You know, I bloody love that. Whilst I don't really identify as "kitchen witch" (I dislike the labels), I certainly feel in my power in the kitchen, and the whole kitchen feeds that power. And now you've reminded me that I need to buy tomato seeds soon...
Lol I love that. I kind of consider my bedroom to be my altar to myself. Wish my kitchen was big/organised enough to be able to do something similar with. Kitchens certainly the heart of our home, and the bomb site 😂
Thoughtful and thought-provoking reflections on altars🌟👏 .. Mine is currently covered in holly & ivy (top of a book shelf) obscuring my ritual tools and items.. which I’ll burn at Imbolc (the foliage not my altar items😹) I cleanse and re-consecrate it at new moon .. its contents evolve and change with the Sabbats .. However it’s totally impractical so for spellcraft I need to set up my “working altar “… Then …. l have a 3rd little altar in my work-room used for Reiki distance healing, often fired up with a spell .. so yes .. multiple altars.. 😬 but each with a different function and purpose .. When casting a circle outdoors the earth is my altar… Only just found you .. very uplifting 😊 Good luck with your new year plans 💥 (yes, as a Wiccan it’s a random date for me too)
Thank you. You have basicly pointed out everything I've been trying to teach those I work with. I also count my sewing area as part of my work area as I do a great deal of stitch witchcraft.
I don't have an altar. Wherever I pray, be it in the forest, by the water, or in my kitchen, Creator and the Spirits hear. Wherever I leave the spirit plate (usually on a plain napkin or piece of bark), I know it is accepted. When I come to a sacred place, I leave an offering and a prayer of thanks and greeting. When I make gifts to place about the house or in the garden or in the woods, I take comfort in knowing that it's the thought that counts to the spirits and fae. What works for one pagan might not work for others, but thankfully we have the freedom to pursue our beliefs on the path we're on.
From a fellow mid-50’s, multi-coloured haired, tattooed and fluffy sweater loving witch - you absolutely fit witch aesthetic at least for me. There have been times out in the world when I spot others who look like us, there’s always that knowing grin as we pass on the street/on the bus. ❤
Oh, yes please do a Terry Pratchett video! ❤❤❤ I have several worship altars all around my house because I am a hopeless deity statue addict. They have one candle per deity and possibly a little specific item. I live by myself, and most of my friends are witches or witch-24:39 supporters, so I can do what I like, LOL. I think of these as a way to say Welcome! Here's a space just for You to rest and visit, where You are remembered.
Absolutely do what you like! I love the honestly and self awareness of how you feel about your deity altars , too. I’m a sucker for a good statue, too…
Hi Annie, thanks for the new video! I have only one space I consider an actual altar, the top of my shelf in my bedroom. The cats don’t go up there but it’s also accessible so I use it for all sorts of witchy activities. I keep more of a spiritual shrine thingy on a dresser in the hallway, which incidentally also pretties up that space. And our house gnome has a corner on the sideboard in the living room (he doesn’t like the kitchen in this new house - he gets what he wants). Thanks to everyone who’s chimed in on the discussion, I love reading about everyone’s ideas and arrangements. So, Terry Pratchett… definitely please do a video on him. Who can have enough Pratchett, ey? Although I agree on your opinion re: a certain large-hatted person, please don’t do a video on her (or save it for your Patreon). These things always turn into bitch contests, and who has time for that? P.S. After showing off that gorgeous wand your son made for you, perhaps you could convince him to take on a llama apprentice? I smell a fantastic opportunity…
I'm going to be making cordage and doing some "proto" nalbinding with said cordage and some netting. Indeed, I've even turned a length of vine-y weed into some very rough cordage. "Craft like it's 5,000 BCE!"
Hello, Annie. 😃Not sure why UA-cam recommended this video, but here I am. ☧ here. We think of it in terms of our own selves being the temples of the Holy Spirit. We are essentially living worship spaces. From there, decorating an altar outwardly, on a tabletop, dresser, etc, just becomes an outward expression of an inward reality. I have seen a lot of consumerism in Christian and Pagan circles alike. So this topic is timely. Thank you for bringing it up.
I have a “drawer altar” because I live with my Christian grandmother and I’m trying to be respectful. On drawer contains my incense cauldron, art of my deities, offerings, herbal satchets and so on in between spellwork. The drawer beneath it hold my herbs, charcoal, and so on. When I get ready to use it, I pull out my cauldron and sit it on top of my desk with whatever else I’m using, do my ritual, let everything cool overnight, and pack it up. It works very well, and I like it, whether or not it’s aesthetic.
Here is a little poem for you, by Ogden Nash: The one-L lama, he's a priest. The two-L llama, he's a beast. And I will bet a silk pajama there isn't any three-L lllama.
Okay so. . . here goes. . . try not to cringe too, too much: I'm one of those sticker, washi tape, fountain pen people. When I'm working in my craft notebook, sometimes I just cannot resist. It's one of my creative outlets. I LOVE this idea though of trying a new crafty thing (I also knit. . . a lot). I think I'll try to add watercolor. I've always wanted to figure out how to do a decent watercolor that looks like a thing and not a blob.
Every time I need a working altar I end up setting it up on top of a dresser. Currently I only have one altar, set up on top of a bookcase behind a door. It's been up since November of last year for ancestors. And whenever I'm feeling down, I go and have a chat with my Grandma ❤
My Bwbach/Domovoi home is on my mantelpiece. Both my husband and I often have a little chat when things seem rough. He's a great listener. I get the sense that your Grandma is, too
I'm so happy to have run across your channel! I've been looking for a crone to listen to so I'm very happy your videos popped up on my feed. I've been binging your videos while I'm working. I'm definitely feeling more renewed in my craft after listening
You mentioned keeping crafty in January. While you are drawing I am replacing the worn-out elastics in my collection of hair scrunchies and other repairs that need to be made to my clothes. With regards to my altar, it's the top of one of my chest of drawers in my bedroom. It used to take up part of my desk until I moved things around.
I'm in the category of "I don't have one". That said, my kitchen is my sanctum, where food and magic are made in the same space, often with the same herbs. I made the kitchen witch that hangs from a cabinet over the sink, and I dress up the broom beside the door from time to time, so we're good. Your milage may vary, of course.
When I see someone else's altar: 1) That's an interesting altar. 2) Mine is more interesting. 3) I should dust it, though. And sweep the floor while I'm about it. And water the plants. And go through those papers...
Yes! This! 😂 'hmm. Really should clean up that incense ash and spilled wax. That offering has been there a bit, too. Probably should get that disposed of as well' 🤔🫢 😂😂😂😂
At the spelling Bee portion, I thought to myself, "Unless you have DID the only noun use is Altars with two A's" and then cackled when you mentioned it too! As someone with DID it was a good chuckle for someone to even know to mention it. We've done a lot of talking to younger pagan folk about altars that the only person who needs to be inspired by your space for your practice is you. It isn't a theme park it's the bedroom of your practice, you've gotta be comfortable there. Through out the years of following different books here and there and then abandoning them entirely we found that our "altar" as most people meant it became the floor. Tarot is done on the floor, spell work on the floor, communing with spirits? May they feel welcomed upon the floor. What we ended up with is a shrine type altar that holds some extra bits and is mostly our plants/storage. A beloved quick tip we found regarding that to beat consumerism: If you get a tall candle jar with nice decals on it, once it's done clean it out and you can use it as a vase for offerings of flowers we grow. It's perfectly good glass and we ideally want to cut down the outside bits we need for our worship. I feel like some days people get so used to the "buying cycle" of altars/shrines/"Witchiness" that they forget to make their own cycles of growth instead. It's bloody hot here in Australia so I'm not fighting the bleugh the same way as the northern folks but I'll be picking up the cursed hobby of "University" soon, hopefully, so that'll be the thing that I struggle at that I'll be failing upwards at, because craft/art wise we have it on lock and it's time for us to step out of creative spaces into structured ones!
