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Practical Magic Tech: Spellcasting Altars (101)
This post is part of a series of animistic, spirit-oriented spellcasting for beginners. Go to the masterpost to see them all.
This is a 101 theory post. Go to the masterpost to find actionable steps for altar building and consecration.
Loosely defined (remember, we aren't trying to label everyone, we just want to clear the weeds in our corner of the magical universe), an altar is a sacred space used to facilitate two-way communication and movement with the unseen worlds.
Altars are often built to house and honor gods and spirits. There is a fairly significant difference between someone building an altar or shrine to honor their god(s), and a spellcasting altar for witchcraft.
Our goal with a spellcasting altar is not really to honor anything. We can build a separate altar or shrine to honor a god if we would like to do so.
Instead, for the purposes of this series, a spellcasting altar is:
A hardwired connection to the otherworld,
Which makes gathering metaphysical energy easier, and
Drawing power out of the ethereal and grounding it into physical objects is easier, which means
Successful manifestation is easier.
Delivering targeted spells is easier.
Also, it's beacon that naturally accumulates and collects spiritual power (this is why people can put things on their altars to automatically charge them).
And it's powerful method of classical conditioning.
Classical Conditioning: It's Hella Useful
If you use a spellcasting altar for most of your spellwork, after a little while just being in its presence is going to click you into a magical headspace.
Yes, spellcasting altars are imbued with actual magical power and have very useful metaphysical properties. But their utility extends beyond the metaphysical.
Also they're a great place to store all your spellcasting stuff.
(By the way: try using a specific stimulus, such as an earthy grounding scent or wearing a headband, every time you practice grounding, centering, and exiting a magical headspace. It's a really really helpful tool)
Does it need to be a physical altar?
No. A physical altar is only one piece of spellcasting "tech". If that tech is not viable for you, you have many other techs to draw upon.
Digital altars can also hold metaphysical energy. True magic can be done through web pages. Ask anyone who's been in an occult server on the rough side of the web.
All that being said, you don't necessarily need any altar. They're a handy tool but no one tool is everything.
Let your path serve you, not the other way around.
What about size? What about shoebox or mint tin altars?
Oh boy, get ready for my favorite hill to die on!:
Spellcasting altars are nothing more than container spells.
In a jar spell you take, idk, some rosemary for sleep protection, some iron nails against nightmares, and some lavender for sweet dreams. You put them all together in a jar and consecrate them to your intent and those independent components come together to create something greater than the sum of their parts in order to effect magical change.
In a spellcasting altar, maybe you take a candle for connection to the otherworld, a crystal to accumulate energies, and little colorful stones to represent the Western buildingblock elements (fire, earth, air, water). You put them all together on a specially marked flat surface and consecrate them to your intent and those independent components come together to create something greater than the sum of their parts in order to effect magical change.
When you cast a container spell, you are linking up a variety of powers to work together in the long term. And nobody is out there telling you to get a gallon-sized glass jar. In fact it's popular to use the teeniest little jars possible.
Get yourself a mint tin if that's what you prefer. Hell, a matchbook with a sigil drawn inside. Make your altar into a notebook or a tumblr blog. All that is necessary is that you find it to be useful; that it gives you more back than what it takes to use it.
But I do have one thing to say in support of the classic on a shelf/flat surface altar: They're kind of like hypersigils, and that's really handy
What if you made a container spell for general prosperity, and then put that container spell inside a bigger container spell for general empowerment of everything placed inside of it?
That's what a spellcasting altar is!
It's a big cauldron of power designed to help you manifest your desires and link power to objects in the way that you choose. Start adding other finished spells back into it, and it's like a magical combo move that multiplies power and makes it easier for you to manage everything there.
Too much volatility and movement in your financial life? Take some of the prosperity stuff off of your altar - and just like that, the magic in your life has shifted.
All your spells are lagging and there's not much motion? Light a spicy, fiery candle on your altar to give everything there a tangy boost.
Feeling irritated by someone? Print out a picture of them and place it on your altar, facing away from you. No spellcasting, chanting, or ritual required - an act of magic was done because an action was taken in a magical place designed to manifest every intent you put within it.
The real benefit of spellcasting altars is that they do a lot of the heavy lifting for you.
You're probably not interested in practical magic because your life is great and you already have enough time, energy, interest, or ability to manage everything in a mundane way agreed upon by Society.
I actually think there's a pretty good chance that you're interested in practical magic because there's not enough of you to go around to deal with things in a mundane way.
Magic is real, and real things tend to take real work.
So how is it helpful to turn to a new methodology of managing your life, when it takes just as much time and energy as you were spending before?
Spellcasting altars, even small ones, even digital ones, help us out. They automatically collect power for us to use later on, so we don't have to drink our precious Get Stuff Done juice. They house doors to the otherworld you can just open and close, instead of having to create the door every time you need it. They help us automatically get into the spellcasting mindset through a hardwire connection to the otherworld and the magic of classical conditioning.
Spellcasting altars do specific things and fill specific needs. Therefore, they're not going to be necessary or even useful for everybody. Try them out and see if they're useful for you. If so; a tool has been added to your toolbox. If not; you have considered and discounted something unhelpful, and now you can move on to better things.
