Greetings to all
I have read that an Altar should face east, which confuses me. Does this mean that the front of the altar should face east or as I stand in front of my altar I face east? Struggling due to lack of space and the room configuration.
Blessings three fold to all
el hombre bruja
Super Sunday Bruja (hombre),
My understanding was to have the altar facing the poles. In the Northern Hemisphere that is having Earth element at the North. For the Southern Hemisphere that would put the Earth element in the South. I have Air for the East, Fire for the South, Water for the West and Earth for the North. I am assuming that since Earth changes points from Northern and Southern hemispheres, the Air and Water may change also. Other than that, I really do not know. Someone else may have a more precise answer.
Lady Gene 
My altar is an âend-tableâ my high priestess gave me, about 2âX3â and I keep it in the center
of my office. Desks, shelves, and workbenches line all the walls, room center is empty.
This lets me walk around it during service while I channel, very much what I need for that.
The four sides âfaceâ the four cardinal directions, so it doesnât really âfaceâ any one way.
My indoor altar is on the top of my bookcase/nightstand with earth facing north. My outdoor altar is a stump in my backyard, I place my candle south for fire, incense east for air, water west (for blessing at the closing) and the altar itself, the stump, is my earth.
Oh, my indoor altar stays, I change it as needed, my outdoor altar, I take and remove my objects daily, as I have a dog.
When I am out and about, I just face the elements as I silently chant my magick.
Lady Gene 
Greetings Hombre Bruja,
My simple answer is it depends on the tradition. Most common is facing either the East or the North. If your space canât allow for either of these placements, then the new rule is just donât have it facing South IF you can avoid it. In my tradition if it canât face east, the rules are not have any deity statues facing the end of your bed, and not to have it in your kitchen or in the line of sight of your bathroom. âEither in a quiet corner that doesnât see heavy traffic or in a designated room.â Placing it in front of an Eastern window being most beneficial.
Cheers. 
Secretive Sunday of the Surreptitious, Strategic Placing of the Altar,
Eureka!! I found it!! A Witchesâ Bible: The Complete Witchesâ Handbook by Janet and Steward Farrar, 1981, Phoenix Publishing, Inc. ISBN: 978-0-919345-92-8, Part 2: Principles, Rituals and Beliefs of Modern Witchcraft, pages 269-270. States how an altar should be placed, Northern or Southern Hemispheres. I stand corrected on the placements of Air and Water. They need to be Air in the East and Water in the west in both hemispheres. However, North is Earth in the northern hemisphere, where it is South in the southern hemisphere. Both cast circle from the Earth position turning to the East, Air position, That is why one is clockwise, and the other counter clockwise. The picture of the altar placements on page 270, show the altar at the Earth element for each hemisphere at their corresponding pole, and then turning East to the Air, opposite pole for Fire, West for Water, and back to Earth, altar beginning.
Wow, I almost got confused explaining that. I hope it made sense.
Lady Gene