Altar Setup

The altar, bearing the tools, stands in the center of the circle. It can be made of any substance, although Oak is recommended, and said to be extremely powerful, as is Willow, which is sacred to the Goddess. It can be any shape. If circular, it represents the Goddess and spirituality. If square, symbolic of the four elements. It may be nothing more than an area of ground, or a coffee table, a cardboard box covered with cloth, an old tree stump in the wild, or a large, flat rock. The left half of the altar is usually dedicated to the Goddess. Tools sacred to Her are placed there: the chalice, pentacle, bell, crystal ball, cauldron (if it does not fit on the altar, then it may be placed on the ground left of the altar), and image of the Goddess. If an appropriate image/figure of the Goddess cannot be found, or if you prefer not to use one, a green, silver, or white candle can replace this. To the right side, the emphasis is on the God. A red, yellow, or gold candle may be used to represent Him, or an appropriate figure/ image. The censer, wand, athame and bolline are also placed on this side. Suggested altar layout is as follows:

In the middles of the altar a red candle is stood, behind that; the censor, and in front of the candle; the pentacle. In front of the pentacle you may place any spell materials or a cauldron. In the NW corner a Goddess symbol or candle (white,silver) may be lit, infront of that a bowl of water, in front of that the chalice and at the very front a wand and then a bell. In the NE corner, a God symbol or candle (gold yellow) can be lit, in front of that a bowl of salt can be placed, in front of the salt a stick/cone of incense, and right in front the athame and then the bolline.

Though we may set up images of the Goddess and God, we're not idol worshippers. We don't believe that a given statue or pile of rocks actually is is the deity represented. And although we reverence nature, we don't worship birds and trees and stones. We delight in seeing them as manifestations of the universal creative forces - the Goddess and God.