Witchy 101: Altars, Divinity, and the Five-Fold Path
This is for those who wander between flame and shadow. Their hands are outstretched to the unseen.
Setting up altar
typical components:
Center:
A cloth, plate, or board to work on
Candles:
Often one black (banishing) and one white (inviting)
Representation of the elements:
Earth:
salt, crystal, soil
Air:
incense, feather
Fire:
candle, match
Water:
small bowl, shell
Tools:
Athame, wand, chalice, pentacle—optional and customizable
Offerings:
Food, herbs, water, flowers, written words
Divine symbols:
If you work with deities, include items that honor them
Refresh the altar often.
Dust, change it seasonally, and remove anything no longer aligned with your path.
Think of it as a reflection of your current inner world.
Deity Work vs Secular Craft
You don’t need to believe in or work with deities to be a witch.
Secular witches use energy, intuition, and intention without involving gods or spirits. They often work with the elements, the moon, and their own power.
Devotional witches may connect to deities, ancestors, or spirits. They may perform rituals, offer devotions, or allow the divine to guide their spell work.
Neither path is more powerful. Neither is more “right.” What matters is your truth, your comfort, your belief.
If you do feel called to deity work:
Study myths, signs, symbols.
Watch for recurring dreams or synchronicities.
Start small light a candle, offer a glass of water, write a prayer
Consent matters.
You can always say no, even to a God.
Popular Deities in Witchcraft & Pagan Practice:
Hecate (Greek):
Goddess of witchcraft, crossroads, ghosts, and moonlight.
Brigid (Celtic):
Goddess of healing, poetry, and the forge.
The Morrigan (Celtic):
Goddess of war, fate, sovereignty, and prophecy.
Freya (Norse):
Goddess of love, beauty, war, and seidr magic.
Lilith (varied):
Symbol of independence and shadow work.
Cernunnos (Celtic):
Horned God of the wild and balance.
Isis (Egyptian):
Goddess of magic, healing, and sacred knowledge.
Pan (Greek):
God of nature, instinct, and chaos.
Diana/Artemis (Roman/Greek):
Moon goddess and protector of the wild.
Bastet (Egyptian):
Guardian of the home, joy, and cats.
Choose a deity (or pantheon) that aligns with your values and needs. You don’t have to rush. Some deities find you. Others grow on you slowly, like ivy around a stone wall.
Elemental Magic: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Spirit
The five elements form the bones of many magical systems:
Earth: stability, growth, grounding. Use stones, herbs, salt.
Air: clarity, thought, communication. Use feathers, incense, wind.
Fire: passion, change, action. Use candles, ash, sunlight.
Water: emotion, healing, intuition. Use bowls, moon water, rain.
Spirit (Aether): the soul, the thread between all things. Represented by breath, the self, or a fifth point on a pentacle.
To work with them:
Call them in during ritual. Leave them offerings. Meditate on their qualities. Use their correspondences in spell work. When you build relationships with the elements, they’ll appear more frequently in your dreams. You’ll notice them in the weather and even in your gut instincts.
Offer them things. Reflect on their qualities. Incorporate their correspondences into your spell work. Build relationships with the elements gradually. As you do, you’ll see them more. They will appear in dreams, in weather, and even in your gut instinct.
