The idea is that you have one main altar where you work your rituals
and then you have these "specific" altars to honor, worship, pray, or
serve specific deities. These altars are strictly erected in their
names.
Sometimes it is difficult to simply perform a ritual and pray to
many forces or whatever you may do, whereas some find it much easier to
assemble a specific altar to a specific God and regularly light the
candles, do the offerings, etc.
The basics to the altar are:
- A statue or picture representing the god
- Some incense (the smoke is said to be carried to the gods)
- An altar cloth appropriate to the color correspondent (example: Hermes is orange)
- A chalice (if you can obtain one; the god will drink from it as they please)
- A god candle (the god candle is similar to the altar cloth and is often burned as you worship the God)
Other items that you may want to use are:
- A vase for flowers they may like
- Objects you know they like (example: Artemis might enjoy an arrow head)
- Two altar candles (these are each placed on one side of the altar; this is signifcant representing lighting but also a doorway)
- A plate where offering foods might be made
SOURCE: John Bertrum Ford, via PaganSpace.net