My partner and I share a household altar because that's the way we've done it for the last 20 years, but lately I've been getting the itch to have my own personal one in my own personal space and I couldn't figure out how to do it the way I want to do it. Your solution is perfect and I'm stealing it!
I have one altar and one shrine but I do find that all the other stuff I collect and display in the house tends to acquire altar-ish tendencies… candlesticks, figurines, nice little pots and bowls, stones, gems, skulls, etc.
Mid 50 witch here. Love your channel so happy I found it. Your amazing and looking forward to diving into your channel. Thanks for sharing your self with the world. Warmest wishes.
Re: winter crafting; I've been binging on documentaries about Paleolithic times, and got the inspiration to harness some 40,000 year old skills and use some leather scraps to make a sheath for my stone knife during a snowstorm. First time I've done leatherwork in years and years. Regarding being broke in January - try having a family member with a January birthday. I have to remind myself constantly to set gifts aside in December. Doesn't help that the weather here often turns super duper nasty in January so we can't really go anywhere.
I love how you talked about the Hot Topic dresses and Anagramma came to my mind, and moments later you mention Pterry and Anagramma 😁 Yes, please do a video on Terry Pratchett too!
First JULE BOHLS, now ALTERS. Grumpy old crone is such an amazing english teacher ❤❤❤ Edit: And what a spanish teacher too. The pronunciation of ofrenda was fine ;)
I have an altar and two shrines. My working altar (which is half the top of a dresser that was my mums once), my ancestor shrine (which is on my hallway wall and not taking up horizontal surface space, and a house spirit shrine which is a candle, an offering bowl and a small obsidian pillar on my kitchen window. Granted, I DO have 17 million different crystals and minerals on my working altar but the pretty shinies make me happy when I sit down every day for my devotionals. That's borderline too much as it is. WHO HAS TIME TO DUST 11 ALTARS?!
@GrumpyOldCrone I'd like to think that now they're off the mortal coil they realise what a pain in the ass that chore actually is and give up the ghost, so to speak.
I have to be honest my altar is mess Annie But I love it! my ivy plant has tiny spider who has made his/her home "his little web goes from my plant to my candle holder "so for the moment my altar has a tiny lodger 😊. Brilliant video as always!. Xx
I still have my woodsy lil lazy, lit-up, wall-hanging, tree up. It won’t come down until around groundhog’s day here in the US. Art related thing: I need to finish my months-long Acrylic painting.
I recently moved into a new place and I live alone (in a communal flat, but) for the first time of my life. I am going to raise my altar soon, but for moving purpouses, it just occupies some of my mental space. It is going to be set by the window, and it is going to contain 80% of stuff that I collected from the ground, 10% of the rocks (and I thing I only bought a handful, as a pieces of geology collection), an 10% of repurpoused candle jars. And a knife, that is an old kitchen knife that was gifted more than ten years ago. There are some really beautiful candles - that was gifted: one that is a skull that is helb by scaily hands, and another one is a mushroom that is also a little ghostly creature. My boyfriend got me a rock and a shell from a trip abroad - and it also goes into my altar. Once I asked for a bone at my forest and immediately found a little skull - it now rests on a moss pillow as one of the death and decay representations. There is a lot of things here, and they are really pretty - for me, and they represent my life and my relationship with the world and all the things in it. I started to collect them in a metal cookie box (that one that everyone tends to store their sewing materials), when I was little and didn't have any spending money, but I don't feel a need to buy much Altar Stuff with my grown up money, because rocks and shells mean more for me that all those really prette cauldrons, statuettes and all. I think that it is a great way to build an altar - for a long time, picking and crafting meaningful things.
A hugely downsized my alter space from a desk to the top of a 12x12 bookshelf with a bunch of wall shelves around it because I don't use it as a workspace. I use my altar as much more of a worship space and pretty much all of my spell casting is Shaker bottles and candle work at this point. I just did not need that much space and it ended up being a flat surface where things accumulated. 😂 One of the flat shelves is a dedicated space for Loki items. But depending on what I'm offering to him I may use my main altar. The other shelf is for sticking sense as a dedicated messy spot for them. And then I have a bunch of box shaped shelves that store all of my herb jars and candles I'm trying to use up and bracelets I've made, jewelry, mala beads, incense to use up etc etc etc
I was taught that a basic, working altar is a smaller version of the Universe with the idea being that you are replicating the Universe around you in which you work magickally onto your altar so that you can work magick there, too. So, you'd find the cardinal directions and place representations of their elements in those places, for instance. Even if this was all you did, it'd be all you need so all the other stuff is entirely personal. I use my (out of use) fireplace because its in the center of my home and a lot of my practice is based in and for the home and its inhabitants. I also gave a 'relationships altar for the maguckal beings with which i work - allies etc - which is completely separate. I think a small place for a representation of a deity, candle and offering is also enough. I have a few of these around for Bastet. She likes them 😊 So yeah, i think its about making it work for you and your own persinal practise. Anyone showing off their altar is trying to do just that - show off an aesthetic.
This have been the most infomrative about altars that I've been. I'm more Agnostic Pegan, but I've gained a connection more with the Morrgian because she allows me to not have a "traditional" altar where I can just have my Orcal cards, my Tarot cards, and a few stones, and my worship is more what I create. It's also where some of the jewlery have been placed, but there's one that is an "fairybell" with feathered wings that had protected me since I got it, but for a long time I had to let it recharge because it kept being knocked off after so long in a very negative place when I wore it. That was the reason why I created the alter so that bell can be recharged properly by the two decks and the stones. I think I can start seeing my art table more of the altar since you went into more indepth what is the "why" and also how you can use the alter. The shelf I built the origonal alter on is infact on the art table and it's easy to get to from there. Along with my pegan/witchcraft books so the shift of mindset to the art table as a whole won't be hard I don't thing. Thank you for explaining in better detail about altars.
An altar in the house is where you contemplate future moves. In nature or garden is where you activate your moves you’ve already contemplated. It’s not just a place of worship but a place of planning whether it’s scrying or writing or plotting and planning and scheming and dreaming. I’m lucky enough that if I want to put my plans into action I step outside mr door, but if I want inspiration to plot, plan, scheme and dream, I consult the oracle of UA-cam and tune in to your channel to inspire me! My inner temple is my body, my outer temple is my cabin home consisting of one large room and that’s enough. Everything out the door is where i manifest. That’s more than enough.
I just realized I have another altar/display in a niche between some important books in my study. It is quite eclectic…but does have stellar associations,which is one of my working themes.
My alter is a desk in my studio and one side is for my deity work and yeh other side is my ancestors alter with all their pictures on the walls I do my witchcraft wherever I need to. Outside (not as much as I would like since I live in a city and I’m in an apartment on the third floor with only both facing windows 😢 My kitchen, the bath, etc Then I have my supplies that is specifically more “witchy” my stones, dried flowers/plants jars, books, other tools stashed in boxes under my alter desk in
Oh wow. Having Myth & Magic flashbacks over here and feeling OLD. Please do the Pratchett video! Speaking as someone with multiple altars, I have two. One for work and one for focus, because I don’t want to spill and drop stuff I’m working with on photos of my dead relatives and nice tarot cards, and I know how clumsy I am. It’s probably two too many in my tiny one bed hovel, which has been described as “Aughra’s observatory” by friends because it’s full of plants and insects and weird balls of stuff swinging from the ceiling, but there you go.
@ I always say if you haven’t seen a jungle nymph riding a black cat, while trying not to get brained by low-hanging glass balls and planters on your way to the bathroom, you definitely haven’t been to my place.
