How to Setup an Altar

August 13, 2015August 13, 2015 / Moonwater / Leave a comment

Blessings,

Moonwater SilverClaw

P.S. To sign up for our E-Newsletter click here.

For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:

Goddess Has Your Back: How Wicca Can Help You Raise Your Self-Esteem and Make Your Life Magickal

And

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Book

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Embrace Wicca, Become Strong, Be at Peace with Yourself and the World Around You

And

Beyond the Law of Attraction to Real Magic: How You Can Remove Blocks to Prosperity, Happiness and Inner Peace

The Importance of Mentoring and the Experience

August 23, 2014 / Moonwater / Leave a comment

The Altar

I placed the bowl of salt on the altar and then, gently, my mentor moved my hand to the left. Just then, I had the instinctive feeling that the bowl of salt was now in the right place.

I’ve found that having a mentor brings out an aspect of Wicca that one cannot find in a book.

Imagine trying to learn to swim without getting in the water.

Similarly, did you learn to ride a bicycle with no one next you? Learning to ride a bicycle is a good metaphor related to rising to higher levels of Wiccan practice.

You could read a book about a bicycle or watch other people riding bicycles, but that is not the same as having a mentor guide you.

When my dad taught me to ride a bicycle, he was there offering advice and helping me right the bicycle when I took a couple of spills.

Wicca is an experiential process. A mentor can guide you in a progression of experiences so that you learn at a good pace and have successful experiences along the way.

The idea of being a mentor means so much to me that I’m now completing a video in which I talk directly with the viewer and show the process of a number of meditations. I provide guided meditations—this is a prime example of when a mentor can provide an experience to help the viewer go deeper in his or her practice.

Consider ways to bring a mentor or mentors into your journey.

You’ll make progress faster and enjoy the journey more.

Blessings,

Moonwater SilverClaw

For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Embrace Wicca, Become Strong, Be at Peace with Yourself and the World Around You

And

Beyond the Law of Attraction to Real Magic: How You Can Remove Blocks to Prosperity, Happiness and Inner Peace

The Wiccan Altar

November 7, 2012November 7, 2012 / Moonwater / 2 Comments

An Example of a Wiccan Altar

When I first started to learn from my mentor, it took me forever to remember where everything went on my altar. I would feel self-conscious about making mistakes. My mentor smiled and simply moved the item I had misplaced to where it should reside on the altar. So don’t beat yourself up if you need to use this picture for a while.

There are about just as many ways to set up an altar as there are people. Each person or group may have a certain way of doing an altar setup. Here’s an example of a Wiccan altar. Let’s start with the right side of the Altar.

As you can see at the top right is the “Cakes/Bread” You can use bread, cupcakes, cookies or a power bar for that matter. It should contain carbohydrates to nourish the body to replenish the energy you used during ritual.

Below that you can see the “Censer & Incense“. This incense burner has cone incense inside it. However, you can burn any kind of incense in this burner. Remember that incense, when burned, represents air on your altar.

You can see the “Taper (a long wick),” which is used to help light the candles. You light everything from the working candle. You can use the Taper to transfer the flame to another candle to light it.

To the right is the “Lighter” which is used to light the working candle.

Below that is the “Bell/Chime” that you use for ringing, when appropriate.

Continuing around in a clockwise direction is the “Pentacle”. You use the pentacle to help you focus your attention on your goal.

To the left of the pentacle is the “Athame” used to cast circle and to direct power.

Above the athame is the “Water in Bowl.” Water is one of the four elements and is used with the salt to make your holy water.

Continuing around we have the “Salt in Dish“. Representing Earth, Salt is put into the water.

Above the salt is the “Wine Filled Cup”. The cup as you remember is a female symbol and holds the wine/juice to be blessed.

Above this are the “Offering Dishes.”

Next you see in the middle the “Goddess Candle” and the “God Candle,” which are used to represent the deities.

Between the God and Goddess candles, find the “Working Candle,” which you use to light everything else during ritual. The Working Candle represents fire on your altar.