<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Goddess: Often represented by the moon and its waning, full, and waxing phases, the Goddess represents the female aspects of reality. She may also be represented by a pregnant image or a simple white candle. Her elements are water and earth. She is the source and sustainer of life, the deep ocean of wisdom, fertile, a wondrous mystery, and the mother of all.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n These are the major elements one may find in a typical Wiccan altar, however each is free to represent the elements and divinity as they wish. Because this personal aspect is so important to the faith, some Wiccans like to purchase unique, hard-to-find items for their sacred space. This is cool, but I had another idea…One that my Mentor loved.<\/p>\n I decided to make everything on my altar by hand.<\/p>\n This is my altar as it currently exists. Some features may change as I find new items in nature or discover new aspects of my personal craft. You’ll notice the pentagram (a pentacle has the circle around the points as shown above)\u00a0in the center, hand-made from maple twigs and waxed thread.\u00a0The upper right point, the element Air,\u00a0is represented by\u00a0a\u00a0pigeon feather I found in “the warehouse” (a personal place of meditation). The lower right point, Fire, is represented by a votive candle. To the right of\u00a0Fire you’ll notice\u00a0incense.\u00a0Incense is\u00a0often a symbol of\u00a0Spirit, however I often lite it (at\u00a0this point) as a sort of initiatory sequence to begin each ritual.\u00a0On the lower left, we have Water, represented by a glass bowl of, well, water! Above that we have Earth, represented by a bowl of sea salt. Some may offer fruit or flowers to the deities. Again, the representations associated with the five points of the pentagram vary among different practitioners.<\/p>\n Now for a closer look at the other hand-made items:<\/p>\n My Mentor explained that the great thing about\u00a0creating my own altar pieces is that my own energy\u00a0flows into each piece via the act of creating itself.\u00a0As I spent hours grinding, cutting, and sanding however, I ended up\u00a0putting more than just creativity into each piece…<\/p>\n \u00a0So there’s a brief overview of this Wiccan’s altar. As I said, each one is highly personal and unique to the individual. This is a sacred space that should be respected and treated with great care. What I noticed in crafting my altar is that in a very real way, the entire space is a representation of the universe itself. You have all the elements as well as spirit and the divinity all in one, humble space. When I meditate on the God and the Goddess as well as the elements, I hold all the world and the cosmos in my mind and in the energy flowing through me.<\/p>\n Very cool.<\/p>\n Keep in mind that my altar will change as I grow in Wicca this month. That’s okay! Wicca is a creative tradition and highly adaptive to one’s personal tastes. There are no hard, fast rules here other than personal responsibility and\/or the nuances of the tradition one follows. I will certainly enjoy this freedom of expression as I explore my world with Wiccan eyes.<\/p>\n What sort of personal implements occupy your spiritual space? Are any hand-crafted? Perhaps you have some that were passed down, generation to generation? I’d love to hear about you honor the\u00a0Divine and the elements!\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Of all things I looked forward to this month, I probably geeked out over the altar the most. While Wiccan’s of a\u00a0particular tradition might have similar features in their altars,\u00a0this sacred space\u00a0is much like\u00a0a Wiccan’s\u00a0spiritual fingerprint: No two are ever\u00a0exactly the same. A Dianic Wiccan is\u00a0one who\u00a0places a higher or even exclusive focus\u00a0on the female…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":437,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[482],"tags":[485,16,487,486,488,233,245,794],"class_list":["post-1712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wicca","tag-altar","tag-andrew-bowen","tag-athame","tag-god-and-goddess","tag-pentacle","tag-project-conversion","tag-religion","tag-wicca"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/291\/2011\/10\/pentacle1-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>A Pentacle:\u00a0\u00a0The cirlce\u00a0upon which a five-pointed pentagram rests.\u00a0These carry multiple meanings, depending on the individual. In many cases,\u00a0the pentagram\u00a0represents the union of the four physical elements (Air, Fire, Water,Earth) as well as Spirit. Spirit is recognized at the top point of the pentacle, while Air and Fire might occupy the right hand points (often the side of the God), and Water and Earth occupy the left (often the side of the Goddess).\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/291\/2011\/10\/goddess1-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/291\/2011\/10\/the-god1-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>The Horned God: The consort of the Goddess, he represents the spark of life. He is the hunter and the hunted, the sun and the stag. Represented by the elements fire and air, the male aspect of the divine is often passionate and intense,\u00a0he occupies the transitional space\u00a0between life and death as well as the seasons. His place on the altar is represented by many items, including a red candle, a statue of a horned man, or other symbols.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/291\/2011\/10\/altar-300x225.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/projectconversion\/files\/2011\/10\/stonework-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>The Athame: A symbol of the element Fire, and the God himself, the athame usually occupies![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/291\/2011\/10\/athame-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a> the right-hand side of the altar (East)\u00a0and is used for various tasks. One of the\u00a0most important uses is to “cast a circle,” or created the sacred space of one’s ritual. This\u00a0may be performed by using the double-edged athame to “draw” a circle around oneself and the altar items either in the air or on the ground itself.\u00a0As a\u00a0channel\u00a0for\u00a0energy, it is also used for “calling the quarters,” or invoking the\u00a0elemental guardians of the\u00a0four directions within one’s circle or altar. I constructed my athame out of oak, slate stone (only rock I could find), and waxed thread. It also symbolizes cutting to the truth or choice.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/291\/2011\/10\/thegoddess-300x225.jpg\")
<\/a>\u00a0For the Goddess, I decided on the symbol illustrating the three main phases of the moon. It doesn’t look like much, but I spent a lot of time carving the grooves of this piece. I literally colored this representation of the Goddess with paint, sweat, and blood through an injury where the drill bit slipped and cut my finger.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/291\/2011\/10\/thegod-300x225.jpg\")
<\/a>\u00a0Here is the God figure. Cut from the same branch as the Goddess, we have the round sun disc in red\u00a0with the horns on top. He occupies the right side of the altar while the Goddess sits on the left.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/291\/2011\/10\/makingthegod-300x225.jpg\")
<\/a>