Back to the main Labyrinth Page

In some parts of the world, a small altar is a traditional part of the home, anchoring a sacred element in the heart of the family and domestic life. It is a meeting point, a place of beauty, peace, and sanctity, where the Divine touches the everyday world. It is a constant reminder of the search for spiritual fulfillment. It can be a focus for prayer, a shrine to honor those you love, or a place where you meditate or spend time in quiet contemplation. The form it takes is up to you.

Personal Altars:

Instinctive – created unconsciously (a collection of seashells, family photographs, candles and flowers in the center of a table)

Intentional – created by carefully choosing specific objects that represent/focus on certain things: new beginnings, meditation, motivation, creativity, positive outcomes, achieving goals, success, family, healing, abundance, grounding energy, wisdom, endings …

Some Altars through the Home:

Bedroom – the place where we are wholly ourselves, where we take our secrets and prayers, joy and grief. Bedroom altars are a focus for the daily rituals of greeting the morning and preparing for night. Materials might include deep crystals, the scent of lavender, art honoring dreams.

Study or Office – the place where we need positive energy, concentration, wisdom, and inspiration. Materials might include the color yellow, which is associated with learning and communication.

Kitchen – the usual hub of the house where the energy of the earth in the form of food is transformed by the creative process of cooking. Materials might honor hospitality and include rice, grains, and fruit.

Living Room – the place where family and friends meet. Materials might include 1) the color green, which is associated with harmonious relationships, and 2) symbols of the four elements (earth, fire, water, and air), which represent harmony.

Some Altar Elements:

Natural Offerings

• Flowers Feathers
• Driftwood Boughs and Leaves
• Herbs Shells
• Fruits, Nuts, and Grains Stones

Objects of Beauty

• Sacred Images (Statues, Icons, Crosses)
• Gemstones and Crystals
• Art

Counselors and Guardians

• Saints
• Angels
• Power Animals

Objects of Symbolic Value

• Seasonal Symbols
• Abstract Symbols (Circles: life, death, rebirth; Spirals: cycle of existence, growth and energy; Crosses: Christianity, four cardinal directions)

Candles and Incense

Sounds

• Bells
• Drums
• Recorded Music

Resources:

Sacred Spaces by Josephine de Winter (Anness Publishing, 2002)
Altars Made Easy by Peg Streep (Harper Collins, 1997)

Back to the main Labyrinth Page