Building A Safe and Effective Outdoor Shrine

No one's happier than a Pagan or Polytheist with yard space. I know I certainly was when I bought my first home. I was already marking out where I would place my temple's shrines and altars, in the rather vast space that had enough room for dozens if I chose. But once you begin a permanent structure of this importance on your property, you may find that it takes a little more work and preparation than initially thought. For this post, I will primarily use my outside shrine of Athena Pandemos as an example, which is pictured above. Feel free to scroll and refer back to it at your own will.

The first step is, of course, rather obvious; finding a suitable or preferred location. For me, my terrain is flat and, in most places, easy to lightly modify with gardening and digging tools. But generally speaking, you want to try and pick a spot that is as independent of outside influences as possible. For example, don't build next to the main road or near a sewer or trash container. The reason for this is because your shrine stands a conceivable chance of being involved in an accident or a desecration. Someone could go off the road and run over it, or contaminants that will create miasma may filter in. My Athena shrine is in my fenced in backyard, among the natural trees and foliage. The only religious structure I have ever built close to my main road is my Boundary Marker because of its function, and I am actually looking at moving it up to my door or steps. Luckily, nothing has happened to it.

Second, you must first place a structure for the shrine's statue to stand upon, and also choose the proper tools and elements by which to firmly install it. Storms will come and bring strong winds along with them. My Athena statue stands upon a Greek Ionic column. Now the other important thing to consider is the material that the column and statue are made out of. Do not use cheap alabaster columns that you can find at craft stores. They will quickly rot in the face of the elements. Even if you paint them, it doesn't matter. They are just not designed to stand up to weather. My column was purchased from a designer that specifically equipped it with weather resistant materials. It is a hard, very durable plastic, but not a cheap one. Its looks, weight and design makes it cost around $150.00. But consider the investment. You will never have to replace it. If you can't afford one, there are other options I will get to a bit later. Your statue, likewise, should also be able to resist the outside weather. There are Greek and Pagan suppliers who make them, and can be found easily online at affordable prices.

The column's base rests in the ground, inside a small hole dug specifically for it to fit in. For a hole this shallow, however, simply putting the dirt back on top will not be enough to hold it against strain unless it is placed within an enclosed area where wind will have a difficult time directly hitting it. For the completion of the base, fill the hole with quick drying cement, which can be purchased extremely cheaply at hardware stores. The kind I have used successfully is called Quikrete. Pack it down, wait for it to dry, and cover it up with the excess soil. As an extra anchor, I also placed a concrete block on the ground on either side of the column, so that if a strong force does begin to push against the base, it will have a harder time uprooting it to the point that it would harm the statue.

Third, place the statue on top of the column with a base sealant. I use E6000 to glue the top of the column and the bottom of the statue together. An abundant amount will greatly secure it against mishaps. You don't want to just stand the statue and leave it without an anchor. Especially if it's a large, expensive one like mine. You want to make sure it cannot be easily toppled, which brings me to the last section of this outline.

You'll notice the nice garden gate that encircles my Athena shrine. That's not just there for decoration. It serves two vital purposes. The first is to close and section off the shrine as sacred. The second is to protect it from overheard dangers, as there are trees directly above it. We don't normally think about it, but a falling branch or even a sturdy twig can destroy or damage the statue or column. But in the case of mine, the falling tree would impact with the iron gate and be unlikely to penetrate. The gate may need replacing depending on the strength of the object, but the shrine will be saved. A strong garden gate of this kind will run you at least $200.00. However, depending on the size of your statue and its location, you may not need it. If you look at the picture and take notice to the altar that is used for sacrifice to Athena, you'll see that it is simply made from straightly stacked concrete blocks. These blocks can also be used in like manner to build a pedestal for the statue, saving you cost on the column, and their immense weight will be enough to keep them in place by themselves. Although you should take note that I do not know if glues such as E6000 will bind to concrete. However, I am sure there are sealants that will. Ask the people at your hardware store. Once you have built the stone column and placed the statue on it, use much smaller blocks or stones, or some other very hardened material, to construct a small shelter around the statue. You must also make sure that said structure won't collapse or fall away. Of course, if you build the shrine away from any direct dangers, you don't need a cover at all. My Artemis shrine looks to the open sky and does not have an overhead for that reason. The protective barriers only need to be in place if there are exterior dangers possible.

The shrine should now spend time being cultivated by you, the builder and devotee. There's more to a place of worship than just stone and iron. It's sacred to the God it represents. They can even spiritually visit it. It is a holy place for their holy presence, and a center for your supplication for their bliss, blessings and wisdom in your life. Therefore, make it welcoming and devoted to the God. My Artemis shrine will have a fresh pine tree in its precinct this year, dedicated to Her as the Goddess of forests and Her immortality, as pines do not lose their green. The more you love and grow the shrine, the more, I think, you'll be surprised at how the God shows their presence there. After I had built my Athena shrine, an owl took up residence somewhere in the nearby trees and sometimes hoots at night (an owl is Athena's sacred animal).

When you get down to the bottom line, a shrine is really a place where you show a God or Gods how much you love them. It is one of their homes, one of their sacred areas, and one of their universal places for you to welcome them.

