or if you have an altar that it outside and you don't want someone to stumble upon it or it to be effected by the elements.
Another option is that you can do what I do and do a "Un-Holiday" Set up (you know like an un-birthday?). It's just a generic set up that I keep around until I am ready to do a ritual (I typically use this set up for my specific rituals) or for the holidays.
I have a Black Altar Cloth (or more recently, no altar cloth because otherwise the cats pull it down) and my God and Goddess Candles. Then I have my wand, athame, incense burner, cauldron and mortar and pestle as my usual tools.
I then have my statuary: Bear to represent myself, an Owl to represent Athena and I haven't really found anything I like to represent Cernunnos yet. I just devoted myself to him recently and as such have been on the hunt for the perfect depiction of him. I do have a piece of bark that I found that was unusual that screamed "take me home with you" that is on my altar and is sort of a place holder for him.
Then there are various stones I am charging on my altar as well as my "stone box." It's a small wooden box, very intricate in design that has various gemstones inlayed on it already. I keep a collection of stones in there at all times.
As you saw in the pictures from taking pictures of my altar I put rose petals on there. I typically put a few found objects on there to charge or beautify it and then they come off. For example, my mother has an African Grey parrot and he is currently preening his feathers so when a few "good ones" come out I collect them (without him trying to eat my hand - it's a game we play) and put them on my altar and then add them to my feather collection or place them in my book, ect.
You can do whatever feels best for you and works best for you with your altar. It will always be changing so make sure it isn't a lot of serious work for you to set up and take down your altar decor every time you do something. I like this set up because whenever I do a ritual that isn't for a holiday I already have the basics on there I just have to add my bell, my bowl of water and my bowl of salt plus the other things that I need and then I can clean up and my altar is already set up for the next thing. I only do a major adjustment at every holiday.
That is pretty much everything that you might need to know about altar creation, placement, contruction and decoration! If there is something I missed or you have questions or comments as always feel free to leave a comment and I will be most happy to help you in any way that I can. Enjoy your day.
Blessed Be )O(
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