We want to thank everyone who took the time to send in descriptions, pictures, and videos of their Satanic altars! We’ve loved getting to see the physical representations of everyone’s personalities and beliefs, and we know our listeners will take great inspiration from your examples.

Listen to the full episode, 112 – Satanic Altars, here.

Some testimonials have been edited for length and clarity.

DAMIEN MAZE

Hi there Damien Maze here with all your Satanic altar goodness.

For me, I keep my Satanic altar in my office for that is where I practice and study. In a place where I can concentrate on what I’m doing.

What I have on my altar will start from facing the altar, going left to right. To my left is an hourglass, a carved wooden figure of a monk reading a book, a homemade candle that we did during our craft nights at one of our very first Satanic events, a Baphomet statue with a tall candlestick with a black handmade candle behind it. On the right of the altar a brass bell, moving towards the left a black raven feather, another Baphomet with a same candlestick holder behind it with another handmade black candle. in the middle of the altar I have my incense stick ash catcher, crystals I have picked up on hikes, a black wooden box I made when I was in high school which has a smaller altar on top of It. In the middle from left to right I have a black glass candle with an owl candlestick holder with a black candle, a Baphomet in the middle which is also an incense holder, a cast-iron cauldron in the middle surrounded by three ceramic skulls. On each side of the Baphomet is a piece of snakeskin shed from each one of my ball python snakes and on the right side an owl candlestick holder with another black candle and then a white glass candle. Sitting on the wall behind it is a pentagram tapestry and on the right is a goat skull that we have used in group rituals and where I hang my pentagram jewelry.

The reason why I have my altar set up the way that I do is that from me, it is more of a creative expression of oneself as a way to be a center point for the practitioner to focus on their will and desires and then also have the ability to be creative.

My dream altar is kind of tricky; I would just have to say I would add some more tomes and literature around my altar. The only thing stopping me is room.

SISTER ZITHER

 

Dear lovely Black Mass Appeal,

I love hearing about other people’s altars, so I’m looking forward to this episode coming out on the podcast! I have very limited space in my apartment, so I have a particular way of doing altars each week. I’m a bit of a workaholic, so at 6 p.m. on Fridays (roughly) I build a fresh altar as part of my ‘putting the week behind me’ and marking a space of rest and recovery until Sunday morning. The ritual that goes with it is:

1) Put on some good atmospheric music, light candles and / or incense to make the room nice-smelling and ambient.
2) Pick out some elements from my ritual supply cabinet (one of the photos attached) and from around my apartment that speak to the idea of ‘comfort,’ however that feels at the moment.
3) Arrange all the elements aesthetic-magpie style into an altar (usually on my work desk to make sure I literally can’t keep working).
4) Pull a card from my “calm” deck (these guys https://www.theschooloflife.com/shop/eu/calm-prompt-cards/).
5) Write a meditation on the “calm” card into my little ritual records book.
6) Pull a tarot card or a Devil’s Deck card and contextualize it into things going on in my life right now (an intellectual flexibility exercise, no magic involved), and I write that into my little ritual records book too.
7) If there’s some sort of secondary ritual that seems appropriate (like destruction / cleaning / creating / whatever) I plan that out to do on Saturday.
8) I leave any cards pulled around the altar and pick a phrase that kind of sums up the vibe of that altar. This kinda wraps up the ritual and the rest of Friday and Saturday I try to relax and mull over the ideas from the ritual.

The altar stays up till Sunday morning when I get back to work, and I ‘clean it up’ along with cleaning the apartment. Before I dismantle the altar, I take a photo and write the phrase on it, so I have a little keepsake of what I think I learned to refer back to later (example in one of the photos attached). I credit this ritual altar making for carving out a tiny pocket of time during my week where I can fully dedicate myself to be calm, quiet and reflective and get a break from the busy week.

I hope that is useful for you somehow.

Have a lovely day over there, and thank you for your continued work on creating awesome content for the podcast and the YouTube channel!

Sister Zither

PATRICIA M

Hey all!

Here’s my altar contribution. As you can see, I have lots going on here… Ritual candles, a copy of the Devil’s Tome by Shiva Honey, a human skull to signify mortality, a battery-operated fire pit for my Baphomet statue, censer, my snake art and hail Satan sign, stickers from TSTAZ (where I hail from?), and last but not least, BMA’s Constitutional Rites tract. All these items hold significant meanings. Not included is my daily journal for personal growth. Enjoy and hail BMA!??

