Blessing an Altar

This rite may be used to dedicate a new altar or to rededicate one in a new space. In the Hagstone Tradition, altars may take many forms—from elaborate working tables to small, discreet shrines. There is no requirement for specific tools; use what suits your practice.

You will need:

• A candle (placed at or near the center of the altar)

• A small bowl of clean water

• A pinch of salt

• Incense or a bundle of dried herbs

• Optional: sterile lancet or needle (for blood offering), food or drink offering

Set up the altar in a way that is meaningful to you, using as many or as few tools or decorations as your practice allows. Once arranged, begin the rite by lighting the central candle and saying:

By wick and wax, by spark and flame,
I bless this altar in my name.

Sprinkle a pinch of salt into the water. Using the index or index and middle fingers of your dominant hand, stir until the salt is dissolved. With the same fingers, anoint each corner of the altar, saying:

No phantom, ill, or shadow stay,
Be cleansed, be whole, by dusk, by day.

Pass incense smoke or the smoke of burning herbs over the altar, allowing it to drift over the full surface. Say:

By breath and wind, by whisper thin,
Let spirits know this space within.

Place both hands upon the altar and speak:

Let this be hearth of my craft,
The temple of my rite,
The shrine of my power,
The gate to my sight.

Take a deep breath, and exhale fully over the altar—as if blowing out a candle—saying:

Bound to my hands, bound to my breath,
A sacred space where spirits rest.

If you choose to offer blood, use a sterile lancet or needle to gently prick your fingertip. Anoint the altar with a drop of blood, saying:

Fed by flesh, sealed in bone,
This altar stands as mine alone.

If this is your first time setting up the altar—or if it is being established in a new space—you may wish to invite your spiritual Allies, Familiars, or Ancestors to take notice. Knock three times on the altar and say:

I summon spirits, near and dear,
I call on you to heed and hear:
Come if you will, stay if you may,
Be welcome here, by work and way.
I bear no chains, I keep no thrall,
But those who guide may hear my call.

Leave an offering (such as wine, honey, or bread) either on the altar’s edge or upon the windowsill of the same room. Conclude the rite by passing your hand over the altar and saying:

As root to tree, as bone to flesh,
As star to night, as wave to crest—
So stands this place, so holds its might,
In waking hour and dreaming night.