A Tour of my Spring/Beltane Altar

I've finally managed to unpack all of my bits and bobs for my altar and have it set up. I thought I'd share some photos of my space and some of the special handmade items that reside there.

As it gets closer to Beltane I'll be adding fresh flowers to the space. For now though, here it is with it's bright green batik cloth:

From this angle you can see my labradorite sphere, wee cast iron cauldron, wee besom on the wall and stag headed offering bowl.

Green onyx chalice, my oil warmer (incense smoke irritates an eye condition of mine, so I use oils), and an evil eye charm created by Anathemum

This is the shelf above my altar, where I keep my deity symbols. A shell for the goddess, a horn for the god and two beautiful representations created by Nydia at Carioca Witch. I need to speak with her about making me some specialized ones when I find the ever elusive part-time job.

Two of my favourite altar items and items I use most frequently were hand made by myself and a group of fellow pagans. One is a finished piece and one is an ever evolving project that I'd like to keep collecting pieces from other pagan artists for.

The completed piece was crafted by myself out of a beautiful barkless stick that my husband found for me. I've never determined exactly what sort of wood it is, as when I received it, it had no bark or leaves of any sort! I love it nonetheless.

I left it exactly as nature had given it to me and added only a handle and embellishments to one end. All four elements are represented, along with the triple goddess. Once I had wrapped the handle in leather, I coiled it with copper, under which I placed a raven's feather to represent air.

Fire, Earth, Water and the Goddess are all represented by the bric-a-brac that dangles from the end of the wand. These symbols include lava rock, small shells, agate, and colourful celetial beads.

The ever evolving item is one that I use all the time. It is a book of deities. Each page is 4"x4" and was created using various techniques on sturdy cardstock and watercolour paper by fellow pagan artists. Every page represents a deity that I work with or that has special meaning to me. The only issue I've had with this book is that there are no Gods represented, just Goddesses. If anyone would be interested in creating pages for this, let me know. I'd be willing to trade a 4"x4" watercolour painting, or a 4"x4" page in the same style as this book for a book page. Sure, I could make them all myself, but I feel it would lose something if half of the book were made by me.

As you can see, almost all of the pages are mixed media, with ribbons, charms, paints, papers and even polymer clay being used. That's Cerridwyn stirring the cauldron of inspiration on the front.

Here it is currently on my altar, opened to the page devoted to Artemis, my maiden goddess.

Now that you've toured my altar and seen some of my favourite items, what items do you favor? Why?