The Heart of the Home:
Creating and Working with Personal Altars

Every home has a heart. More recent traditions equate this heart with the kitchen, where the family gathers to cook and share food. And certainly the gathering of family and clan and the daily sacrament of partaking of the nourishment that Earth Mother provides for us is sacred in the highest sense. An important component of this sacredness, however, is fire: the element that actually cooks our food and releases, as the Chinese say, it's innate virtue or chi, "life force". In ancient times the fire itself was an altar and the food cooked a divine offering or communion in which both humans and the ancestors, spirits and Gods partook. So in this sense the fire or hearth around which the family gathered was the sacred center, or heart, of the home.

Today, for the most part, we no longer use the element of fire in its most basic form to cook our food. Mostly we rely upon gas or electricity, transmuted forms of fire, for our culinary needs. However, fire is still kindled, in it's most raw and basic form, upon millions of altars around the world. Much has been written by cultural anthropologists about the differences between "civilized" and primitive, or primal, peoples. One of the most salient characteristics that separate most of us in the developed nations from our third world, indigenous brothers and sisters is the presence in the home of a personal or family altar. Though seldom remarked upon in ethnographic literature, the presence of an altar of some kind distinguishes most non-Western peoples from those of us in the industrialized world. Since the absence of reverence or even recognition of the sacred is one of the characteristics of contemporary Western society, this should come as no surprise.

As more and more people in the developed nations awaken from addiction to endless self indulgence and exploitation of the Planet's dwindling resources, they experience the sharp pain of our alienation from each other, the natural world, and the spiritual dimension. This almost unendurable pain is enough to drive many back into the artificial womb of drugs, alcohol, compulsive shopping and mindless television. However, those who are willing to endure the pangs of alienation and persist in the quest soon become aware of a need for both personal and planetary healing and realignment. After a bit of meditation and experience it becomes clear that one of the strongest elements of this healing is the re-establishment of a personal relationship with the Divine, both in each other and in nature. This relationship, in order to grow and become strong, requires cultivation. The personal or family altar is the place where this burgeoning relationship with Spirit is most easily cultivated and pursued. It is to the altar that we go regularly to sing, to pray, to meditate, to grieve, to seek renewal from the inexhaustible Source of All.

The personal, home or family altar can become a touchstone for us in trying to maintain balance between the unseen, but strongly felt, spiritual realms and the demands of living in the fast paced world of the Twenty- First century. I have often talked with friends who have expressed the difficulty of follwing a spiritual path, or even staying reasonably grounded and centered amidst the pressures of home, school, job and family responsibilities. I have experienced this myself am am well acquainted with the frustration of watching all my good intentions to keep up a spiritual practice, or even just a few minutes of prayer and meditation, go down the tube when life gets busy.

This is where the maintenance of a personal shrine or altar can be of such value. The simple fact of having a place in one's home dedicated solely to the sacred and to the pursuit of our own personal relationship with spirit, however we personify it, encourages us in our spiritual lives. Once the altar is properly set up and "charged" with our spiritual intentions, it has a way of radiating that intention outwards through the home. In this way the altar truly becomes the home's heart, a potent source of invisible blessings that grant protection not only to the home, but to all who dwell within it. In addition, because of the peculiar aliveness which the altar acquires after charging and consecration, it will have the effect of grabbing our attention every time we pass before it or enter the room it resides in. It will serve as a daily reminder of our spiritual inspirations and resolutions, no matter how dismal the world outside may seem. In this way the altar uplifts us when we're feeling down or carrying any kind of negative energy. The altar is a place to bring these negative feelings, let them out through simple prayers and rituals, and turn them over to Spirit.

As we pass before our altar we may feel called to pause, say a prayer, meditate for a few moments, light a candle or incense, chant or ring a bell. These simple acts, for which our altar becomes a constant reminder, call us back into relationship and connection with life and Spirit, and banish negativity, fear and isolation. Just as a medicine bag, cross, or crystal worn about the neck can be a potent amulet protecting the wearer against unseen misfortune, so the altar becomes an amulet within the home, banishing unwanted presences by the positive energy it radiates. Further, it becomes a true talisman, attracting those beneficiant forces that effectually cleanse and bless the home and inhabitants.

