An altar is a place where we can ground and center. It’s also a place where we perform ritual, cast spells, and meet with our gods, ancestors and guides. But we can’t just set up an altar and leave it there. It takes maintenance – regular cleansing and charging. Then learn how to cleanse and charge your altar and tools below.
Just as there’s an altar in church, pagans and witches also often choose to have their own altars at home or in gathering places. The altar serves as a meeting place between spirits and practitioners, namely gods, ancestors, and nature spirits. But an altar doesn’t have to be dedicated to spirits if the practitioner doesn’t want it to be. It might be a place where the practitioner simply sits and reconnects with themselves and with the earth. Or a place of meditation and mindfulness. An altar is simply a spiritual space where the individual goes to feel grounded and centered. If you don’t know how to set up an altar, click here.
First, let’s talk about the importance of regular cleansing of your altar. Cleansing is a crucial aspect of the craft and of spiritual practices of all kinds. Why? It removes negative or unwanted energies and makes room for beneficial energies. Just as we cleanse our auras and our homes, we should cleanse our altars too. Negative energies can attach or be drawn to our altars because of new items added to the altar OR energies around the altar itself. Cleansing an altar can be done in a few different ways, which we will detail later in the article.
Charging an altar is important because it imbues our intentions (either magical or spiritual) into our altar and tools. Charging means to fill an object or space with our intentions and energy OR with a god or ancestor’s energies. People also call this process blessing and sometimes consecrating. If you don’t charge or bless your altar, you’re skipping an important step in the magical process and leaving your altar and items open for other energies to take up space. Learn how to cleanse and charge your altar below.
This is my way of cleansing and charging my altar, so feel free to change it and tailor it to your needs and preferences. I use a combination of smoke and water.
Next, you’re going to charge your altar and tools.
Again, charging your altar will depend on your preferences and needs, but here’s one way I charge mine.
I always use smoke and water to cleanse my altar, but you can use a combination of any of the elements or just one. It’s up to you! Try these cleansing methods:
I’d love to tell you that I cleanse and charge my altar and tools frequently, but that would be a lie. So how often should you cleanse and charge? It depends on what you feel is right. I typically try to cleanse and re-charge my altar once every three months. But it depends. If I have a visitor that surreptitiously sets their purse, phone, etc. on top of my altar without regard, then I typically will cleanse and charge it after they leave. In addition, I choose a New or Full Moon to cleanse and charge my altar. But, as I said before, it’s totally up to you!
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Maggie | 29th Oct 21
How often should I cleanse my alter ? And does the moon phase/day of the week matter ?
kitty fields | 5th Nov 21
I try to cleanse my altar once a month…at least once every 3 months. I also like to do my cleansings on a new moon but this is all truly up to you.
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melody | 15th Apr 20
hi, i was wondering if i could use cinnamon stick like an incense? is it possible or does it have to be incense or sage?
| 15th Nov 20
I’m not sure how well cinnamon burns, but you can use any plant to smoke cleanse as long as it is SAFE to burn. Different plants just have different properties, garden sage and rosemary are good cleansers specifically, but smoke is a just a good way to cleanse in general. Just make sure to keep the smoke away from animals or people with lung issues.
| 3rd Jun 22
this is an amazing tip and highly appreciated!
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