Home Shrine

On my shrine there are seven main components. I have a cup with a silver colored Awen symbol in it, for my well. I have a plate with a candle – for my fire – and the symbols of land, sea, and sky (a rock, a shell, an egg). I also have a stick with the symbols of the kindreds for my world tree. (I also currently use it as my deity image.)

To the right, I have I picture of skulls and a plate with symbols for the ancestors. This includes: a hummingbird for my grandma, a reproduction Viking key for my Germanic ancestors, amethyst for my Roman ancestors, and a stone with Fluffy (from Harry Potter) to represent the underworld.

To the left of the world tree is a block with a dragon on it and a plate with symbols for the nature spirits. The dragon is because I had a dream my grandmother told me about a snake (which is ADF’s nature spirit symbol). I have a fairy necklace for the Fey. I have a moon charm for the spirit I commune with at the First Quarter moons. And I have a stone with a wolf on it, since that is my favorite animal.

I also have a set of shot glasses for offering on the right and my other tools on the left: a pagan rosary, a lighter, and a set of bells. I also have two statues, for Serenity and Devotion, which has been on my altar for several years.

While a lot of these items are decorative and symbolic, they still hold a function. They help me think of that kindred in ritual and daily life. I found the fairy necklace and thought, ‘hey this would be great on my altar.’ I bought the Viking key with the intention to honor my female and Norse ancestors. And then their symbolism helps me when I speak words to honor the kindreds because I can look at my representative ‘images’ or items. The cup, the candle, and the stick have their functions as my well, fire, and tree. The stick is also useful for traveling as it has a picture of the three kindreds. I also use the Shining Ones symbol as my deity image for the altar. And, again, the shot glasses are for pouring offerings. After ritual, I put the offerings (usually steel cut oats) in a bag and pour it out outside.

I also have a shrine to the Norse gods and a shrine box to the ancestors. The Norse shrine is a small table with the symbols of the gods and a bowl for offerings. The ancestor box holds items from my grandparents. It currently rests under the Norse shrine, but I take it out as needed.

There are some improvements I definitely want to make. I want a proper silver item for my well, and I have plans to bless a sliver ring at my Dedicant Oath for this purpose. I would also like proper deity images, particularly of Brigid and Odin. But my space is small and constrained, which leads me to my third improvement: larger altar space. I plan to print out small pictures of Odin and Brigid that I like and tape them to the back wall, as it were. So, they can be behind the stick/tree.