I'm a polytheist following Kemetic and Heathen traditions. I have multiple altars. The Kemetic one is in a cupboard, based on deity shrines of ancient times, and it has the bonus of keeping dust and pets out. The second shelf is the workspace/storeroom. The Heathen one is open on an end table. Since these are pretty different traditions with different offerings and ritual styles. Having multiple is IMO twice the work, and with a kid and pets I cannot have my whole house be altars just because. But everything has a symbolism and purpose to the deities they are dedicated to, even if it's something seemingly random like plastic toy Schleich boars for Freyr and Freya. Often, I go with a gut feeling that something is wanted and should be there. Even with my ancestor shrine (the top of a dresser,) I did a pendulum divination to see which family side objects should be on. Cause it's not 100% my space, it's for the gods, ancestors, and spirits. This also means leaving ashes or random household items or debris on them, no letting cats sit on them. For nontheistic or animistic pagans and witches, this might not be wanted or needed, and that's ok. Personally I've loved altar-like things since I was a little kid who would not stop "playing with" the family Nativity scene.
'i really suck like gravity' is going to be my go-to phrase for a bit this year. and i think you're a creative person! all witches are creative person, otherwise how can you be a witch? it's already a 'craft'
Omg Mia magic (eyes roll) cringe. Ok enough said. Your Channel.just popped up on my feed I really enjoyed your content and your personality. As a witch over 50 something it is nice to see more content from our age ❤ can't wait to watch and see more of your content.
My coffee table is my altar. All the rest of the stuff is shoved in old tarot boxes, cookie & tea tins stacked precariously on a dresser. Oh, and some tapers and incense stick boxes reside in old fat flower bouquete vases. Very not witchy aesthetic, more crap hoarder... but only on that one dresser.
I never understood altar tours. To me, a witch's altar is where she does magic. My magic requires running water, controled fire, pots, pans, ingredients... I literaly work my magic on the kitchen... it looks like an old Lady kitchen... Yes, I can do magic where there is a river, an ocean, a lake and a bonfire... but it would be like camping, not the most confortable. I couldn't do it in top of my dresser... too cumbersome...
@GrumpyOldCrone I like it- it's organic, like having a chat with a friend who isn't bothered if I don't say much or I just wash my dishes while I listen. 😁
I am only just getting into witchcraft but I've been a practicing polytheist for a few years now and my altar has been through quite a change in that time. At first I tried to make it look like the ones I had seen online, so I got an altar cloth, a weird offering bowl and a bunch of other stuff like candles, stones and feathers. Most of it I ended up never using. Gradually, as I started learning more and more and my practice started taking shape, the altar began losing all non-essentials and now the only things on there are the deity depictions, a candle which I use for ancestor veneration and a libation cup which I inherited from my gandmother. The last thing to go was my feather collection which I was quite fond of but then some two months ago we got a new cat and he seems to have a strange urge to chew feathers.
I have a huge issue with the correct usage of the apostrophe.. I worked closely with a very good English teacher and she guided me on how to use it (I taught maths). Having said that, I do not always get it correct. Terry Pratchett, yes please. I read Mort many years ago and loved it. Reading, when death came to Mort he offered him a job, captivated me instantly Tried to read Colour of Magic many years after and couldn't get into it. I have just revisited and read it in a very short space of time, struggled to put it down. I'm waiting to find number 2 as I have to read in correct sequence once I start a set. Thank you for another video with humour in it, it is greatly appreciated as well as the learning you impart.
I agree with you about aesthetics going too far. But I've always let the gods and goddesses direct me in what is needed. They do sometimes cause me to go back to the cheesy metaphysical stores for something lol but I try to keep it a two way conversation. I've found that having organic materials increases the power of the objects which can be useful and I try to purchase things fairly if it's something from China I question the purchase. Handmade things seem really appreciated.
Never been on any of those platforms. I really dislike what flourishes there. Commenting on vids is about as "social media" as I get lately. There are a couple of pagan forums I belong to but haven't been on in months. I may take a peek at this patreon page.
I have one altar. It's multi purpose. If I'm working a spell, I set out what I need for that. It's default state is venerating deities and ancestors. So it'll have incense, representations of deities and ancestors, and a few crystals. Everything extra is stored on the bookshelf next to it or the cabinet under it.
Grufty is an amazing word, I've not heard it before. Very onomatopoeic 👌 I agree shrines/altars should be personal and useful to you - the person making and using it. It doesn't need to be a display of 'all the witchy things you possess'. I have a couple of shoeboxes of things I've collected over the years that have meaning to me, crystals, sticks from certain trees, shells, nature bits and bobs, and things I've made etc.... I interchange them when I feel the need for a new shrine, or a new area to direct my energy. Having everything on show at the same time would be absolute madness..! For me, there needs to be intention behind pieces I put on my shine, and it changes as life ebbs and flows. But that's just me, everyone has find their own way to do their thing I reckon
Yep January feels like it goes on forever, gloom wet gloom 😢 I agree re getting into art & crafts at this time of year. I like to create lots of loose incense blends, salves & oils from my spell craft stores at this time of year 🖤
The only time i ever had a "real" altar was about 8yrs ago. my ex fiance lit one of the candles (cuz it smelled good) without asking me, while we were cleaning and he had put a bundle of plastic flowers on the altar table (for safe keeping), and it almost burned the place down when the candle lit one of the plastic flowers on fire. I did find out that if u have a termite problem (that u didnt know about on the houseboat ur living on) and u set ur altar on fire, and the place fills up with smoke, all the termites will go away. I also found out that termites r bright red and CAN FLY. So ya, i havent had an altar since then. Lol. It was a really funny/annoying memory of my ex fiance who has passed away and that is better then setting up another altar. Im good with just doing my own thing and worshipping without a "real" altar.
I have a candle in my bathroom that’s my main “alter” and then all my other alters are just my house and outside of my house and I’d say my tea cabinet could be an alter as well but nothing like what i see on the internet
As a full time professional potter, making is what I do. Plus, I have my first show of the year a week on Sunday. In Waltham Abbey, the Waltham Abbey Wool Show. (I make yarnbowls and other handy tools out of clay for fibre and textile artists) However, due to my studio (in a light industrial unit) getting taken out by a flash flood 6 weeks and .....4? Storms ago? That stupidly named storm, Bert, I have had to move my making home to the house we haven't finished unpacking after the move 2 weeks before the flood happened (please no sympathy I'm now beyond that and doing my best to work around it.) Aaaaaaaaaannnnnyyyyywayyyyyyyy... I'm going to take your challenge and work it into what I was planning to do, seeing as I still don't know if my wheels still work, can't afford a sparky right now to look them and my kilns over. So instead of throwing my yarnbowls, I'm going to make hand-built ones, and raw glaze them. It's a slower process, but if I can make 5 or so and get my local clay supplier to fire them for me, I'll at least have SOME new work for the first show of the year. I haven't touched clay for over 2 months! But tonight I'm not going to bed until I've rolled out my first slabs. I'm thinking lidded box ones with wonky feetses.....and now I'm off to find you on faceache. And insta
Do your tools for fibre artists include tiny little "buckets" with a couple of holes to string a handle through that you can put a little water in and hang on your spinning wheel so that you can wet your fingers while spinning flax? And do you make little bowls for supported spindles? Or indeed, spindle whorls? I'm not in Britain, so I'm probably never going to be one of your customers but I suspect there are people who would be interested in those items, even if you have to wait until your wheels and kiln are back online.
@resourcedragon I have made Japanese style cups before that spindle spinners have purchased to use for support. And one lady bought one of my magnetic pindishes for a metal tipped spindle. I wasn't sure how the glaze would hold up, and it didn't, it was wearing through after about 10hrs. As for a flax wheel water cup, that's something to think about. I'll have to ask the fibre fam if anyone is spinning flax to give one a go. I'd probably make it like a pod with a rounded bottom and a flared top so it will catch most of the drips, though including a sponge would help with that too. I REALLY need to get my wheels checked out! And no, sorry, I don't send abroad. I pack things REALLY well, but insurance, cost etc etc, it's just not worth the effort.
I can certainly say that I usually don't look very "witchy." I like cyberpunk aesthetic, so yeah. Practice doesn't dictate fashion. On the multiple altars: I'm from a mixed background. Some of my ancestors oppressed my other ancestors. I really don't want their deities and spirits too close together.
