How to Create a Sacred Altar for Beginners
Remember that feeling when you come back from a long trip or even a long day at work to feel the loving presence of your home. Your home is your sanctuary, the safe space curated by you to release tension and rejuvenate yourself. Think of a sacred altar as the physical representation of home for your spirit. This altar is there when you want to deeply connect with sprit guides. It's there for you when you are manifesting newness in your life.
Creating a spiritual sacred altar can be a deeply personal and meaningful process. It’s a space where you can connect with your spiritual practice, honor your beliefs, and cultivate inner peace. In this blog post, I'll share with you how I create sacred altars for my home and clients.
We'll go through a beginner friendly step-by-step guide to help you create a sacred altar:
- Choose a Location
- Determine the Size & Surface
- Cleanse the Space
- Select Altar Items
- Arrange Altar
- Set your Intentions
- Maintain the Altar
- Connect with your Altar
Choose a Location
When choosing a location to place your altar, a quiet place in solitude is best. Find a place in your home where you can set up your altar and where you won’t be easily disturbed. This could be a corner of a room, a small table, or a dedicated space. I personally love my closet for this purpose.
Determine the Size and Surface
Your altar can be a small table, a shelf, or even a dedicated cloth spread on a surface. The size should be appropriate for your space and what you plan to place on it. You could be even more intentional with the natural element of the surface like wood, steel, copper etc.
Cleanse the Space
To prepare the area, cleansing is a must. Cleansing is both physical and spiritual. Clean the area where you’ll set up your altar. Here are simple ways to cleanse a space: smudging with sage, using a singing bowl, or simply wiping down the surface with intention.
Select Your Altar Items
Everything is sacred. By placing personally sacred objects with intention on your altar, you invoke a specific frequency signal. Choose items that hold personal or spiritual significance for you. Here are a few ideas
- Candles: Represent light and illumination.
- Incense: Used for purification and creating a sacred atmosphere.
- Crystals: Each has its own properties and energies.
- Images or Statues: Depict deities, ancestors, or symbols related to your spiritual path.
- Natural Elements: Such as stones, shells, or plants, which can connect you to nature.
- Sacred Texts or Journals: For reflection and inspiration.
- Offerings: Like flowers, fruits, or grains, if they are part of your tradition.
If you would like to dive deeper on ancient meanings for specific objects, check out medicine woman Queen Afua's book Sacred Woman: A guide to healing the feminine body, mind and spirit. Click the link here.
Arrange Your Altar
Now that you have your sacred objects that hold deep meaning and significance for you. It's time to begin curating a layout by arranging the items in a way that feels harmonious and balanced. You might want to follow certain traditions or create an arrangement based on your personal intuition.
Here is how I intuitively arranged a ceremonial altar at the Zen Bar in Altanta. If your'e ever in Atlanta, I highly recommend the Zen Bar as a safe space for community, healthy smoothies and weekly Yoga sessions. They even offer Yoni steams & Reiki sessions as well.
Set Your Intentions
Before you use your altar, take a moment to set your intentions. What is the purpose of this space? What energy would you like to connect to? It could be for meditation, prayer, reflection, or simply as a sacred space for peace. Your intuition, spiritual guides or angels have called you to create this sacred altar. Check in with the stillness within yourself as you set the intentions for this sacred space.
Maintain Your Altar
Often overlooked, maintaining your altar allows you to invoke fresh high frequency into your space. Keep your altar clean and refresh the items as needed. You might also want to periodically update or change the items to reflect different phases of your spiritual journey or seasonal changes. I personally like to shift my altar space subtly during the new and full moon with a natural element like flowers and different crystal grids.
Connect with Your Altar
Maybe you want to create this sacred altar to connect with your higher self, ancestors or spirit guides. This is your sacred place, so carving out time to connect with your altar and its elements is so healing. Spend time at your altar regularly. It could be for meditation, lighting a candle, or simply being present. This helps to deepen your connection with the space and with your own spiritual practice.
Remember, there are no strict rules for creating an altar—it’s about what feels right and meaningful to you. Make it a reflection of your unique spiritual path and personal desires. A spiritual altar is physical channel for you to connect with the spirit world, ground your energy, Always follow your intuition, some how it always knows the way.
In the comments, share a what you chose to place on your altar.
Till the next one ~ Sai 🪬
