Altar Tile

Perhaps less glamorous than other witch tools, the humble altar tile is still deserving of a place on the altar. I see a lot of them, many materials and styles. Yes, they do look witchy, sitting on your altar, but they are far more than a decoration.

Some metaphysical retail stores or websites will tell you these are the same thing as patens. They are not. A paten is more like a small ritual plate. In Catholic practice, these hold the communion wafers. People sometimes refer to these as chalice patens, and they use them for offerings. Just consider patens as ritual or offering plates, no need to split hairs with anyone.

You can find tiles for sale on our site, and we have plenty at our metaphysical shop, come visit! Connect with us for more on Instagram, Facebook (Meta) or TikTok.

What does an Altar Tile Look Like?

Altar tiles are small, typically round or oblong, and about 3-4 inches usually. I have seen smaller tiles for travel altars. The biggest ones I have seen were more like 5-6”. Crafters often make them from wood, soapstone, granite, or other types of stone—sometimes even crystal. They also use metals like copper, brass, and steel, and I’ve even seen some made from aluminum—go figure. I do not like aluminum in magic, it just does not feel right to me. It feels like it does not want to hold a charge either.

Shameless Plug: Altar Tiles and Altar Supplies.

These tiles have different symbols and this is one way they are useful. Like the pentacle. A symbol of power, grounding, protection, balance. Symbols have correspondences and energies and add to your magic. Just having one on your altar enhances work at the altar. Other symbols are often triquetra, triskele, tree of life, individual Norse runes or compass, sometimes a witch’s rune.

Uses of an Altar Tile in Witchcraft

Now that we have cleared that up, what is an altar tile used for? Good question and happy to answer. They serve many purposes, I have a few of them.

They can protect an area from disruptive or harmful energies. There is always at least one protective tile on my altar.

And they are not always resting on the altar. I have a few, sometimes I have one parked in another sacred space and being used, while another is on the altar for something else.

They can be helpful in opening and closing portals when calling corners, or when consorting with spirits. I have one that helps when I decide to talk to a spirit.

Perhaps my favorite, and most common, use of a tile is charging and protecting certain items. I place the item on the tile to super-charge it, and also to protect any item as needed for a while.

So, good luck tracing any factual origin and history of these tiles in witchcraft. You know me, I always love to share some history, it helps put things in context for my students and readers. Altars tiles became popular in Western Occultism after the Renaissance. That’s about all I got on this. I suspect they have been used for very long time in different cultures.

Many tiles are pentacles, a pentagram in a circle. While the history of pentagrams and pentacles is rich, ancient, and deep, not so much with tiles.

Just know that such objects and similar objects have been placed on altars and in sacred spaces since ancient times.

About My Tiles

So, let me tell you about some of my altar tiles.

I have one made of indigo gabbro, which is also called merlinite. Yes, it does have some ties to Merlin, as a second major quarry was found in Cornwall, and birthplace of King Arthur. It has amazing properties; I won’t get into that here. But one property (and rarely mentioned) is it helps you wield your power with precision, not just accuracy.

Though this tile looks like a palm stone, I use it as a tile and sometimes as a palm stone. For certain rituals and spells, I can charge this in the sun or moon, storing energy and power. During a point in the spell or ritual, I can grasp the merlinite tile with my receptive hand, and draw power, channeling it through my dominant hand. An especially useful trick when you really want to add “oomph” to your working.

I have smaller wooden tiles, one with a pentacle, another with a Norse compass.

My favorite is my brass pentacle, shown in this picture and my favorite for many reasons. It is extremely protective of the area it rests in, and for what sits on top of it. I place items on top of it for very effectively charging it, and with a great balance of earth, air, fire and water energy.

Brass has a good amount of copper in it, and that corresponds with fire and manifestation. I tell you how to consecrate and charge yours at the end of my post.

It brings great strength to my constructs and spell work. It has had many a spell bottle on it over the years, and petitions, amulets, talismans and other items.

Consecrating and Charging Your Tiles

Do not just buy an altar tile and plop it down on your altar. You can smoke-cleanse your tiles or cleanse them in a variety of other methods. To consecrate them, you can borrow some magical words from somewhere if you want but try using your own. Hold the tile between your hands, close to the sternum, and enchant it. If you are unsure about doing this, please read my article, Enchantment Magic.

Now your tile is basically good to go. But you know me, let me share with you how I charge my brass pentagram tile. I would have loved a solid copper one, but brass has a good deal of copper in it. I choose brass because copper corresponds with fire and manifestation, creativity and destruction, passion, and desire.

How I Charge My Brass Pentagram Altar Tile

So, I cleanse mine in smoke of loose white sage and dragon’s blood powder in one of my cauldrons. I then enchant the tile, speaking to its purpose and harnessing those properties to the working of my will. Then I oil this with our coven’s Power of the Witch oil for all those properties.

I use the same method with my wooden and stone tiles as well.

Then on the eve of dark moon, when the moon is in the sky but not visible as the side facing earth is the dark side, I bury it. I bury it nine inches deep in sacred ground on my property and leave it until the full moon and then unearth it. Now it has a bit of that lovely patina green that copper gets as it ages. It is now infused with the energies of earth, air, fire, water, and lunar energy. The next day, I recharged it using solar energy.

We do not sell our power of the witch oil on our website, but we do at our metaphysical shop in the Cincinnati area. Visit us if you can!