Like a lot of Melbournians, my husband and I travelled over Christmas. Last month, we spent a week in Beechworth. Every time I travel, I think about what magickal tools and supplies I will take. Here’s a look at what I took to Beechworth and other ideas for your travel altar.
The popular online travel altar
Suppose you search online for travel altar ideas. In that case, you’ll start to see the same thing after a while, something that resembles the Wiccan altar on the go: representations of the Goddess, God, and elements, a pentacle, salt and water, and maybe a candle and some extra items such as a crystal or herbs. Sometimes you may see an altar cloth, an athame, wand, and perhaps even a little besom.
Images of tiny altars contained in a tin the size of playing cards are trendy online. Their contents are, not surprisingly, tiny, with miniature figurines of the Goddess and God, or painted stones or wooden discs to represent them and the elements, a tealight and matches, and vials of salt and water.
These tiny altars are cute and portable. They can be a good solution for the Witch in the broom closet too.
The deity shrine
A variation of the Wiccan-ish travel altar is the portable deity shrine–a box, sometimes as small as an Altoids tin, created for a single goddess or god, decorated with images and symbols of the deity and containing some ritual items. Can you imagine having one for every deity you work with? I certainly can.
My travel altar and Priestess kit
I prefer a bigger, more personal, custom kit. For Beechworth, during which I was devoted to the Deer Mother, I used a medium-sized cosmetic case and packed the following:
- An altar cloth
- A representation of the Deer Mother (Diana from the Goddesses Knowledge Cards by Susan Seddon Boulet)
- A card stand
- Antlers
- A red candle and matches
- A small jar of soil from home for offerings
- A vial of sacred water for cleansing and offerings
- My stone bundle (which contains a representation of my ancestors)
- The Druidcraft Tarot by Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm and illustrated by Will Worthington (which I think about trimming every time I use it)
Our Christmas gifts were also on the altar. In addition to these items, I packed a tarot reading cloth, a small jewellery box, and an egg shaker (because I don’t want to travel with my drum or rattle).
By the time I packed it up, my altar had changed a little. I had offered the soil and water and collected river water in the jar. I had bought a wooden bowl at a thrift store and purchased a couple of Selenite pieces and a Lapis Lazuli pyramid at a New Age shop. My husband had picked up some feathers and rocks for me. And we had opened our Christmas presents; my husband gave me The Orisha Tarot by Andrew McGregor, owner of The Hermit’s Lamp in Canada.
Traditional altar tools, such as a chalice, athame or wand, and pentacle, are missing from my Beechworth altar. I don’t pack these items unless I specifically need them for ritual. Deities, spirits, and elements are represented in different ways. Anything else I need I can typically find locally, either in the kitchen or outside. I don’t carry incense because I usually don’t burn that in hotels or someone else’s home, and sometimes I use an LED candle instead of a wax one.
A dedicated suitcase
In 2006, I went to London for a week, and all I took was a carry-on suitcase; some people might call me a minimalist, but I think those people might be maximalists. Today, my carry-on suitcase has a laptop, other electronics, a few essential items if the airline loses my luggage, and the rest of it is likely to be filled with magickal tools and supplies.
Beechworth is three hours from home, and we drove. I could have taken a lot more, but I didn’t need or want to. What you carry with you, of course, depends on where you’re going, how you’re getting there, how long you’re going to be there, what you’re going to do while you’re there, and if you can and want to take more.
A cross-country road trip
My friend and coven-sister, Mia, a Priestess and Life and Career Coach, is going on an RV trip across the United States this year.
“This 6-month work-from-the-RV trip is by far the longest I’ve been away from home, and it involves a lot of planning. I’ve got limited space. So, what magical items do I bring? How do I take my Priestess show on the road? I have to get creative.
“My altar will be set up in a living room cabinet that I can leave open. I want to bring the tools I use most regularly, which are the tools for my meditation and daily practice. That includes my meditation mat and shawl, drum, steel tongue drum, a bundle of crystals, water vessel, spoon, singing bowl, headband/crown, bell, mala, brass mirror, sandalwood incense, fan, rattle, and a beautiful Goddess figurine who represents all Goddesses on my travelling altar. I am also buying art prints of the Goddesses that I work with to keep in a frame on my altar that I can rotate as needed. Statues take up a lot of space.
“Divination tools and tarot decks, oh my! This is a whole other topic. I plan to bring the decks and tools that I’m most likely to use from June to December when I’ll be travelling. I’ll have to set some limits to try and not go overboard.
“Books are less tricky. I can pack a lot of ebooks on my iPad and not take up cabinet space. I’ve still got some print books coming with me, along with several journals. I love journals that travel with me and become part of the story, and I don’t want to lose that, but I will be consolidating to just a few to save space.
“This is my plan so far, but I’m sure I forget things. I’ll be paying attention to the tools I use over the next few months and adding items to my packing list. It’s going to be interesting.”
You can follow Mia’s adventures on Instagram.
Everyday travel altars and Priestess kits
I’ve been working from home since March 2019. When I commuted to work, I carried a large bag to accommodate my Bullet Journal, water bottle, lunch, umbrella, cosmetic bag, and other things. I didn’t tend to carry magickal items with me daily. I travel very little these pandemic days, but I sometimes have a small vial of sacred water and the conveniently-sized Smith-Waite Centennial Tarot Deck in a Tin.
When my husband and I go to the beach, parks, or the bush on the weekends, I carry a few things:
- Offerings, usually water or honey in case we come across a river
- An empty bottle so that I can collect water
- A few small sealable bags for collecting more stuff, usually small rocks or seashells
- A bag to collect rubbish we find
I have carried a little and a lot on my travels, from the pocket-sized tarot deck in my purse to the orishas in my suitcase.
