Shrine

Shrine is a sacred surface/table that is used only for one God or Goddess and it is mainly for devotional work, praying and offerings. For creating a shrine you will firstly need a surface like a table or a bookcase section, where you will add items corresponding to the specific deity. The table could be either put at the center of the room or against the wall of the room, traditionally looking at the east. On the table must be put a depiction of the God or the Goddess. This depiction can be either a statue or a cornice with a printed image of the deity. The printed image version is used when there is not a statue of the God available to buy.

Then you can add items related to the deity and the corresponding qualities such as color, number and symbolism. For example, a cloth covering the table with the appropriate colors or symbols, censer, corresponding incense and candles can be put symmetrically or at the center of the table. Then candles, for example, can have the appropriate colors and number related to the deity. If the candles are for Hekate then you can use candles from the following colors: white, black, red, yellow-saffron.

Materials you will need:

1. Table  or other flat surface
2. Depiction of the Goddess
3. Candles*
4. Incense
5. Offering bowls
6. Symbols
7. Optionally a cloth of your choice for the shrine

*If the candles are fine, you will need fireproof bases to support them. If the candles have a large circle diameter, no support bases will need.

Wiccan Altar

If you don't know the difference between a shrine and an altar, read this article. The altar is a good choice if you work within the tradition of Wicca and you perform daily rituals or 3-4 times a week. The main goal is to have the Goddess Hekate on the left side of the altar and a God who has good relation with Her, on the right side.

The altar is put in the place/room for ritual and the magickal tools are placed on it. The statues on the altar are just representations of the divine energies, as well as the magickal tools are representations of the energies and of ourselves. The representations of God and the Goddess are placed on the back side of the altar. The left side is attributed to the Goddess and the right to the God. Ritual tools are also placed in the appropriate location/direction according to their elemental correspondence or according to their attributions to the Goddess and the God, the female and male energy. Usually, the second criterion is prefered. If you use that criterion, on the left you put the bell, the goblet, water bowl, herbs etc. On the right side, put the salt, incense holder, athame, wand, bolline, matches. On the center put the pentacle, offering bowl, libations, flowers, cauldron, incense burner, BOS etc.

The altar is traditionally placed so that the magician when standing in front of the altar is looking towards the sunrise (east) - or at the north. The altar may be at the center of the room if a ritual is going to follow that includes creation magical cycle (and devotional work) or it can be placed against the wall if the magician is doing only devotional work.

Materials you will need:

1. A table that will be used exclusively as an altar.
2. 1 blue candle *
3. 1 orange candle *
4. Representation of God related to Hekate (Helios, Pan, Hermes, Zeus)
5. Representation of the Goddess Hekate (Or a triple statue, of the Minoan Goddess of Snakes or of an ancient mycenean Goddess)
6. Censer
7. Incense
8. Two small bowls
9. Optionally a cloth of your choice for the altar
10. The other wiccan ritual tools

*If the candles are fine, you will need 2 fireproof bases to support them. If the candles have a large circle diameter, no support bases will need.

Colors

Colors related to Hekate are:  white, black, red, yellow.

1. From Eusevios’ work Praeparatio Evangelica (4^th cen. A.C.) we read:

"The symbols of Hecate are wax of three colors,
white and black and red combined, having a figure of
Hecate bearing a scourge, and torch, and sword, with
a serpent to be coiledround her"

2. From the Orphic Hymn to Hekate we read:

I call Einodian Hecate, lovely dame,
Of earthly,wat'ry, and celestial frame,
Sepulchral, in a saffron-veiled…”

Symbols

(Use representations of the symbols below. You can use wood or clay to make them your own. Always prefer handmade tools.)

• Moon
• Key
• Dagger
• Whip
• Veil
• Lodestone
• Lapis lazouli
• Moonstone
• Dog
• Bull
• Snake
• Deer
• Crossroads
• Rose
• Bay
• Flowers
• Herbs
• Torch
• Bronze
• Iron
• Gold
• Silver

If you are a beginner you may also want to read this article for further suggestions and look at our creative projects area to take some ideas (for pottery).