I’ve had an altar of some form or another in my home for quite some time (right now, I actually have two). ADF style rituals have specific things they need in terms of supplies and bowls, receptacles for offerings, and representations of the Fire, Well, and Tree. As such, before I did my Samhain ritual I went and did some altar styling to give myself a better workspace for ADF rituals.
This is the result (more or less):
My World Tree is pretty obvious – that’s a piece of driftwood that I found on a local beach. In front of that is my Well, a hand carved bowl from South Carolina. And then two representations of Fire in front of that – the three candle cluster and an incense burner. Those three items set up the ADF cosmos for each ritual. (I do not always leave the World Tree standing up, as it’s not super stable that way and is a bit off balance.)
There is a clear glass vase for holding liquid offerings, plus an offering bowl and a cup to drink from. The offering bowl and the cup are a matching set that I’ve had for years, and I like that they match. My offerings to the Kindreds go in a vessel that matches the vessel they give me the Blessings in.
The two taper candles are there for extra light and because I like candles. Also on the altar are some owl figurines, a Nature Spirit I’ve long had associations with (along with Toad and Rabbit), plus a little green man figurine, a big wooden acorn, a sand dollar, a holey stone that a friend brought back for me from a trip to the Middle East, and an aspen-leaf candle holder. These are all things that have spiritual significance for me, though I do eventually want to get some small shelves to get the figurines up off my working space.
The altar itself is a wooden cube bookshelf I got from (I think) Target, and I store all my Pagan and magical supplies in the closed baskets, with assorted books in the other open shelves. This sits in my craft room/spare bedroom, so it has to be dismantleable in a short time in case of guests. It pretty easily turns back into a bookshelf top with some assorted candles on it without much trouble.
Since I’ve used the altar a few times now, I’ve already made a few changes. I moved the offering bowls and offering pitcher to the right side of the Fire, so that I can pour offerings without setting my arm hair on fire (that smelled lovely, let me tell you). I also now have a set of wooden oghams, and those live on the upper left side of the altar most of the time as well, for daily drawings. I also added the two woodburned world tree symbols that I got from the Magical Druid. They sit to either side of the tall World Tree.
I do my sitting meditation on the floor in front of this altar, sitting on a big floor pillow. I often burn incense, and that creates a nice ambiance. Because it’s a bookshelf, I have to stand for rituals, so I’ve taken to putting my scripts in a small binder that I can hold with one hand. It lives in the open cube on the left hand side.
Overall I think it’s a functional altar, if not super elegant. I’d like to have a bigger working space eventually, ideally one that I could use outside, since a real fire would be nice for burning offerings. As it is, if I give spirits to the Shining Ones, they go in the same offering bowl with everything else, so I tend to give offerings of good incense to them. I’d also like a more proportional World Tree, so perhaps I’ll do some work with the driftwood one and trim it down and make a nice base for it. I think it’s a good Tree, just a little out of proportion with the rest of my space!
Little Druid on the Prairie 
A great idea to use a bookshelf! I have a suggestion for your Fire, though: Use a cauldron or a fireproof bowl filled with incense burner sand (AzureGreen sells some, http://www.azuregreen.net). Place three candles into the sand and a charcoal disc in the center of the candles. Then it’s like you’re making offerings directly to the Fire! It works pretty well for me, actually. I would also like an outdoor Shrine, but that is a long ways off. I’d just like to get out of my parents’ house first!
Blessings!
Victoria
I’m worried about size – this bookshelf is pretty narrow. But I’ll keep my eyes open for a burner I could use with charcoal disks. I’d need loose incense for that too, which I’d probably make myself but would need ingredients for. I built this altar on a budget (I didn’t buy anything on there, it’s all stuff I had stashed around the house, with the exception of my two woodburned trees from the Magical Druid, but those I just got recently). I like that pretty much everything packs down into one or another of the bins in the bookshelf, so I’m staying small.
My cauldron isn’t that big actually. It’s like only three or four inches across, and like four inches deep. I place incense cones directly on top of the lit charcoal to hallow the Fire during ritual. There’s nothing wrong with lighting an incense stick from the charcoal and sticking it in the sand either. I do offer loose incense to the Shining Ones over the charcoal, as well as drink offerings to Them. All of my ritual tools fit into a fairly small bag (like an overnight bag).
My cauldron isn’t that big actually. It’s like only three or four inches across, and like four inches deep. I place incense cones directly on top of the lit charcoal to hallow the Fire during ritual. There’s nothing wrong with lighting an incense stick from the charcoal and sticking it in the sand either. I do offer loose incense to the Shining Ones over the charcoal, as well as drink offerings to Them. All of my ritual tools fit into a fairly small bag (like an overnight bag).
My cauldron isn’t that big actually. It’s like only three or four inches across, and like four inches deep. I place incense cones directly on top of the lit charcoal to hallow the Fire during ritual. There’s nothing wrong with lighting an incense stick from the charcoal and sticking it in the sand either. I do offer loose incense to the Shining Ones over the charcoal, as well as drink offerings to Them. All of my ritual tools fit into a fairly small bag (like an overnight bag).
Sorry for the duplicate replies; my Internet connection is terrible!
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