The Altar
The altar is a sacred area that is decorated and used for worship and/or any magickal working.
The altar can be set up on anything. The most suggested include coffee tables, nightstands, short bookshelves, or anything else. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just anything that feels right to you.
Some traditions specify that an altar be pointed at a certain direction. The two most common are altars facing the north or the east (for the rising sun) of the ritual area, but it can go anywhere that seems fit.
Items on the altar include ritual tools, statues of the divine, symbols of the elements, and anything else you prefer. The most common items include: an altar cloth*, two altar candles & holders, athame, wand, cauldron or chalice, bowl of salt, pentacle, 4 elemental representations*, and images of the divine. Of course all these things do not have to be on the altar for this altar is a reflection of your beliefs. It can be set up any way you like.
Here are a few altar set ups that you may find interesting and helpful in setting up your own.
* An altar cloth can be some material from a fabric store, a bandana, a place mat, or anything else that fits your needs. It can even be decorated. You also don’t have to just have one. Many pagans switch altar cloths to match what they are working with or the season it is.
*The elements may be represented with 4 bowls with a different element in each one set in the correct directions (earth-north, air-east, fire-south, water-west), or any other way you wish.