Wolfswiner
I go to an eclectic pagan group and the leader of the group has asked me to design some type of altar and get a list of supplies that are usually used in ceremonies. the few things I've read don't really talk about altars so I'm kind of at a loss right now. I know that there should be a drinking horn and a knife but other than that I'm coming to a blank. If anyone could help me it would be very much appreciated.
Heilsan,
As far as altars go, from what we know it seems that the offering points are quite minimal in their display. There was usually a wooden idol typically with minimal carving to add physical features, typically a face, to represent the god or goddess concerned.
Within a modern context, typical items are:
Horn or other drinking vessel - the Scandinavian Folk also had access to glass, ceramic and wooden drinking vessels. A search on archaeological finds and the like will prove useful in that regard.
Depending on the context, a knife (sax/seax) can be used, a sword, a hammer (panel beating hammers work well), axe, spear etc, are all traditional and provide symbolism within the context of the Germanic Folkways.
Many people use a blessing bowl, which can be of pretty much any material, although wood seems to be preferred, into which any residual mead or other beverage from the drinking vessel is placed into. This can be particularly useful if the horn/drinking vessel is filled and emptied multiple times (being emptied into the blessing bowl, the drinking vessel should never be drained in the ritual context by those present).
Natural items of significance can be used as well, such as stones, plants, produce, feathers, fur, etc.
The location of these sacred sites tended to be in natural locations. Bogs tended to be used as did clearings in forests, hill-tops, etc. Effectively altars tended to be what-ever location was considered important to the Folk concerned, rather than a specifically constructed place. Later, when Christianity started to push our ancestral traditions underground, altars could be found in peoples homes and even in some of the Stave Churches. The exact nature of these later altars is unknown as far as I am aware there are no records of them.
Cheers