Don't have an altar, but listing to you describe it, my craft room could maybe be my altar. I go there to create and to relax and when I enter the room I feel a sense of peace and centered, even though it is a total mess
I do have an altar but it’s in my craft room (aka my witch niche). But it’s not a working altar unless you include my craft table where I do witchy spells but also mundane crafts.
An easy way to remember: You stAnd at an altAr and Edit when you altEr. Altars and shrines are not the same. Altars are workspaces, shrines are sacred spaces of one or more deities or for ancestors. Shrines can be very small, literally as simple as a sacred object ("aniconic") in a reserved space and not recognizable to a non-pagan as being anything special. What confuses many is that shrines sometimes do have an altar (workspace) as a part of them.
Cathy O'Brien makes some interesting remarks about how the assonance between 'altar' and 'alter' is exploited in certain contexts of government-based mind control.
I wish i could be like the "world is my altar" people! It's amazing to have such access within yourself, whichout "props"! But maybe because of adhd, i NEED a focus point, such as a "proper" altar 🤣😅
I'd love to see a video about your opinion of Mia Magick. When I first encountered her videos, I thought it was awful. Then I saw a video about her by Sky Life, which showed her in a very good light and I started watching mor of her things. At some point I was fascinated by her unapoligetic character. But the more I watched and learned in my own practice, the more one thing in particular kept annoying me: Her claims are never well researched. She makes broad generalizations, very black-and-white statements and twists historical facts so they fit her narrative.
i have two altars, the main one in the house and a mini travel altar. there are just some things i don't like leaving the house without, including a small sketchbook
My altar is very much a workspace rather than a place of worship, it's just the top of my chest of drawers. I keep finding loose incense in my knickers drawer 😂
ALTARS! 7:26. Yes! English is not my first language, so when I see that one I always think to myself how can IIIII be the one who sees it all the time and some english speakers don't realize the huge mistake they made! I find the mistake anoying... 😅
my first altar was a space in my library, and I couldn't burn any candle or incense because it risked catching everything on fire xD then I upgraded with a lack ikea table, the smallest one. then I moved, and found different spaces in the next three homes. now I'm moving again, so my altar is packed up again, and I'm curious to what space I will find.
I read a LOT, but few things touch the bones of things like Pterry. I absolutely will get round to doing the video, but I need to re-read everything, I think!
I'm impressed you lasted that long. Her hat is very big, and so is her sense of self-belief. I think that's probably the kindest thing I can say... Mind you, I'm also dead jealous of how much money she must be making, so there's that. Never let it be said that I'm not honest with myself!
The Gothic look from Hot topic or such and I agree. But we come in all shapes and sizes and different style or just natural there's no set way all witches look like and that's great and what makes us all different and interesting and ourselves.
@GrumpyOldCrone I still love Stevie Nicks LMBO my older brother introduced me to her when I was in highschool and I still love her. And she's in her 70s and still going strong!
Spot on as usual! I went and found you on Facebook! I also went and looked up Mia Magik as i couldn't resist it but i was not enriched by the experience 😂
@@GrumpyOldCroneI was expecting to find it ridiculous and funny. Definitely ridiculous but in quite a calculated corporate kinda way which I found very odd!
I'm artsy but I don't have 1 specific thing I stick with. I can draw when I'm inspired j make jewelry and crochet and whatever else suits me for the moment.
Honestly? After nearly three decades in the pagan community if I think "witch" I'd think of someone like you, if I think "witchy" I think Stevie Nicks sleeves and Annagramma attitude.
I have shelf space all around my actual altar table and I have my herbs and materials I use in spells then I have my decorations that go along with my practice and what I resonate with but my actual work space i have the basics candle chalice certain spell bottles that are still in the works and little figures that represent what deities I work with for every working and then I have another space in my room that I keep my stones and my cards. But my why is it works for me and my personal practice. My Grimoires are 3 ring binders so I can add pages where they are needed. They are stacked up neatly under my display table. I don't have anything to fancy and alot of my stuff is handmade by me I made my own pendulums and pendulum boards although I do have 1 bought board I get better results from my handmade things. I have found most of my stones and gems or they were found by friends and family and given to me I only bought 2 my self. I have had others bought for me.
As a 26 transmasc individual who just doesn't fit the vibe of the more popular witchy content, I've been enjoying your content quite a lot going through it today. I'm very much in the school of "whatever you want witchcraft to be can be witchcraft, whatever your altar looks like can be good if it works for you. you don't need to be a certain way or have certain things to be a witch". and to an extent, i feel like you agree, but- you've also talked about how intent =/= everything, and that you do need certain ingredients or items and so on to do certain spells, etc. i am genuinely interested in how you think about this when it comes to accessibility, ability, and so on. Thinking of someone who cannot afford tools or ingredients for a spell, or bedridden witches who cannot practice in the same way as other witches do. Can they still practice? I also think about those who find different ways to incorporate what truly matters to them into their witchcraft, with no basis or history of other witches doing the same, and it works for them. I'm genuinely curious, if you are willing to answer, because I really appreciate your perspective on a lot of topics so far.
we'd like to see the geode. all of us.
I’m gonna put it on the Patreon page….
It's on a chat in Patreon. So feminine. So VERY NOT DEMURE..
Putting your vageode behind a pay wall is a solid business decision. That's how the youngsters do it 😉
Gwyneth Paltrow would market it online.
Show us the stony yoni
I have 2 altars...the first is my entire kitchen. The other is my planting table in my garden.
You know, I bloody love that. Whilst I don't really identify as "kitchen witch" (I dislike the labels), I certainly feel in my power in the kitchen, and the whole kitchen feeds that power. And now you've reminded me that I need to buy tomato seeds soon...
Lol I love that. I kind of consider my bedroom to be my altar to myself. Wish my kitchen was big/organised enough to be able to do something similar with. Kitchens certainly the heart of our home, and the bomb site 😂
Thoughtful and thought-provoking reflections on altars🌟👏 .. Mine is currently covered in holly & ivy (top of a book shelf) obscuring my ritual tools and items.. which I’ll burn at Imbolc (the foliage not my altar items😹) I cleanse and re-consecrate it at new moon .. its contents evolve and change with the Sabbats .. However it’s totally impractical so for spellcraft I need to set up my “working altar “…
Then …. l have a 3rd little altar in my work-room used for Reiki distance healing, often fired up with a spell .. so yes .. multiple altars.. 😬 but each with a different function and purpose .. When casting a circle outdoors the earth is my altar…
Only just found you .. very uplifting 😊 Good luck with your new year plans 💥 (yes, as a Wiccan it’s a random date for me too)
Thank you. You have basicly pointed out everything I've been trying to teach those I work with. I also count my sewing area as part of my work area as I do a great deal of stitch witchcraft.
😍😍 adore the idea of the entire kitchen being an altar
I don't have an altar. Wherever I pray, be it in the forest, by the water, or in my kitchen, Creator and the Spirits hear. Wherever I leave the spirit plate (usually on a plain napkin or piece of bark), I know it is accepted. When I come to a sacred place, I leave an offering and a prayer of thanks and greeting. When I make gifts to place about the house or in the garden or in the woods, I take comfort in knowing that it's the thought that counts to the spirits and fae. What works for one pagan might not work for others, but thankfully we have the freedom to pursue our beliefs on the path we're on.
I want to jump up and down, swear and point to your comment. THIS! THIS IS EVERYTHING RIGHT HERE! Sending light and love.
"I missed potatoes" is the biggest mood ever.
Not entirely accurate. I missed bread, too...
From a fellow mid-50’s, multi-coloured haired, tattooed and fluffy sweater loving witch - you absolutely fit witch aesthetic at least for me. There have been times out in the world when I spot others who look like us, there’s always that knowing grin as we pass on the street/on the bus. ❤
Oh, yes please do a Terry Pratchett video! ❤❤❤ I have several worship altars all around my house because I am a hopeless deity statue addict. They have one candle per deity and possibly a little specific item. I live by myself, and most of my friends are witches or witch-24:39 supporters, so I can do what I like, LOL. I think of these as a way to say Welcome! Here's a space just for You to rest and visit, where You are remembered.
