Hi all! I’m excited to get this newsletter out to you. I love making and using altars, so sharing this practice with you gives me a lot of joy.

One quick thing before I dive into the altars - I need more time between newsletters going forward. I want them to be packed with helpful things for you, and to do that every month takes a lot of time. I’ll send newsletters every 2-3 months, on the first of the month. Thanks for being here!

An altar is a place for worship, sacred practice, devotion, connection, and remembrance.

Altars can be whatever you want them to be. They can be temporary or permanent, simple or complex.

An altar can be as simple as a photograph. It can also take up an entire wall and be filled with candles, books, art, herbs, symbols, and more.

Altars can be on a shelf, on a table, on your phone, online, in your mind, in a notebook, in your home, in nature, in your car, on your bike! You can even make tiny altars to carry with you (pocket altars or wearable altars).

In addition to my main altar where I do my spells, I have altars for specific purposes set up around my home. My main ancestral altar is on top of my piano. An altar to self love sits on a large serving platter so I can move it from my main altar, to my desk, or up to my living room. I have an altar to self which sits on a shelf above my main working altar.

I’ve even combined altars to do specific work on an area of life. (This TikTok shows both my self-love altar and my altar to self combined.)

Creating an Altar

To get started making your own altar, first decide what you’d like it to be for. You can set up altars to deities, ancestors, spirits, concepts (like justice, creativity, growth, love), goals, yourself, pets, your Inner Artist or Inner Child, and more. Let yourself be creative!

Altars can be for worship or devotion, focusing your mind, honoring something you hold sacred, ancestors, pets, and more. I keep some altars set up permanently. But I also I set up altars and take them down regularly.

Placement

Once you’ve decided what your altar is for, decide where you want the altar to go. Consider the energy of the space and what the spaces signifies. Also consider fire safety. If you plan to burn candles on the altar, don’t set it up on a bookshelf or under hanging plants.

Some ideas for altar placement:

• Place a prosperity altar near your front door to invite prosperity in.

• Build a creativity altar on a serving platter so you can keep it nearby when you do creative work (wherever that might be).

• Create an altar to self love where you get ready in the morning.

• In my family, on our deceased ancestor’s birthdays, we set up a simple temporary altar. It can go anywhere in the home since it’s just for the day and it doesn’t take up much space.

• If you read tarot, set up an altar to Intuition in your reading space or create a wearable altar to take with you when you do readings.

You might choose “non-traditional” altars if you live in a small space, with curious pets, with roommates, or need to be discreet with your practice:

• An altar in a notebook is discreet and doesn’t take up much room. When you want to work with the altar, simply open the notebook to the right page and set it on your lap or any flat surface.

• A pocket altar is easy to carry with you and store away when you’re not using it. Make these from fabric, small tins, or boxes. (Learn more how I would use pocket altars.)

• An altar in Pinterest or a digital photo album is private, portable, and easy to make.

Items for the Altar

The next step is to brainstorm all the symbols, colors, or special items that correspond with your altar’s intention. Remember, an altar can be as simple as an image or a memento, but it could also include:

• items special for that intention (an offering or symbol of a god, a favorite item for an ancestor)

• crystals

• religious symbols

• candles and candle holders

• images representing the intention

• tarot cards

• dried herbs or flowers

Setting up the Altar

Clean and energetically cleanse the space. Then start placing your items. Some traditions have specific rules about placement, but I lean into chaos magic - do what you want!

Altars grow and change over time as you use them. Don’t get hung up on making it perfect or needing it to stay the same.

Working with Your Altar

What you do with your altar is entirely up to you. The one thing I will recommend is setting a regular cleaning and dusting schedule. This helps to keep the altar’s energy fresh and it just seems respectful.

One of my favorite things to do is light a candle at an altar and just sit with it. I let its energy fill me. I connect with it. I open myself to messages.

You might meditate or chant at your altar. You might bring offerings to deity. You might do weekly, monthly, or seasonal rituals at your altar. You might just wink at it and move on with your day.

Get to know your altar. Sit with its energy. Listen to what it has to offer, and what you have to offer it.

What is an Inner Artist?

Do you have to be an artist to use this reading? Nope! Every single one of us has an Inner Artist. Simply put, it’s the creative part inside of us.

