Altar
There is a difference between an altar and a shrine. Generally, a shrine is a place of worship. Shrines are built to deities or spirits to honor them. You can put a shrine anywhere, indoors or outdoors. You could decorate it with things that symbolize the entity you are honoring, and make offerings to it there. For example, you might have a kitchen shrine to Hestia (Greek Goddess of Hearth and Home), decorated with a plant and a small cauldron. Or, you might place a shrine to a protective spirit by your front door, decorated simply with two crossed sticks and an incense burner (for burning offerings of incense).
An altar, on the other hand, is any flat surface used as a magical workspace. You can store your tools on an altar, perform magic, cast spells, work rituals at it, and more. Your altar may even have a shrine on it, but it is not itself a shrine. An altar can be a permanent and stationary fixture, like an oak desk; it can be portable, like an old wooden box; or, it may be any space cleared and blessed before use. Some people use their computer workspace since one of their main tools is their computer; these are known as Techno-Pagans.
Therefore, to sum up: shrines are places of worship and places to make offerings; altars are magical workspaces.
Some common arrangements and tools for the altar are as follows:
An altar, on the other hand, is any flat surface used as a magical workspace. You can store your tools on an altar, perform magic, cast spells, work rituals at it, and more. Your altar may even have a shrine on it, but it is not itself a shrine. An altar can be a permanent and stationary fixture, like an oak desk; it can be portable, like an old wooden box; or, it may be any space cleared and blessed before use. Some people use their computer workspace since one of their main tools is their computer; these are known as Techno-Pagans.
Therefore, to sum up: shrines are places of worship and places to make offerings; altars are magical workspaces.
Some common arrangements and tools for the altar are as follows:
- North: Representing the element of Earth. Proper tools and offerings for the north include salt, stone bowls, drums, altar patens, or dirt.
- East: Representing the element of Air. Proper tools and offerings for the east include feathers, incense using a censor or incense burner, flutes, or fans.
- South: Representing the element of Fire. Proper tools and offerings for the south include candles and sulfur.
- West: Representing the element of Water. Proper tools and offerings include bowls, chalices, or cauldrons.