Absolutely do what you like! I love the honestly and self awareness of how you feel about your deity altars , too. I’m a sucker for a good statue, too…
Hi Annie, thanks for the new video! I have only one space I consider an actual altar, the top of my shelf in my bedroom. The cats don’t go up there but it’s also accessible so I use it for all sorts of witchy activities. I keep more of a spiritual shrine thingy on a dresser in the hallway, which incidentally also pretties up that space. And our house gnome has a corner on the sideboard in the living room (he doesn’t like the kitchen in this new house - he gets what he wants).
Thanks to everyone who’s chimed in on the discussion, I love reading about everyone’s ideas and arrangements.
So, Terry Pratchett… definitely please do a video on him. Who can have enough Pratchett, ey? Although I agree on your opinion re: a certain large-hatted person, please don’t do a video on her (or save it for your Patreon). These things always turn into bitch contests, and who has time for that?
P.S. After showing off that gorgeous wand your son made for you, perhaps you could convince him to take on a llama apprentice? I smell a fantastic opportunity…
I love making beeswax candles in the winter! Makes my whole apartment smell like honey, it’s great🙂
I'm going to be making cordage and doing some "proto" nalbinding with said cordage and some netting. Indeed, I've even turned a length of vine-y weed into some very rough cordage. "Craft like it's 5,000 BCE!"
We like to keep some sparkly lights up all year just because they're nice. There's always some on the porch and in the kids rooms
I honestly don't mind the note checking, though I'm usually just listening to videos while I'm doing other things and not actually watching them
Me too
Hello, Annie. 😃Not sure why UA-cam recommended this video, but here I am. ☧ here. We think of it in terms of our own selves being the temples of the Holy Spirit. We are essentially living worship spaces. From there, decorating an altar outwardly, on a tabletop, dresser, etc, just becomes an outward expression of an inward reality. I have seen a lot of consumerism in Christian and Pagan circles alike. So this topic is timely. Thank you for bringing it up.
I have a “drawer altar” because I live with my Christian grandmother and I’m trying to be respectful. On drawer contains my incense cauldron, art of my deities, offerings, herbal satchets and so on in between spellwork. The drawer beneath it hold my herbs, charcoal, and so on. When I get ready to use it, I pull out my cauldron and sit it on top of my desk with whatever else I’m using, do my ritual, let everything cool overnight, and pack it up. It works very well, and I like it, whether or not it’s aesthetic.
Im sorry, but if I find a table carved by a llama, I'm buying it!!!!! I don't care how much it is!!! 😂
How do they hold the chisels in their little hoofs??? I'm intrigued now...
🤣🤣🤣
@@GrumpyOldCrone 😆😆
Here is a little poem for you, by Ogden Nash: The one-L lama, he's a priest. The two-L llama, he's a beast. And I will bet a silk pajama there isn't any three-L lllama.
@@GrumpyOldCronethey use their teeth
Okay so. . . here goes. . . try not to cringe too, too much: I'm one of those sticker, washi tape, fountain pen people. When I'm working in my craft notebook, sometimes I just cannot resist. It's one of my creative outlets. I LOVE this idea though of trying a new crafty thing (I also knit. . . a lot). I think I'll try to add watercolor. I've always wanted to figure out how to do a decent watercolor that looks like a thing and not a blob.
You could always get a music stand for your notes and put it at Eye level just off-screen. :)
They also make an office supply product to hold notes for typing. Or cookbook stands. Those both fit on a tabletop
First time I have watched you love your rant you made my evening. So refreshing I hear you 😂
Every time I need a working altar I end up setting it up on top of a dresser. Currently I only have one altar, set up on top of a bookcase behind a door. It's been up since November of last year for ancestors. And whenever I'm feeling down, I go and have a chat with my Grandma ❤
My Bwbach/Domovoi home is on my mantelpiece. Both my husband and I often have a little chat when things seem rough. He's a great listener. I get the sense that your Grandma is, too
"Missed potatoes. Oh well." Highly relatable!!! Manifesting delicious potatoes for all this year!
I'm so happy to have run across your channel! I've been looking for a crone to listen to so I'm very happy your videos popped up on my feed. I've been binging your videos while I'm working. I'm definitely feeling more renewed in my craft after listening
You mentioned keeping crafty in January. While you are drawing I am replacing the worn-out elastics in my collection of hair scrunchies and other repairs that need to be made to my clothes.
With regards to my altar, it's the top of one of my chest of drawers in my bedroom. It used to take up part of my desk until I moved things around.
Now you mention it, I do have a pair of PJs that are overly affected by gravity now that the elastic has mostly gone....
January is my primary mending month as well!
"maybe I'm wrong, but..."
Nah, you're not wrong 🤣
I'm in the category of "I don't have one". That said, my kitchen is my sanctum, where food and magic are made in the same space, often with the same herbs. I made the kitchen witch that hangs from a cabinet over the sink, and I dress up the broom beside the door from time to time, so we're good. Your milage may vary, of course.
When I see someone else's altar: 1) That's an interesting altar. 2) Mine is more interesting. 3) I should dust it, though. And sweep the floor while I'm about it. And water the plants. And go through those papers...
This is almost exactly my flow of thought, too! Along with: what is that thing there? Don't skip over it! Is it a bone? I like bones! Etc.
Yes! This! 😂 'hmm. Really should clean up that incense ash and spilled wax. That offering has been there a bit, too. Probably should get that disposed of as well' 🤔🫢 😂😂😂😂
At the spelling Bee portion, I thought to myself, "Unless you have DID the only noun use is Altars with two A's" and then cackled when you mentioned it too! As someone with DID it was a good chuckle for someone to even know to mention it.
We've done a lot of talking to younger pagan folk about altars that the only person who needs to be inspired by your space for your practice is you. It isn't a theme park it's the bedroom of your practice, you've gotta be comfortable there. Through out the years of following different books here and there and then abandoning them entirely we found that our "altar" as most people meant it became the floor. Tarot is done on the floor, spell work on the floor, communing with spirits? May they feel welcomed upon the floor.
What we ended up with is a shrine type altar that holds some extra bits and is mostly our plants/storage. A beloved quick tip we found regarding that to beat consumerism: If you get a tall candle jar with nice decals on it, once it's done clean it out and you can use it as a vase for offerings of flowers we grow. It's perfectly good glass and we ideally want to cut down the outside bits we need for our worship. I feel like some days people get so used to the "buying cycle" of altars/shrines/"Witchiness" that they forget to make their own cycles of growth instead.
It's bloody hot here in Australia so I'm not fighting the bleugh the same way as the northern folks but I'll be picking up the cursed hobby of "University" soon, hopefully, so that'll be the thing that I struggle at that I'll be failing upwards at, because craft/art wise we have it on lock and it's time for us to step out of creative spaces into structured ones!
My partner and I share a household altar because that's the way we've done it for the last 20 years, but lately I've been getting the itch to have my own personal one in my own personal space and I couldn't figure out how to do it the way I want to do it. Your solution is perfect and I'm stealing it!
I, too, would love an altar that's been carved by llamas. 😂😂😂😂
I have one altar and one shrine but I do find that all the other stuff I collect and display in the house tends to acquire altar-ish tendencies… candlesticks, figurines, nice little pots and bowls, stones, gems, skulls, etc.
I've just found you and love it! Your take and delivery are absolutely uplifting! Thank you!
Mid 50 witch here. Love your channel so happy I found it. Your amazing and looking forward to diving into your channel. Thanks for sharing your self with the world. Warmest wishes.
Awesome! Thank you!
Re: winter crafting; I've been binging on documentaries about Paleolithic times, and got the inspiration to harness some 40,000 year old skills and use some leather scraps to make a sheath for my stone knife during a snowstorm. First time I've done leatherwork in years and years.
