Building an Altar
A Reminder ritual for Honoring
How to do it:
Pick a place in your home that you will be able to see and interact with, that will not be disturbed. It can be as small as your bedside table, or a table dedicated just for this purpose. Clear it of all clutter.
Put down a tapestry or cloth that feels special to you.
Intentionally set your sacred items on your altar. You can place a small statuette, piece of art, a crystal, flowers or an item representing Spirit at the center of the altar. Optional altar pieces may include a candle, flowers, crystals, feathers, a journal, oracle cards, items that represent the four elements, incense, photos of loved ones, ect. The items you place on the altar should bring love, beauty and honor to Spirit and integrate with your intentions. Use your intuition as to where each item belongs.
Smudge your altar with the smoke of tobacco, sage, cedar, sweet grass, or whatever combination of herbs you are called to use and keep it as clean energetically as you do by dusting it physically.
Making the altar is an important part of the practice, but it is simply décor until you use it. Take some time each day to sit at your altar, light your candle, put your attention on Spirit, through your heart, your prayers, gratitude and intentions.
Your altar can be refreshed and rearranged as often as you feel called to do so.
Why do it:
An altar is a sacred space or place that is used for ritual. Altars have been used for millennia in religious ceremonies and holy architecture. Traditionally the site of a sacrifice or ritual, altars are typically associated with making offerings to God or Gods. Each religious tradition has their own version of an altar. Your altar is an outer representation of your inner attunement. It’s a way of honoring yourself by having a place that is solely yours and represents your ideals. Making an altar and having a mindful practice of prayer, ritual and gratitude can heal your life beyond anything you can imagine. It brings peace with focus through the heart. This ancient practice of prayer and altar work anchors your prayers from earth to heaven and heaven to earth.
When to do it:
Each moon cycle
Yearly
Weekly
Variable
How long it takes:
Variable
Materials Needed:
Sacred Items
Optional: cloth/fabric, crystals, elemental objects, candle, oracle cards, feather, photos, art, flowers
Origin:
Many cultures have Altars
Original Source: