Old Mother's Altar is a private, beautifully crafted space for your magical practice. Whether you're a seasoned practitioner or just beginning to explore the craft, it gives you everything you need to record, organize, and carry your work with you, and all with complete privacy.
The Grimoire:
Build and maintain your personal collection of spells and rituals. Each entry captures everything that matters: intention, magic type (candle, knot, crystal, herbal, sigil, and more), ideal timing by moon phase, season, time of day, or day of the week, ingredients and tools, incantations, deities worked with, and recurring tasks. Keep each spell as detailed or as minimal as you wish.
The Journal:
Every time you cast, write about it. The Journal is your casting log. Track each working from Pending to Ongoing to Completed, add notes as the work unfolds, and record your final results. Tasks tied to your spells surface on the home screen and in notifications so nothing slips through the cracks.
The Cabinet:
Know what you have. The Cabinet is your ingredient and tool inventory, organized by type (herbs, crystals, candles, incense, cords, oils, and more). Custom types can be added for anything that doesn't fit the defaults.
The Altar:
Your home screen shows today's moon phase with guidance for each stage of the lunar cycle, upcoming sabbats and planetary events, and your pending spell tasks at a glance.
Private by Design
All of your data lives on your device. Nothing is sent to a server, shared with third parties, or backed up to the cloud. Your practice is your own. Protect access further with a passcode and Face or Touch ID.
Old Mother's Altar is for you. Your spells, your words, your practice. It doesn’t come preloaded with any existing library because it’s yours to build as you grow.
I love everything about this app so far. The only con that I have seen is that it acts a little funky on an iPhone 14 when zooming to add custom categories in a dropdown, but I contacted the developer about that so I imagine a fix is in the works.Everything else about it is just so awesome. I love that it’s not just a digital journal, but a useful tool for cataloging. The app is thoughtfully organized, from the options when creating a spell, to the fact that you can create an inventory of tools and ingredients. I also really love the thought that went into user privacy. None of this is stored in any server or cloud, everything is only on my device. I can export an import that information, but in no way does anyone else have access to it unless they have my physical phone or one of the export files. Spiritual practice is intensely personal and vulnerable, so that just made me feel really good about using this app.
Fantastic
tankboy3000
I have searched for years looking for an app just like this one. All I wanted was something really simple and easy to use that wasn’t Apple notes. When I am on the go and get inspiration, it’s a place to jot my notes down. The rating tracking option and journaling feature (that you can connect together) is very easy to use and super helpful. The simplicity and ease of use for this kind of app is hands down the best I’ve ever tried. If you are looking for a private app that doesn’t track your personal info, looks great, is neatly organized, no hidden sells or costs, and really simple to use, you’ve found it. I decided to give it a try and I am happy that I did.
Amazing app and even better developer response!
Seriously though…
This app is an absolute gem. Extremely well designed – everything is very user-friendly – and the developer is incredibly responsive and kind. I had an issue and she reached out almost immediately and fixed it. The big benefit to this one is the privacy. In an error where everyone is out for your data this one feels like a breath of fresh air.
Developer Response
Hi there! I think you're the one who reached out to me over email, and I'm so glad you were able to get access again without losing your data. The bug that logged you out after enabling lock on background and then biometric auth has been fixed in the latest update, and I've added additional methods to get back in should you lose your password in the future (without risking unwanted access by the nosy). Thanks so much for your feedback - it helps make OMA a better experience for all. :)
Pretty and perfect
telligurl
This is truly a fantastic app. Pretty, easy to use, and not trying to sell my privacy to corporations in order to make a buck for themselves. LOVE that there is an inventory system that is easy to reference and organize.
Release Notes — Version 1.2.0
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NEW FEATURE: Account Recovery
Passcode protection just got a safety net. When you set up a passcode, you can now add a security question and answer, so if you ever forget your passcode, answering your question resets it without losing any of your data. Want extra backup? Generate a one-time secret recovery key in Settings > Security for a second way back in if you ever forget your security question too.
If you already had a passcode set up before this update, turn it off and back on in Settings > Security to add your security question.
NEW FEATURE: Spell Ratings
Reflect on your spell work at a glance. Mark a journal entry Completed and rate how it went — happy, neutral, or not great — right alongside your notes. Ratings show up on your journal entries, your Journal list, and your Altar, and you can filter your Journal by rating too.
IMPROVEMENTS
- Homepage to-dos now show an OVERDUE label for tasks left unchecked, and you can check tasks off right from the homepage without leaving the page.
- Added daily reminder notifications for pending spell tasks.
- Added new Magic Types (Binding, Cord Cutting, Jar) and a new Cabinet item type (Jar).
BUG FIXES
- Fixed an issue that forced logout after enabling lock on background before enabling biometric auth.
- Minor bug fixes and performance improvements.
Version 1.2.0
The developer, Katy Towell, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
Seller
Katy Towell
Size
5.8 MB
Category
Lifestyle
Compatibility
Requires iOS 15.0 or later.
iPhone Requires iOS 15.0 or later.
iPad Requires iPadOS 15.0 or later.
iPod touch Requires iOS 15.0 or later.
Mac Requires macOS 12.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