Creativity shows up in our lives outside of making arts & crafts. You might be creative in the way you teach, creative in the way you lead, creative in the way you decorate your home.

I do a weekly Inner Artist reading for myself. I share that reading on TikTok, YouTube, and Bluesky. This is a more detailed reading for newsletter subscribers to help your Inner Artist stay creative.

How can your Inner Artist be creative this month?

For this month, I pulled the Three of Pentacles. Collaboration will keep your Inner Artist feeling creative.

Collaboration could literally be with other people:

• Set up a crafting date with some friends.

• Ask for a critique on a current project.

• Brainstorm ideas for new projects with fellow artists.

Collaboration could be with new media. Try something totally new. Examples might be: sculpting if you usually paint, collage if you’re a writer, etc.

Collaboration could be about bringing new concepts or people into your art. Consider learning about a new artist and using them as inspiration (visualize that they are collaborating with you on a piece). Some ideas:

• Make music in collaboration with Freddie Mercury

• Paint in collaboration with Frida Kahlo

• Sculpt in collaboration with Guillermo del Toro

• Knit in collaboration with your ancestors

You are the primary collaborator with your Inner Artist. The two of you must work hand-in-hand to express yourself creatively.

If you are interested in “parts work”, you could even use your other parts to collaborate on something. What amazing creations could come from a collaboration between your Inner Artist and your Inner Rebel! (Want to learn more about how I approach parts work? The February 2025 newsletter has information on that.)

Journal Prompts:

Use these journal prompts to dive deep into this reading. If you read tarot, you can also ask your cards these questions!

• Who (or what) could my Inner Artist collaborate with?

• How can I be a more active collaborator with my Inner Artist?

• What aspects of my life could benefit from a collaboration with my Inner Artist?

• How can I bring more (or new) community into my creative life?

Words of Power:

• I am not alone.

• I create space for new ideas.

• I accept criticism with grace.

• I am open to new ideas.

• Creative ideas flow through community.

Witchy Rituals:

• Use your crystals or tarot cardsas collaborators. Which crystals/cards could support your creativity? Keep them close as you do your creative work.

• Set up an altar for your creativity. Fill it with images of people and things that are your Creative Collaborators. Spend a moment in communion with your altar before you start your creative work.

I love using tarot on altars. The cards carry centuries of meaning and that energy is welcome on altars and in spellwork. I use tarot cards to add layers of symbolism and meaning to my altars.

I recently posted a video about how I’ve been using tarot with my altars and spellwork.

And my Personal Card of the Year gets its own altar!

Setting up an altar is an inherently creative act. So much time, thought, and attention goes into creating the altar. All that effort and energy helps to feed the altar.

Witch crafting can come into altar work in a lot of ways:

• Create an altar cloth with fabric symbolizing the altar’s intention.

• Crochet a doily for your altar.

• Decorate a prayer candle.

• Make a collage or paint something to add to the altar.

• Bundle items you found in nature.

• Create a symbol from clay.

Since I’m primarily a fiber artist, I’m really drawn to fabric pocket altars. They are based on vintage Catholic Pocket Oratories. I make pocket altars with all sorts of intentions and I truly love making them. (I also use them for spells!)

I’m sharing my pocket altar pattern as this month’s freebie (see below). The pattern includes ideas, tips & tricks, and an unlisted YouTube video with examples.

If you make a pocket altar for yourself, and you feel comfortable sharing, I’d love to see what you make!

Shameless plug: I make build-your-own altars and “blank canvases” if you want a jump start to creating pocket altars.

Subscribers get access to monthly freebies. This month’s freebie is a pocket altar pattern and instructions.

Subscribers get 20% off both my shops. These discounts are active until the next newsletter goes out.

• I shared one of my favorite spreads for general readings or deep-dives on a situation on YouTube: Elemental 9-Card Box Spread

• I shared some ideas for using witchy tools and practice to support you in taking political action on TikTok: Witchy Ways to Take Action

• I’m obsessed with the TV show Severance. If you are too, you might like my Severance-inspired tarot spreads on TikTok: Tarot Spreads for Severance Fans

• I shared two tarot spreads for activism:

  • Who is my Inner Rebel?

  • Keeping up Good Trouble