Hidden Pagan Altar Tips and Tricks #1

When making a altar you must first think of a few things before hand and keep a couple of thoughts in mind. 

• Its important to remember that no tools or symbols belong to any single faith or tradition; what they represent to you is what will be important. For example, if your parents are Catholic and you are not yet ready to tell them you have begun practicing Paganism, get a statue or picture of the Blessed Mother or St. Brigit (who, in pre-Christian times, was a Goddess rather than a Saint) and put it on your dresser. Surround it with your candles. Hang a Celtic cross above it– that is, an equal-arm cross (sometimes surrounded by a circle). The Celtic cross was originally a Pagan symbol but adapted for Christian use. Keep a set of rosary beads made of a crystal, stone or wood charged with magic. Instead of using them for Christian prayers, use them for meditation, chanting, or empowering objects by surrounding them with the beads.
• You must keep in mind that a altar can be sitting in the middle of your living room and, as long as you don’t have a giant pentacle hanging over a statue of the Horned God, most people would be none the wiser. Set up your altar on a shelf, mantle or table by using decorative candle holders, small potted plants, and artistic expressions and no one will guess that your 18th century floral porcelain plate is a pentacle or your elaborately carved medieval dagger hanging on the wall is more then just a part of your sword collection ;).
• What is important to you about your path? Do you follow multiple paths and if so what about your path are 100% got to have? I practice wicca but also practice aspects of Buddhism and Native American practices. This let me know that I want something that was simplistic but also incorporated my divination and aspects of my god and goddess but with a tie to my Native American and Buddhist aspects as well. 
• Who is your Goddess / God / Spirit Animal? What are some of the aspects or symbols that correspond to them be them known or what you feel represents them for you but also that you know wouldn't raise alarm? For example I follow Artemis and Poseidon and my Spirit animal is a Wolf, I also deal with Dragons. For me Blue and Purple are the colors I correspond with my God and Goddess. Other things would be sand dollars, sea shells, water, sand, antlers, nature, stars/crescent moon, deer, wolfs, fur.
•  What are some other things that you feel connected to or are prominent in your practices? For me salt, cinnamon and clovers are something I tend to use a lot. I also feel connected to fluorite.

• Another thing you might wont to consider is where your planing to place your altar. Do you need it to be facing a certain direction? Are you worshiping a Sun god or Moon goddess? if so it might be a good ideal to keep it within a area that gets sun or moonlight. Are you working with a small space like a small end table or bathroom sink or are you using a big space like a book shelf or dresser. 

Now that you have considered these aspects its time to think outside the box a little and see what works for you and to get you started here are some suggestions and thoughts. 

Minus the stone with the goddess if your worried about someone picking up the stone and seeing it this is a very cost effective simple altar ideal that can be placed anywhere and never raise a eyebrow. In a little bowl you place some sand/salt, place a tea light then add some stones/ crystals/ sea glass around the candle. Finally sprinkle some dried flowers or potpourri that matches with your god or goddess be it color smell or a flower/herb connected to them and your done. Make sure to dedicate your candle to your god and goddess and your done. 

This is a twist on the standard bookshelf. With it being a a circle shelf and the way its sectioned off  I love the many possibilities symbolism wise. Firstly the circle can represent the moon, the goddess, life, the wheel of the year and much much more. The sections can be dedicated to the four elements and the middle to spirit/god and goddess/yourself. Some other ideals besides the set up this person did is putting candle(s) in the middle instead  or a pic of yourself there instead of the bottom (I'm assuming that was her element and thats why the pic was there).

This is a simple autumn center piece but i love the concept and could see this a a alter in so many ways so I thought I would include it. Take a plate that you think fits your theme (sea, woods, Mabon, Ostara) you could also use a bowl. Then take and add three candles; the wood candles are a great way to add a nature element especially if your god or goddess are connected to nature like mine, you could also change the candles to fit your god and goddess better such as blue  candles if your say a sea witch or water is connected to your God or goddess or any candle really. Next you add a animal element such as an animal you are connected to like wolves or say if your theme is sea dolphins or horses or turtles or feathers for a Native American feel and to incorporate birds. Follow this with adding a wax/fake/real food that fits your god or goddess such as apples, grapes, a grain such as rice or corn. I know this doesn't seem like a altar but trust me thats the point after all. What you have just done is created a center piece for your table that has several symbols that are connected to your god /goddess and that is conveniently place on a table you can use to do your practices later.

This is kinda along the same lines as the center piece.

This is a really simple way to make a elemental based altar that can be made in just one glass or  5 it really does not matter. Taking various sized glasses (high wise) you add crystals or stones to the bottom or tied to the branches/twigs wit h wire. next add the twigs and arrange them so that they wont catch fire and allow the tea light to float. Next fill with water will about an inch below the rim, add the tea light and wahla you have a altar that you can place on a table, bookshelf, shelve, mantel the list is endless. If you do 5 you can arrange them in a line and when your ready to use them move them to the floor or on the table to form the points of a pentagram, If you use two you can dedicate one to the god and one to the goddess if so it might help to use crystals that are connected to your god in one and goddess in the other or just use different candle scents for each or color. If that is not an option keep in mind to dedicate each candle to its designated god or goddess and keep track of which is which.

This is another simple ideal that can go anywhere and is just small dishes that hold one of each  the elements and a single candle for the god and goddess.

