Ceri's Ten-dollar Travel Altar
I already have a fairly complete set of altar tools, but for extended vacations, as well as coven gatherings outside of town, I wanted to have something I could take with me. For this, I needed something simple, small, that packed easily into a box. The components also couldn't be breakable, which is an important consideration!
I shop a lot at the dollar store; you need to, on this budget! But remember: not all dollar stores are created equal. There are some near my house that will give better deals than others. It pays to shop around. (And in case you're wondering: these prices are in Canadian dollars. This should be a snap for our US neighbours.) Here's what I came up with: |
|
 |
Box: An essential component and the most expensive item I bought. This is a clear plastic box, much like a tool box, only not quite as sturdy. The lid is attached. In a pinch, you can use it as an altar top, but I prefer to just lay everything on the floor. I got this at one of the local dollar-or-more stores. Cost: $2.00 |
 |
Chalice: This is a plastic wine glass with a bottom that pops off. Luckily for me, this makes for easy storage. I've seen similar glasses with solid bottoms for a bit more money ($1 each). My 'plan B' was to use an egg cup: they're smaller and the right shape! But I couldn't find any for less than $1, so this was a better bargain. Cost $0.75 |
 |
Candles: I bought a God, Goddess and Fire candle together, because I found a good deal on them. Tapers are cheaper (you can get 6 for $1) but these are bigger and will need to be replaced less often. Also, they didn't need holders. I couldn't find the colours I wanted so drew a God and Goddess symbol on the white candles with a sharpie marker, though you could just carve them in with a sharp knife. Cost for all three: $1.00 |
 |
Pentacle and bowl set: I bought three plastic containers in a set. I put salt in one of the boxes and drew a pentacle on the top using a sharpie marker (any permanent marker you have lying around will do) to use as an earth representation. The other two containers can be used to hold water, offerings, or whatever as need dictates. Cost for all three: $1.00 |
 |
Athame: This one looks great. I'm so pleased with it. It's really just a letter opener I got at the dollar store. I would have preferred a completely wooden one ( this one isn't sharp but I wouldn't cross borders with anything that so closely resembles a knife) but this is what I've found. Cost: $1.00 |
 |
Incense Holder and Incense: The incense holder comes from the dollar store. Just their standard stick-incense holder. The dollar store sells incense for really cheap as well, but I find their scents really strong, so I took myself to the local magic shop for scents I like. The consequence is I got less incense for more money but it's stuff I'll actually use. Cost of holder: $1.00 |
Extras: |
Altar Cloth, salt, matches: The altar cloth (shown in the picture at the top) is a black cloth napkin. Any scrap of cloth will do, I just happened to find this. The salt is from my kitchen. I could have used dirt or a rock, or anything, and salt is cheap so I count it as "no cost" The matches, again, I had. But they can be found for free in most hotel lobbies, and many restaurants. Cost of Altar cloth: $0.50 |
Total Cost of Altar: |
Before Taxes: $8.60 After Taxes: $9.77 |
***
Return to the Spirituality Page