The altar again

For someone who claims to be a low church witch I seem to post a lot about my altar! There is more usually a process of reduction going on & while I wouldn't quite say it is because I like it like that, it definitely feels most pleasing to me or Another if it has only three things on it. At the moment the three things have settled down to a soapstone dog, a knife, & a light of some description. The dog was from a charity shop: I had a wooden one before but it felt wrong, it seems the chthonic dog Goddess wants stone. The light is a Seven African Powers votive at the moment (I am convinced I was a priestess in Haitian vodou in a previous incarnation) although it is more usually a single candlestick shaped like a snake. The knife was very expensive. It came from an antique shop: I saw it liked it, but it was only when I got outside that the Goddess bashed me over the back of the head & I had to have it. It was sold to me as a commando knife, & it was only when I got home & googled it that I discovered the Goddess wanted a knife for her altar that had been specifically designed for sneaking up on people & killing them instantly. I feel it probably has been used as intended: it inspires awe & respect when you hold it in your hands. In fact I don't tend to use it ritually, I've only used it a few times when I've unusually felt the need to command something.
In the picture there is of course a fourth item on the altar: the ginger tom cat is extraneous to the plan. I've told him that cats as well as dogs were sacrificed to her in the ancient world, but he tells me he has a special relationship with the dog Goddess.
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