A Buddhist altar and a person sitting in front of it.

SO before I dive into this article, I do want to reiterate that this is what is essential to my altar so if you don’t vibe with someone that’s totally legit and valid and you don’t have to put that thing on your altar! <3

animal-related artifacts

I am still fairly new to working with the spirit of an animal — a couple of my guides are animals but I have been working with their energy in general for a while now. One thing that are guaranteed to find on my altar (doesn’t matter which altar you go to) is something that is connected to the energy of an animal. In some cases it might be a found feather, other times it might be a bone of some kind, I also have some taxidermy specimens and some found animals. I currently have an Atlas Moth framed that I bought from Dearest Relics that aids me in my underworld journey, my transformation process, etc. I totally get why some people might not want to work with things like butterfly wings or bones, but it is something that is essential in my practice. As someone who works with death/underworld deities and who works with Santa Muerte, I find these items to be comforting, a reminder of the cyclical nature of life, and a way for me to easily call on an animal spirit. I generally believe in using found items or items that are ethically sourced, but I’m also hella respectful of people’s practices and cultural lineage and respect that my views on what is ethical are not always what is ethical in another practice!

offerings

It doesn’t matter if I’m in the middle of spellwork or not, there are always offerings on all of my altars. This can be something simple like dried fruit, or just a clear glass of water, but I do my best to put out a fresh new offering at least once a week though some of my spirits get more, especially in the early stages of building up a relationship. If you’re just starting out with offerings, don’t feel like you absolutely have to have a fancy ass offering, sometimes an offering can be time with your spirits, sometimes it can be art you made or a song, either way, the best way to build that relationship is to make offerings on a consistent basis and to make sure your spirits know what they can expect from you and when. I always recommend folks who are just starting off begin with a fresh glass of tap water. I recommend using actual glass but make do with what you got!

Light

I believe that there should be a representation of light and/or an actual light on your altar for the spirits. I cannot explain why I think this is important, I’m sure it’s written somewhere, I only know that it was one of the things my spirits made a requirement for each of my altars. On one altar I have a wax warmer light, on another I have candles going fairly often, I’ve had battery candles before, and salt lamps as well. While I don’t have these going 24/7, I do turn them on fairly often and especially when I am actively connecting and channeling with my spirits. If you’re in a small space or on a budget, look to the dollar store which lowkey has some STEALS baby. I love getting tea light battery candles from there. The wax warmer I got is an Edison bulb style and I got it from Target for like $20. While I do love supporting small shops as often as I can, I also think it’s not entirely possible 24/7 and we’re all making do with what we got!

Protection tools

I think it’s important to not only have protection tools on you and in your home but to specifically have them on your altar. This can be done in a number of ways, but if you do decide to use crystals make sure you activate them first. I think building a connection to plants, animals, and the minerals we use is important and that we don’t just lay them in a space and hope it works. Witchcraft IMO should be intentional and purposeful, and part of that means building a relationship with all of your tools and what you use in your practice even if it is only used on the altar itself.

ART

This one may be really just a personal preference but adding art to my walls, to the altar itself, using art while at my altar, helps me to connect to an energy I’m trying to reach. It allows me to also connect to certain deities and spirits and/or honor them in a different way. Sometimes Art might be a simple saint prayer card, other times it’s a framed piece. I don’t only limit myself to art I create either, I think artists, whether they know it or not, are always channeling and so sometimes I’ll put something up without fully understanding why I’m buying a piece or why I want it in a set area of my home. It’s partially about aesthetics and partially about the energy I’m trying to create and allow into my space!

For those getting started in witchcraft, I have a short course on building an altar that may be helpful. Click through to read more about it. You pick your price beginning at $11.