DAN AND RAVEN

Our altar is prominently placed, central to the main living space of our home. Its primary function is decorative and as a conversation piece for visitors to our home.

Many of the items are whimsical, such as the Cthulhu cake topper and bowl full of tentacles. There are also more serious items like the TST Baphomet and an antique book of the political works of Lord Byron. A framed poster of the Seven Tenets sits in the window above.

Many of the items on display have a long personal history and have been gathered over the years.

The mix of whimsy and seriousness reflects our nature as Satanists. We are genuine about our beliefs, but also don’t take ourselves too seriously.

Hail Satan and Hail Yourselves!

Dan and Raven

SIMON WIDDOP

Good Afternoon Black Mass Appeal,

Just wanted to share my thoughts around altar space for your upcoming episode.

The top shelf is my “Satanic Library” and features books such as The Satanic Bible, Compassionate Satanism and Speak of The Devil, plus Satanic fiction like Paradise Lost, The Master and Margarita and Dante’s Inferno. Finally there’s books on the Satanic Panic and related books around the UK Witch Trials.

The altar itself consists of a Baphomet statue in the centre which is flanked by a smaller Baphomet, a Cthulu statue and a resin skull. Around it there are two tarot decks which I use in reflection rituals, candles (because what altar isn’t complete without candles?!) and personal trinkets that have deep personal meaning.

My altar is my sacred space and really helps me to focus and reflect on my Satanism, as well as a space to physically display aspects of my religion. The library keeps growing and growing and my altar keeps evolving as my ritual practice and Satanic journey continues.

Hail Satan! ?

All My Best
Simon Widdop

RUSS M

Hi there,

I had a larger altar, but having three kids meant I had to condense it down to a couple of shelves. To me, my altar is a place where life is rooted next to my religious identity, where the two live and co-exist together in a physical form. The two different coloured Baphomets are my light and dark sides. The closest I get to religious texts are my two favourite books which make me consider Satanism and why it really means to me. The TST Seven Tenets, just to remind me. There are little tokens my children and family have given me, stone hearts, etc. The black-cloaked figure is a metaphor really, on his lap is a black pocket watch. I have set that pocket watch to the time that I tried to end my own life 2 years-ish ago, so you can insert the metaphor there yourself I think. There is a small rat skull, on top of some black sand and moon stone. The little funky Bapho-cat is my adoration of animals and the smaller Baphomet is symbolic of my children, being as I don’t have a figure of TST Baphomet with the children by his side. That’s the basics of it anyway.

Kind Regards

Russ M.

IZZY

Here’s a picture of my altar! My apartment is super tiny, so it’s the first thing you see when you enter my home. My altar is very personal for me and I think it reflects who I am as a person really well. For me it’s also a place in my home where I can go to take a moment, light some candles and just be still and reflect on things. Standing in front of my altar makes me feel very peaceful.

DAVE D.

Hey, first off thank you for being an awesome Satanic podcast. I found you a couple months ago.

I very much love the idea and theatricality of altars, especially Satanic ones. My current altar might be slightly stereotypical, though it’s pretty metal looking to me. Black candles, skull, goblet, incense holder / burner, cauldron, grimoire, etc. It all sits upon a sturdy, black box in my current residence. The black skull at the center is a candle but unfortunately the damned wick won’t light anymore! (SIGH) It’s okay, I’m over it.

Now I sit a smaller candle with a candle holder in / on top of the skull. On the four corners of the altar sit four black spell / chime candles each in mini candle holders. The candle holders each have a right-side-up pentagram but I still like the way they look. I used to include one white candle on the right side due to a passage in The Satanic Bible, but now I just use all black candles… I’m a grown Satanist and I do what I want. You know, to an extent.

In front of the skull sits my wooden incense holder. I enjoy burning incense along with the candles. The candles are definitely great aesthetic. They create a mood that definitely makes me feel like a Satanist. The incense helps for meditation and sets moods for ritual. Directly next to the skull on one side is a goblet with a cool bat on it. I originally got the goblet for… wait for it… drinking, yes. I learned quickly that it is not good for drinking. Little particles strip from the inside material. I don’t want to drink that. Yuck. You live, you learn. So now I use the goblet to display a tarot card I choose.

The other side of the skull sits a small cauldron. I use it to safely burn things for my personal rituals. Also by the skull and cauldron is a seashell from Dead Horse Beach in Salem, Massachusetts. I received it via an order from Shiva Honey. Upside-down, the seashell kind of looks like a chipped skull fragment. So I always have it upside-down. Sometimes I’ll also have Shiva’s book The Devil’s Tome sitting at the altar. I have my own grimoire I’m creating. When I’m not writing in it, I have it laying down a bit in front of the altar. It’s a huge black notebook I found and later received as a gift.

