What are the items on a Wiccan altar?

Answer 1

Anything the user deems needed since Wicca (and it's Neopagan cousins) is a religion that is made up as they go along...as you can see from the answers above!. Things such as kives, chalices, wax pentacles, etc. This is lifted from earlier occult books like "The Key of Solomon", from the 12th century...not from ancient Celtic religions.

Wiccans also borrow from New Agers and sometimes use crystals, feathers, statues of Buddah (none of which is Celtic). It's not unheard of to have statues of Christian saints on Wiccan altars.

The biggie is the "athame".( a knife) Wicca's creator, Gerald Gardner, got the idea for the name "Athame" from a science fiction story about giant crabs. "Athame" was the imaginary weapon used to kill the crabs in the story.

Wicca was started by Gerald Gardner in New Forrest England circa 1950. He was a nudist & masochist and basically created Wicca as a sex cult. Followers nowadays like to forget that part, and instead fantasize they have magical powers.

Adian Kelly wrote a book on the history of Wicca called "Crafting The Art of Magic" in the 1980's. Wiccans had a fit when it was published, and pressured Llewyllyn to take it out of print. It was supposed to be the first in a series of books. I think Adian Kelly probably summed it up best when he said this about the Gardnerian "Book of Shadows", the closest thing Wicca has to a sacred book:

" [M]any of the Book of Shadows rituals did not exist in 1954 (when Witchcraft Today was published) but instead were still being written. [T]he major sources from which the rituals had been constructed included: (a) Mather's edition of the Greater Key of Solomon; (b) Aleister Crowley's Magic in Theory and Practice; (c) Leland's Aradia (d) some Masonic rituals akin to those described by Duncan and those of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (aside from those transmitted by Crowley; and (e) Margaret Murray's The Witch Cult in Western Europe. There were also bits and pieces from other works by Leland, Jane E. Harrison, Gilbert Murray, James Frazier, and other great classicists from the 19th century. That accounted for EVERYTHING in the rituals! There was nothing left that differed in any important way from what you can find in those sources- - but that is NOT at all what Gardner had claimed!" Gardner got the idea for the name "Book of Shadows" after reading an article about a Hindu fortune telling book with the same name. It isn't ancient Celtic.

Even though it's called the "Old Religion". Authors like Gavin and Yvonne Frost, Silver Raven Wolf, Raymond Buckland, Scott Cunningham crank out books about how to get love, money, and above all else "protection". The Frost's Magic Power of White Witchcraft says "Witchcraft Can Make You Rich in a Ghetto" according to the title of chapter 11. However, the Frosts themselves aren't rich. Coincidentally, they claim to have taken a "vow of poverty" according to one of their webpages, to explain why they apparently can't make their spells work either. Silver Ravenwolf has written close to a dozen books on the subject of "The Craft", and claims she has been studying it since about 1969, which is almost as long as I’ve been alive. She has written a book on how to cast money spells, and includes a chapter on how to do so in her Teen Witch book, too. But the thing is, she doesn't particularly sound all that prosperous herself. Ravenwolf writes,

" For years I couldn't afford to go to a hair stylist (still can't, it's shop and chop for me). I got pretty good at stying my own hair from looking at magazine pictures" [SOURCE: Teen Witch, Llewellyn Publications, 2003 edition, page 145]

OK, she so rich she can't go to the hairdresser. Hey, get me a copy of that Prosperity Spell book!

When I visited England (the birthplace of Wicca) in May, I found it was practiced mostly by juvenile deliquents, much the same way Satanism is here in the U.S. No one seems to take it seriously over there. An very knowldgeable historian I talked to in Kent, when asked about Wicca, told me I should try a pub!

Eventually Ronald Huitton wrote his own history of Wicca, called "Triumph of the Moon". Hutton is a history professor at Oxford, so he is not easliy dismissed. Even though some Wiccans have realized their history is a sham, they still want to cling to the "witch" fantasy by calling it a "reconstructionist movement". But you can't reconstruct something which never existed in the first place. Even so, these types still seem to allude to their religion being thousands of years old.

Answer 2

Wiccan Altar Items

Answer 3

The altar can be made about 3 feet square by 3 feet high. Divide the Altar into 8 parts, like the Wheel of Life. The four quarters of the altar are in balance with the magick circle. So lets say that your altar is in the north, which is the Element of Earth. Positioned on the altar, to the four quarters of North, South, East and West are the Elemental Tools, and the Cross-Quarters are the Ritual Tools of the Coven.

