Creating and maintaining an altar can be a comforting ritual to renew our faith in something unwavering and true as we face changes and challenges throughout the seasons of our lives.
Whether you are religious, spiritual, animist or atheist, creating an altar is a way to symbolise and affirm – This is what is true for me. An altar can contain icons, trinkets, momento’s and curiosities from natural environment that remind us of who we are and where we came from.
One.
Choose a spot in your home for your altar, somewhere that will not become another surface for miscellaneous goods.
Two.
Clean this surface, clear it of everything and give it a wipe with the intention of clearing the energy.
Three.
Place a cloth, ceramic dish, or brass tray, whatever you like, on the surface as a foundation for what will be placed there.
Four.
Go foraging for things around your home or out in nature that hold significance for you – photos, stones, bones, letters, shells, paint brushes, jewellery, etc.
Five.
Set your intention as you place each piece on your altar. Crystalize in your mind what each piece symbolises for you and thank it as you place it down.
Six.
You might like to have something that demarcates the moments you spend at your altar – a bell that you chime before and after, incense that you burn, or a sand timer.
Whether you’re a minimalist or maximalist, or somewhere in between, you can create an altar that is true for you. It can be as simple as a single stone that you’ve collected on a walk immersed in nature, or it can be as elaborate as a collection of treasures that covers an entire shelf, with incense, fresh flowers and candles.
Your altar is a touchstone that centers your awareness back to the center of your being, so that it’s not directed out in the myriad tasks of the day, or caught up in worry about a friend, loved one, or colleague.
A moment of presence at your altar brings you back to your inner sense of stillness, no matter what is going on in your world.