Laurel Reufner
I still remember putting together my very first altar, just over two decades ago. Armed with information from Laurie Cabot’s Power of the Witch, I diligently planned out what I would need. And then I tried to figure out where in the world I’d find it all in my small college town. Remember, we’re talking the early ’90s here. The biggest stores in town were Odd Lots, Ames, and Kmart.
Making the task even more daunting was my non-existent budget. I wasn’t exactly a starving college student, since the kitchen held more than just ramen and toast, but there still wasn’t much cash to spare. So, armed with a mental list, I set off for the local Odd Lots, where I hoped that the most stuff could be had for the least money.
Altar creation should be a joyful, thoughtful process. Here are some tips and suggestions to help you out with your own altar endeavors.
Before setting out to shop, you’ll need to do a little homework. Go back through your books and notes, and make a list of what’s suggested for your ritual altar. Now, ask yourself if you really think you will need or use everything on the list. Note which items you aren’t sure about, and star or highlight the items you most want to find.
Where to Shop
Starting with the most-wanted items first, it’s time to begin your search. Even small towns have some form of dollar store nowadays. Dollar General and Family Dollar are good places to look. And if you’re lucky enough to have a Dollar Tree or Everything 99¢, then your budget is really going to love you. Grocery stores are another good place to scout out useful and affordable buys.
The main grocery store near my hometown has a small arts and crafts section—good for finding yarn and embroidery floss—as well as some housewares and a small automotive collection. Even if your store isn’t that well stocked, most stores carry a small selection of kitchen tools, like measuring cups and such. You might be able to find something useful there.
If you don’t mind having to perform a very thorough cleanse of your new tools, then try checking secondhand and antique shops. I’m lucky enough to work in an antique store close to where I now live, and I’m constantly amazed at the selection of goods on hand. I was thinking that I could put together a small altar just from stuff in the shop, except for an incense or oil burner, when lo and behold, I found a package of stick incense and a burner among some of the store owner’s recent purchases. The only thing that I couldn’t find is herbs. While you’re shopping around, don’t forget the yard sales and rummage sales. It’s amazing what you can find once you start looking at things creatively.
Altar Tools
Most sources suggest building your stash of tools over time, waiting until the right tool for you comes along. However, how many of us really want to wait weeks, months, or even longer before we feel like we can fully start practicing?
Most sources suggest building your stash of tools over time, waiting until the right tool for you comes along. However, how many of us really want to wait weeks, months, or even longer before we feel like we can fully start practicing? My suggestion is to buy inexpensive things now that will work for you and then replace them with items that feel even more perfect as time passes.
You can put together a basic, bare-bones altar for around twenty-five dollars if you shop wisely. You’ll have even more leeway if you can allot fifty dollars for your purchases. What I’m going to try to do now is give you some suggestions for tools that will help you keep the cost down and yet still give you a lovely altar that you’ll want to practice at. In the following paragraphs, I’m going to talk about the tools in the order in which I tend to place them on my altar.
Altar Cloth
I begin by defining my altar space. When we first moved to our new house, I had the luxury of using a 31 × 21-inch tabletop for an altar. (It was actually the old play table used by my sister and me, so it had added meaning.) Even with the entirety of the table to use for sacred space, I still put down some sort of cloth on it. Right now my altar is the top of a small bookshelf that used to be my mother’s, and I’ve got a smaller piece of cloth on it. Using something to define the space just adds an extra layer to the energies going into the altar creation.
An altar cloth is also one of the easier “tools” to gather, since you may already have something around the house that can be repurposed. I’ve used remnants of fabric and fat quarters. Bandanas can now be found in a variety of patterns and colors and bought for as little as a dollar apiece, making it easy to pick up more than one to use on altars, letting you make them more seasonal. Decorative scarves are also useful, although they do tend to run a little more cost-wise.
Perhaps you want something other than cloth to define your space. How about a large decorative tray? Or maybe a big picture frame? Either could be made even more magical by decorating them for your ritual use. The tray can be painted or decoupaged with appropriate decorative papers and images. If you choose to use a picture frame, try to find a sturdy one at a secondhand shop, where it won’t be as expensive as buying new. To personalize it, create a large enough image or collage to slip under the glass. If you have access to a computer, collages can easily be created with basic image manipulation software (GIMP is available for free) or electronic scrapbooking software. And images abound online.
