Hiding your altars.

[Grey]

The topic seems to come up repeatedly, and it has been discussed in a thread about Wiccan stereotypes recently. So I am here to ask, what drives you to hide your altar or make it look inconspicous. Why do you feel this is nessacerry and do you find any conflict with doing this and keeping your faith?

[Gothic Rayne]

I don't purposefully hide my altar, I just don't have one. ;) I have items I use for Spellcraft, but I do my spell work outside, so I carry what I need out there. The rest remains about the house, serving whatever purpose they can.

[Elektra]

I'm not Wiccan, so my altar doesn't follow the traditional rules (pentacle, athame, chalice, etc.). It really doesn't look like an altar at all. It's a shelf in my bedroom full of beautiful things that resonate with me. I've had it for *years.*

[blugirrl1]

I'm not Wiccan, so my altar doesn't follow the traditional rules (pentacle, athame, chalice, etc.). It really doesn't look like an altar at all. It's a shelf in my bedroom full of beautiful things that resonate with me. I've had it for *years.*words right outta my mouth :) most of my altar pieces are found from nature , either way i make no attempt to hide anything in my own home. that is just me though.

[blueiris]

Some people live with their parents and if their parents find out that they're Pagan, they'll get kicked out or their things destroyed. I hid my altar until I told my parents about my being Wiccan. Some people's parents aren't so open-minded.

[WinterTree]

On a daily basis, I don't hide my altar at all. My mother knows about my spiritual path and is okay with it, so there is no need to tuck things away. I usually put away a few of the more symbolic items when friends from school or family outside my home come to visit, but I have been rethinking that lately. A big part of me feels as though I should not have to hide who I am in my own home.

[The High Queen of Faerie]

i used to have to put my altar under my bed because if my parents found it i might have been even more physically and emotionally abused than normal :)

they seem to not care so much anymore, which is great... so i just have my altar on a shelf in my bedroom. my whole room is my sacred space, though, and i get terribly offended when anyone comes in.

[Khuinaset]

What, you had to start the thread all over again? :eyebrow:

My altar (http://www.mysticwicks.com/photoalbum/thumbnails.php?album=376) isn't exactly subtle(or from what I gather). I had originally intended for it to be and stopped caring, as my mom noticed it and didn't seem to care. Two people who have seen pictures told me it was incredibly obvious, another one told me it looked suspicious, and the other person told me it looked like the item screen from a video game and that my incense burner looked like an HP wand. He's a bit of a goofball :lol:

Anyways. I told my mom once, she reacted oddly, I used to worry about her not liking it, but don't any more because she seems to remember me telling her and she hasn't said anything so far(although I'm getting annoyed at finding my panties on my desk after laundry day.... :twitch: :p ).

[Grey]

No I dont want to start that thread over again, weve already debated that subject quite a bit. Wether its right or wrong isnt what Im looking for here, but simply the reasons behind peoples actions. Thank you to everyone who has answered so far, and I hope more will continue.

[cartweel]

HI Grey! *winks*

Anyway, I hide my altar because my mother would freak out if she saw it. It's as simple as that. She also hates candles so those are tucked away behind books.

Then again my 'altar' isn't eactly an altar at all. It's a bunch of candles, some tarot cards, a few feathers, some pictures I like, and a blanket that I spread out on the floor. I set the objects out depending on what I'm doing and sit on the blanket with objects all around me. It's more of a moveable shrine/communion area than an altar.

[MorningDove030202]

The topic seems to come up repeatedly, and it has been discussed in a thread about Wiccan stereotypes recently. So I am here to ask, what drives you to hide your altar or make it look inconspicous. Why do you feel this is nessacerry and do you find any conflict with doing this and keeping your faith?

