How to set up a discreet altar?

Share photos of your altars or other magical tools and pagan decor.
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kana-

How to set up a discreet altar?

Post by kana- »

Don't know if this is the right group to post to but anyways, I live with my parents who are devout catholics and I have been planning to start my journey in pagan witchcraft for a while now. Many beginner witchcraft guides mention setting up an altar. I have looked into this and as beautiful as they are, my parents (mainly my mother), would not approve. Anyone have any ideas on setting up a correct but discreet altar?
Last edited by Firebird on Fri Sep 07, 2018 10:03 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Corbin
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Re: How to set up a discreet altar?

Post by Corbin »

Depends how nosy your mother is and how likely she is to find it / the aggravation it will cause.

An altar, shrine or temple on the Astral perhaps?
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SpiritTalker
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Re: How to set up a discreet altar?

Post by SpiritTalker »

A discreet altar Is really easily done with creative substitutions. The goal is to Create No Drama & still function. The altar can't look witchy &' be discreet . A pentacle, chalice, cauldron or dagger are out of the question & wands are dead give-aways since H.Potter. It's quite alright to replace them with household dishes. We make them magical when we consecrate & magnetize them. An Athame substitution might be a letter opener, ✂️scissors, laser pointer (cat toy) or 🖌pen & a pedestal tea cup or Wonder Woman mug might sub for the stemmed chalice. A simple glass of water will look nice too. Real-flame candles need permission so replace them with LED candles or strings of Yule lights coiled in a jar. It leaves no trace to breathe on a mirror & draw symbols in the mist, or to dip a finger in the Cup of water & trace a star onto a flat rock as a pentacle. You can't disguise smoke but sacred aromas come in many forms such as a bowl of spicy potpourri, herbal sachet, aerosol mist & reed oil diffuser. The Snoop Sisters know all about the shoe box collection under the bed so give them a harmless rock or seashell collection to find that says "nothing to see here."

The main things to include on a magical altar are symbols of the Elements and Deities. A collection of 💎stones & 🐚shells (earth & water) in a jar with a few feathers (air), oak or 🌲pine twigs &' 🌾wheat stalks (gods), 5 elemental-color marbles can sit in plain sight as room decoration. Start looking at random objects as symbols & imagine how to repurpose them. Any flat surface with a bit of workspace can be used . Most homes don't have the room for a full-time altar so it's usual to set-up for each use & after to redistribute tools back in plain sight - again, "nothing to see here."

A standard Wiccan layout creates energy by polarity (-/+) to aid spell work. Energy flows from (-)passive to (+)active in Nature. The symbols of passive Earth & Water go on the left & active Fire & Air on the right; luminary candles in back.

A Few Discreet Altar Symbols:

.Goddess: (-), silver, Moon, lily, lotus, rose, wheat, cornucopia, bear, horse, reindeer, weaving, loom, flame/light
.God: (+), gold, Sun, pine cone, grape vine, oak acorn, wheat, stag, wolf, reindeer, plow, flame/light
.Guardian spirit: their animal symbol, guardian angel, saint image

Air: (+), E, yellow/white, aromas, potpourri, bubbles & pipe, hand-fan, birds, flute/harmonica
Fire: (+), S, red/orange, LED-candle, laser pointer cat toy, Yule lights, anointing oil, dragon, guitar/violin
Water: (-), W, blue/aqua, cup/bowl, H2O, sea shells, mirror, fish, rattle, jingle bells
Earth: (-), N, green/brown, 4-Way X, salt, stones, brick, rabbit, potted plant, map, drum
Ether: purple/iridescent white, altar cloth

Useful household items for magical purposes:
. Cup as chalice, saucer-pentacle, bowl-censer, any pointer-wand, bandanna-altar cloth
. Yarn or twine can serve for knot magic; tie spaced knots for prayer & chant counters
. A pendant can be used as a pendulum
. A standard deck of playing cards can be used for divination
. Tea bags make ready-to-use potions; draw sigils on them
. Envelopes decorated with sigils work for spell packets; fold & tie closed
. Restaurant salt & sugar packets are convenient
. You can add scent to lite olive oil with anise, lemon, or mint flavoring or essential oils
.
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CleverlyDisguised
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Re: How to set up a discreet altar?

Post by CleverlyDisguised »

I used to have an emergency altar kit, everything I needed for a spell casting altar contained in a small pouch I could fit comfortably in my jeans pocket
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TheChimera

Re: How to set up a discreet altar?

Post by TheChimera »

I agree with what Spirittalker mentions about using the saints as many of those have corresponding or similar deities in other cultures if that is something you want to connect with. There are also many resources these days on Christian witchcraft and I'm dead sure you'll find info on blending that with Catholicism if you want to use that as a means to practice covertly without using symbols that would give you away. Spent many years in the closet myself and it's not fun having to hide yourself like that from people you love. unfortunately a judgmental nature exists in all of us to an extent. If you're outdoorsy you can collect stones/ shells and feathers etc and use that as an excuse to have something that you secretly associate with your craft, just be careful though, some parents are aware of the symbology, so if you feel like it's too obvious don't use it.
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Re: How to set up a discreet altar?

Post by SpiritTalker »

@ lookingforanswers: Re boot for you
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