Regarding being broke in January - try having a family member with a January birthday. I have to remind myself constantly to set gifts aside in December. Doesn't help that the weather here often turns super duper nasty in January so we can't really go anywhere.
I love how you talked about the Hot Topic dresses and Anagramma came to my mind, and moments later you mention Pterry and Anagramma 😁
Yes, please do a video on Terry Pratchett too!
I am now remembering Marvin the Paranoid Android 😂
Terrible pain in all the diodes down my left side...
First JULE BOHLS, now ALTERS. Grumpy old crone is such an amazing english teacher ❤❤❤
Edit: And what a spanish teacher too. The pronunciation of ofrenda was fine ;)
You are too kind!!!! (I'm laughing quite a lot at your comment!)
Greetings from a witch from Germany. Found you thanks to my algorithm and already love your voice and aura ❤🥰
oh I rather like the aesthetic of really dusty things. I take some photos, then I dust and it's exciting to have them clean.
I have an altar and two shrines. My working altar (which is half the top of a dresser that was my mums once), my ancestor shrine (which is on my hallway wall and not taking up horizontal surface space, and a house spirit shrine which is a candle, an offering bowl and a small obsidian pillar on my kitchen window. Granted, I DO have 17 million different crystals and minerals on my working altar but the pretty shinies make me happy when I sit down every day for my devotionals. That's borderline too much as it is. WHO HAS TIME TO DUST 11 ALTARS?!
I don't remember to dust the one I have! As my Mum is present as a Beloved Dead on my altar, I think she's frowning and judging me...
@GrumpyOldCrone I'd like to think that now they're off the mortal coil they realise what a pain in the ass that chore actually is and give up the ghost, so to speak.
I have to be honest my altar is mess Annie But I love it! my ivy plant has tiny spider who has made his/her home "his little web goes from my plant to my candle holder "so for the moment my altar has a tiny lodger 😊. Brilliant video as always!. Xx
I still have my woodsy lil lazy, lit-up, wall-hanging, tree up. It won’t come down until around groundhog’s day here in the US. Art related thing: I need to finish my months-long Acrylic painting.
I like you and your notes that's what makes you authentic 😉💟😊💜
I recently moved into a new place and I live alone (in a communal flat, but) for the first time of my life. I am going to raise my altar soon, but for moving purpouses, it just occupies some of my mental space. It is going to be set by the window, and it is going to contain 80% of stuff that I collected from the ground, 10% of the rocks (and I thing I only bought a handful, as a pieces of geology collection), an 10% of repurpoused candle jars. And a knife, that is an old kitchen knife that was gifted more than ten years ago. There are some really beautiful candles - that was gifted: one that is a skull that is helb by scaily hands, and another one is a mushroom that is also a little ghostly creature. My boyfriend got me a rock and a shell from a trip abroad - and it also goes into my altar. Once I asked for a bone at my forest and immediately found a little skull - it now rests on a moss pillow as one of the death and decay representations. There is a lot of things here, and they are really pretty - for me, and they represent my life and my relationship with the world and all the things in it. I started to collect them in a metal cookie box (that one that everyone tends to store their sewing materials), when I was little and didn't have any spending money, but I don't feel a need to buy much Altar Stuff with my grown up money, because rocks and shells mean more for me that all those really prette cauldrons, statuettes and all. I think that it is a great way to build an altar - for a long time, picking and crafting meaningful things.
A hugely downsized my alter space from a desk to the top of a 12x12 bookshelf with a bunch of wall shelves around it because I don't use it as a workspace. I use my altar as much more of a worship space and pretty much all of my spell casting is Shaker bottles and candle work at this point. I just did not need that much space and it ended up being a flat surface where things accumulated. 😂
One of the flat shelves is a dedicated space for Loki items. But depending on what I'm offering to him I may use my main altar. The other shelf is for sticking sense as a dedicated messy spot for them. And then I have a bunch of box shaped shelves that store all of my herb jars and candles I'm trying to use up and bracelets I've made, jewelry, mala beads, incense to use up etc etc etc
I was taught that a basic, working altar is a smaller version of the Universe with the idea being that you are replicating the Universe around you in which you work magickally onto your altar so that you can work magick there, too. So, you'd find the cardinal directions and place representations of their elements in those places, for instance. Even if this was all you did, it'd be all you need so all the other stuff is entirely personal.
I use my (out of use) fireplace because its in the center of my home and a lot of my practice is based in and for the home and its inhabitants.
I also gave a 'relationships altar for the maguckal beings with which i work - allies etc - which is completely separate. I think a small place for a representation of a deity, candle and offering is also enough. I have a few of these around for Bastet. She likes them 😊
So yeah, i think its about making it work for you and your own persinal practise. Anyone showing off their altar is trying to do just that - show off an aesthetic.
This have been the most infomrative about altars that I've been. I'm more Agnostic Pegan, but I've gained a connection more with the Morrgian because she allows me to not have a "traditional" altar where I can just have my Orcal cards, my Tarot cards, and a few stones, and my worship is more what I create. It's also where some of the jewlery have been placed, but there's one that is an "fairybell" with feathered wings that had protected me since I got it, but for a long time I had to let it recharge because it kept being knocked off after so long in a very negative place when I wore it. That was the reason why I created the alter so that bell can be recharged properly by the two decks and the stones.
I think I can start seeing my art table more of the altar since you went into more indepth what is the "why" and also how you can use the alter. The shelf I built the origonal alter on is infact on the art table and it's easy to get to from there. Along with my pegan/witchcraft books so the shift of mindset to the art table as a whole won't be hard I don't thing. Thank you for explaining in better detail about altars.
An altar in the house is where you contemplate future moves. In nature or garden is where you activate your moves you’ve already contemplated. It’s not just a place of worship but a place of planning whether it’s scrying or writing or plotting and planning and scheming and dreaming. I’m lucky enough that if I want to put my plans into action I step outside mr door, but if I want inspiration to plot, plan, scheme and dream, I consult the oracle of UA-cam and tune in to your channel to inspire me! My inner temple is my body, my outer temple is my cabin home consisting of one large room and that’s enough. Everything out the door is where i manifest. That’s more than enough.
I don't know about anyone else, but you had me at "glistening" description of yoni stone
I just realized I have another altar/display in a niche between some important books in my study. It is quite eclectic…but does have stellar associations,which is one of my working themes.
My alter is a desk in my studio and one side is for my deity work and yeh other side is my ancestors alter with all their pictures on the walls I do my witchcraft wherever I need to. Outside (not as much as I would like since I live in a city and I’m in an apartment on the third floor with only both facing windows 😢
My kitchen, the bath, etc
Then I have my supplies that is specifically more “witchy” my stones, dried flowers/plants jars, books, other tools stashed in boxes under my alter desk in
Oh wow. Having Myth & Magic flashbacks over here and feeling OLD.
Please do the Pratchett video!
Speaking as someone with multiple altars, I have two. One for work and one for focus, because I don’t want to spill and drop stuff I’m working with on photos of my dead relatives and nice tarot cards, and I know how clumsy I am. It’s probably two too many in my tiny one bed hovel, which has been described as “Aughra’s observatory” by friends because it’s full of plants and insects and weird balls of stuff swinging from the ceiling, but there you go.
I already love your house.
@ I always say if you haven’t seen a jungle nymph riding a black cat, while trying not to get brained by low-hanging glass balls and planters on your way to the bathroom, you definitely haven’t been to my place.
I want to visit your house. It sounds AMAZING. Amehana and I want to come on a field trip....