Bamboo (or cloth) placemats would also work for a small altar. You might even be able to get your hands on a slab of wood that would be beautiful. I’m thinking of a round from a large tree, but even a length of board could work.
Candles
Next I set out my altar/illumination candles. Candles can serve many functions in Paganism, from providing illumination and helping set and define sacred space to standing in as representatives for divinities. Fortunately, it’s a lot easier today to find a wide variety of colors—my first black candles were “over the hill” birthday candles. Even nicer is that glass-enclosed seven-day candles can now readily be found at grocery and dollar stores.
For illumination candles, I like to use either the seven-day jar candles or tapers set in pretty holders. I also have a small pair of Avon’s Cape Cod goblets containing candles that I’ve used. They don’t give off much light, but they belonged to my late father, so it’s more of a nostalgia thing. As for pretty candle holders, they can be picked up at any dollar store for only a few dollars. This also would be a good item to scout out in secondhand stores or at yard sales.
Another way to use candles on your altar is to make them stand-ins for other representations of divinity. Candles are a lot less expensive than statues or many other representational items, so they’re good for small budgets. For this, I prefer to use pillars or tapers, mainly because of their heft and lasting power. If you just want a candle to represent the Goddess and the God, then go with silver and gold, if you can find them. If not, try white or gray for the Goddess and yellow for the God. And remember, white always works as a general color for just about any purpose. If you just want a representation of divinity in general, or maybe you just wish to honor the Goddess, or the God, then perhaps use a central pillar candle instead of a pair.
I also sometimes like to set a candle in the center of my altar in place of a chalice or cauldron. A candle works well as a center point for meditation or other focal needs. Of course, this might be my preference because I’m a fire sign in a house full of water and earth folks, but I know others who like to use a bowl or cauldron with water as their focal point.
Just as with trays, candles are very easy to customize. You can carefully carve appropriate symbols in them, dress them with various scents, or even wrap bands of decorative paper around them. Jar candles are particularly easy to embellish, because there’s less worry about keeping your papers and other pretties from catching fire.
Finally, remember to pay attention to the scent of candles when buying them. The one thing that is hard to do nowadays is to find unscented candles. Usually the jar candles are scentless, as are white emergency candles and some votives and tealights. However, tapers, votives, and pillars all seem to be scented, at least in the places where we shop. If you’re lucky enough to have an actual craft store in your town, then you might get lucky and find scentless candles.
Focal Point: Candle, Chalice, or Cauldron
Usually the next item on my altar is some sort of focal point. This could be a candle (as mentioned earlier), a chalice, or a bowl or cauldron. It all depends on what the ritual purpose is going to be, and that is something that only you can decide. Use what works or what you feel the most drawn to.
Let’s start with the chalice as a focal piece. It’s basically just a water goblet or stemmed glass or cup. Once you look at it that way, all kinds of possibilities open up. Find a pretty goblet at the store and you’re good to go. If it’s around mid- to late fall, you might even luck into finding a cauldron-shaped candle holder or candy dish in the Halloween decorations. Our local Dollar Tree has a beautiful selection of cheap goblets. Large seashells will also work well, especially if you are drawn to the element of water or want to create an all-natural altar setup. And if you want to create a mini or travel altar, a small seashell or even an acorn cap would work.
An inexpensive cauldron can be a bit trickier to find. Traditionally it’s a small brass or cast-iron vessel that can hold fire or water, but those are usually beyond our suggested budgets. Since odds are that you’re only going to use your cauldron as a vessel for water or perhaps to drop lit paper or herbs into, then a heatproof clay or glass bowl set on a heat-resistant tile would work just as well until you can swing the cost of something more traditional. It would also buy you time to search for a cauldron that you like.
Representation of Deity
Next comes some representation of the deities. As mentioned earlier, candles are a great, inexpensive choice, but they aren’t the only possibility. Small figurines that have spiritual meaning to you will also work, such as unicorns, angels, or dragons. Dollar stores in particular can be great places to find statuary that would look completely in place on your altar.
