Altar locations? Creative ideas? Space issues or not - show photos please!

Ayram

Hello - I did a search but couldn't find a pre-existing thread on this so here it goes. If I'm wrong and missed one, please redirect me! I've learned that using a photo-sharing site like Flickr or what have you is the easiest way to post photos if you don't have the option of doing it from here.

First of all I can't believe that is the title of a thread that I of all people just began (dang it why don't we have emojis/emoticons here?? If we did mine would be of a big ol' face laughing)!! I used to think altars were just for witches but now I get it. If one is going to dabble in crystals, then one's collection might grow and one MIGHT actually want to do a crystal grid and...and...and yeah it's time for something resembling an altar!! Plus I have so many decks of tarot cards now that it would be nice to have a spot where all this stuff could go eh?

The problem is I have kids and gave one of our rooms up (has been a hobby room/sewing room, guest room and peaceful "zen" type room) to one of them - and that would have been a PERFECT room for this type of thing! So now I'm stuck putting together something in my bedroom...but there just doesn't seem to be a great space!

I'd love to see pics for inspiration (or words - if no pic)! Thanks...
 

Ayram

Me again...

Atop my grandma's large, cube-shaped antique trunk would be a reasonable place since I never open it (it's got all her old fabric for sewing in it and it smells like her bedroom from long ago, inside - and I don't want the smell to escape cos I'm a weirdo!). However the only place in the room that fits is right next to a console table that has my medium-sized flat screen TV on it with stereo et al below it. And there's nowhere else THAT can go! Yes, no-no as it is, I DO want to keep the TV in there I've decided. At least I put a tower of amazonite in front of it!!

There's a possible space on a cute white antique wash stand (if I move my beloved antique books off to it) but it's the first thing you see when you walk in the room. Do I really want an altar to be the first thing one's eyes go to when walking in the room? "Not that there's anything wrong with it" but it feels like it should be out of the way a bit and just more private unless it has its own room. What do you think?? I may send pics of the bedroom at some point haha!

Another thought is that it sure would be nice to find a wall-hung altar of sorts - like one of those floating shelves only deeper than most...and that would have more to it like a cute upper cupboard or something. Or put another way, a wall-hung cupboard that has a wide-enough shelf, below it, for a typical-sized large grid! Also one would want enough hight between lower shelf and upper whatever, to be able to light candles without burning the bottom of the upper part. I doubt such a thing exists, at any rate!
 

FinoAllaFine

Where I live I have a little shelf where my crystals are currently lying unorganised. Maybe it's time to put them into a grid and include some kind of intention in there. What function do the candles serve in an altar? The shelf is in a wooden wardrobe so I wouldn't want to burn candles in there if avoidable. Would it be enough to set an intention for the grid, decorate the immediate surrounding area and let it do its thing?

I've never made one before :)
 

Ayram

Where I live I have a little shelf where my crystals are currently lying unorganised. Maybe it's time to put them into a grid and include some kind of intention in there. What function do the candles serve in an altar? The shelf is in a wooden wardrobe so I wouldn't want to burn candles in there if avoidable. Would it be enough to set an intention for the grid, decorate the immediate surrounding area and let it do its thing?

I've never made one before :)

Ha you're asking a newbie! ;) I'm sure candles aren't necessary but it might be a nice aesthetic touch at least. Is your wardrobe floor-standing, or hanging on the wall? When you say it's little, how little is it? Is the top a hinged lid? It seems from what you're saying that you'd get or make a grid, and it on the top of that armoire if in fact it's non-hinged. If it's a floor piece and there's no space for candles or other chotskies on top of it after the grid, you could put a wall shelf above it (floating or otherwise) that fits with the era of the lower piece and put some thing on that like a candle or two or a few books, herbs etc.

I've been thinking hard about this and I'm thinking I may use some table of some sort - or my old square trunk - as the place for the grid, and then above that I would have a less-deep wall shelf on which I'd set this big old vintage, tabletop, 3-tiered jewelry box/dresser filled with all my smaller crystals. ;) The shelf could possibly be chosen to be long/wide enough to hold things on either side of the jewelry box such as larger, more impressive crystal towers (I only have 2) or what might look nice would be the towers on one side and then my round sphere crystal on the other or a couple of clusters...something like that. And then if I'm really going for the altar look, above that I might even go so far as to find a cute old (or reproduction) wall cupboard with (or without) doors, to store extras like tarot cards and books, herbs and sea shell for burning sage etc. For candles - which I do love no matter the occasion - they'd just have to find a place that won't involve burning anything else by being too close to it. So if on the main table/trunk the wall shelf would have to be high enough out of the way not to burn or if placed next to the jewelry box it obviously couldn't be too close (so wide enough shelf) but then if there's a cupboard above THAT...you get the point!
 

Ayram

Crap! I'm really sorry I write so much! Ugh I feel like a total narcissist!
 

FinoAllaFine

Crap! I'm really sorry I write so much! Ugh I feel like a total narcissist!

Not at all, it wasn't even that much :)

You got me thinking and actually there is a compartment which I have decided to use for grids. I set the intention as cleaning the energy in the room. Here are two pictures, the first to see the kind of compartment it is (as you seemded curious!) and the second in case you wanted a closer look at my stones. Also in there are my two tarot decks and my pendulum.



 

Ayram

Not at all, it wasn't even that much :)

You got me thinking and actually there is a compartment which I have decided to use for grids. I set the intention as cleaning the energy in the room. Here are two pictures, the first to see the kind of compartment it is (as you seemded curious!) and the second in case you wanted a closer look at my stones. Also in there are my two tarot decks and my pendulum.




Omg that's a great piece for this purpose I think! Next time I'd love a picture from a tiny bit more distance so I can get a sense of the whole thing! I would buy or make a grid you could move around, then put it out on that part that folds out because if you want it to cleanse the room you want it exposed!! I mean ha - I'm new to this too but that's what I'd think anyway! I'll be back in a bit to take a closer look at those stones. It's fun to try and identify everyone's stones (and helps me get better at it). Thanks for sharing the photos!
 

JustJazzie

Ohh! I do love seeing pictures of these types of things. I am lucky enough that my main altar does have a dedicated space. It's in the room where I do my yoga and art, as well as magic and meditation. I inherited the cube storage from my late mother in law, and it works perfectly in the space.
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I have a few other places that I keep grids though, as I prefer to see them throughout the day. They feel so happy that I can't imagine having them "tucked away" and out of my normal paths.
 

Tanga

OMGs It's an ALTAR THREAD! YEAH!

Huh - NOW you are talking!
(And - it's really late right now, so I haven't read properly through this thread - just seen the heading and the photos :) ).
Your Crystal Altars are Beautiful! :heart: :heart:


I will have to get busy photographing to share...
As - I have a number of Altars, in my home - and garden... Lol.
Presently - 6 Altars in my bedroom. Lol.


@Justjazzie - you lucky thing to have so much space for Altars!
Most of mine are small due to space restrictions.
If I lived alone - my house would look very different because every presentation would likely be Altar-like... ( ;) ).
As it is - I get away with some because they're not overtly so.


Now - here are existing photos (pardon - one's a bit fuzzy).

I have a Bastet/Upasht Altar - the current photo is an old one - she's presently not so cluttered as you see in this photo! (she's made of Malachite).
The Sci-Fi Altar was a temporary one so it's no longer out.
I have a Tarot Altar on the wall. I change the cards fairly regularly.

Candle use is limited in my house - due to my partner being paranoid that I'll burn the place down. So I only ever occasionally use tea-lights or votives.
Otherwise it's LEDs.
 

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