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Thoughts, lessons, and theology from an eclectic witch from a varied background.

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

Practical Witchcraft: Dirt Poor Witchcraft - Stealth Altars and Shrines.

 Dear Reader,

Sometimes we find ourselves in places hostile to our religion. And yet we wish to have an icon and a small place set aside for worship. Being a bit crafty you can create everything from a portable altar to a portable shrine (as I have pictured here devoted to Freyr-Ingvi).

I'm not a big fan of stealth altars and shrines but I recognize the necessity of them and I have used them in the past when it was necessary. Candy tins and diminutive boxes are excellent tools for this sort of project. With a little craft paper, you can line the inside of the box with designs you associate with the deity or spirit in question. ModPodge is a popular adhesive used for these projects but I find it dries to fast for me to position things just right. Arleen's Craft Glue is less expensive and has just about the same versatility as ModPodge. If you're looking for a serious business method of securing things in the box, don't go with super glue because it may destroy your project. Use judicious amounts of hot glue.

Some people want to have an icon in their shrine/altar box. String dolls are an excellent way and sometimes you accidentally capture the essence of traditional figures of the deity or spirit in question. That penis shaped portion of the string doll of Freyr was entirely unintentional. I still don't know how it appeared. The choice of yarn color for the string doll was based on what I had at hand. You can be guided by traditional correspondences or your personal associations for color if you have the luxury of a range of colors available.

The most important part of a stealth shrine or altar is making sure that it can close discreetly, fit where ever you need it, and that you have all your supplies for it inside, neatly tucked away so it will close.

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