Course One: Wizardry 13
how they could exist. Once evidence to explain these
phenomena was discovered, they were finally “ad-
mitted” to be real by scientists who had denied their
reality for years.
In the early 20th century, a mathematician named
Gödel actually proved that it is mathematically inevi-
table that the Universe will contain things that are
true but cannot be proven. Wizards work with such
forces and phenomena. So be a critical thinker and be
interested in learning about how the world works, and
also keep an open mind about things that seem to be
true even though we don’t understand how...yet.Task: Create Your Personal Altar
To begin any kind of magickal practice, you will need
to create a personal altar in your room. This will be a
place to display your magickal tools, and it will be
the center of much of your magickal practice. Per-
sonal altars are as varied and as individual as the
people who have them. There is no really “wrong”
way to make one. Any flat horizontal surface can be
made into an altar. Many magickal folk use a small
table (square, round, or rectangular), a bureau, dresser
or cabinet, the top of a TV, or even one shelf of a
bookcase (mine is like that—though our large
Ravenheart Family Altar is on the mantle over our
fireplace). If you have very little space, a particularly
convenient way to make a personal altar is a triangu-
lar shelf attached to the walls in a corner of your room.
An altar can be any size you find convenient, but I
recommend one at least two feet wide and a foot deep.
Once you have a suitable altar space, you will need
an altar cloth. A decorated silk scarf or large handker-
chief is ideal, but any piece of pretty material you
like will do. If you check your local metaphysical
store, you will probably find some lovely altar cloths
with magickal designs printed on them. For color-
coded magick, you will want to have appropriately
colored altar cloths.
There are a few things that go on almost every
altar. First, you should have something to represent
each of the Elements (Earth, Air, Fire, and Water).
Earth may be represented by a crystal, a geode, a little
cup of salt, a pentacle, bread, fruit, or even a small
potted plant. Air might be represented by a feather, a
thurible (incense burner), a bell, a flute, or a dried
butterfly. Water is usually contained in a cup, or chal-
ice—but a seashell, starfish, or piece of coral also
makes a lovely representation of this Element. Water
in your chalice should never be allowed to get stale,
but should be refreshed regularly—especially before
any working. Fire is universally represented by a red
votive candle in a red jar, but a piece of red lava, coal,
charred wood, or a polished red stone or gem will
also serve. Even a little figurine of a red dragon can
be used for Fire. Your magickal tools—such as yourwand, athamé (ritual knife), jewelry, medicine
pouches, amulets, talismans, etc. should also be kept
on or around your altar. If you have a lot of such stuff,
you might want to fasten a branch or deer antler above
your altar from which you can hang things on chains
and cords.NOTE: NEVER leave a candle burning on your
altar when you are not in the room! I’ve known
of several magickal folks whose homes burned
down from untended altar candles! Also make
sure that there is nothing above your candle that
could possibly catch fire—including another
shelf, curtains, etc. You should have your altar
set-up checked by your mom before lighting any
candles on it.Next, your altar should have some representa-
tion of Spirit. This may be in the form of a crystal ball
or statues or pictures of Gods and Goddesses, which
you can make yourself or buy at a metaphysical store.
Don’t try and crowd your altar with such images—
one or a matched set of two will do nicely. (I make
such altar statues, and I have a very nice pair of young
God and Goddess figures that I designed just for you!).
Another way to represent Spirit is to have a mirror at
the back of your altar, which will reflect your own
face when you do your workings. After all, the Di-
vine Spirit is always within you! Your altar is a little
home for Spirit/God/Goddess to dwell with you as an
honored guest. Treat Them so, and They will honor
you in kind. If you wish to establish an Altar to a par-
ticular deity, consider this carefully. Take the time to
study Them, learn Their attributes and symbols. We’ll
talk more about this later on....
And finally, your personal altar should have rep-
resentations of yourself and your loved ones. Photos
are the most common way to include them, but some
folks use little animal figures to represent themselves
and family members—especially those who strongly
identify with particular Totem critters. Such represen-- Wizardry.p65 13 1/14/2004, 3:23 PM