Altars and Students

A lot of sites and books about being Pagan or Heathen will describe ideal situations where one can have a large altar, or a set-up in the kitchen or garden where they are able to worship their deities and give offerings or blots.

As a student, however, this isn't really a viable option - especially if you're in a dorm.

So, based upon my past and on-going experience, here are a few tips!

In a dorm room, there really isn't a lot of space for a guy or girl to work with. What I recommend is using the space on top of a dresser, or some other isolated surface like a corner of your desk, a bedside table, or even in a sufficiently large drawer.

Try to keep things compact, too. Huge and sprawling altars are for people with space to spare! I have an orange kerchief, about an arm's length long and wide, which I use as boundaries for my altar, with the edges usually hanging over the front and back of my dresser; that limits my space, so I have to choose my altar items wisely rather than frivolously.

Additionally, anything that does not need to be on the altar, such as packages of incense, can be stored elsewhere, such as on a nearby bookshelf or in a drawer or closet.

Another thing students have a problem with is the "traditional" items of an altar. As a student in a dorm room, candles are a bit of a no-no, as is incense which is particularly potent or likely to bother a neighbour.There are multiple solutions to this.

Instead of incense, try using oils or suitable perfumes. Wearing a perfume which is dedicated to your altar is just as good as burning incense, really. Some people spray puffs of perfume near their altars/on an icon as an offering, as well. Instead of a candle, try a flameless candle or some other representation of fire, such as an herb/spice or an object. Some like to use cinnamon sticks, and others like to use a gemstone which is tied to the element of fire. Selenite lights could possibly work as well - but trust your intuition! If it doesn't feel appropriate, then don't do it!

Large offering bowls eat up valuable space as well. Try something like a saucer (which can be plain or fancy according to your tastes and intuition) or a small crystal/glass bowl, etc. It doesn't have to be a huge, brass libation bowl like that the Ancient Greeks used to use (even if those were perhaps slightly cooler.)

Try hang things on a nearby wall, too. Hermes is associated with dreams and sleep, so I have a dream-catcher near by altar usually, for example.

If libations are a problem, try something a little simpler. Place a cup or glass or mug of whatever it is you wish to offer on the altar for a while - anywhere from ten minutes to half an hour to an hour, depending on your intuition- instead of pouring it outside all of the time. Food and drink are expensive - and students are usually mostly broke! Your deities will understand. They want you to honour them, not to drive yourself into destitution for them!

In fact, a number of cultures traditionally share offerings. It's quite acceptable to offer something like a cupcake to your Patron, leave it on the altar for a little while, and then eat it yourself - actually, in a few areas of the world, that's the preferred way of doing things! I like to share tea and coffee with Hermes, as well as anything I bake, and once I think Hermes is done with it, I eat it as well.

As an odd side note, I've always noticed that these food items and drinks always taste a little different once Hermes is done with them. The flavour is never bad, but it's not quite as... "full" as it would have been otherwise. I once asked several friends about this, and it's apparently a common phenomenon; the God(dess) eats the "spiritual" half, and the physical half always tastes a bit different afterwards.

Perhaps it's psychological, perhaps it's metaphysical. Who can say?

Anywho, that's all I have to offer for the time being! I'll add more tips for you students out there as I think of them!