In the Goodness of the Gods,

Chris Aldridge.

Building Your Ancient Greek Pillar Complex

Going all the way back to Mycenean and even Minoan times, the Tree Sanctuary, or as I call it, the Pillar Complex, is one of the easiest and most beautiful outside constructions for ancient Greek rites. The picture on the left is of my own, built for my temple's sanctuary to host public rites. Walter Burkert, in his book Greek Religion, page 28, describes the architecture of this precinct. 

"A large, imposing tree, almost always enclosed by a wall, and so set apart as sacred. The wall may be decorated with stucco or crowned with cult horns. A door, also embellished, leads into the interior, occasionally revealing a stone pillar. Various forms of altars are also shown, and in a number of cases a temple-like building stands opposite the tree. Open, stony ground is sometimes suggested."

My own Pillar Complex follows this basic pattern. It is built before a large tree, and the entire structure, including the tree, is encased by a brick wall (although in ancient times, the wall was probably much higher). The opening in the front leads into the interior where an altar and a stone pillar stands. The ground around it is also of small stones, but leaves in this picture are covering most of them up. The entire Complex is set apart from the rest of the surrounding area as its own sacred precinct. If you have your own property and are wanting to build religious structures, it's a far easier, more affordable alternative to a standing temple, which can take countless man hours, hard labor, and several thousands of dollars. 

Building it out of stone and brick, and having it dominated by a strong tree, is in itself an excellent way to keep the structure standing and protected for a long period of time, and it will give you the ability to hold any kind of festival, rite or sacrifice to any God, Spirit, Hero, Ancestor or Deified Mortal the occasion calls for. In my own, the central pillar acts as a shrine, upon which a statue is placed of the One who is being worshiped at that time. So for a rite of Artemis, I'd place Her statue there during the rites. Of course, the Complex can also be a place for any time one wants to do general prayer and sacrifice. It doesn't have to always be one Deity at a time. Opposite the pillar, as you can see, is the altar, also made of stone and identified by being raised from the ground above the general flooring of the Complex. Upon the altar is also an incense burner to keep incense separate from things on the stone that might extinguish it, like libations or foods.

The first step is to find ground that is suitable. You want it to be as level as possible, otherwise the bricks you lay are all going to be crooked and it will drive you insane. You can also make the ground more level yourself by moving or adding soil. Making the ground proper and ready is a very crucial part, because ones those heavy bricks and stones are laid down, it's going to be very hard, if not impossible, to do anything about it unless you tear up the entire Complex and start over. So it is dire that you make sure the ground is good.

Step two is placing the flooring, which in mine is made of flat brick. The flooring is important because it's going to give the interior balance and stability. You notice that, for example, if you walk outside and just put a pillar on the bare ground, it's going to lean or fall over. Strong flooring helps against this. The brick used for the flooring also forms the altar on the far end toward the entrance by simply stacking themselves a few feet off the ground. The tree in the picture is encased by a wall of very simple red bricks, which are simply laid down and pressed into the soil where possible, all the way around the tree, pillar and altar, leaving a front entrance. Finally, gravel or stones fill the entire interior where the ground would still be visible. All together, the project took me an afternoon, and a cost of only about $60, since the only thing I had to buy was a stone pillar which I purchased at a local craft store, and the decorative flowers which were bought at a department store. Here's the best part, everything else was found around my home. By simply doing some scavenging, I found all the bricks and stones I needed. If you own your own house and land, there are probably more things lying around the yard and basement than you think, especially if you have just purchased the property.

On an ending note, when building an outside shrine, sanctuary or temple, if you can do so near a natural spring or natural water source, that would be the icing on the cake. Many temples and sanctuaries in ancient times followed the same custom, as the natural water can be used for purification of the sanctuary and the people entering it, and even as offerings to the Gods. If you've ever been to Circle Sanctuary in Wisconsin and looked at the springs of Brighid, those are natural springs.

In the Goodness of the Gods,

Chris Aldridge.

Finding Altars In Nature

In the Pagan community, we often talk about building shrines and altars, but have we ever considered that there are natural altars everywhere around us, that nature Herself has built? It is great that these things exist and that we can find them, since Pagan spirituality is often if not entirely connected to Nature and the Natural Universe. There are essentially four main kinds of natural altars that I myself have come to identify in the soils of the world. The first on the right is one of the most common. You may have to click the picture to enlarge it that you may see the structure, but it's an above ground root system that has ascended a significant portion above the soil. Offerings can be left in the narrow spaces of the roots, or if a libation, drenched over the roots themselves. Water or flavored water is recommended for this kind of altar. Alcohol or too much milk may be bad for the plant system. 

Now because the root system is part of a tree, the natural soil, and perhaps a forest, there are certain Gods tied to them, and these would be the best Gods to honor at these places. The Gods include Artemis, Pan, Demeter, Dionysos and Gaia, or generally speaking, the Dryads or Forest Nymphs. If a specific tree like an oak, olive or laurel, very specific Gods such as Zeus, Athena and Apollon can be honored successfully, since those trees are directly sacred to these Deities. You could even honor local Elemental Spirits at these places by pouring libations to Gnomes or Elves for instance, since they are known to be dwellers of roots and trees.

