Basic ideas and advice for Pagan parents on how to assist children in setting up their own sacred space in a safe and creative way.
Sharing the Pagan faith with your child is a wonderful way to pass on your traditions and knowledge, and helping your child to create their first altar is a great way to do this. A personal altar can give a child a sense of direction in their Pagan path and can bring a lot of enjoyment to both you and your child. It’s important to give your child some free rein in setting up their altar as it will be their own personal, sacred space to work with. But there are ideas that you can share with your child to give them a little inspiration, and also measures you can take to make sure your child’s altar is safe for them.
The first step in setting up your child’s altar is to find a good location. Children, as we all do, value their privacy and this is often especially true for older children. So they may want to have it set up in an area that doesn’t get a lot of foot traffic, such as a corner of their room or any other area of the home that is fairly quiet. Of course some children may want everyone to be able to see their altar, but even then certain things need to be considered such as available space and the possibility of disturbance by pets and younger siblings. Though you as a parent need to have some say in where the altar can be set up, it’s important to keep in mind that it should be in a place that is comfortable for your child. Even if a certain area seems particularly sacred to you, if your child isn’t happy with it, then it would be pointless to have it in that area.
After you and you child decide on the best area of your home to keep their altar, the next step is setting it up. We as adults often have very clear ideas of how we want our altars to look but with children it is usually an entirely different process. Children learn a lot through play and exploration so what may look like an unorganized process to you at first, can actually be your child’s way of tuning into his or her inner wisdom. So one of the most helpful things to do at that point is to step back and observe as your child creates their sacred space.
But that’s not to say you shouldn’t assist at all in the process. There are certain items that children should not have on their altar for safety’s sake. These items include things such as candles and incense, because of fire danger, any sharp items or anything that could be potentially toxic if swallowed, such as essential oils.
As far as objects to keep on the altar, many children love to collect objects from nature, so keeping such things as rocks, shells, small sticks and feathers are often popular choices. Some other ideas for altar items include:
Colored ribbons
Glow sticks
A favorite toy or stuffed animal
A shatter-proof cup or goblet
A plastic athame
A wand
A small goddess figure
These are just suggestions and as long as safety is taken into consideration then your child’s creativity and intuition can take flight as they create their own personal sacred space. Once the altar is set up and completed you can share in the joyful accomplishment and know that you are helping them to take one of their first steps on their Pagan path.
