I realize this is an old post but it's something that is asked again & again so needs more exposure.
Quote: "...it really depresses me. So tell me,how can I set up a secret altar and buy wiccan related things,without getting caught?"
Ok, so you live with the Snoop Sisters. Your wording sets up a self-defeating, impossible framework. Understandably it's due to feeling depressed so you've got to ditch the poor-me-isms to out smart it. The first thing is to wake up your creative, inner-child. Realize the potential of what's around you. Historically only the priestly class at the temples had fancy copper daggers & bronze tripods; the regular people improvised from household goods. A cauldron's just a versatile kitchen cooking pot. The house broom became the staff/wand. Both were repurposed from the ordinary kitchens of a former era & have become icons of the Craft. Nothing shouts "witch!" & outs you like a cauldron so substitute with a bowl, like the character Jillian did in the movie
Bell, Book & Candle. By changing your attitude you open your creative ideas. Also, if you store your witchy things clumped all together in a box under the bed or in a dresser drawer you're only rewarding the Snoop Sisters for invading your privacy by giving them something "odd" to find. Let them find a box of rocks... nothing to see here.
You have to make smart choices between secret vs hidden in plain sight and using non-Witchy looking household tools that won't attract attention instead of so-called Wiccan-related items; unless you
like paying for fancy packaging. Keep a digital BOS & use free, on-line books.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/ and Library of Congress websites.
In-house altars are drop dead easy! Adopt household items just as our ancestors did. Reserve a favorite mug or cup for use as a chalice (I've used my Wonder Woman mug just for fun & i think The Lady enjoyed it.) Drinking-water and table salt
are sacred symbols of Life so
use them. Bread & jam makes a simple offering & looks like a snack yet is sacred wheat & grapes. A flatware table knife
or scissors
serves as athame or we can direct energy with 2-finger pointing to represent a dual-edged blade or 1-finger for a wand. A saucer of table salt with a star
traced in the salt is your pentacle, or use a smooth
stone & trace a star on it with a wet finger dipped in the mug/chalice; the water-on-stone becomes an earth offering & the star conveniently disappears. If candles are OK, a scented air freshener candle can represent the Fire element, symbolizes Deity as Light, & the scent replaces incense. An LED π―candle can be used if open flame isn't OK (respect that) & a battery
has a dual polarity that represents the creative forces of Goddess & God. Some other shared symbols of both Deities are wheat
& bread
& reindeer
since both sexes have antlers. Got a Xmas card with reindeer?
It's not possible to disguise the smell of incense smoke or a scented candle when flame is
notOK. You could use a reed oil diffuser or potpourri sachets that you shake as needed to release the aroma for elemental Air/scent. A jar can make a dry vase with pebbles in the bottom for weight & a scented potpourri mix with some leafy oak & pine twigs - or whateverβs in your locale - for decoration in plain sight. Ever since H.Potter wands are a dead give away but a plain stick can be camouflaged in a leafy vase. An altar could be set up each time it's to be used & broken down &
re-distributed in plain sight when not in use; that's a normal thing anyway with many household altars because most homes don't have space to spare for a permanent one, so it's no big deal. If you should want to brew a potion - Make
tea.
An altar usually has representations of the elements & deity (the creative forces of Nature). You could simplify & divert attention even more by using a potted plant
as a living altar - it features Earth in the soil & greenery, Air in the plant's natural photosynthesis, Water as it's cared for & Fire could be symbolized by using a terra cotta pot or as a red-hued stone or marble displayed in the pot & add more marbles of the 5 elemental colors:
/air,
/fire,
/water,
/earth,
/ether. The plantβs life-force reps divinity.
We can do reverently silent rituals with no tools at all by using hand signs to mime the actions. It can be a very intense experience when we stay focused. An X traced on the forehead, heart & belly can ground & center us. The see-hear-speak no evil hand gestures
mimes purifying sacred space. Cast circle with 2-finger pointing to direct earth-energy. Placing the hand-to-heart (fig
=Lady & horns
=Lord) with a bow greets Deity. A wave of the hand can invite or release; an air drawn pentacle can summon
or reversed
it releases. Murmuring under your breath helps that. An offering (libation) is as easy as leaving water & bread pieces outside for the birds afterwards. When done mindfully it becomes a sacred offering to the gods of nature.
We can do spells in-circle without a single tool or ingredient by programming & sending the Cone of Power. After you've cast circle, greeted quarters & invited Deity - done due diligence to the rites - you charge the upward spiraling circle with your spell intent. You think, feel & feed the thought into the misty blue spiral
. Then push
& set the spiraling cone of light free. Remember to farewell
Deity & release the elements with an air-drawn pentacle
& ground any residue of the circle energy. Ground yourself.
And if no-ingredients spells aren't to your liking & you prefer hands-on then use sigils that look like doodling. Use yarn for the Nine Knot Spell. Do stone stroking spells that merely involve stroking stone while you sway & softly chant. See the "post a spell" area
Simple Spells post.
.