Inspiring space dedicated to Hecate, Cernunnos, Dionysos

I am very happy to be posting this sacred space. It is, in fact, the space that inspired me to create this blog. I loved the composition, color palette, and symbolism, as well as the unique way that the practitioner BlueDruid combined shrines to different deities and and a Druidic altar.

You can find the article describing the most recent version of the space on BlueDruid's blog, Of Oak and Ivy. He desribes it as thus:

Heres a close up of just the main main work area minus the Dionysos shrine. The Hekate and Cernunnos shrines are placed as they are on purpose. Cernunnos rests on the main Druidic altar because he is “of the land” and my personal guide to all things Druidic. It some how feels right that he be so intimately connected to the Druid altar, to actually rest upon it. Hekate’s shrine rests above it due to her also having a strong presence in my personal Druidic work, and her being “The Far Removed One”. The Druidic altar itself consists of a few different parts. To the left is my area for the 4 elements. There’s a bowl of earth, a fire pot, an insence burner, and bowl of water. In the center is the “hearth fire”, a triple wicked soy candle that I made with various essential oils pertinent to my work included. In front of the Cernunnos shrine is a leaf shaped dish for offerings to the land spirits and my Druid Plant Oracle Cards which I use to to communicate with him primarily.

There are other great pictures at the end of the link, so make sure you check it out.

The Wizardess' Altar for Hestia

Post Your Altar's first submission! From the Wizardess epi at the blog Go Out Beneath the Naked Night

Attached are pictures of my Hestia altar in my kitchen. This is the altar that I change often & pause at daily. When I cook, little pinches of everything get offered to Hestia. It may be a little plain for some, but it works for me & my Goddess!

Thanks, Wizardess! And I think the altar's far from plain. Just right, in my opinion. And definitely in the spirit of Rowan's article Altars Anywhere.

A Simple Altar is Better Than None!

Rowan Pendragon posted a wonderful article about altars called Altars Anywhere on the blog Within The Sacred Mists. It gives a lot of great advice for practitioners who are afraid of creating an altar because it might not be fancy enough.

Rowan writes:

"I have had altars on bedside tables, wall shelves, the corner of a desk, the top of a cardboard box, on a large round wooden table and on a plastic storage tote. Some altars are really obvious and some blend right in with other things in a room so that nobody notices it. While there are traditional ways an altar can be set up and different traditions will designate everything from what direction to point the altar, to the candle colors, to what you can actually have on it. Does that mean it has to limit you in your home altars? No. It’s up to you to decide how you want to work with your altar."

My first Wiccan altar was an old, wooden cigar box/humidifier, upon which I set a single candle, a tarot card I pulled for the day, and my prayer beads. And at that moment, it did all it needed to do: provide a point of meditation and prayer.

Devi Mandir's Cosmic Altar

I created this blog at work, and I don't have a picture of my altar. But to start this thing, I've posted a favorite altar of mine, The Cosmic Altar at the Devi Mandir, the Tample of the Divine Mother, which is a Hindu temple in Napa, California.

I've been a fan of this temple for a long time. The two clergy members, Shree Maa and Swami Satyananda Saraswati, are quite beautiful people. Plus, Swami, an American that converted to Hinduism, has quite a bright and humorous personality that shines through the many videos on the site.

I was going to explain the symbols on the altar, evident by this 39-page slideshow, it's quite complicated. But, still quite beautiful.

So, as this is the blog's first altar post, I will ask that you share your altar as well. Just email me at wmbittner at gmail dot com with your picture or link to your picture, as well as a description, and any links, such as to your blog or titter if you would like.