Circle question...

[Dravius]

Hello everyone...I just registered on MW last night and let me say that you guys have an awesome community here, and I'm glad to be a part of it!

That said, I'm planning on making a scenic little circle outdoors when spring comes, and I'm totally clueless as to which direction the altar ought to face. The books and sites I've read are pretty conflicting on the subject, so what do you guys think? Whatever direction I end up deciding on, I don't want it to just be completely random...I want it to symbolize *something* :P

[st0rm]

make a round altar, so that its faceing every direction (or no direction at all)

[Jenett]

The two I've seen most commonly are East (facing the place light first appears to come from, which is also associated with beginnings, illumination, knowledge, etc.) or North (associated in many traditions with earth, and with various other things. I'd tend to think it a good location for an outdoor altar, too, for that reason.)

Personally, the trad I work with prefers the altar in the North, and I find that works well for me. Personal alters, though, can be whereever works for the given space (it just so happens in my bedroom, where my altar is, that north is the best place for it.)

[shnen]

Welcome to MW!

you do what feels right to you, making a round one would be beneficial, you can play around and figure out what you like. Mine faces north as well, it feels right to me :)

[Pan]

A round altar would be the best bet.. but North works for me. Sometimes, however, I just can't do that.. so I just stick it where it fits, really. But when I can, North is the one I pick.

Oh, and welcome!

[Trinity Faith]

I too prefer north, but the only direction I have room for it in the house is facing east, so east it is for now. :)

[Aviendha]

North and east are the most common, though it depends on what you are asking for, also.

Oh, and hi...I'm new here too! :)

[Eudaimonia]

I ignored the books, mostly. My alter faces north because I am a Capricorn, and my birth name is a gemstone, formed in the earth. It has more significance that way.

However, if I am doing a dawn ritual (singing up the sun), I'll be facing east, and vice versa for sunset.

[Flar's Freyja]

My altar's in a tiny little hallway where I can barely turn around.....I rarely get to do ritual outdoors but I did a few nights ago. And I called my quarters out loud and didn't care what the neighbors thought......

Just wanted to let you guys know, I just stuck a thread at the top of Magick and Rituals with a list of basic threads that I've found on ritual construction, circle casting, magickal correspondences, etc. Come over and check it out :)

[Flar's Freyja]

Ooops, BTW, Merry Meet and Welcome, Dravius :wave:

[MidnightSun]

Most of the time our outdoor altar is facing North. It's easier that way because we use our picnic table :) We will sometimes have it facing East though. Our indoor altar seems to get switched a lot. For one thing it's East, for another it's North...it's just preference I guess. I was told that East is the best because it's the direction of the rising sun, but if you ask me each has a unique meaning and your altar should be faced accordingly.

[spiritwind905]

I have my Alter facing north. I'm an earth sign so, I'm partial to north anyway! :) Sometime I use my round living room table.
I'm new too..but MM & BB Dravius...

[Dravius]

Thanks all for the warm welcomes and the suggestions :) A round altar never even occured to me, but I slept on the idea and it sounds pretty good. Actually, I was walking through our woods today with my dog, and I found a clearing on top of a hill thats surrounded on three sides by like ten-foot tall sandstone cliffs, and there is a sawed-off tree stump with a flat top right in the middle.......sometimes the Goddess really gives some direct answers to my questions, but I'm not complaining! I'll have to take some pics with my digital camera when the weather clears up...it's a really beautiful spot :)

[st0rm]

:D

[spiritwind905]

AWSOME- Sounds like a great spot. :)

[Aviendha]

When I get my own home and have a yard, I plan on having an alter outside. My coven sisters and I have made up a design for what we want.

Recently my coven sister had yard work done and they cut a large branch off a tree. We asked them to cut the log into four peices and plan on varnishing them. Next we will place them in the four directions. They will be used to hold candles. (We even etched the symbols of the directions in the glass holders.) Then we will plant flowers in a circle and in the center of that circle of flowers we will have our alter. A round alter, so we can face any direction we wish to. Can't wait to have it all done!

Oh and Dravis, do send a picture of your spot! It sounds beutiful!

[Dravius]

Right now, the stump is probably gonna be my altar, and then I'll have something at each cardinal direction to represent each of the four elements. Incidentally, the south side is the only side not blocked off by a sheer sandstone cliff, so I'll probably dig a little firepit there for fire, and then find some crags in the sandstone to set a bowl for water and my incense burner for air. As for earth, I'm still working that one out, but I'm leaning towards just carving a pentacle into the sandstone itself.

[Dravius]

Yay! The weather finally cleared up enough to bust out my digital camera...here's the best shot I could get of the spot I'm lookin at...it's kinda perilous getting a picture from far enough away to fit the whole scene in...I'm not a very good rock-climber :P.