The second place in nature that makes a great altar, although sometimes requires some assembly, is a rock formation, like the picture on the left. As far back as ancient times, and still today, Pagans and Polytheists used/use stacks of natural stones as altars over which they pour libations. In my own religious past, I've also burned incense upon them. Some formations, obviously, are quite larger than others. You may encounter a massive protruding ledge or boulder in a park or forest, or as with the picture, you could simply come upon a few small pebbles that can be stacked or brought together into formation. Some people have even taken stone to craft their own unique altars, likes ones I have seen at Pagan sanctuaries. A raised stone or rock surface is a natural altar. Any God, Spirit, Hero, Deified Mortal or Ancestor can be honored upon these structures.

The third place for a natural altar is one of my favorites, and is probably very easy to locate if you live in an area with forests or a good tree population, and that is a simple tree stump, left over after a tree has fallen or been cut down. The picture on the right will give you a good example. Many may think of stumps as being quite large, but they can be of any mass, big or small. They make great natural altars because of their often flat surfaces and various openings, which can be used to receive libations, or hold offerings or burning incense on their surfaces. Because they are attached to the ground, you could even designate and ordain such a place as your worship area if it rests on your own land. And once again, it's very fluid in spirituality. Anyone can be honored upon them. 

Finally, the last natural area is not so much an altar, but rather a depositing area, and that's a natural hole in the ground, like the picture on the left. Offerings can be left in them and libations poured. Since it's basically the beginning of a tunnel underground, Chthonic or Underworld Gods should be honored through them, such as Haides, Hermes, Persephone, Hekate, and Charon. Spirits of the dead such as Ancestors, Passed Loved Ones, and Heroes can also receive offering here. And Nature Spirits or Elementals can be offered to through underground regions, such as Dwarves. However, there is something very important to remember with these places. Make sure you can see the bottom of the hole, that the floor of it is visible. This probably means that no small animals live in it, and therefore you won't risk drowning a poor creature or being bitten by it. If there is a bottom that is visible, this won't be a problem. Even if the small opening is the home of a creature who is presently not there, the liquid will soak down into the earth and not bother them when they return. It would also be a great place to burn incense in. If you still don't feel comfortable doing it, you can always dig your own small opening in the ground for temporary use.

There is as well something called a tree clearing, a place in a thick forest that has no trees, where trees are noticeably absent. You can see trees around you, but there is perhaps a 15 to 20 foot radius where there are none. These will normally be marked by lush grass, flowers or other natural growths, and are great sanctuaries for Pagan activity. These areas are naturally formed, not man-made, which is an important factor. There are some places in the forest where the trees just didn't grow or grow as much, and this is a proper clearing for the Pagan. An immediate or recent man-made clearing is not natural, and therefore not Pagan. It could even harbor negative energy or angry Spirits. A man-made clearing will usually be identifiable by the presence of freshly cut wood, downed trees, and no vegetation. The ground will usually be covered in mud or straw. While the forest and plants can and will return over time, it's not an immediate place to revere or enter.

With all that being said, it's also entirely possible to build a natural altar yourself from natural material, such as digging your own burrow like I said, arranging stones, or even stacking loose roots or sticks themselves. When I lived in Thomasville, North Carolina and was just starting to get into Paganism, I actually built an altar to Artemis in the forest beside my home, which I still have records of in an old Witch Almanac I had at the time. It was a collection of three massive and hollow branches that had somehow ended up twisted together on the forest floor. I creatively propped them up against a nearby tree near its base, and from there, I declared it to be an altar of the Forest Goddess Herself. As far as I know, it is still there 10 years later.

Don't forget that you can use the locations of the structures, and the structures themselves, to focus on Deity. You have the examples above in the 2nd and 5th paragraphs, but there can also be a number of other things to consider. For example, if next to a well, spring, river or ocean, invoke Poseidon, Aphrodite, Amphitrite, and/or the number of fresh and saltwater Spirits and Nymphs, such as the Nereids (saltwater) or the Naiads (freshwater). If near a place of forge, workmen or craftsmen, honor Hephaistos or the Creation Forces known as the Kabeiroi. If on or near a place where battles took place, Ares or the Spirit of courage Alke. If certain animals inhabit the area, like female cows who have not yet given birth, focus on Hera. There are a number of identifications all around a given place if you look.

There are a few notes to remember about natural altar areas. For one, root systems, trees, groves and burrows can be dwelling places or sanctuaries of Nature Spirits or Elementals. It's important to show proper respect when approaching these places and doing things in or around them. Be hospitable not presumptuous. In ancient Greek times, not only were the Gods everywhere, but also Spirits at every corner. Finally, use common sense safety measures. Although highly unlikely to cause a spreading fire, make sure you don't leave burning incense unattended, or try to roast something upon dry wood. Keep the offerings simple and manageable, staying always respectful, and it will remain a wonderful place to engage the Pagan Universe.

In the Goodness of the Gods,

Chris Aldridge.