Hi, my loves, and welcome to WiccaNow. Recently I’ve been a bit of an eclectic witch and have been writing posts on all sorts of things that have been interesting me recently, like this healing spell, this post on magickal indoor plants, a post about Ostara and most recently this guide to setting up your own witchy altar. Today I want to continue on from my last post and talk about some of the more common witchy altar decorations you might come across when building your own witch’s altar.
As I mentioned in my last post, what you decorate your witchy altar with is completely up to you and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. It’s a personal reflection of you and your relationship to your craft and should contain things you believe in, that bring you good energy and that you love. Less is often more but again, that’s just a personal opinion.
Your altar can be a constantly evolving thing, which changes as you do. You might find something you love and have to add. You might change it to reflect the seasons or the moon phases. You may change it if you want to call something specific into your life.
I’ve been trying to draw abundance, welcome spring and banish illness recently. Because of this, I’ve been using tonka beans to make my pentagram, and have added a family heirloom (a chunky ring) with a citrine to my altar. I’ve also added a fresh garlic bulb to banish bad vibes and illness, along with sage which I intermittently burn. I’ve added hyacinths (one of my favourite flowers) to honour spring, and because they smell amazing and make me happy.
My Top 19 Witchy Altar Decorations
So, without further ado, here is my guide to some common elements you might choose to have on your witch’s altar. These are in alphabetical order, not in ranking of importance as one thing isn’t more important than another.
Witchy Altar Decoration #1 Altar Cloth
An altar cloth’s main purpose is to protect the altar and it’s also one of the easiest ways to decorate for the season. For spring you would traditionally use a white cloth, or another gentle colour that reminds you of the growing season. Accordingly, you might choose to use oranges, browns and reds for autumn, dark blues and blacks for winter and yellows and bright colours for summer.
Some people like to embroider their altar cloths with symbols or words, or just with things they love. For example, I have one that I embroidered suns onto for Imbolc.
Witchy Altar Decoration #2 Anthame
This is a ceremonial knife that is often used to channel or direct energies. Traditionally it has a black handle and a double edge. It’s symbolic of fire and is used to draw casting or ritual circles. It’s a knife that is used purely as an energy harnessing tool and you would never cut anything with it. It can however be used to carve symbols into candles and things.
Witchy Altar Decoration #3 Artwork
Do you enjoy making art? Do you have a favourite artist that gives you good energy? Artwork is something you can absolutely add to your altar if you want to. Maybe you want to illustrate your favourite plant and place that on your altar, or maybe you’ve found an image of a goddess that you find particularly compelling. Anything you love has a welcome place on your altar, and will bring good energy with it, artwork included.
Witchy Altar Decoration #4 Bell
A bell is a common altar decoration and it’s usually used to open and close rituals and ceremonies. It helps to “clear the air” by cleansing the energies before, during and after your ceremony with its healing vibrations. It can help you focus, much the same as a gong is used when you’re meditating.
Bells are often associated with the goddess and traditionalists will place it on the left side of the altar along with their goddess figure. I don’t prescribe to this and if I’m using a bell, I don’t stick to always having it on one or the other side of my altar.
Witchy Altar Decoration #5 Book of Shadows
The book of shadows is something that I’ve written a whole separate post on, so check it out for more detailed info. This book is basically your guidebook to your practice of witchcraft. It contains all your spells and notes on them, along with rituals you’ve learned or wanted to try. It’s sort of like your witchcraft journal and is very personal. Make your own or start finding spells and rituals to add from other witches. If you are using content from other practitioners, make sure that you have their consent before…
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