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Many Witches meet, and work outdoors to stay more attuned to nature, however due to location and weather, this is not always possible. Your temple can be anywhere you are. The area you set aside can be as much as an entire room or a corner of a room. An area five feet square is sufficient.
First, take a compass and determine the alignment of the room. Mark the north, east, south and west. Your altar will be place in the center of the area you have set aside and it should be set up so that when standing before your altar you are facing east. When entering and leaving the Circle, before and after a ritual, you will do so from the east.
You should perform an initial purification ritual of the room you are using the first time you set up your altar. This is best performed on the night of the New Moon.
Fill a dish with water, kneel down and place it on the floor in front of you. Place your for finger of your strong hand into the water. Charge the water with power. When you can feel it glowing with a bright white light, keep your finger there and say:
Here do I
direct my power,
Through the agencies of the
God and the Goddess,
Into this water, that it might be clean
As is my love for the
Lord and the Lady
Now take a spoonful of sea salt and pour it into the water. Stir it nine times moonwise (clockwise) with your finger and say three times:
Salt, Life
Sacred and new; without strife
Take the dish of salt water and sprinkle it, with your fingers, about the room. Go into every corner, closets, nooks and crannies. As you sprinkle the water say something along these lines:
As I pass through the ways
Ever do I feel the presence of the Gods.
I know that in all I do
They abide in me
And I in them,
Forever.
No evil shall be entertained,
For purity is the dweller
Within me and around me.
For good do I strive
And for good do I live.
Love unto all things
So mote it be.
Next, light some incense. Follow the path you made with the sea salt about the room, this time taking the incense into each place about the room. Say the above lines as you go about the room again.
Now you can construct your altar. You can make your altar out of just about anything. A tree stump makes an excellent altar, especially if you are outdoors. A nice flat rock or just a board placed across a couple of bricks. I have NO wood- working skill but if you do, go wild. As with all your tools, your altar should reflect your personality. It is an extension of your power. Try not to have any metal in the table other than brass because of conductivity.
The surface of the altar should consist of, but is not limited to:
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