August Witchy Newsletter

Tools 2 - Altars

Firstly, I would like to say you don’t need the Pinterest style altar. They are nice to look at but definitely not necessary. You also don’t need an Altar, though some prefer one. I personally just have a Witchy Corner where I keep my tools. Some have a carry box that they use as travel altars and only bring them out for special occasions, Sabbats and Esbats. Do whatever feels right to you. The big extravagant altar, a small box, a designated space or just use nature itself.

If you are looking into setting up your first altar here are the common tools you’ll find. Candles, herbs/incense/essential oils, ritual oil, powders, bells, stones, mirror, knives and an altar dish. All of these are optional, and this is definitely not a complete list but can get you started. We are going to go over basic concepts for these items. I will do more in depth newsletters/blogs for each item.

Candles - Candles have their place from ambiance to being part of the ritual.They can assist or be a major component of a spell. Today I am going to share color meanings.

Color meanings:

l White - Usually used for cleansing and purifying, but is also neutral. If you have a spell that calls for a candle color you don’t have, you can substitute using white. After all, candles didn’t always come in multiple colors

l Black - Commonly used for protection, and to dispel negative energy or hexes. On the other side, can also be used in cursing, conjuring, or when conversing with the other side.

l Red - The color of passion, sexuality, reunion, affection and bodily vigour. Use during matters of the heart spells, self-love and representation or attracting passion.

l Orange - Used for prophetic dreaming, calming and to clear a path for creative inspiration

l Yellow / Gold - For luck and success in money, career and great for meditation.

l Green - Commonly associated with money and success, but can also be used for health and abundance.

l Blue - For calming and contemplation. Great assistant to healing spells and to spark feelings of peace and harmony.

l Purple - A color of ambition and power, control and command. Excellent for meditation into dream interpretation . Use to help master your control and understand of a particular subject or activity and insert your will into your spells.

l Pink - Like red, pink is affectionate, but more on a friendship, soul mate attraction. Not all are meant to be lovers, but they do bring a new perspective into your life.

l Brown - A neutral color used for meditation and grounding. Can also be used for finding lost items, animal/pet protection spells and legal situations.

Herbs / Incense / Essential Oils - I prefer to use herbs & essential oils as apposed to incense sticks. All an be used for ambiance, meditation, defining a space and to enhance spells. They can also be used to for spell bags, amulets, clear the energy of a space and sigil drawing during spelling. Some simple herbs to grow so you always have them are rosemary, basil, mint and garden sage. Those are the main herbs I use, and are readily accessible in my garden. I like to keep fresh flowers as well for my orbs.

Ritual Oil - There are different ritual oils that are infused olive oil, or even moon water/oil. Whatever your preference the oil has specific uses. Plain oil or ritual oil can be used to close entrances to the home after dispersing negative energy to keep it from coming back. Other uses include anointing candles, people, tools and used for casting circles.

Powders - Salt is a very common tool for practitioner. Others are brick dust, volcanic ash, black salt, coal ashes and graveyard dirt to name a few. Uses include making designs and sigils for a spell, setting protection boundaries and casting circles. Some use regular salt, others sea salt, either is fine.

Bells - They serve several purposes. Depending on the sound they can push energy away from you and out of the house. Chimes outside of the door or bells on the front door are a kind of first line of defense when it comes to bells. They are used to keep evil spirits away from a dead body, called a dead bell. They can be used to notify you when energy is moving throughout the home. I have used them during communications with spirits, at the beginning of a ceremony and a finite ring to end one.

Stones - Crystals and stones can be found on just about every altar in every witchy home. There’s quartz, agate, obsidian, onyx, tiger’s eye and so many more. They each serve a different purpose but mostly are used for protection. They are used for pendants, amulets, talismans, spells and mojo bags. They are also very useful in meditation and opening the chakras if you are reiki inclined or skilled.

Mirrors - I prefer a black mirror, but a standard mirror will work as well. Some will use a crystal ball, or obsidian ball instead. The mirror can be used for scrying, divination, to connect to the other side, send messages and more. I also use them for what I call virtual voicemail. A tip from a friend, if you find spirits will not leave you alone when you are trying to sleep tape a picture of you facing towards the mirror. The spirits will spend their time talking to the picture and leave you alone. If all they want is to talk they may just talk themselves out and move on. If they have a specific message, question or task then when you take the picture down they will reach out again to make sure you received it before moving on. When using a mirror make sure that it is properly sealed to keep things coming through and staying.

Knives - There is the Athame and Boline that some will use. The Athame is used to channel energy and a Boline is used for cutting. Some believe that the Athame should never be used to cut anything, so they use a Boline when they need to cut herbs, cords, carve candles etc. They are not a requirement and depend on the practitioner. I personally just use a pocket knife.

Altar Dish - If you decide to have an altar dish I suggest making sure it is designated to the altar only and that it is not used for serving food from the kitchen. A black dish can actually double has a scrying mirror, especially if it is a black bowl as you can fill it with water for a clearer reflective surface. The dish can be used during spells to draw out designs and sigils from powders that will be wiped away afterwards. Also used to hold gifts and offerings to a deity.

~That’s all for now! If you have any questions or suggestion please share!~

As always Happy Conjuring!