A candle ,athame ,incense burner,a wand,and a bowl.

Candles, athame and chalice, incense burner, salt, oil, Book of Shadows, pentacle and deity figures or representations.

For some excellent ideas, see these images. http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A0S020uQLWdHeK0AARGJzbkF?p=wiccan+altar&y=Search&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-501&x=wrt&js=1&ni=20

The standard items have all been named except the cauldron (or small cast iron or other fireproof pot). You can and should set up your alter with any items that move you; any items you feel should be included. Just make sure to set it up prior to ritual so you don't have to go running around retrieving items. :-)

I'd like to be a little bit more informative on this topic--to go a bit more in-depth into what the Altar is as well as why it exists--and the reasons behind the items on the Altar and their symbolism. I would also like to go further into what other items may be beneficial for your Altar, though the end result is this: Whatever you want can be placed on the Altar, so long as it holds purpose and power to you. Do not always go by established rule when it comes to the Altar--sometimes it is not practical--especially when working outside some distance from your home, it is not practical to lug all of these tools into place. In short, the Altar should be something that is made partially by established belief and partially by what feels right. Don't ever follow so strictly to what others dictate in books or by word. Do what moves you. The Altar of Magick is not just a simple site with which you place your tools in preparation for rite. It is, essentially, a symbolism for the center of the universe--a place where all of the energies of existence meet and work together for a specific purpose. The tools that you place upon your Altar should have gone through a cleansing, consecration and dedication rite of some sort--as should all of the main objects that are to be used in magick and are to be placed upon the Altar. Think of the Altar as where you meet your soul, your divine self, as the center of the universe--as the place that you establish your primary connection with Spirit. Thus, you don't want anything upon this that may be tainted. So cleansing all objects that are to be placed upon the Altar (weekly, monthly, yearly; or just as often as you feel needed; depending upon how often you are casting) is beneficial. Consecrating and Dedication is the next important step for the objects of your Altar; at least the main ones. Blessing your objects and dedicating them to their task is important, not only for the protection of the objects spiritually, but to show your respect for the forces of nature that these tools represent and that you will be controlling with them. This does not mean that in order to place an object on your Altar that the process of Consecration and Dedication is always needed, but I would always recommend you doing so to objects that will normally be used on the Altar and especially the main tools. I would, however, recommend you Cleanse every object you place upon the Altar as to give the energies an easy flow. I will now go over the main tools and why they are placed upon the Altar, according to my beliefs: Altar Cloth -- I am writing about this first mainly due to the fact that the power of the Altar Cloth is commonly overlooked. It's important to recognize the fact that this is, essentially, the base of your Altar--that all of your sacred objects are being placed on this cloth and that it's actual representation is far more profound than just that. It's symbolism is the center of the universe--is the universe itself--is the power of your Gods, your magick and all of creation! Thus, it is important to Cleanse, Consecrate and Dedicate this tool. Establish the fact that this cloth is blessed, is the center of the universe and that all that is placed upon this cloth holds meaning. It's almost, to me, the most powerful aspect of the Altar. I make sure that whatever touches it is sacred to me--because to me it represents everything I am doing in my rite. It is the center, the beginning and the end. To me, it is the universe--so it is to be respected and treated as such. It is where all of the energies of the Universe live, essentially--as the Athame (Air or Fire), the Wand (Air or Fire), the Pentacle (Earth), the Chalice (Water) and the Cauldron (Spirit, or energy). So, recognize that when you place these objects on the Altar, you are drawing the energies of the Universe into the cloth represented by these tools. Thus, you are creating all of the components of the universe before you. The Athame -- There are numerous beliefs as to what element of creation this tool is dedicated to. Is it Air? Is it Fire? The main belief is that it is dedicated to Air--since that is what it represents in Ritualistic High Magick (the basis of Wiccan Magick). I tend to lean toward the belief that it is a tool of Fire, due in part that it is forged in Fire and, without Fire it could not be created. This tool is used to create the Magick Circle and is a very powerful protective guard against negativity. This tool is placed upon the Altar in representation of either Air or Fire--and is essentially how the practitioner