You could expand this question to include all aspects of spirituality, not just the alter, and I would say this:


I don't want to be spooky or scary to others. It's realy not that I want to be "normal" it's that I don't want people to be afraid of my outward expressions of my faith. I use tasteful bummper stickers, not offensive ones, and I wear a goddess necklace, not a pentacle, because the pentacle is scary to some people..... The point of me being Wiccan is not to scare others or to drawl attention to myself. I think I can let people know that I'm a pagan goddess worshiper and be tactful at the same time. It's called being suttle (sp?) and tactful, it's not about hiding.

Dove

[The High Queen of Faerie]

You could expand this question to include all aspects of spirituality, not just the alter, and I would say this:


I don't want to be spooky or scary to others. It's realy not that I want to be "normal" it's that I don't want people to be afraid of my outward expressions of my faith. I use tasteful bummper stickers, not offensive ones, and I wear a goddess necklace, not a pentacle, because the pentacle is scary to some people..... The point of me being Wiccan is not to scare others or to drawl attention to myself. I think I can let people know that I'm a pagan goddess worshiper and be tactful at the same time. It's called being suttle (sp?) and tactful, it's not about hiding.

Dove


subtle. :) the b is subtle.

[FairyMoon]

Well. I don't hide my altar... I just try not to let anyone see it:tongueout. I keep my altar in my room and I keep my door locked when I am not at home, and my room door closed at all times when I am at home. I don't want to be put in a defensive position about my faith. I know it would take me a long time to explain to even my "closest" *cough* family members why I follow a Pagan path. Everyone believes differently and most of the people around me remain closed minded or sarcastic. Ex: I went so far as to let my mother know I meditate right... so this big storm comes along and she starts teasing me about me needing to go and "chant for everybody" Cute. Very cute. It's not that bad, and she was trying to be funny, but that's what I would go through everyday and I don't have patience for that. I would lose it after a while.

[Neoscottie]

I used to hide my altar in my closet when my parents didn't know I was Pagan. Even now I keep the door closed when I can to avoid my mom asking what somthing is. I keep it as subtle as I can when I'm not using it. I've got lot of people over all the time (Mom's a real estate agent), and I don't want random people asking about it. I usually have a candle, an offering dish, an incence burner, and a piece of quartz on it, though. :)

[Keroberos]

For the most part the reasoning is to keep others from becoming offended or frightened by something different if they were conservative, to avoid any trouble with close-minded parents, and to keep a sacred space personal and sacred. For me I don't have an official alter, I just have loads of candles surrounding a candle holder for whenever I want to pray or preform a ritual. Frankly I need to figure out where to put all of my books, if my mom visits and see's all my "witch" books, she'll totally go ballistic on me. She tried to ground me for borrowing a Marylin Manson CD when I was in high school. These are some of the reasons people don't wish to prominently display their stuff.

[The High Queen of Faerie]

Well. I don't hide my altar... I just try not to let anyone see it:tongueout. I keep my altar in my room and I keep my door locked when I am not at home, and my room door closed at all times when I am at home. I don't want to be put in a defensive position about my faith. I know it would take me a long time to explain to even my "closest" *cough* family members why I follow a Pagan path. Everyone believes differently and most of the people around me remain closed minded or sarcastic. Ex: I went so far as to let my mother know I meditate right... so this big storm comes along and she starts teasing me about me needing to go and "chant for everybody" Cute. Very cute. It's not that bad, and she was trying to be funny, but that's what I would go through everyday and I don't have patience for that. I would lose it after a while.
:hugz: i know the feeling

[Soulsong]

I have always been private about my spiritual life. To leave my altar set up where anyone can walk by and stare at it just seems to violate it somehow. I don't know who would see it, as I live alone and don't tend to throw too many house parties, but there you have it. Maybe it's some sort of weird side effect of being an only child.

Additionally, setting up the altar has always been an important part of preparing myslef for ritual - mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. It's not that I "hide" my altar, it's just that I put everything away when I'm done. I have a wonderful box for just that purpose.

Come to think of it, my unhealthy obsession with boxes might also contribute. :tongueout

[FairyMoon]

:hugz: i know the feeling
Thanks Viviene:hugz: Somebody understands:hugz:

[Spiritcalf]

I don't have a hidden alter persay so much as a convienant one. I have a Targe I made a year ago that is like 19 inches round. SO If I lay it flat on a box, it goes from being a shield to a alter. It is easy, convienant, and does not look odd at all.