This is a VERY SIMPLE and CHEAP altar ideal. Using a playing card deck pull out all the aces and the king and queen of hearts. Next your going to place the Queen of hearts in the center of the area your working, to the top of her sideways your to place the King (they will make a T) This is your god and goddess representation. Next you are going to place the aces in their corresponding elemental place around the god and goddess. Spade go to the right.and represent Air. Hearts go to the left because they represent Water. Diamonds go on Top because they rep Earth. And lastly, Clubs go to the bottom and represent Fire. When your done just simple place them back into your deck and your done.

Alright thats all I'm suggesting tonight guys belive it or not this had taken me about 6 hrs to plan out and write and I still think I dont make much since or messed up somewhere along the way. Anyway hope this helps someone.
Blessed Be from Baby Bear

May Day Pics :)

This is my God candle holder at the moment I just keep these neat gel balls that hold the sent of essential oils. I think I have blackberry in it atm I'm not sure.

This is my Goddess candle holder. I put tea lights into these btw or some of the fat pillar candles if i can find them in the right size.

This is my drawing of Freya and my sigil of the holidays is on her arm. I added her two cats and of course the raven she turns into along with some flowers she loves in her hair. And the word is her name in this Norse font i found online and liked.

I got into the mood to make this like two days and i didnt know why until i was making my alter today ><. 

I made this to represent my wolf spirit guide and to honor him on my alter :)

This is a caligraphy piece i won in a giveaway done by one of my friends on everythingunderthemoon.com and i love it.

This is just a wreath i made out of tp rolls and some flowers, its a bunch of flowers and two butterflies. 

This is another wreath but my grama made this one for easter I just stole it for today lol

This is a hair spray cap that i saved with some ducktape on the bottom so the holes are covered, i made a bow and added it to the back to look like wings. In the cap is milk, honey, rain water collected earlier this morning, and some cinnamon. This is my faey offerings.

heres just a back veiw

and this is a side view

This is my make shift alter. Living with my Grama I cant leave it out or have to much so this is my solution.

This is a old gel incense jar filled with dandelion seeds, some ginger and lemon grass with some lemon rine and a few other herbs.

So i found this wallpaper and just love it so thought i would share the love .

So as everyone knows last night was a blood moon ie a lunar eclipse and to celebrate it i did two spells and so i thought i would post them for my blog post today:

FIRST:

For this one i did a Banishment spell. 

I found this fear banishment spell online and was like "I can make this work for me" and this was what I came up with.

First you are going to need a piece of paper a pen and a plant (or you can just bury it into the ground).

On the piece of paper your going to make a border around all the sides of the paper with a continues writing of the sentence "I banish from me".
Next you are going to write out all the things you thing is holding you back in life.

For me it was:

Fears 

Lack of Confidence

My over trusting nature

My 100lbs i need to lose 

 Then you are going to fold the paper and bury your paper under the plant or in the ground saying:

In this box i place

The things i need to banish,

To send them far away from here;

Banish that which holds me back

So I can get things back on track.

As your doing this your going to visualize the ground or plant soaking up what you wish to banish and grounding your mind of anxiety, stress and anything else you need grounded. Your visualize that earth is taking away your problems like the mother she is.

You are going to let this happen for 30 min then come back and get your paper and throw it away so that the effects dont stay in your place, or effect that area in a negative way. 

I burnt my paper so that it would be scattered in the air and purified by fire (i do this with alot of things cus fire is my element and it is believed that burning your messages can send them to the gods and the spirit realms where your guides and other beings reside). I also know that today was going to be nothing but rain so i left the ashes on my driveway and let water carry it away also.

SECOND:

This one wasn't really a spell but a request. I thought I would use the increases in magical energy to help along a message from me to my deities. I have been struggling with reawakening my powers to their full potential since its been years since ive actually used them having grown up hiding them as much as i could and avoiding them. Needless to say they are not happy about it (my powers that is). 

So heres what I did and its pretty simple, I wrote a letter to the god and goddess (I suggest using stationary that is special to you and using a pencil cus lead is used to silence negativity ie might help in the safe passage of the letter). Sounds silly right but thats what I did. To me to send something physical to the spirit realm for Hermes to send to the god and goddess was the most logical thing to do. 

I had read somewhere in my studies that it is believed that on Samhain you should write a letter to those who have passed and then burn it so that they may keep it with them forever and I just feel in love with the concept and ideal behind it. Since then Ive written a letter to my spirit guide and thanked him for all of his work and willingness to guide me on my life journey and to be honest it was within i wont to say a day that I got little hints and signs that he had gotten my message and loved it. 

My thoughts were "Why cant i do this with my gods, they are just as important to me and need to be honored and know that i appreciate them just as much and who really take the time to write a letter of appreciation these days" so thats what i did. 

In the letter i thanked them for choosing me even though I am not positive who my god deity is yet and still question my goddess i know that they are looking out for me and have manage to dream about them and know that they are the ones who have gifted me with so much. I asked them to help me better control my powers and awaken them to my full potential. 

I then put runes i thought i need to add to the four corners of my paper, folded it into fours and then wrote a blessing asking Hermes to grant this letter safe passage to my god and goddess, again placing runes on the four corners and i even drew some symbols of Hermes on it. I then went out side with an offering of Gushers, ik not the best of offerings to others but growing up for me we couldn't have them cus they were to expensive so to me they are a treat and ik that they would understand that. I offered a couple of Gushers and then i set my paper on fire holding it and placed it on the ground making sure it burnt all the way then i broke up the ashes so the wind could blow it and the rain could wash it away.