I enjoy all the things on my altar. I also want to mention this altar is quite easy to take down. That’s a must as I can’t be an out Satanist in my current living situation. That conversation would not go well with some of my friends and family here in my part of Tennessee.

My ideal altar set up would be a much loooonger table. It might be cool to rescue one of those wooden, uncomfortable church pews, rip out the cushion part, paint it all black and use that as an altar. Baphomet would be there. I need to get a Baphomet statue. There aren’t any occult shops near me. Where did you get yours? I’d have lots more candles on this altar. (Though I wouldn’t want the church pew to catch on fire. Uh-oh.) I’d find more things I feel drawn to and put those on it, see what objects my demons levitate me towards. Thanks so much. Hail Satan. Hail Black Mass Appeal.

P.S. Here’s a review from me to you in Haiku form:

GOATS SERPENTS CATS YEAH
POD DEMONS ARISE HEAR CAST
HAIL FIVE STAR REVIEWS

ILLIAM SHADOWS

I have one in my bedroom. It has my Baphomet statue in the centre. 2 battery powered candles. A chalice. A wooden box where my necklaces and other Satanic stuff is kept. I have my books on there. And a stuffed Baphomet my wife made.

The significance it has for me is that it is a place of my own to sit and contemplate. A physical reminder of my beliefs.

My ideal altar setup would be an entire room dedicated to it, with a large pentagram as a wall-mounted symbol.

Hope this can be useful.

Illiam Shadows (from Twitter 🙂 )

LILITH BASTET

Yay altars!

It’s Lilith Bastet! This is my personal set up. I don’t have a lot of space so I keep it small. My setup includes a Baphomet statue for balance. Black candles, because of course. The cauldron is fire safe, so if I want to burn something other than a candle or incense I can do so safely.

I have a salt dish, water dish, incense burner and candles to represent the 4 elements (a bit of a crossover from when I practiced Wicca). They remind me to stay rooted in the natural world.

I have a wine glass for when doing rituals, as wine is delicious and a good substitute for blood. I have a stick of Palo Santo wood, this was a gift from a friend of mine who’s Indigenous to South America. It has a wonderful aroma (but is a protected plant).

The knife is for ritual and just looks cool. And the fox pelt is symbolic of my cunning nature. I love foxes and I feel a deep connection to them.

Thanks!

KAILEN P.

This is my altar. It is made from a 60s-70s Butsudan and was my Covid project. Baphy is 16” tall and yes, there is a Bluetooth speaker mounted inside of it to set the tone.

REI MARS

Hey friends!

I am a baby Satanist and I also practice Shintoism; I was raised with Shintoism in my home, as my Mom is Japanese and I am half-Japanese, half-Canadian.

I have an altar that is Shinto flavoured, so photos of my ancestors and Japanese shrine of incense. However I started adding Satanic aspects like Shiva Honey’s Devil’s Deck and my pass from the TST in Salem. I have plans to add Baphomet in the future and am very excited to hear the episode to get ideas for my shrine!

Side note: This pod was the first source of TST flavoured Satanism after I watched Hail Satan? and it’s really changed my life. Thank you so much! ?

Hail Satan!

Love, Rei Mars

SKELETOR

(Photo only)

NICK (AKA THE WHOLESOME SATANIST)

Hey y’all, I decided to make an updated altar video since the last one I made was a little outdated but I thought I’d give you the video and a write up and you can do whatever you want with them.

My name’s Nick; I go by the nickname ‘The Wholesome Satanist’ or @strikethecamera on TikTok and Instagram and I create content mostly about modern romantic Satanism.

My altar means a lot to me because it represents myself and the community I’ve built on TikTok around my content and my journey into being a Satanist and making content about modern romantic Satanism.

My altar consists of things I love, gifts from friends and my community on TikTok as well as things I got supporting friends on TikTok. I have references to nostalgia, and all of my representations of Baphomets.

To me an altar is a space for personal expression. Keeping it public or private is an important decision to make, personally I think it’s important to show mine to help people figure out their own personal expression. In the future I plan on expanding my altar, adding more shelves and letting my imagination run.

I hope this helps any Satanists who haven’t started their altar or are maybe looking to redesign. I know mine is a bit of a rag-tag mess but it makes sense and means something to me and I think that’s what matters most.

Thanks for the opportunity and the inspiration to make a new video!