This post is part of a series of animistic, spirit-oriented spellcasting for beginners. Go to the masterpost to see them all.
Practical Magic Tech: Microcosm Method of Altar Building
This post is part of a series of animistic, spirit-oriented spellcasting for beginners. Go to the masterpost to see them all.
I'm a very big believer in intuitively building altars. But that doesn't mean people who can't or don't want to build an altar intuitively should be left hanging.
This post is part of a series on practical spellcasting. In this series, a spellcasting altar is defined as something pretty specific with specific uses. So this post is not meant to address all spellcasting altars everywhere, but just the style I'm describing for this series.
One method of building an altar is to make it like a map of the metaphysical cosmos. This is where we can utilize our elements/directions correspondences, if you're into that sort of thing!
In this post I'm only speaking about my own understanding of the metaphysical cosmos, as it is the only one I'm qualified to speak on. If your understanding is much different, I believe the same concepts apply; your altar would just look a lot different than mine.
Pros of microcosm altars:
Just as a poppet of a person contains their essence, a map of the otherworld contains it's essence. It's a good way to link yourself to the powers you seek to work with.
If you're really into correspondences, microcosm-type altars are going to help sort and categorize them for you. Each correspondence goes somewhere on the map you create with your altar.
If you're not vibing with your intuitive flow, a microcosm altar is a safe bet. Put the representations down and be done with it.
A microcosm type altar can help you visualize what's happening metaphysically: these elemental building blocks and powers are feeding into a central cauldron, and once the spell is done brewing it can be drawn into our world through the axis mundi
Cons of microcosm altars:
If you don't have a concept of the metaphysical cosmos that you believe in, you're going to have to either just accept what someone like me says, or you're going to have to sit down and figure it out. And sometimes these beliefs can be elusive and not so easy to just hash out.
Just copying someone else's microcosm isn't going to necessarily work for you. I put Fire in the East, Earth in the South, Water in the West, and Air in the North. But just because that works for me doesn't mean it's going to work for you. There may still need to be some intuitive modifications, or extra research, before it clicks.
This method can feel stilted or excessively formal.
Here are some example altars I built for the purpose of demonstrating the microcosm method:
In this first altar, the microcosm is represented by the three worlds. I may visualize power coming from each world and running through the antler into my charm bowl where I work over my spells. This altar might be much improved by painting my central bowl to represent the four directions and their corresponding elements.
[Photo Description: A picture of an altar containing tarot cards, antler tips, a small dish with a charm bag inside of it, and a cup of coffee. Text from top to bottom: "Coffee and coffee warmer (very important)", "Lower Middle, and Upper worlds represented by tarot cards and antlers", "Tarot card used as a focus point to represent intent of spell", "Central bowl holds charm bag to bee worked over; it can hold offerings too", and "Tarot cards that represent personal authority and the ability to change the strands of fate".]
In my second altar, the microcosm is represented by the four roads and trifold Hekate. I once again have a central bowl which I use to gather power. Objects can be left in this bowl to charge. It can also be used to send offerings, or to help spirits imprint on vessels (among many other things). Hekate is brought to this altar because her power, if she chooses, will open the four roads. The four roads themselves are represented by decorated wooden tokens.
[Photo Description: A picture of an altar where a figure of Hekate overlooks wooden tokens surrounding a stone bowl. There is a clay figurine, nails, and bay leaves within the bowl. Two candles are near the Hekate figurine. Text from top to bottom: "Figuring to the goddess Hekate (elevated to show respect)", "Hand made directional tokens used to open the four roads", "Devotional candles", "Central stone cauldron holds ingredients, spirit vessels, and offerings", "(No altar cloth)".]
In my third altar, I've chosen simple colorful stones to represent the four directions and the central Spirit which collects and combines their powers. The rabbit-skin altar cloth only covers part of the working space, mostly to ensure it isn't damaged by nearby candles and salt water.
[Photo Description: A picture of an altar composed of five rocks arranged in a diamond pattern, a clay frog figurine, and a nearby container for salt water. A candle holder on a fire safe dish is located next to two small plastic containers labeled "Cloves" and "Chamomile." Text from top to bottom: "Candle and offering dish away from flammable surface on fire safe dish", "Spell ingredients nearby", "Salt water used for cleansing", "Frog figuring acting as a spirit vessel", "Altar cloth only covers a portion of the working space", and "Colorful stones represent the four elements and four directions".]
In my fourth altar, the decorated altar cloth (a casting board repurposed for this picture) does most of the heavy lifting. The ritual wand is placed nearby. This altar would be much improved if the spirit vessels were placed in their appropriate corners (fire and water respectively).
[Picture Description: A picture of an altar. The altar cloth is painted with a circle divided into four sections. Planetary symbols are on the outside of the circle. A wand lays across the altar and a bottle of salt and candles are nearby. In the middle of the altar cloth is a clear quartz tower standing on a wooden disc. Text from top to bottom: "Common spell ingredients", "Spirit vessel", "Quartz tower represents the axis mundi", "Decorated altar cloth indicates elements, directions, and planetary powers", and "Spellcasting tools are stored nearby".]