I'm a polytheist following Kemetic and Heathen traditions. I have multiple altars. The Kemetic one is in a cupboard, based on deity shrines of ancient times, and it has the bonus of keeping dust and pets out. The second shelf is the workspace/storeroom. The Heathen one is open on an end table. Since these are pretty different traditions with different offerings and ritual styles. Having multiple is IMO twice the work, and with a kid and pets I cannot have my whole house be altars just because. But everything has a symbolism and purpose to the deities they are dedicated to, even if it's something seemingly random like plastic toy Schleich boars for Freyr and Freya. Often, I go with a gut feeling that something is wanted and should be there. Even with my ancestor shrine (the top of a dresser,) I did a pendulum divination to see which family side objects should be on. Cause it's not 100% my space, it's for the gods, ancestors, and spirits. This also means leaving ashes or random household items or debris on them, no letting cats sit on them. For nontheistic or animistic pagans and witches, this might not be wanted or needed, and that's ok. Personally I've loved altar-like things since I was a little kid who would not stop "playing with" the family Nativity scene.
The gods won't be angry if they have to share space with each other on an altar. They're all family.
I actually have a cow bell on my altar I inherited from my aunt Bertha who was pretty great so... 😊
'i really suck like gravity' is going to be my go-to phrase for a bit this year.
and i think you're a creative person! all witches are creative person, otherwise how can you be a witch? it's already a 'craft'
Siting in Venice watching you , perfect Holibobs
Omg Mia magic (eyes roll) cringe. Ok enough said. Your Channel.just popped up on my feed I really enjoyed your content and your personality. As a witch over 50 something it is nice to see more content from our age ❤ can't wait to watch and see more of your content.
Perfect video for me to see on my feed when an arctic front just came into Texas and memories of February 2021 are prodding the back of my mind 🙃
My coffee table is my altar. All the rest of the stuff is shoved in old tarot boxes, cookie & tea tins stacked precariously on a dresser. Oh, and some tapers and incense stick boxes reside in old fat flower bouquete vases. Very not witchy aesthetic, more crap hoarder... but only on that one dresser.
I've just joined you on insta & FB. Enjoying your lovely geode on insta 🤩
I never understood altar tours. To me, a witch's altar is where she does magic. My magic requires running water, controled fire, pots, pans, ingredients... I literaly work my magic on the kitchen... it looks like an old Lady kitchen... Yes, I can do magic where there is a river, an ocean, a lake and a bonfire... but it would be like camping, not the most confortable. I couldn't do it in top of my dresser... too cumbersome...
You do actually talk a lot of sense 😂 and I enjoy hearing your thoughts
Thankyou! I'm aware I also talk a lot of rubbish too, so I apologise for that bit!
@GrumpyOldCrone
I like it- it's organic, like having a chat with a friend who isn't bothered if I don't say much or I just wash my dishes while I listen. 😁
You can keep Anagrama's look, Boffo's all the way here, pass the spiderwebs and skulls
I am only just getting into witchcraft but I've been a practicing polytheist for a few years now and my altar has been through quite a change in that time. At first I tried to make it look like the ones I had seen online, so I got an altar cloth, a weird offering bowl and a bunch of other stuff like candles, stones and feathers. Most of it I ended up never using. Gradually, as I started learning more and more and my practice started taking shape, the altar began losing all non-essentials and now the only things on there are the deity depictions, a candle which I use for ancestor veneration and a libation cup which I inherited from my gandmother. The last thing to go was my feather collection which I was quite fond of but then some two months ago we got a new cat and he seems to have a strange urge to chew feathers.
I have a pile of Jackdaw feathers I collected from Avebury this year. I want to put them out, but I fear my cat would do exactly the same!
@@GrumpyOldCroneOr inadvertently summon Sybil Leek. 😊
Happy second or third new year depending on one's traditions and calendars.
I hadn't tried to work that one out, and now you mention it, I'm confused! (I'm easily confused....)
I have a huge issue with the correct usage of the apostrophe.. I worked closely with a very good English teacher and she guided me on how to use it (I taught maths). Having said that, I do not always get it correct.
Terry Pratchett, yes please. I read Mort many years ago and loved it. Reading, when death came to Mort he offered him a job, captivated me instantly Tried to read Colour of Magic many years after and couldn't get into it. I have just revisited and read it in a very short space of time, struggled to put it down. I'm waiting to find number 2 as I have to read in correct sequence once I start a set.
Thank you for another video with humour in it, it is greatly appreciated as well as the learning you impart.
Happy new (secular) year to all Chez Grumpy Old Crone, hope that 2025 is kind to you.
I am absolutely here for when you do a Terry Pratchett video :D
I need to do a bit of re-reading first, but it's totally going to happen.
I agree with you about aesthetics going too far. But I've always let the gods and goddesses direct me in what is needed. They do sometimes cause me to go back to the cheesy metaphysical stores for something lol but I try to keep it a two way conversation. I've found that having organic materials increases the power of the objects which can be useful and I try to purchase things fairly if it's something from China I question the purchase. Handmade things seem really appreciated.
I really needed to hear this today. That is all.
I love the pratchett references!
Very glad to hear about the Patreon option as well. I haven't been on Facebook or anything they own (like Instagram) since 2008.
Never been on any of those platforms. I really dislike what flourishes there. Commenting on vids is about as "social media" as I get lately. There are a couple of pagan forums I belong to but haven't been on in months. I may take a peek at this patreon page.
I have one altar. It's multi purpose. If I'm working a spell, I set out what I need for that. It's default state is venerating deities and ancestors. So it'll have incense, representations of deities and ancestors, and a few crystals. Everything extra is stored on the bookshelf next to it or the cabinet under it.
Wonderful!
Grufty is an amazing word, I've not heard it before. Very onomatopoeic 👌 I agree shrines/altars should be personal and useful to you - the person making and using it. It doesn't need to be a display of 'all the witchy things you possess'.
I have a couple of shoeboxes of things I've collected over the years that have meaning to me, crystals, sticks from certain trees, shells, nature bits and bobs, and things I've made etc.... I interchange them when I feel the need for a new shrine, or a new area to direct my energy. Having everything on show at the same time would be absolute madness..! For me, there needs to be intention behind pieces I put on my shine, and it changes as life ebbs and flows. But that's just me, everyone has find their own way to do their thing I reckon
I would love a community type channel! I use Discord a lot. Anyway, looking forward to your sketch
Yep January feels like it goes on forever, gloom wet gloom 😢
I agree re getting into art & crafts at this time of year. I like to create lots of loose incense blends, salves & oils from my spell craft stores at this time of year 🖤
The only time i ever had a "real" altar was about 8yrs ago. my ex fiance lit one of the candles (cuz it smelled good) without asking me, while we were cleaning and he had put a bundle of plastic flowers on the altar table (for safe keeping), and it almost burned the place down when the candle lit one of the plastic flowers on fire. I did find out that if u have a termite problem (that u didnt know about on the houseboat ur living on) and u set ur altar on fire, and the place fills up with smoke, all the termites will go away. I also found out that termites r bright red and CAN FLY. So ya, i havent had an altar since then. Lol. It was a really funny/annoying memory of my ex fiance who has passed away and that is better then setting up another altar. Im good with just doing my own thing and worshipping without a "real" altar.
I have a candle in my bathroom that’s my main “alter” and then all my other alters are just my house and outside of my house and I’d say my tea cabinet could be an alter as well but nothing like what i see on the internet
What works for you and your practice is perfect I reckon. Love a good cup of tea, me!
As a full time professional potter, making is what I do. Plus, I have my first show of the year a week on Sunday. In Waltham Abbey, the Waltham Abbey Wool Show. (I make yarnbowls and other handy tools out of clay for fibre and textile artists)
However, due to my studio (in a light industrial unit) getting taken out by a flash flood 6 weeks and .....4? Storms ago? That stupidly named storm, Bert, I have had to move my making home to the house we haven't finished unpacking after the move 2 weeks before the flood happened (please no sympathy I'm now beyond that and doing my best to work around it.) Aaaaaaaaaannnnnyyyyywayyyyyyyy... I'm going to take your challenge and work it into what I was planning to do, seeing as I still don't know if my wheels still work, can't afford a sparky right now to look them and my kilns over.
So instead of throwing my yarnbowls, I'm going to make hand-built ones, and raw glaze them. It's a slower process, but if I can make 5 or so and get my local clay supplier to fire them for me, I'll at least have SOME new work for the first show of the year.