[HappyFire]

I don't have an altar yet, (still a newbie) but more than likely I'll probably be low-key about it, though not hiding it exactly. I live in the middle of the bible belt, just miles away from the president's ranch, so everyone in my community is really conservative. I also have a father in law who is a fundamentalist baptist preacher who would spontaneously combust if he had even an inkling that I was even remotely interested in paganism. In general, I guess I'm pretty private about my spirituality.

[RakliDipity]

I hide my altar because my Dad would probably start teasing me about it, it would probably worry my Mum (although she will not confront me about it) and my sister will start asking questions I'm not prepared to answer...

[2steps]

I am private about my spirtuality but don't hide my altar as such. It's amongst other things and so isn't really that noticable anyway. I live with my partner and children and we don't get many visitors so it's ok. If we did I think I would take my altar upstairs so it would rarely be seen as I'd find explaining about it really embarrising and uncomfortable. I even prefer not to talk about with my boyfriend and we've been together 10 years!

[Grey]

Holy reserected threads batman!

lol, thanks for the additional imput... always appreciated. Just be sure to take a look at the words you wrote... and why, eh k?

[arianrhods_daughter]

I don't hide my altar, I have a room full of my things and have a dedication altar, a "working" altar as well as my travelling altar all out in full view for all to see, it helps that my family is mostly alternative at any rate and my partner doesn't care. Even when I was still at home they were all out in full view I never hid anything and answer any questions truthfully if asked Im not ashamed of my faith

[maldito]

I don't hide my altar. At first my romie was some concerned about it, but after I explined to him the meaning of my altar, he was more open minded, after all he is studing philosophy.
Other people visit my home frecuently and they often ask about it's meaning, so, again, I have to tell them all the story. But most of people seem to ignore it.

[Kalika]

The topic seems to come up repeatedly, and it has been discussed in a thread about Wiccan stereotypes recently. So I am here to ask, what drives you to hide your altar or make it look inconspicous. Why do you feel this is nessacerry and do you find any conflict with doing this and keeping your faith?

I hid mine when I lived with my mom because she didn't approve of my spiritual path, and I did not want the things I had collected to go missing.

I don't think it presents a conflict, because your faith is a personal choice - choosing to keep your altar personal does not diminish your faith, or lessen it in any way.

[LostSheep]

I've improvised a little kind of altar on top of a bookshelf, there's just enough room for my candles and incense, and my dad doesn't really have any idea what it's about, he just thinks I'm a bit odd. i noticed him inspecting my pentacle pendant the other day, but he just shrugged, so he seems cool about it. I don't have room for, even if i could afford, anything more elaborate, so I'm happy with what I have for the moment.

[MariThorn]

When I started out six years ago I had to stash most of my things when I wasn't using them, but my altar stayed put as a storage trunk. Then I left my ex and his conservative Baptist views and my present husband and I are both Catholic witches. We, in the Catholic faith, have altars anyhow . . . so I just combine my witch things with my Catholic things, and no one ever asks questions. For those who would be hostile there is a permanent ward up to block their view. What they see is a pretty side table with seasonal decor and candles. For Catholics or witches they see what is there for them to see. It is my home . . . I don't hide in my own house.

Marithorn

[bbnflpn]

i dont hide my altar stuff, i dont have one, but i keep them on the top of my tv cabinet. right now they are down and packed away cause i used them in a rite. but i do not feel the need to hide who i am from any one. some people i know take their altar down regulary due to space issues.

[morningstar2651]

I just hid my working tools for the first time ever. All I did was put my wand and pentacle in my underwear drawer. The rest are inconspicuous enough to leave out.

The landlord is coming to see his house for the first time, and I'm not a gambling man. Yet another reason I can't wait to buy a house.

