Altars Part 2

To continue with my altar theme; I went to a local Pagan/Wiccan shop to purchase a cauldron and to find a stone to include in my mother’s amulet, which I found among her personal effects. The gentleman said that the rose quartz would be perfect, so I looked over the quartz and was drawn to a slightly heart-shaped one. I put these on the counter and looked around the shop and saw their ancestor wall/altar. It was then that I realized that I NEED to have this. Standing at this altar, even though it was not mine, gave me great comfort. I also have in my mind’s eye a seasonal altar. Right now however, my life is in a state of upheaval. I am sorry if this was too short. I cannot seem to concentrate.

What the altar means for me.

So, I decided to start with the Altar as my first writing. Let me first say that I am a solitary witch, although I have attended Open Moon ceremonies with the local coven here. I found them exhilarating.

I had an altar set up on the property my ex-husband and I owned. It was actually a round ornate cast iron grate which I had found on the property. I set it up on a tree stump beneath the trees in the far right corner of the property. I usually would meditate and pray at night, as I was unsure how my neighbors would react. It doubled as a wonderful plant stand during the spring and summer months. It was a comfortable area, one that I had to myself for 6 years, until last year when I was selling the house per the divorce decree. There had been a rash of robberies in my area. They were stealing mostly scrap metal to sell. I was unable to mow my lawn and the grass was tall, hiding the tree stump, but my altar top was taken anyway, which led me to believe that it was someone who knew it was there. I was devastated. I performed my first ritual on that altar. Thinking about it now, it still angers me.

Now that I am in a very small apartment, (which I still haven’t fully organized and unpacked yet) I am trying to figure out where I wanted to set up a new altar. Do I set it up in my kitchen, which is the first room you see when you walk in from the outside? Do I set it up in the living room, which is off of the kitchen? The bedroom? 

As I began my research, I discovered that I had some of the needed elements and tools, and lacked others. I started reading more, and now I think I have a definite idea of what I want (need?) for my altar space. I am very pleased to learn that all altars are not the same. 

For instance, they can be a shrine of sorts for ancestors. I have decided that I want to have a couple types of altars, one of them being a shrine. 

Sadly, at this writing, my mother is in the hospital and is not expected to live. It is her wish that she not be treated aggressively. So, at this time I am going to end this writing and continue the same subject for next week.