An altar is a sacred spiritual space just for you that you have created. Think of it as a sacred space for holding and focusing energy in your home; a place to pray, do your positive affirmations, for inspiration, raising your vibration, connecting with your Higher Self, listen to your inner voice, to manifest, express gratitude, ask for guidance, meditate, and a place to set aside the stresses of your daily life.

Altars can be a very powerful, creative and fun activity for you to attain whatever it is you are seeking and manifesting.  To me, it is another avenue for moving and shifting positive energy. Your altars may change as you attain whatever it is you wanted, and you set new goals, aspirations etc. An altar is never static—it is a fluid, changeable and a flexible tool for you to use.

Creating a Home Altar – The Basics

Your altar, like you, may grow and evolve as your life changes. Enjoy the progress!

Types of Altars:

There is another type of altar just for honoring your ancestors and or other beloved close friends, with their photo’s, perhaps a memento of theirs, flowers and so on. My ancestor altar is in the living room and has photo’s of deceased loved ones, books written by my father, a photo album I created of my mother’s life, and other family mementos handed down from my grandparents and mother.

Another example could be for you to create an altar for the New Year, as a way to focus in and set your goals. The list is endless, but you could do an altar for prosperity, for love, for healing—whether physically, emotionally or spiritually.

Why is it useful?

Use it daily to build and increase positive energy, as a focus for your life, work or project, to manifest more quickly and effortlessly your desires, to clear out negative blocks/energy, set daily intentions etc. For example, I light my candle on my altar whenever I am doing a Reiki treatment on a client to set the intention of good health and relaxation for the client.

How to create your own altar?

Your altar can be as ornate or as simple as you want. To me, the main thing is that it resonates with you and is meaningful.

Elements of an altar?

All the elements that you choose to place on your altar should be cleansed regularly—with salt, with sage, or with incense to name a few ways you can use to purify the elements of your altar, yourself and the surrounding space. Place a cloth under your altar: it can be an altar cloth, a pretty scarf, or a piece of cloth that you like.

Some examples of the 5 classic elements to include in your altar:

Water: Placed in a nice glass or cup

Air: Use incense, a feather or a bell

Fire: Candles

Earth: Crystals, gemstones or stones

Spirit: A bowl of salt to cleanse and attract energy

You can also place important and meaningful books to you on your altar if space permits, alongside ornaments, photo’s and or artwork that hold a deep meaning to you, as well as flowers if you want.

Offerings: Should be from your heart. It can be food, such as rice, corn, fruit to name a few. Think of your offering as an energy exchange between the physical and spiritual realm.

Where to place an altar?

Since this is your own sacred space, find an area in your house or garden that you can use in privacy. It should be easily accessible, away from distractions, away from guests and more public rooms, etc. You can use a small table, a chest, a bookshelf, top of a dresser, a nightstand, just to name a few. My altar is on top of an old chest. I have mine under windows (to promote positive energy to flow in) in my home office/den. I spend a lot of time in there, and I find my altar helps to increase my focus throughout the day. Make it beautiful and meaningful to you wherever it may be.