[The Lady]

Although, I don't hide things from people as a norm but I will if I believe it would cause more harm than any good for all involved; even before I became a Pagan.

If my landlord came into the apartment now he would disapprove of all my candles, and would probably say something about my altar in my bedroom being too close to the drapes, however, I would listen and make note but continue with my way of living. If I felt he would go off like a crazy man then I would put the stuff away and bring it out once he was gone or finished. I have my daughter to consider and she loves her school and where we are living, for a teenager these are very important qualities right now which makes them important to me no matter my beliefs.

[kal]

i was lucky in that have never needed to hide who i was
so mine was always out in the open
61610

[Qeniheru]

I can't really have a permanent altar until I get an apartment, due to my dorm rules prohibiting half the things I want to put on it, a roommate that would probably flip out about it, and highly conservative parents that like to drop in on occasion. I just have a portable altar I keep in a little wooden treasure box I found at Goodwill, and take it with me whenever the opportunity to do ritual presents itself, such as to a friend's house (fortunately, pretty much all of my friends are cool with it :D ).

[Harmony Aurore]

The topic seems to come up repeatedly, and it has been discussed in a thread about Wiccan stereotypes recently. So I am here to ask, what drives you to hide your altar or make it look inconspicous. Why do you feel this is nessacerry and do you find any conflict with doing this and keeping your faith?


I live in a Christian house hold which would severly disaprove of that type of behaviour. Until I move out, i would keep it hidden

[cinatus]

Yeah we keep ours hidden in a black travel chest. We don't have a lock on it but remarkably my "no snooping" spell has kept many a snooping snooper out of it.

[Morrigan_Wolfwind]

I really don't have an altar yet. Not a typical one, as I'm planning to study Celtic magick rather than Wicca. Rather, I've just put a bunch of the rocks I picked up here and there in my calla lily's pot. It's a very big pot, and I just wanted to find a place to put a handful of rocks without me seeming like a slob or a weird person.

It's probably better than a typical altar, in retrospect; the plant is still alive, rather than being dead wood carved and fitted into a table. Come to think of it, my plant has all the elements right in its pot--earth, water, air.... maybe not fire. I don't have a candle to put there anyway.

Mom doesn't have a problem with it, she probably just thinks I'm collecting random rocks. When she watered the plants a couple of weeks ago I saw the soil a little turned up, so the soil could absorb the water more easily.

So I'm not really hiding my current "altar," per se; I just don't have the time, convenience, or the money (of which I have 10$ left 8O) to actually set one up. And my mom's not closeminded, but she tends to want the EXACT reasons for things. When she saw my Idiot's Guide to Wicca and Witchcraft, she kept asking me the same "Why" questions (ie why are you reading about this). She's well-meaning, but I don't think she really takes my studying seriously. If I set up an altar, she'd probably ask me if I got influenced by people at school.

[Lavendyr WillowStorm]

Before I came out of the broom closet to my dh I pretty much had an incognito altar which sort of blended with other stuff on the mantle. I kept my athame locked in a nice wooden box I got at Hobby Lobby and kept the box under a cover-me-up-table. Once I came out of the broom closet to him I made a more prominent display in the kitchen but now I've moved my altar into our office so it could be set up more traditionally as it was too cramped where I had it in the kitchen. I can't have an altar in an obvious display (even though I would LOVE to!) because my IL's don't know of my spiritual path and we on occasion have friends of our young girls over as well as an occasional parent. Most folks around here are devout Christians and I don't need the hassle of answering questions about 'the weird stuff on the table'. I already have a witch calendar up but it isn't in a prominent spot so not too worried about it.

[Pandy Fackler]

I guess I've gotten lucky since I've never had to hide mine. My parents care catholic, but they're pretty open-minded. At first, I wasn't sure what they would say about it, so I kept it on my dresser with a bunch of other stuff so it didn't exactly LOOK like an altar.