To the North of the altar we have the Earth Element, so the Elemental tool is a brown bag of Sea Salt, and in North-East is placed the Sacred Pentacle; in the East is a Royal Blue dish of Incense, and South-East is the Thurible (Censer); In the South is the Fire Candle, and South-West is the Athame (with its blade always pointing East); In the West is the Chalice of Water, and North-West is the Cauldron. These are the only tools necessary for the budding Witch. All other tools that you hear about are not needed at all, until later in your training.

You also have your High Magickal Tools representing the Masculine and Feminine in nature. There are also two Altar candles and these are white in the East representing God, and Black in the West representing Goddess. Remember all candles should be anointed before any ritual working. This is to clean them from any and all impurities and to also bless them for the said ritual. This ritual Oil is usually a blend that you have magickally made, and you should always have a special box of matches or a lighter used only for Consecrated use.

Answer 4

Hi, I have two chalices one with consecrated salt the other with water. At the moment I have two white curch candles left and right representing the crescent one and the Horned one I also have a green and pink candle to either side at this time but I change the colours all of the time depending on what I am doing. Currently I have a wise owl statue and my athame engraved with pentacle. I also have a wooden Pentacle that sits in the middle with little bells on top. I always have amethist and clear quartz as my base crystals and add to that when I feel to. Your alter sounds fine. Seashells are great for enhancing passion. I use charcoal to burn my incense on normally and mix my own ingredients together when possible. Blessed be :)

Answer 5

They can vary.
Your wiccan practices should be personable to you. The items on my alter vary from many natural items. I have a flower crown from my first summer solstace. A lot of candles. And glass cat figurines, ( my framiliar is a cat, how cliched, but I love him to death) I also have quite a few christain symbols. Crucifixes, A rosery, some pictures of the virgin mary.

Because my mom and that part of my family are catholics, And my mom is everything to me.
It goes back to the nature, mother earth symbolism.

And alter is YOUR personal space, You decorate with items you KNOW will keep good harmonic balances.
And steve M is right. Get the protection of your alter before you set it up, otherwise negative energies can have the reverse effect ( instead of being pecefull, you'll feel uneasy in your alter)

Look for a protection circle incantation.
Blessed Be, and Good Luck.

Answer 6

It varies from Wiccan to Wiccan. They can be very unique to very traditional. But there is generally something to represent the God and the Goddess - often candles - and something to represent the four elements. Then there will be more practical tools such as a bowl of salt, an athame, a wand, a censer, a bell, the practicioner's personal Book of Shadows, a scrying tool such as a mirror or pendelum, items from nature or to fit the theme of the current sabbat, etc. :)

Answer 7

All good information! I just wanted to caution you against a habit many new Wiccans get into, of wanting to collect as many cool tools as possible as quickly as possible. It's far more satisfying to start light and let the tools come to you as you practice. For example, it could be that you find a stick from your favorite tree at exactly the right length (tip of middle finger to elbow) to use as your wand--when that happens, won't you feel silly for having spent $40 on a souped up crystal or glass wand that's only 6-inches long? I'd bought a decorative silver chalice, and only a few months later my Mom gave me a goblet she'd thrown and fired herself in pottery class--guess which one I actually use? Enjoy the adventure of finding the right altar tools--or letting them find you.

Answer 8

I have a round Altar,
with my liberation dish, goblet, salt and oil cups, incense holder, altar candle, athame, bell,

I havent found an image of the lord and lady i like yet but i feel i am coming close. but you can always use other items like nuts, flowers, Cyrstals, whatever is personal to you.

I have candles around the circle for the efferent elements and little tea candles between them (to light up the whole circle).

And my reference book (book of shadows) if working outside the normal rituals.

Blessings ALD

Answer 9

I've been Wiccan for over 30 years. All the answers I read before posting are correct, just variance in the details.

Answer 10

This should be in R&S but no matter.....

It differs from alter to alter but most will have some or all of the following:

pentacle
candles
small cauldron
incense
chalice
statue or rendering of prefered deity
asthame (ritual knife)
various crystals

I have listed only the most common items. Alters are very individualized to the person so no two will be the same.

Answer 11

a candle is always a good start,incense sticks
and flowers to represent life.

remember to learn the protection rites before you start doing anything else