A Wise Word:

Witchcraft is all about living to the heights and depths of life as a way of worship. --LY DE ANGELES

Monday, February 13, 2017

The Power of a Space

When we moved to university housing, two events occurred that contributed to me struggling as a witch.  First, I lost my cat we wont delve into that once since it is still a painful subject and second, my altar space was greatly diminished.  In our cozy basement apartment, my altar space was set up on a large dressing table, beneath a ledge, beneath one of our 3 windows with a fairly deep ledge.  Merlin and I used all of the space and were quite happy working there.  


In the new apartment, I first set my altar up on a corner of the counter.  It was greatly reduced in size and everything sat on a placemat.  That was my entire altar and all my supplies were hidden away in a tote.  Working was pretty much a pain in the ass and it didn't take long before I was actually avoiding it. So, I moved all my supplies into the top two drawers of my dresser and set my altar on top.  A bit better, but still not enough room for all my actives and it was out of the way. I could hold ritual and do a bit of spellwork, but was still very limited.  I made due for over year, but recently I had to make a major change.   


It started out with me clearing the entire top of our split level bar and cl,aiming that as my altar/ritual space.  I had room for all my trappings and being able to see it durring the day was a great inspiration.  Next was adding a small divided box laid on its side to the .....counter below to use as storage for all the miscellany I collected in that corner and using the top for an ancestor altar.  It was great!  I had a large designated space for my sacred items, it was beautiful, and most of all it was functional.  One might think I had it made, but there was still a small issue.  




The counter below my altar space was my disorganized catch all.  Everything I didn't have time to deal with immediately got tossed on that counter and blocked my access to the altar.  Repeatedly, I cleared it off and vowed to never again junk it up and repeatedly I failed.  For weeks, I struggled with the space.  I knew if I gave it over to my practice and made it a witchy space I would no longer allow it to become my "hoarder corner", but the thought of giving up 3/4 of my counter space brought hesitation.



One day, while browsing YouTube, everything changed.  I saw a video by one of the witches I follow and it was entitled "How Important is Your Practice."   I didn't even watch the video.  I had to clean off that damn counter!  After clearing the counter, I laid out an old mirror that I use as a work space and I left it there.  That counter is now off limits for everything except magickal working and to everyone except me.  Ever time I see it, my confidence as a witch is boosted and I very proudly think, "Yes, I am a witch and I have important magick to make."  




Do you have a permanent altar space?  How does it affect your practice?