ALTARS
It is important to understand that these are just some ideas for you to use. You can and are expected to adjust them and add your own creativity to personalize your altar to fit you and your needs. Remember, there is no set way of doing things. If it feels right to you, then it is right. The idea is to have fun and to remember and honor the God and Goddess on the Sabbats.
CREATING THE IMBOLG ALTAR
With the promise of spring and rebirth in the air, you may want to include a statue of the Goddess on your altar. Red, pink and brown, or yellow and gold candles are appropriate. Use a small set of lights to brighten your altar and acknowledge the fire festival. You can include a small bowl of seeds and sprouts as a symbol of fertility and rebirth.
CREATING THE OSTARA ALTAR
You can decorate your altar in fresh spring flowers, adding a heavenly fragrance. Also a nest which you might have found, or any hand made nest would be nice to put your dyed eggs into. Pastel colors are nice, also green, yellow and gold, to honor the Goddess of fertility.
CREATING THE BELTANE ALTAR
This is a time for flowers, lots of them, picked by you or bought, any flowers will do. Beltane is a great fire festival, so a group of candles on your altar bunched together in warm colors such as red, green or pink would be nice to substitute for a small fire. You might also want to include images of the sex organs, this doesn’t have to be graphic, it can be a phallic rock and a creviced stone, or flowers, or a yin-yang symbol.
CREATING THE LITHA ALTAR
Sun images made by your children or by yourself. Some sort of fire on your altar is important, use candles or votives. Use fresh fruits as a reminder of the earth’s bounty. Use flowers of gold, orange and yellow, roses are traditional also. A symbol or picture of Earth on your altar is a gentle reminder to honor Her.
CREATING THE LUGHNASSADH ALTAR
To celebrate the harvest, a loaf of bread hand made by the entire family is a nice centerpiece on the altar, surrounded by harvest figures. Add a wooden bowl filled with fruits and vegetables to show a bountiful harvest.
CREATING THE SAMHAIN ALTAR
The Samhain altar becomes a shrine to our beloved who have passed on. You may want to drape your altar in black cloth. To honor those who’ve passed on, you may want to place their pictures or mementos on your altar. You also may want to place candy on your altar as offering to all of the children who have passed on. Symbols of the season such as pumpkins and autumn leaves, apples and nuts. You might also want to put a bowl of water on your altar for scrying.
CREATING THE MABON ALTAR
Most of us enjoy this time of year for the beauty of the fall colors and the energy felt in the cool air, which seems to put an added perk in our steps. It can be great fun hunting for just the right harvest symbols. Your altar is a great place for fruits such as squash and apples set in an old wooden bowl, you will also want to add pomegranate, in association with Persephone. Decorate your altar with orange, brown and yellow, using candles, fruits, corns, etc. Also you might want to add a bowl of water, since Autumn is associated with water, emotion and relationship. Keep in mind that this same bowl of water can be used for scrying on Samhain.
CREATING THE YULE ALTAR
Candles are crucial to this festival, since it is a celebration of light. Use red, green and white candles. Draping evergreens of all kinds can be used and you’ll love the fragrances. Holly with its beautiful red berries is also a wonderful addition to your decoration. Use a Sun symbol as a reminder of the Sun’s return. The Druids revered the white berries of the Mistletoe as the semen of the God, and this can also be placed on your altar, or hung in doorways for the traditional kissing beneath it. (chances are our ancestors did a bit more than kiss under this symbol of fertility) **remember that the berries of the mistletoe are highly poisonous, so be sure to keep them away from children and animals** Acorns, nuts, apples, cinnamon sticks and pomegranates are also appropriate for decorating your Yule altar.