You can also find items in nature that work wonderfully, such as smooth, round stones for the feminine (especially if they have a hole or hollow in them) and more rectangular-shaped stones for the masculine. An acorn or a pine cone would also work for the God figure, as would an apple or pomegranate or perhaps a small pot of ivy or violets for the Goddess.
Salt and Water
I like to have small dishes of salt and water on my altar, which are easy enough to take care of inexpensively. Sea salt can often be found at a reasonable price, even at some dollar stores, such as Dollar Tree, but regular table salt works just as well. The water can come from the tap, from a bottle of spring or distilled water, or from rain or ocean water that you’ve collected. If you don’t live near the ocean but know someone heading that way on vacation, ask them to bring some back for you. As for the dishes, any small container will do. I’ve used glass condiment cups and pretty ceramic dishes. Shells would also be nice. Heck, in a pinch, grab a couple of bottle caps. The salt could even be carefully piled atop a small, flat rock.
Incense
Next comes the incense. Keeping in mind that we’re shopping on a small budget in a small town, we’re going to be pretty much limited to sticks and cones, since finding charcoal tablets might be impossible. And whatever you do, don’t use regular grilling charcoal! The briquets give off a vapor that is very dangerous to inhale, especially in an enclosed space.
Incense burners are pretty easy to find, especially the plain, long wooden ones. However, if you really want to save those pennies, a bowl filled with salt, sand, or even dirt can work as a holder. Heck, you could easily tuck a stick of incense down into a potted plant and be good to go. Just remember to remove and dispose of the remaining bits of sticks every so often.
Finding incense for your purposes might be a little trickier. You’ll need to poke around in the grocery and dollar stores to see what you can find. You might even want to check at gas stations and convenience stores. Those places sometimes have little gift-like displays and selections of incense and burners. You might even find some altar statuary there as well.
If you are lucky enough to find incense charcoal but need a burner, try using a clay dish or flower pot filled with salt or sand as your burner. The salt will help absorb the heat from the burning charcoal.
If you don’t want to deal with incense smoke, you might want to consider using a small oil burner and fragrance oils. Small burners can often be found inexpensively.
Athame
My first athame was a pretty letter opener, claimed from the man who is now my husband. Since the athame isn’t necessarily supposed to be sharp, letter openers are great substitutes if you can’t find an actual affordable knife. (And truth be told, I eventually gave mine up, since it was one of those things I just never used.)
Wand
Wands are something else that I don’t often use, but I still like to have one on the altar. And they are one of the easiest altar tools to obtain with little fuss or expense. Here are just a few ideas to get you thinking. Drawn to Bast? Use a cat toy. Tree branches work well, decorated with bits of wire, beads, and ribbon, or left plain. I’ve used a cinnamon stick and a vanilla bean in the past, as well as short, narrow pieces of driftwood. And in a pinch, your pointer finger will do the job.
Pentacle
One of the final tools that I need to mention is the altar pentacle. I’ve never had an actual one, although I have used similar items. I’ll often place a small plate or tray atop the altar to hold items of offering and such. Trays and plates suitable for the task can be found just about anywhere, and it’s easy to build up a small selection, giving you options for the various seasons or other ritual needs.
If you definitely want an actual altar pentagram, try using a small circle of wood with the pentacle either burnt or painted on. Another way to create an altar pentacle involves taking a clear glass plate and decoupaging the bottom of it. If space is a consideration, try using a clear glass candle plate.
I think that just about covers the basic altar tools, except for perhaps the broom, and I’m sure you’re thinking creatively enough now that you can figure that one out on your own. This same type of creative thinking can also help you stock your magical cabinet with supplies while still going easy on your wallet. Over time you’ll be able to replace your original, basic, inexpensive tools with fancier and more expensive counterparts—if you decide that you want to. Just remember to keep your eyes open to the possibilities around you.
Laurel Reufner’s mother can verify that she grew up a “wild child” in farming country. Laurel has been earth-centered for around a quarter century and really enjoys writing about whatever topics grab her attention. She has always lived in southeastern Ohio and currently calls Athens County home, where she lives with her wonderful husband and two wild daughters of her own. Find her online at Laurel Reufner’s Lair, http://laurelreufner
.blogspot.com, or on Facebook.
Illustrator: Christa Marquez