Contents
Overview
An altar is a table, podium, or other surface designed for conducting ritual workings. In modern pagan and witchcraft spaces, the word has three different but related meanings:
- 1
“Altar” can refer to a kind of outdoor stone slab or platform that was used to prepare food offerings, libations, and animal sacrifices in ancient times. This was known as a hörgr in Scandinavia.
- 2
“Altar” can refer to a consecrated workbench used for important ritual workings. This is a place to prepare spells, conduct divination readings, and to store important tools of the craft such as wands, candles, and spell ingredients. This type of altar is typically used amongst witches and those who practice magic.
- 3
“Altar” can refer to a shrine dedicated to one or multiple deities, spirits, or ancestors. It’s usually located on a table or shelf somewhere in the home, and functions as a place to venerate entities and give them offerings.
In Heathenry, when people speak of building an altar for a deity, they usually mean the third definition.