manipulates and touches upon these energies. Thus Cleansing, Consecration and Dedication is needed. The Wand -- Either Air or Fire, though I use this tool as a representation of Air (since wood is the lungs of the Earth). This tool is placed upon the Altar to represent these energies and thus should be Cleansed, Consecrated and Dedicated toward it's purpose--which is to charge objects with intent, to summon the Gods and to direct general energy in the Circle. The Pentacle -- Representing Earth. I tend to grab a large river stone and carve the Pentacle into it's surface to represent this element. I use it to ground the residual energies of my spells--I then either cleanse the stone or toss it into the ocean/lake so that it's energies can be used further. That is how I use this tool. Not sure what others use it for. It must be Cleansed, Consecrated and Dedicated. The Chalice -- Representing Water. I use this tool to store wine or juice to drink in toast of the Gods, or to sacrifice to the Gods some specific drink. But, there are a myriad of ways you can use this tool. It should be Cleansed, Consecrated and Dedicated prior to use. The Cauldron -- I place this in the center of my altar, as a main tool for creating my herbal mixtures or incenses. Again, there are numerous ways to use this device. It represents Spirit, or energy, as the fifth element. I like to use it in the middle of my Altar, burning sage, keeping my Altar cleansed and the air clean of negativity during my rite. However, you can also throw herbs into it during your rite--allowing them to burn upon the coal to add to your magick--thus it is used by me as a center point for my magick and is very important. Same preparation procedure as the others. A representation of the God and Goddess -- I'm not 100% certain I care to pray to these energies, so I am not a true Wiccan. I still will often place them on the Altar as a representation of the masculine and feminine forces of nature. I use a Red candle to represent the God and a Green candle to represent the Goddess. I have become more comfortable in placing a white central candle only to represent the Universe. This is a main focus of prayer and your rite, as well. If you use a candle, it should be cleansed, consecrated, dressed and dedicated. I like to picture the white candle pushing away all negativity from the area. When I light it, I recognize that the Universe is listening to me and it usually establishes the beginning of my rite--even before I call the Universe into my Circle. These, to me, is all you really need to cast effective magick. The following, to me, are more secondary items. Incense and a incense burner: Generally most people use two representations of the elements Air, Fire, Water and Earth upon the Altar. In order to give a masculine and feminine representation. I don't see this as needed 100% of the time, but I tend to like it this way as well. The Incense you burn should represent your purpose through herbal magickal correspondences, or just feel right. It is a representation of Air. The smoke is capable of cleansing your tools in the moment, if needed and it adds to the overall sense that you are casting a spell--as well is generally used to trace the Circle prior to using your Athame to cast it. A Bowl of Water -- Obviously representing Water -- it is used during the casting of the Circle as well. A Bowl of Salt -- Representing Earth -- Used in the casting of the Circle. A Candle -- Representing Fire, though this can always be interchanged with the center Candle or the incense can be seen as a representation of both Fire and Air and thus it is not 100% needed unless, say, you are doing Candle Magick during this rite. Crystals and Stones of Purpose -- You can add various stones and crystals to your Altar to add in your spellcasting. Doing a money spell? Place a bunch of Green Adventurine on your Altar in places that make sense, or add to the feeling of the Altar (i.e. surrounding candles, the cauldron, et cetera). Wanting to push away negativity? Use Citrine. And so on and so forth. I can't think of anything else... Any questions? E-mail me. TheBlackHalo@hotmail.com Hope this helps.

I have 2 altars - one that I was for rites and an everyday one that is up all the time (and in some houses, I've had multiples of these,sometimes multiples in a room...I end up kind of 'decorating' altar-style. The purpose of a permanent altar is immediacy, no fuss no muss, and sacrality of mundanity. I can, for example, get up and a quick thank you and choose a card (I use divination a lot) to reflect on for the day, and then set intention, and this doesn't take more than a minute or 2. If you do perm altars, don't forget the outdoors, if you can. It has more resonance, at least for me, than indoors. Also, I think you always have an altar, built in (I hike a lot in the mountains, and even when I made a lightweight portable altar I sometimes found it too much to carry). By built in, I mean your body...you know the 'body is a temple'...thoughts and mind = air, flesh and bone equal earth; life-force / energy = fire; emotion and blood = water, and spirit - spirit or aether. Just cast a cone of power around yourself - I use chakras, even though these are Eastern I think they are valid, and you are good to go.