I haven't touched clay for over 2 months! But tonight I'm not going to bed until I've rolled out my first slabs. I'm thinking lidded box ones with wonky feetses.....and now I'm off to find you on faceache. And insta
Do your tools for fibre artists include tiny little "buckets" with a couple of holes to string a handle through that you can put a little water in and hang on your spinning wheel so that you can wet your fingers while spinning flax? And do you make little bowls for supported spindles? Or indeed, spindle whorls?
I'm not in Britain, so I'm probably never going to be one of your customers but I suspect there are people who would be interested in those items, even if you have to wait until your wheels and kiln are back online.
@resourcedragon I have made Japanese style cups before that spindle spinners have purchased to use for support. And one lady bought one of my magnetic pindishes for a metal tipped spindle. I wasn't sure how the glaze would hold up, and it didn't, it was wearing through after about 10hrs. As for a flax wheel water cup, that's something to think about. I'll have to ask the fibre fam if anyone is spinning flax to give one a go. I'd probably make it like a pod with a rounded bottom and a flared top so it will catch most of the drips, though including a sponge would help with that too. I REALLY need to get my wheels checked out!
And no, sorry, I don't send abroad. I pack things REALLY well, but insurance, cost etc etc, it's just not worth the effort.
I can certainly say that I usually don't look very "witchy." I like cyberpunk aesthetic, so yeah. Practice doesn't dictate fashion.
On the multiple altars: I'm from a mixed background. Some of my ancestors oppressed my other ancestors. I really don't want their deities and spirits too close together.
Exactly! Also: Cyberpunk is seriously cool.
I'm currently head to toe in fuzzy pastel pink fleece loungewear & fuzzy slippers. Very witchy, eh? (It's 25°F / 3.8 C here.)
Don't have an altar, but listing to you describe it, my craft room could maybe be my altar. I go there to create and to relax and when I enter the room I feel a sense of peace and centered, even though it is a total mess
I do have an altar but it’s in my craft room (aka my witch niche). But it’s not a working altar unless you include my craft table where I do witchy spells but also mundane crafts.
An easy way to remember: You stAnd at an altAr and Edit when you altEr.
Altars and shrines are not the same. Altars are workspaces, shrines are sacred spaces of one or more deities or for ancestors. Shrines can be very small, literally as simple as a sacred object ("aniconic") in a reserved space and not recognizable to a non-pagan as being anything special. What confuses many is that shrines sometimes do have an altar (workspace) as a part of them.
Perfectly put as usual! I take 30 minutes of waffling and you manage it in a couple of sentences!
@GrumpyOldCrone But your way is more entertaining and gives viewers time to enjoy their tea. 😊
Cathy O'Brien makes some interesting remarks about how the assonance between 'altar' and 'alter' is exploited in certain contexts of government-based mind control.
I am looking forward to a grumpy old crone 2025!
I wish i could be like the "world is my altar" people! It's amazing to have such access within yourself, whichout "props"! But maybe because of adhd, i NEED a focus point, such as a "proper" altar 🤣😅
you are perfect just as you are Ive never noticed you looking down at your notes XX
Aww Annie I'm super bloody proud of you! I told you you would flourish! We will need to collab again! Followed your insta I'll look at your Patreon!
I'd love to see a video about your opinion of Mia Magick.
When I first encountered her videos, I thought it was awful. Then I saw a video about her by Sky Life, which showed her in a very good light and I started watching mor of her things. At some point I was fascinated by her unapoligetic character. But the more I watched and learned in my own practice, the more one thing in particular kept annoying me: Her claims are never well researched. She makes broad generalizations, very black-and-white statements and twists historical facts so they fit her narrative.
i have two altars, the main one in the house and a mini travel altar. there are just some things i don't like leaving the house without, including a small sketchbook
My altar is very much a workspace rather than a place of worship, it's just the top of my chest of drawers. I keep finding loose incense in my knickers drawer 😂
ALTARS!
7:26. Yes! English is not my first language, so when I see that one I always think to myself how can IIIII be the one who sees it all the time and some english speakers don't realize the huge mistake they made! I find the mistake anoying... 😅
my first altar was a space in my library, and I couldn't burn any candle or incense because it risked catching everything on fire xD then I upgraded with a lack ikea table, the smallest one. then I moved, and found different spaces in the next three homes. now I'm moving again, so my altar is packed up again, and I'm curious to what space I will find.
Ahh please do s pratchett video! My mum was a self proclaimed witch but just didn’t get him and I got him TOTALLY! Miss him now R.ip.
I read a LOT, but few things touch the bones of things like Pterry. I absolutely will get round to doing the video, but I need to re-read everything, I think!
So I went against your advice and had a neb at Mia Magik oh dear I m with you now I lasted less than 30 seconds 😂 xx
I'm impressed you lasted that long. Her hat is very big, and so is her sense of self-belief. I think that's probably the kindest thing I can say... Mind you, I'm also dead jealous of how much money she must be making, so there's that. Never let it be said that I'm not honest with myself!
I’m not even pagan but this popped up and I quite like you.
The Gothic look from Hot topic or such and I agree. But we come in all shapes and sizes and different style or just natural there's no set way all witches look like and that's great and what makes us all different and interesting and ourselves.
I went through my Stevie Nicks phase. But we are multitudes, we can be whatever we want!
@GrumpyOldCrone I still love Stevie Nicks LMBO my older brother introduced me to her when I was in highschool and I still love her. And she's in her 70s and still going strong!
Pin your notes up behind the camera. So you look directly towards the camera.
I did try that, but it's actually super obvious that I wasn't looking at the camera, and looked very odd. I'll figure it out!
Spot on as usual! I went and found you on Facebook! I also went and looked up Mia Magik as i couldn't resist it but i was not enriched by the experience 😂
She does a number on my head... and not like a good, 1940's song and dance number, either....
@@GrumpyOldCroneI was expecting to find it ridiculous and funny. Definitely ridiculous but in quite a calculated corporate kinda way which I found very odd!
I'm artsy but I don't have 1 specific thing I stick with. I can draw when I'm inspired j make jewelry and crochet and whatever else suits me for the moment.
Never thought of altars as you describe them. My art desk probably qualifies as one..
Honestly? After nearly three decades in the pagan community if I think "witch" I'd think of someone like you, if I think "witchy" I think Stevie Nicks sleeves and Annagramma attitude.
I have shelf space all around my actual altar table and I have my herbs and materials I use in spells then I have my decorations that go along with my practice and what I resonate with but my actual work space i have the basics candle chalice certain spell bottles that are still in the works and little figures that represent what deities I work with for every working and then I have another space in my room that I keep my stones and my cards. But my why is it works for me and my personal practice. My Grimoires are 3 ring binders so I can add pages where they are needed. They are stacked up neatly under my display table. I don't have anything to fancy and alot of my stuff is handmade by me I made my own pendulums and pendulum boards although I do have 1 bought board I get better results from my handmade things. I have found most of my stones and gems or they were found by friends and family and given to me I only bought 2 my self. I have had others bought for me.
Ooooh, that sounds so practical and pretty!
As a 26 transmasc individual who just doesn't fit the vibe of the more popular witchy content, I've been enjoying your content quite a lot going through it today. I'm very much in the school of "whatever you want witchcraft to be can be witchcraft, whatever your altar looks like can be good if it works for you. you don't need to be a certain way or have certain things to be a witch". and to an extent, i feel like you agree, but- you've also talked about how intent =/= everything, and that you do need certain ingredients or items and so on to do certain spells, etc.
i am genuinely interested in how you think about this when it comes to accessibility, ability, and so on. Thinking of someone who cannot afford tools or ingredients for a spell, or bedridden witches who cannot practice in the same way as other witches do. Can they still practice?
I also think about those who find different ways to incorporate what truly matters to them into their witchcraft, with no basis or history of other witches doing the same, and it works for them.
I'm genuinely curious, if you are willing to answer, because I really appreciate your perspective on a lot of topics so far.