HOW TO CREATE AN ALTAR FOR SACRED PRACTICES

Article by Valerie Schultz-Gonzalez

Everything is sacred. Everything at the core of its essence comes from a pure source of Light-Mother Earth and Spirit. Your breath, your body, your home, your food is all sacred. Over time, if the essence or spirit is not tended to, it eventually gets weighed down and sometimes falls asleep.

Making time to commune with the sacredness of everything by using an altar for sacred practices awakens the dormant spirit within yourself, objects, and spaces; re-connecting everything back into oneness.

Recognizing everything in life as sacred brings you back to the truth of your essence and soul’s potential. Creating a sacred space in your home and/or office to commune with Spirit is essential for spiritual reconnection, awakening, and growth process. An altar is a powerful place to grow this energy. It is a bridge that you create which connects you to the Greater Powers that be!

An altar is a space that is used to do rituals, pray, meditate, connect, commune, heal, release, strengthen, and manifest. An altar is a beautiful place for you to co-create the life you want with Spirit.

It should be created with clarity, love, and intention to give space for the energy of Spirit to grow and awaken in your life.

I have adapted this Altar Guide from my book, Becoming Light Rituals and Affirmations for Life. When creating an altar space, you can make it as big or small as you would like. I suggest you have a larger one at home as a main spot to do your sacred practices, and a smaller one in your office/work space or around the house for different intentions.

Each item you place on there should resonate, as it symbolizes an aspect of your sacred self; the way you place each item, and the direction you face when sitting at the altar should be in a special way that will connect the altar with Spirit, transforming it into a sacred space.

Altar Creating Ways:
• You can use a stool or small table to transform into an altar
• If you are making an altar in your office you can use the left-hand corner of your desk
• Use an exclusive chair, pillow or blanket (if you want to sit on the floor) to sit on
• Have your altar facing the east (this does not mean it’s on the east wall, but that you are facing east when sitting at your altar)
• Make the altar as simple or elaborate and elegant as you would like.
• Set your altar up with love and devotion.

Transforming Regular Furniture Into An Altar...
You transform a simple end table or stool into an altar through a sacred cleansing process. To do this, use a natural product such as apple cider vinegar, a natural cleanser, or rose water (ideal option).

Before spraying, hold the cleanser in your hand, and ask it to cleanse and purify the furniture piece to be able to hold sacred energy. You will then do the same with a cloth you transform into an altar cloth.

Altar Set-up
Find an east facing spot where you can set up your altar. Pick a spot where you will not have to move your altar. This will be your own sacred space, and stillness will allow the divine energy to magnify. You can transform anything into a sacred altar object by cleansing and charging it, using rose water, sage/palo santo/frankincense, or setting it out in the moonlight overnight).

To stay true to the ancient ways, the 5 elements, Fire, Water, Air, Earth, and Spirit, should be represented on the altar. This ancient tradition connects spiritual energy into your physical world. There are different colors, crystals, and relics that you will use to create your altar depending on your intention. Each item will represent an element.

Altar Supplies and Diagram:
• A beautiful cloth or scarf to cover the table:: Adorn your Sacred with a beautiful cloth. The cloth protects your altar and holds the space for your desired.
• Candles:: these will bring in the light of Spirit, ignite the flame of your soul’s desire, and connect you to the energy of fire.
• Crystals:: these will amplify and magnetize your intentions and connect you to the energy of earth (though different crystals are connected to different elements, on your altar they will represent the element of the earth)
• Fresh flowers or a Plant:: These are an offering, a healer, and receptive force to bring your desires into reality. Even though flowers and plants come from the earth, and again, are connected to different elements, they will represent water because they must be watered to stay alive. This will be a way to keep the energy fresh and alive on your altar.
• Incense:: This purifies, protects and sets up the space for a ritual to occur. It also takes your desires up to Spirit, while bringing Spirit down to you. This will represent the energy of Air. You can use natural incense sticks or raw resin/herbs for your rituals.

Beautify Your Altar, and Intensify Your Intention with These:
• Feathers-Energy of Air can call in and connect you to the energy of the specific bird the feathers are from, as well as the Ascended Masters of Light.
• Shells and objects of the water to bring expand your desires, and tap into Divine Feminine energy
• Relics + Deities such as a sacred geometry symbol, a cross, a picture or statue of a sacred Being (like a Goddess, Jesus, Angels, Fairies, etc). Oftentimes we need this image to feel seen and supported. If you do not resonate with relics or deities, do not use them!
• Sacred writings that inspire you
• Your specific prayers and desires

Part 2:

Start your altar journey with a Soul Strength Ritual from Becoming Light: Soul Strength Ritual

The Soul Strength Ritual is intended to illuminate your soul, open you up to divine connection and strengthen our intuition. The power of our soul is truly greater than any obstacle or situation in the material realm. See the altar diagram to set up.

Best time to do this: Full moon, Solstices

Sacred Supplies:
• 2 clear quartz crystals (ideally natural points)
• 1 white candle
• white roses
• frankincense and/or myrrh incense stick or raw resin + charcoal

Your Ritual Begins…

Set up your altar.
• Place your hands over your candle, call in Spirit and ask for a protective dome of light to surround your space.

• Say Soul Strength Prayer: “Divine Source, I ask for your guidance, and support right now to remove any cobwebs of illusion that clutter my soul, connection, and perception; which used to restrict me from seeing fully, live naturally and connect wholly. Help me to ________________________________.”

• Next, energetically draw a spiral over your candle then light it. Close your eyes and breathe. Imagine an iridescent white light pouring down into you, filling you up with light. Next, light your incense and pass it over your body. Speak any fears you may have of your personal power, spiritual connection or intuitive gifts.

• Put your quartz crystals in your hands, and with a soft gaze, look at the candle for a minute. Repeat a Soul Strength Affirmation in your mind. Then, close your eyes to feel and imagine the light from the candle warming up your inner light, from the center of your belly and the center of your mind, growing to illuminate each cell of your body.

• Then, take one flower and brush it over your body from head to toe, especially over your forehead, heart and stomach, all the way down to your feet. Set the flower aside (you will offer this flower to the earth after your ritual).

• Put soothing music on, and continue to express yourself, your desires, and feel your potential grow.

• To close give thanks for all of the blessings that you have and all that is coming to you. Take the flower to offer next to a tree or bush.

• Recharge your altar after 9 days.

• Keep a journal of what you experience during this transformative time. You can repeat this ritual as often as you would like.