Feng shui tips to help create your own altar
Excerpt from Rodika’s book “The Healing Power of Smudging: Cleansing Rituals to Purify Your Home, Attract Positive Energy and Bring Peace into Your Life”
There is so much that can be written about altars! In its essence, an altar is a special place designated to honouring the pure Source energy in all its expressions – angels, gods and goddesses, various symbols of Universal love, etc. It is a place for offerings, for prayers made manifest and for expressing gratitude. An altar is also a way of expressing your presence, your unique energy in the web of life. It is an energetic declaration of your participation in the mystery of life; so an altar becomes a universe of your own making.
I have been creating altars in my home for a long time. It is hard for me not to create one if I see a good space for it. At the moment, I have three main altars and then a couple smaller ones. My energy is naturally inclined to create altars everywhere. While the concept of creating an altar can sound intimidating, I am sure you have done it at least a few times in your life. On an unconscious level, every time you set beautiful pieces on your fireplace mantel, you are creating an altar.
Any time you play with different decor solutions until you find just the right one for your coffee table, you are creating an altar. We are already creating little altars in our home each and every time we group objects we love to create a happier home. Whether on a mantelpiece, a bed side table, or the coffee table, you have done this before, just perhaps not consciously.
Altars can be generic, as well as specific when dedicated to a clear intent, whether it’s the intent for better health or to welcome love. All altars need energetic movement and care, so ideally, you would care for your altar daily. This can be as simple as lighting a candle and slightly rearranging the items on your altar. It is the outpouring of your energy that matters the most in creating and maintaining a powerful home altar.
The key here is conscious creation. When you are creating an altar in your home with a specific intent in mind, and you lovingly care for it, your altar starts accumulating the power needed to support your dreams. If the concept of an altar is very new to you, I will give you the most important feng shui guidelines for creating an altar. And if you are a lover of creating altars, you might find some helpful ideas here, too.
The main thing to know about creating an altar in your home is that there are no set, or rigid rules for its creation. Your home altar is an expression of your own intent and unique personal energy, so the more empowered you are in creating your own altar, the more power it has. While there are no strict rules for creating an altar, there are guidelines you can follow to make the altar creation easier. This can be helpful if you have never made an altar before.
Here are basic steps to help you create a home altar
1. The area
Decide on the area and the surface of the altar. Will the bedside table work best for your altar? How about that open area on your bookshelf? Maybe the windowsill is calling for it? Is your fireplace mantel ready for a makeover?
2. The topic
Feel or decide on the main theme of your altar. Do you need more clarity in your life? More energy and vitality? Do you want to express and attract more love? The love altar, the gratitude altar, and the connection and clarity altar are the most popular altar themes. You can also just let the topic evolve in the process of creating an altar.
3. Energy enhancers and tools
It is always helpful to contain the energy of your altar, as this makes its energy more powerful. In order to do that, you can place a beautiful piece of fabric or a tray as an energetic foundation for your altar. Crystals and stones always bring powerful presence to any altar, and so do candles, specific images and sculptures, flowers, and special items from your nature walks.
I highly encourage you to create an altar to hold all your space-clearing and smudging tools. You want to have a respectful, beautiful place to rest your smudge stick or your sage leaves between smudging sessions. You can also display on your altar any items connected to your smudging and space-clearing sessions, such as a smudging fan or feather, an abalone shell or a bowl, and a candle. Having them on an altar will not only infuse them with more power, but will also remind you to smudge more often.
This was an excerpt from Rodika’s book “The Healing Power of Smudging: Cleansing Rituals to Purify Your Home, Attract Positive Energy and Bring Peace into Your Life”
