When you hear the word altar, what comes to mind? A low-budget horror where someone is about to be sacrificed? An occult Instagram hashtag with tarot cards and candles?
But what if altars were moments. Sacred spaces inside places where you stop and take time to venerate, commemorate, celebrate – maybe even reflect on something bigger than just yourself and breathe.
They may not be physical objects or locations. They could be moments in time where you take a quick second to nurture yourself, give thanks to others, and connect to the bigger ALL.
In times of stress or overwhelm, altars provide an anchor. A location for your soul to remember something positive and reconnect.
There are exercises you can do to create and charge these altars to be powerful for you (in every sense of that word). I go through these in my classes and sessions. For now, take a look around and notice small altars that you already have in your space.
Do you have any reminders of friends or loved ones who are not here anymore, reminders of hobbies you love, or maybe prompts to dream of something bigger? Have they been given the love, attention and respect they deserve through their placement, cleanliness, space around them?
Do you even have any of these in your physical life? Is there anywhere for your soul to pause inside your living space, your work, or even your mind? If not, clear some space in your day to day activities and living and workspace and put something in that location that is constructive and meaningful for you. (For more about cleansing and clearing space take a look at my post on Connecting to the Spirit of Place)
Start small. Do you have an item that reminds you of a fond memory of the past? For example a photograph, an ornament, a ticket to a play. Or perhaps something that you want to invoke for the present or future? It could be as literal as a vision board but could also be a bit more lateral – succulents like String of Pearls or Money Trees that represent abundance. Altar items can be brand new plastic toys if you want, they just need to represent something important for you.
Altars can involve any faith or belief system – they can also be quite secular in nature. They are reminders to focus, to be mindful, to remember, to forget, to connect, to appreciate and to learn. If you are making changes in your life, altars can emotionally, spiritually and mentally keep you on the right track. For some, they are sites to venerate the spirits that will assist on that journey.
Altars do not need to involve sacrifice and don’t have to be places where some parts of your life are given priority over another. Altars can be reminders of the need to find balance.
If you are interested in supporting your spirit and the spirit(s) of your place, create sacred moments around your the areas that are important to you in your life. And if you are interested in working more actively with the spirits of place check out my mentoring programme.
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