Hail yourselves and Hail Satan! ?

JAMIE V.

Howdy! This is my altar, it has a Baphomet and a Lilith statue on it as well as seashells and ducks.

DEE MENDES

Dee Mendes here!

I have a large main “altar” in a bookcase, but considering it’s mostly a collection of toys and tchotchkes, it’s more like a Satanic Spencer’s Gifts.

I also have a smaller side altar in the living room where I rotate themed displays seasonally. It’s currently a Krampus / Yule Goat display.

I don’t believe in anything supernatural, so it serves no purpose other than to look cool.

GEX

Hey everyone! Merry Christmas and happy Sol Invictus!

My name is Gex (They/them), I’m a LaVeyan and I love your show. An episode on Satanic altars sounds exciting, I’m sure there’s some awesome altars that will be submitted for the episode.

My altar is modular and discreet so that it can be put away really easily as I still live with my Christian parents. I may not take the aesthetic in a “traditional” way, but it fits my needs and I love it for what it is right now.

It is set up on a near-broken children’s piano that I keep in the corner of my room which fills the purpose of the Gong in a ritual if I’m basing a working off of the Satanic Bible’s guidelines. On top of it sits my tarot deck, a couple of mini matchbox altars that I found on Etsy (which are adorable), a bell, a chalice, and my coffee maker because… well I’m a coffee person and I thought it was personal and funny in a way to keep it there. It may not be much, or as well put together as others but it works just as well for me as a place to confide in.

When I finally move out, I do hope to move all the stuff (bar the coffee pot) onto a proper table tucked away in a corner with a Sigil of Baphomet hanging above it and black candles spread around. I’m excited for that to finally happen, hopefully soon, so I can use it more often and not have to be so discreet with it.

Thank you!
Gex 🙂

BETTIE

Your altar can be considered a spiritual hub of your home. Depending on your traditions there is a great flexibility about how you decorate your altar and the symbols you use.

But what happens when the neighbors come to dinner or your child brings a friend over for a playdate? Do you pack up your altar? Do you leave it out? I advocate for the latter. My reasoning is that this opens up space to have important conversations with people and allows us to dispel any myths that they may have come across. It brings our practices out from the shadows and allows us to embrace our beliefs and show others what is important to us.

Many people outside of pagan / Wiccan / occult circles see altars as something to be feared, to recoil from. On the outside looking in you see candles, crystals, jars of stuff, skulls, perhaps snake skin, the earthy smell of incense… All of which are very foreign items to have sitting on a table. Maybe the person’s only experience with an altar is a horror movie…

I like to reflect on the idea that your altar may be viewed by others outside your belief system through those above lenses.

VANESSA

Hello,

Here’s some photos of my Lilith altar. When I was a child I had a Barbie Dreamhouse, this is my Lilith Dreamhouse…

Her altar is a place for me to perform rituals as well as for the everyday honoring. I found the “house” at the Salvation Army (I stained it darker), the Lilith sigil is from CakCustoms, various oils and Lilith Ritual kit from Graveface. Couldn’t resist the Slytherin ornament addition ?! The teacup candle is from the lovely Sadie Black (of the Infernal Farmhouse on Etsy). I add or subtract to the altar as needed.

My ideal setup would be altars everywhere!

Shoutouts to:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Graveface
https://www.etsy.com/shop/CakCustoms

Hail Lilith!
Vanessa

ROSA

There is so much power and affirmation in setting altars.

This year my lovely housemate and I celebrated Dia De Los Muertos with a large home altar. On it are marigolds to guide the deceased home, prayer candles, offerings of favorite meals, alcohol, and photos of loved ones. We sat with our passed loved ones and celebrated their lives and memories with stories and a shared meal. This is the first time I’ve lived in a home where spirituality is not only open but encouraged and celebrated.

In relation to my Satanic practices, I consider my body an altar. Using what was once chastised, censored, and admonished to move freely through the world as my autonomous self. Recently I’ve found comfort in the strength my altar holds. I’ve begun to care for it more as a sacred artifact. Feeding it well, allowing it to hold and release emotion, stretching, keeping it safe & stimulated.

And most importantly, dancing. Cloaking myself in burlesque glamour and moving this vessel of sinew and bones I make small blood sacrifices in scrapes and bruises. Throwing my essence into it as an offering to the dark divine. Coming away empowered in the exchange of glances and energy between myself and absolute strangers in a moment of connectivity.

In both occurrences my altar(s) are something that require constant maintenance and attention.

And I find something quite healing about that…

Xo
Ro