I have always loved creating altars in honor of Goddess and sabbats. Creating an altar is not merely a part of the ritual for me often it is the ritual. But in the past year, I have explored a new form of altar building. The portable altar is my new creative form of worship.

I first got the idea from a Tibetan products catalog. In the catalog were small wooden boxes with statues of Buddha or Tara inside, along with candles, incense, and prayer beads. These altars could be packed away in the box and slipped into a suitcase, then laid out on any flat surface. I thought it was a cool idea, however I didn't think I needed one at the time. Then I decided to go away for a weekend and a small altar was exactly what I required.

My first altar was devoted to Kwan Yin. I had a small statue, barely three inches high of this Goddess. Then I raided my stash of crafting supplies and found a small papier-mache chest shaped box whose domed lid was high enough to accommodate the statue. I glued some Chinese inspired print cotton fabric onto the box, lining the inside with a complimentary colored fabric. Into the box I placed a tea light and holder, cone incense, a tiny lighter, and cigarette papers and mini pen (good for prayers or spells that need to be written down or burned). The altar cloth was special, although time consuming. I crocheted many spiral shapes using a thin crochet cotton thread, then sewed the spirals together into a triangular cloth. I even added a few stones and a polymer clay Willendorf goddess as well. This served me very well as an altar on my trip.

Creating it inspired me to do more.

I created a writing altar out of a (curiously strong) mint tin, covered with hand made paper outside and a velvet paper within. A picture of Brigid is glued to the inside lid. Along with a prayer for inspiration and a few stones, are also some items that clearly mark its purpose. From a scrapbooking store, I included a tiny black and white composition book with affirmations that I wrote on its pages. The pen is a small key chain with a redwood barrel that my parents bought for me after they visited the California Redwoods, and yes, it writes.

However, that is not the smallest altar I have ever made. Or thinnest, I should say.

In the mail I received one of many and usually useless CD ROMs from an Internet provider. While those CDs make great candleholders, (If, like me you like shiny things on your altars that glisten in candlelight) my interest was in the thin metal tin in which it arrived. I had to get creative here. Covering the tin in polymer clay, I used thin snakes of clay to create a labyrinth on the lid. Then a square of scrapbooking paper became the altar "cloth", a birthday candle with a clay holder, and some cards with images of goddesses on them fit nicely inside. Although, I will admit it makes a better finger labyrinth than usable altar.

I don't just attempt small sizes in my altars either. One altar that I created for a friend was not in a box at all. Taking 2 quarter yard squares of cloth, one of which I embroidered with a celtic spiral image, I sewed them together, put grommets around the edge and strung it with a decorative rope. By placing the candle and altar stuff in the center and pulling the rope, the cloth became a bag and every element of the altar was usable. This may be the most original of my altars.

In my altar explorations I have tried many kinds of portable types. I have created larger altar boxes from foam board, tape, fabric and glue, meant to create larger yet still moveable. I made the coffee cup altar. I even have very small mint tin about two inches long and a half an inch high that is a metallic green color. Currently I have covered the top with coordinating feathers and colored .rhinestones.. It is not finished yet, because I don't know what to use it for, but when inspiration strikes, I will finish.

I use these altars when I travel, when I visit friends, and even on the table in front of me when sitting at the local coffee shop writing stories or poems.

It may sound frivolous in some ways, creating tiny altars. I like the challenge of it, true, but I make them with great care and love. Much concentration is put into them, and works not only as a meditative exercise, but also as a way of connecting with Goddess. It takes hours, sometimes days to create a single altar, and I do not know of anything better than thinking and being with Goddess for all that time.

There are things to be considered when creating a portable altar, just as you would any other altar. What is it be used for? Where will you put it? Every item in a portable altar should be useable. Perhaps the box serves as a place to lay the altar out on, or holds it all times, even when set up. If your altar is big enough for candles, tea lights or votives serve best. Can the candleholder double to burn incense? I don't like matches in portable altars, they need to be disposed of, so I use an appropriately colored lighter or even a very small lighter. Jewelry, like pendants and pins will fit nicely into an altar and can be deity symbols. Take a trip to the scrapbooking store and look at all of the miniature items, some seasonal, some not, that can be used. Papers at these stores are very beautiful, ranging from handmade, to textured, to shiny or with designs, and every color under the rainbow, see if any speak to you. A lovely paper will cover a box or serve as an altar cloth if your altar is set up inside the container. Don't let preconceived notions of what an altar should cramp your imagination. An altar is between you and deity.

Try your hand at creating a Samhain portable altar. A walk around the Halloween section of a store is great inspiration, especially if finances are tight or you would like a whimsical altar. Pins, candles and holders, and jewelry with skulls, spiders, and witches all work in a small altar. Where you want to set it up or how securely you need it closed when being moved should be considered when choosing the container, if it won't be upright at all times, you don.t want everything falling out. A trick-or-treat bag or plastic container would make a good box. A cauldron shaped candy holder would be particularly symbolic. Take a trip to the craft store and look for fabrics or papers that could be used for cloths; during the Halloween season there are some fantastic fabrics available, and trinkets as well, all on sale. No matter what kind of altar you want to create or where you want to put it, if you use a little creativity, anything is possible. Put one in your car. A basket and some double stick foam will work to hold everything in on the dashboard. Or use a tin and carry it in your bag or purse. Even decorate your coffee mug. It is all good with Goddess.

--Agate