Setting up an altar, one piece at a time

An altar doesn't need to be big or expensive. It needs a surface, a light, and something that means something to you. Most people start with a candle and a dish for offerings or ash, then add a cloth, a statue of a deity or ancestor, and the tools that match their practice: a bell to open and close the work, a cauldron for burning, an abalone shell for smoke cleansing.

Build it slowly and let it change with the seasons. An altar cloth sets the tone fast, and candle holders keep wax off your grandmother's dresser. When a sabbat comes around, our seasonal collections, like Samhain, have the colors, herbs and candles for that turn of the wheel.