The best part of setting up a home altar is that it's actually fun to construct. Your own personal creativity and inspiration can set the tone. Since your altar is only yours, or yours and your family's, there's no particular way that it needs to look or be. Of course, if you follow a specific tradition of spirituality, then you may wish to align your altar with the requirements of that tradition. Even here, though, there is often a fair amount of room for expressing your own creativity and aesthetic approach. How and where will the altar be placed? This requires some thought and meditation. A perusal of books on feng shui and the art of placement could be helpful here. This is where an altar consultant, a specialist in altars who offers their services to those seeking to create a personal altar, can be of value to the fledgling altar builder. Next, of what will you construct your altar? Perhaps a table placed against one wall in your bedroom; perhaps a beautiful burnished piece of hardwood set across two upright river rocks; perhaps even a hanging shelf altar in the corner of your dining room or kitchen. There are many kinds of altars. Over the years I have made many kinds of altars, from temporary ones in the woods, to household shrines, both elaborate and simple, to full ritual altars for use within a specific tradition. Today there are a number of altars in my home, some of them quite small and unobtrusive. I often construct ones in public parts of the home so that they are not immediately recognizeable as altars to casual visitors. Again, this is a matter of choice.

Once the placement and form of the altar has been selected, there is then the engaging process of decorating it in just such a way that it becomes, for us, truly a home for the divine. This is where a lot of the creativity and enjoyment of altar construction comes in. Here we can afford to be leisurely and listen to divine inspiration and guidance. We should assume the attitude that Spirit knows just how it wants it's house to be, and in the creation and maintenance of that house we are servants of the divine. This simple realization adds a great deal of meaning to the process. We begin to consider, do we want a bare altar top, perhaps to reflect the beautiful wood or stone of the altar's surface, or do we require a special altar cloth? Meditation upon the right color, fabric, etc., may be necessary before we go shopping. What shall we place upon our altar? Will it be fancy or simple? Perhaps it will change, reflecting our changing spiritual needs. In earth-based forms of spirituality such as Druidry, Wicca, and shamanism, the altar may change to reflect the changing seasons of nature.

As mentioned above, fire in some form is present on most altars. Will you have votive lights or tapers, tall brass candlesticks, or a floating wick in a blue glass bowl? What about water? Fire's balancing opposite, a quintessential element in our bodies and within the body of Earth Mother herself. Shall we have water in a silver or crystal chalice reminiscent of the Holy Grail? Or shall we use a simple stone bowl, elegant yet primal? Do we plan to use incense, or a sage and cedar smudge stick in an abalone shell? What about icons, images and photographs? A small Tibetan Buddha, a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe, or photographs of ancestors, grandmothers and grandfathers - a feature of many altars around the world. Then there are special stones, feathers, seashells, any unusual or beautiful natural object that you feel strongly pulled to place upon your altar. Of course, none of these items are essential to your personal altar if they dont appeal to you. Remember, it's your altar and it doesn't have to conform to any particular blueprint. Here again, the altar consultant can be of service in helping to define and design an altar appropriate to you.

Over time I have found that my personal household altar radiates hidden yet potent spiritual energy, in the form of blessings and protection, outwards through my house and into the surrounding neighborhood. It becomes a talisman that I can draw upon when I'm feeling stressed or out of balance. Through maintaining contact with my altar and various household shrines I can draw upon their beneficial effects even when I am away from home. It appears that through regular work with a personal altar, a type of resonance is set up that can be a touchstone for beneficial forces, regardless of time or distance. Once the altar becomes truly empowered, merely by thinking of it in a prayerful way we can receive a beam of the healing and protective energies for which it has become a battery.

Corby Ingold, LMP, is a Seattle based writer and workshop leader with extensive training in body work, hypnotherapy and shamanic healing. He acts as a consultant for those seeking to create their personal altars. He can be reached at oldcrow49@hotmail.com or at (206) 726-3075.