But sooner or later, everything kind of moved on it's own to my windowsill and I decided that that's where it chose to be and that's where it will stay :P My mom knows what it is and is respectful not to go touching everything on it. She even has made some suggestions and bought me things to put on it ^_^

[Amber Wynd]

I used to hide mine in a wooden box because my ex made fun of it. I also worried about the parents of my daughter's friends getting upset and not allowing their kids to come over any more. Then someone sent me a ceremonial knife from Arabia and everybody loved it. After that, I did pretty much what Lavendyr WillowStorm mentioned. I put my athame on the mantle next to the Arabian knife, added my candles, goddess statues, crystal ball, incense holder, crystals, etc. and everyone thought it was a display of interesting objects.

Now that I live by myself, I use the top of an antique dresser for my altar and keep it in plain sight in the living room.

[DanuMoonrunner]

I have four altars set up on the stage in my house. We have two weekly poker games where 5-16 people who used to play here when it was our bar still attend. I have the altars "cloaked" and have actually had to point them out to a friend who is here twice a week. Apparently my spell is very powerful!

[LyraDragonStar]

The topic seems to come up repeatedly, and it has been discussed in a thread about Wiccan stereotypes recently. So I am here to ask, what drives you to hide your altar or make it look inconspicous. Why do you feel this is nessacerry and do you find any conflict with doing this and keeping your faith?

Well, I don't make try to hide or cover my altar at all... unless I have people over who don't know about it (which is pretty much nobody) or if my mom comes in my room (which I always know when that's going to be). I'm really working on creating a better one... for I had to take it down recently because I cleaned my room and am preparing to do a cleansing ritual I wrote that's long overdue.

But instead of hiding my altar.. for some odd reason, i hide my room. I seriously don't let hardly anybody in my bedroom. :lol:

[Xirian]

I specifically hid my altar because I am not supposed to burn candles or incense or anything in this house, but then the landlord passed away and now that I have a new landlord who lives on the other side of the country and the fact that we are going to stay another year here and there will be no one coming to look at our house to buy or rent it, I am planning to take my altar out today and set it up permenately in my living room.

I would prefer to not have to hide it, but since I rent and since there was a fire (hence the not burning anything) I didn't have much of a choice if I wanted to keep this home which is in the perfect location, with trees everywhere, that is hidden from the main road.

I don't feel that it is in conflict with anything, because I know where my altar is and it is not the basis for my beliefs. It is an extension of my beliefs and practices. Truthfully, I could commune with my deities in the woods with make-shift items if I had to.

[Viseux]

I don't.
Had a friend over to my house a few weeks ago that had never been here before. She's a Christian and when she came into my den said "that looks like an altar." I said there's a good reason for that. She said "because it's an altar?" I said that would be the reason. We had a nice talk about religion and spirituality and believe we grew closer because of it.
Last week the Jehovahs Witness stoped by. I invited them in. They didn't take it as well.
Oh Well.

:smoke:

Blessings,
Viseux

[Cerulean_damselfly]

I think some might have a shared alter--one that you could share in a circle of people--and we might also set one aside from other eyes..."hide" a more personal working one if we're in the midst of study and thought and gestating stages...or because a family one might be simply for family beliefs and jokes. My examples follow.

I posted the "Western heritage circle" set up that I would share with others...and a sea-theme Asian one because I've talked about it as a creative and shared bit...But I decided not to show my private family heritage "ancestral alter" and weekly rotations of that space for the same reason I set it up in more private space in our home.

Visitors and others are not really excluded, but sometimes I have family pictures from different periods in my 'family alter'; sometimes there is very just personal items placed there, and I use it as a 'working alter' as well. My sister, for instance, gave me five collaged pictures of sacred sites and for fun, pictures of us in those sites...it's hilarious and delightful for me to find myself in the collage sitting in the lap of the Buddha of Ise the same week I am re-reading motifs from Genji, perhaps...or checking out hymns to Aphrodite with the collage of her on a column in Pompeii...That's a personal joke that I love and just enjoy.

