Kitchen Altars - Placement Pros and Cons
For those unaware, an Altar in Witchcraft is a surface where you do most of your magical or spiritual "stuff". It helps you focus your intentions, harness power, and is your general working space. I see a lot of Kitchen Witches making or wanting to make altars to have in their kitchen. It can give them a space to charge items, to leave offerings, to gather energy and power, ect. They may also use it to invite a specific deity or entity into their kitchen. So what or where can be your Altar? Here are some ideas depending on your needs.
The entire Kitchen
This is the route I think many traditional Kitchen Witches Take. An altar is meant to be a working space. Your kitchen is like a swiss army knife of working space. If you want your entire kitchen to be your altar, don't be afraid to add things to Up it's magical energy. Kitchen/Cottage Witch Poppets, Decorative Crystals, Important Symbols, hand made garlands, charms, Whatever.
However, the down side to this is: first, It's harder to stay in the broom closet the more you have on display. I am very lucky in that I don't fear any kind of persecution from family, friends, neighbors, ect. But not everyone feels as secure openly practicing. Second, if you are someone who shares a kitchen with many people like roommates or extended family, you may not be able to set up or decorate the kitchen exactly as you want. Additionally, All these extra people coming in an out at different times with different moods can throw off the energy in the space. So having something separate might work better for you.
Counters
Probably the most popular place to set up an altar in a kitchen as it's the most obvious. You may want to set aside a small section of your counter and dedicate it to an altar. A shallow wooden box or tray for you to put your altar in may be a good idea. This is because the main downside to having an altar set up on your counter is you lose counter space. Which can be very valuable. So by building your altar on or in a tray allows you to move it temporarily should you need the extra counter space.
Cupboards or Drawers
This is a little more broom closet friendly. You can set up an altar in an obscure cupboard shelf or unused drawer, then open it up when you want to use it. Then when not in use, it's closed up out of sight. Since it's closed off, you don't need to worry as much about dust or kitchen grim. However, the downside is your altar is either taking up valuable storage space or it's in an awkward to get to area. Like that corner cupboard that you need to get on a chair in order to reach the back, or that drawer that can only open when you have the oven door open. If it's a pain in the ass to get to, you're less likely to use it.
Kitchen Table
If your table is large enough to hold a bowl or basket as a decorative center piece, consider building your altar in that bowl or basket. This tends to be a great option for those with their foot in the broom closet since the altar can be written off as a decorative piece. It's also good in that it doesn't take up work or storage space. And since it's in a basket or other container, you can move it when you need the space.
The downside is for us witches who are a little more...chaotic...in our organization style. Stuff gets dropped on the kitchen table to be dealt with later, only for later to never come. Mail, clothes, documents, drinking glasses; things just get lost in the layers of time. Your altar may end up lost or damaged.
Windowsill
Another popular choice for Kitchen Witches who like to grow herbs or plants. They'll set up their foliage by the window and base an altar around that. Space tends to be a bit limited in these cases, so make sure any additions are small. Also be carful when setting up crystals in your windowsill. While sunlight is great for plants, it can be harmful for some popular crystals like Amethyst and fade the color.
Also, pay attention to how your window opens. If you want to open the window and it slides, or you need to crank a handle, you don't want anything to block the window from opening. And on the flip side, you don't want to damage your altar items if opening the window causes them to fall.
Shelves
Specifically shelves that are separate from the kitchen cupboards. You may want to install a floating shelf or just get a corner shelf stand. You can build your altar on one (or all) of the shelf surfaces. It's great as it can be set out of the way but still in an area that's convenient to get to.
The downside tends to be cost and installation. Floating shelves tend to be cheaper than a standing corner shelf. You can find some nice wooden floating shelves at second hand stores or flea markets for anywhere between 10 to 60 dollars. But when you install them, you want to make sure you drill part of it into a wall stud. This helps stop them from falling down. This is assuming you CAN drill into a wall, as many rental agreements don't allow you to put holes in walls. A small, standing shelf is a good alternative and renter friendly. However, you tend to need to buy these new and can cost several hundred dollars. If you or someone you know are good with carpentry, maybe you can build a custom shelf. But new wood is still very expensive.
Fridge
Close the fridge, we're not putting it inside. I mean you can; but that might be messy. Most fridges have at lest 1 magnetic surface. And did you know there are a lot of things you can get with magnets attached? Magnetic Jars or Containers, Magnetic shelves, Magnetic hooks- Not to mention the plethora of decorative magnets. I've seen tarot card magnets, moon phase magnets, Astrology magnets, ect. You can arrange your fridge to be a vertical altar.
The downside here being most of these items will probably be bought online, and the quality of the magnetism can vary. Make sure you read reviews and make sure something won't just fall off one day. And avoid pushing the strength of things like Magnetic shelves by loading them up with heavy objects.
Another downside may be your fridge doesn't have a magnetic side exposed. Stainless steel fridges tend to not be magnetic on the front. Something about the metal used. They are magnetic on the sides, but if your fridge doesn't have exposed sides due to placement, you may be SOL for a fridge altar.
Outside the Kitchen
Lastly, remember that just because you practice kitchen magic, doesn't mean you need to restrict yourself to the kitchen. Kitchen witches are allowed to practice other kinds of magic in addition to kitchen magic. You may want an altar for these situations. So set one up in the living room, dining room, bedroom, backyard, bathroom, wherever works for you. And if it doesn't work for you, don't be afraid to move it!