Setting Up Your WHE Altar
Updated: Nov 26, 2020
Altars are areas of devotion, meditation, and magickal work for witches. While some witches choose to perform all their magick on one altar, commonly referred to as a "working altar," others have separate altars for separate purposes, such as a healing altar, an ancestor altar, a working altar dedicated to spellwork, etc. Many witches also choose to have separate altars for different deities and spiritual beings they work with, which can act as an altar where magick is performed or as a shrine where daily devotion occurs.
This article is about setting up a separate altar for your work with Witches Healing the Earth. A way to further connect our magick is to create an altar-to-altar-to-altar link with one another, envisioning all our altars are connected, thus our work for Witches Healing the Earth is connected. This will be done after the altar setup, when it is time to activate your Witches Healing the Earth altar.
If you haven't already done so, please read the Realms of Witches Healing the Earth blog post and visit the Realms page to view the linked descriptions of each Realm to find which area(s) you feel most called to participate in with WHE. Knowing which Realm(s) you connect with will help you determine the overall theme and purpose of your Witches Healing the Earth altar.
Once you've determined where you fit within Witches Healing the Earth and what type of work you will prominently be doing, you can better understand what type of elements to include on your Witches Healing the Earth altar. Here are some ideas of type of items you could include on each altar, based on Realm. Please note, these are simply ideas to get you started, and none of them are required.
All Realms
A globe or an atlas, to symbolize the world.
A working candle dedicated specifically to work done for Witches Healing the Earth.
A figure, statue, or representation of the deity or spirit ally aligned with you as a partner to aid in your work for WHE.
A crystal grid set up to align with our work for WHE.
Earth Realm
A small plant that you tend to as part of your daily work for Witches Healing the Earth.
A bowl of sand, soil, or a blend of the three.
A bowl or glass bottle (not plastic) or water.
A figurine or representation of an endangered animal you feel connected with, encircled in dried flower petals or things that represent love and healing (yellow or pink rose petals and/or lavender would be great for this).
Found objects from nature, such as dropped pine cones, fallen twigs, and stones, procured with respect and offerings in return.
A bowl of sand or salt, a censer, or an incense plate with your favorite incense that you burn daily as part of your daily work for Witches Healing the Earth.
A pen or writing utensil and/or an inkwell that you empower and charge with justice and truth as your symbolic representation of the knowledge you will be spreading to the masses.
A figure, symbol, or representation of a deity you align with who is associated with the work you do in the Air Realm, with whom you are partnering for your work with Witches Healing the Earth.
Feathers, to represent wings of positive change for Earth and humanity and for our work as a group to soar.
Fire Realm
Candles
A figurine or representation of the phoenix. In its myth, when the phoenix dies, the new life is born from the ashes of the previous phoenix. Since transformation, change, and dismantling of old thought-processes are primary goals for the Fire Realm, the phoenix is a great energy and ally to welcome into your space for Fire work within Witches Healing the Earth.
A noise-maker, like a rattle, drum, or shaker to "shake up" the energy, raise energy, or call the energy of sacred rites and great change during rituals or before attending events, rallies, or demonstrations.
Cinnamon sticks, which are associated with fire and protection, to bring protection to your space and ward off ill-intent and negative energy.
Water Realm
A bowl or glass jar (not plastic) of water.
A bowl of sand and shells.
A singing bowl, chimes, or tuning for for raising vibrations through sound healing and sound cleansing.
Shells and river stones you find in nearby bodies of water.
A salt lamp for purifying energies.
A zafu or meditation mat to be placed before your altar.
Prayer or meditation beads.
Lotus flowers or lotus flower imagery, which are associated with the Bodhisattva of Compassion, Guanyin/Kannon and Avalokiteśvara, and are thought to promote peace and tranquility.
Spirit Realm
Any representation of Spirit that calls to you deeply and has a strong connection to Spirit for you.
Tools and ingredients you may need for ritual work, healing work, or protection work for Witches Healing the Earth.
A divinatory tool of your choice that connects you to your higher self and to Spirit, such as tarot or oracle cards, runes, a crystal ball, a bowl of scrying water, a candle for fire-gazing, etc.
In a future blog post, we will cover Activating Your Witches Healing the Earth Altar.
Charlie Nichols is the founder of WHE and a staff contributor. Charlie studied Journalism & Mass Communication, Marketing, and Psychology at Madison College in Madison, Wisconsin. She has practiced witchcraft for over two decades and is a certified spiritual empowerment coach, a certified ethical psychic, and a certified crystal healer. Charlie lives on the shores of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin, USA with her partner, daughter, and animal companions.