Sometimes it's also a private working alter for things important--lately it had my tax bits and pieces as I worked through my budget a little each week. I placed financial things under my family name tablet with prosperity candles and symbols...and also had my experiments with making chakra gemstone wands...it all worked, because nothing got lost until I was able to finish those items.

Long answer, hope it was clear.

Cerulean_Damselfly

[alwaysfallingup]

In general, my altar is out in the open. I am out of the broomcloset, as they say, to my family and friends. The only time I sort of camoflauge it and put away certain items is very recently, because we're in the process of selling our house, and when potential buyers come in with the real estate lady, I feel that it would behoove me to have those things put away...not because I'm ashamed of who/what I am, but because I really want to sell the house quickly and easily, and that seems to be something that might turn a potential buyer away....

[XanderAmon]

I keep my altar right out in the open. All my roommates, while not Pagan themselves, are accepting of it (and even curious sometimes :) ). Also it's in my room, so it's not like it's viewable to just anyone who visits the apartment. I can always close the door if I'm uncomfortable with people seeing it, though I haven't had a problem so far.

[Lildelaide]

Hiding my altar isn't important to me so much as protecting it. I'm not ashamed of my path, but I have a younger sister who could potentially cause damage to my supplies, so I have to stick with a temporary altar for now that I set up and put away each time. This system has been working for me, but I hope that the Lord and Lady can help me to arrange a more permanent (and convenient!) set-up in time.

Blessed be!
~Lildelaide

[oakowl]

The only time I move my altar is when small children are visiting. Because of its location they are bound to knock it over or mess about. Other wise it is never moved. The one I have in the kitchen is pretty hard for the rascals to get to.

[Astara Seague]

my alter is in my practicing room and no one goes in there without my permisson so its protected, but not hidden, but I do own my own house so that helps, but some of my younger coven members hide theirs from their parents for all the reasons written here , some use their dresser and tell others it is just decoration, some hide under their beds, I always tell my members they can use mine if they need to

[Toby Stimpson]

never...even when im home. right out in the open, during my time here in college I had it set up next to my bed and it's quite big too so it did attract attention...but meh.

[Willow Rosette]

This is probably meant more for people who live with family members or roommates and stuff, but I just live with my 2 cats and my daughter. But even then I believe what I believe and would not hide my alter.

[Amythyst]

The older I get the less I have been inclined to hide anything in my own home, much less my altar. My house looks like an occult gift shop. This drives my husband nuts, though. His family is a very traditional, Lutheran, mid-western, farm family with very narrow minds. But, like I told my husband, don't you think the crescent moon tattoo on my forehead would kind'a give them a clue that I don't follow the beaten path?

[OnyxStar]

My sltar is this beautiful black coffee table inlaid with mother-of-pearl. I have some candles on it, and I stuff magical stuff is a bin under the table,but I also use it when my friends are over and we're just hanging out eating Pocky, or sometimes doing homework. I believe in intergrating magic into your everyday life.

[OnyxStar]

My altar is this beautiful black coffee table inlaid with mother-of-pearl. I have some candles on it, and I stuff magical stuff is a bin under the table,but I also use it when my friends are over and we're just hanging out eating Pocky, or sometimes doing homework. I believe in intergrating magic into your everyday life.

[SilentDreams]

I've never hidden my altar. But see I've never been in a situation where I'd need to.

I believe people might(having not read the replies, just the main post) hide their altars due to family members not accepting their faith. A lot of pagans are rather young too, so they might even be minors living at home still. In which case their parents hold a lot of "power" of them and can make them dismantle their altars.

So I think it saves them a lot of tears and trouble to just hide it and only take it out when needed.

Although I've always believed an altar should be one or the other. It should be stationary(excluding the occasional change in setting etc...) or not put up at all. But that's just for me. I don't have any problem(not that it would matter, I have no say over others) with others hiding their altars as they see fit. I'm not in their situations living their lives, so I cannot think its wrong or right honestly.

[Jessica]

I have no reason to hide my altar, however its currently set up iside a wardrobe in my massage work room. If it were anywhere else, it would be in the way, or I'd have to move it else where so I had room to work the way I like to.

And it makes sense to be there, considering I meditate and do all my healing work in that room.

[Ramases1]

it is an unfortunate thing, our altar must be hidden because my step father is a nonbeliever, he'd go ballistic if he knew. though we do hide the altar in plane sight, it is a small metal table of celtic design with a glass top so it serves as our telephone table

[coeur]

Simple: I don't let people into my dorm room.

Most people just think that I have men over or something and I'm getting naked (haha) and just don't question further. Sometimes I run into particularly nosey people.

I just kick them out.

[FirePixie]

You could expand this question to include all aspects of spirituality, not just the alter, and I would say this:


I don't want to be spooky or scary to others. It's realy not that I want to be "normal" it's that I don't want people to be afraid of my outward expressions of my faith. I use tasteful bummper stickers, not offensive ones, and I wear a goddess necklace, not a pentacle, because the pentacle is scary to some people..... The point of me being Wiccan is not to scare others or to drawl attention to myself. I think I can let people know that I'm a pagan goddess worshiper and be tactful at the same time. It's called being suttle (sp?) and tactful, it's not about hiding.

Dove


This is exactly why I will keep mine out of sight when not in use.

[Autumn-Forest]

My altar is a bookshelf with only witch books in it, my tools such as candles, athame, bolline, and on top of my altar I have various items. I am not a Wiccan, but I am a witch so I have a few things on there. People tend to touch them and I am very leary about that, so I put my athame and wand in the shelf instead of the altar. So the altar has a blessed candle, a pentacle disk, incense burner, sage, various gems, pendulm, a lil' buddha :), and a candlestick. :)

bright blessings,
Autumn

[angle kitsune]

If I could I would not hide mine,however I am only 15 and my Mother has no respect nor does she like me having a religen. I kept mine out for a month(in my room),she dumped her coffie on it,cut up any pictures,chopped the candles up,burned my book of shadows, oh and tossed my insents in a fire out back as well. after that happened I get a lock box to keep insents and candles in,padlocked. my sister is the only other person with a key. the water and other things needed are kept at my grandmother's house and she brings me what I need once a month and I get anything I need last minute by bikeing accrost town. dearing the three months of summer I take what I need out side and go to a forest to do everything so having a alter that is 15 difforent things would be pointless to me anyway. when my sister and I move to our nana's house after we graduate highschool we will have to share a room. we talked about what to do,she as well as the rest of the family in that house fallows christ, and the room has three closets. one we plan to use for my alter when the paster comes over to bless the house,once a month as not to offend him.

[Crysiira]

I never had an altar because of my parents' dislike for me practicing Wicca. I've been out of the house for almost three years; you'd think I would have built one by now. My fiance is not Wiccan though, and though he doesn't object to me being Wiccan, he also doesn't want to be forced to be involved in it. I leave my tools out sometimes and he gently asks me to put them away because he doesn't quite understand what I do and seeing an athame laying out scares him a tiny bit. I know i'm going to recieve a volley of messages screaming, he doesn't accept you, don't stand for that! But honestly, we love each other, and therefore we are making a huge effort on both parts to meet in the middle and accept our differences. We even have playful debates. So I don't have an altar, just portable tools. Constantly moving from place to place has a hand in it too, it's not just my other's fault.

[dragoncrone]

when my sister and I move to our nana's house after we graduate highschool we will have to share a room. we talked about what to do,she as well as the rest of the family in that house fallows christ, and the room has three closets. one we plan to use for my alter when the paster comes over to bless the house,once a month as not to offend him.

Well, you could always put out a statue of the virgin mary and treat her as your goddess. That way you could use your candles and incense, and place flowers or stones or acorns or whatever, beside her...Someday you will have your own place and you can have all the altars you want. Peace and blessings!!

[dragoncrone]

At one point I was concerned, not with my wicca/pagan accoutrements, but my husband's book collection!
He was a history major in college and he has a MAJOR accumulation of information on WWII -- particularly about Hitler. Some of it is pretty weird, so I took those and my more in-your-face witch stuff and put it all in the den.
We were involved in local civic activities and had people coming over a lot -- I didn't want the neighbors thinking we were a bunch of skinhead antichrist wacka-loons...
But that was awhile back and we no longer give a crap about what people might think - only our friends come over!

[ViolinGoddess]

I don't necisarily HIDE my altar. But I hide the fact that I'm a christian witch. Actually, I don't hide it to everyone. Just to my christian friends. Mind you, my christian friends are liberal. But my father is the minister of my church and I don't want it to reflect poorly on him. (If it's going to at all) And I'm also afraid that they won't understand and accept me. Right now I'm just not ready to be out of the closet. Maybe someday. I hope someday.

Violin Goddess

[Sionnach le Fey]

I've never had an altar.
But a Wiccan friend of mine has more of a 'secret' altar. On the wall behind her desk, she's stuck pictures of the elements (a volcano for fire, a mountain for earth, the sky for air and the ocean for water), and a picture of a woman and man to represent the God and Goddess. And on her desk is a bunch of candles and some incense. Her mum just thinks she likes the pictures and stuff, and doesn't realise her daughter is Wiccan (her mum is a pretty strict Christian so I've heard).

[Hellenic_Witch]

I don't hide my alter, but it's not exactly in the middle of the house for all to see either.
A year or so after I started on this path, my husband joined me. So what was once my small alter has moved to a new place in our home (in our bedroom) and is now our alter. It's in the open, our kids see it daily, but guests don't normally go into our bedroom...so for those few relatives who don't know about our beliefs, we don't have to be questioned or have to explain anything.

[MankyCat]

I don't hide it because I don't really keep one. To me, my living space is my alter (my bedroom when I lived at my moms and now my apartment). I put everything away when I'm done using it. I have two cats, one that is fairly young and mischevious, and I don't need them accidently knocking something fragile over. I don't need them doing it on purpose either. I wouldn't leave my drinking glass on am end table where the cats might play, so I don't want to leave my fragiles either. Plus, some of my items might look like fun toys for them to play with... and I'd hate for them to bat it or move it someplace where I can't find said items.

At my mother's place, I kept main altar set up. But didn't feel it was more than the rest of the room, it was just easier than pulling everything out to use all the time. At first it was on a table. Than I moved it to a cubby that worked much better, allowed me to stand and kept things from being knocked down by my cat or my mother's b-f (who liked to vacuum the bedrooms when he vacuumed the rest of his house. I wasn't going to complain cause that was one less thing for me to worry about). When my niece was born and growing older, the cubby worked even better because she couldn't get into it. Having my altar tucked away kept her away from the small objects that could have hurt her.

But I always like the freedom of just setting up the altar as I go and did that for a long time even with the one already set. I would just grab what I needed and go. My space is my altar. The world is my altar.

But I don't feel the need to hide it. Justs keep things put away. :)

[CelticMoon11]

I don't hde my altar I have a whole ritual room set up and ready to roll Im not ashamed of my beliefs and have no reason to hide them even though most of my friends think Im crazy they think Im crazy in a good way :lol:

[Vigdisdotter]

what drives you to hide your altar or make it look inconspicous.

I don't hide mine. Never have. The size and shape has changed as well as what is on it as space, time and needs dictate, but that's about it.

Right now it lives in my bedroom, under the east facing window. And for someone to see it, they would have to be trusted friends at the very least. I don't let random strangers into my house.

[Vigdisdotter]

Some people live with their parents and if their parents find out that they're Pagan, they'll get kicked out or their things destroyed. I hid my altar until I told my parents about my being Wiccan. Some people's parents aren't so open-minded.

I know this is a VERY old post, but it's something i feel strongly about, so I'm going to reply.

Don't EVER go behind your parent's backs. Doing so is a fundamental betrayal of trust. The gods will still be there when you're out on your own, paying your own bills.

But as long as someone else is paying your way, you have to live by their rules.