The Spirit Altar

    

    A good friend of mine just gave me Denise Linn's book: Altars: Bringing Sacred Shrines into Your Everyday Life. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in creating a home altar of any kind. Many of her words echo my own thoughts about altars. Linn says: "The urge to create sacred spaces is so deep in the human psyche that we often create them unconsciously. A gathering of photos on a piano, an arrangement of personal objects on a desk or fireplace mantel, are perhaps outer manifestations of an inner desire to establish hallowed and holy spaces in our environment."

    When an altar is considered a sacred space where we can deepen our connection with the Divine, Linn calls it a spirit altar. I like to make spirit altars in different parts of my home, and I frequently rearrange them, so their energy is never stagnant. 

    The backdrop for this altar is a mandala surrounded by symbols of the world's major religions. Over the mandala are the words: PRAYER: A MULTI-CULTURAL JOURNEY OF SPIRIT. The mandala symbolizes the many paths to God and the many teachers who have shown us the way. 

    I grew up in a Christian church, so Jesus was my first way-shower. For me, the icon of Jesus symbolizes the way of Love and the divine masculine. Growing up Protestant, I was not taught to revere Mother Mary as the Catholics do, but I read books about her visitations to Saint Bernadette at Lourdes, to the children in Fatima, to Saint Juan Diego in Guadeloupe, and many others. I realized that the divine mother is missing from Protestantism and I decided to insert her into my personal theology. My hand-blown glass Virgin Mary symbolizes the divine feminine that humanity must recognize in order to reclaim the balance of masculine and feminine energies that God intended each of us to embrace.

    Other elements on this altar that symbolize connections between heaven and earth are the white feather and the celestite crystal, a stone that is thought to connect one with spiritual realms. The moon shell is another symbol of the divine feminine, and the book by Paramahansa Yogananda contains universal prayers, affirmations and visualizations that are inclusive for anyone of any religious persuasion. 

    The candlelight, as always, symbolizes the Light of God that shines in every human heart and connects us all as one. 


For further reading on the Divine Feminine: A Day for All Humanity


Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 20, 2022 at 8:52 PM

    Beautifully written my friend. You should submit this to the Daily Star, religion page.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousNovember 21, 2022 at 8:26 AM

    Love this. I have always fashioned altars.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Symbols of Divine White Light

Image
       While rummaging through the Christmas decorations in our attic, deciding what to display this holiday season, the white glass angel inspired me to create an altar for the White Light of Christ consciousness, purity, and wholeness. White light contains the frequency of all the colors in the rainbow - thus its symbolism of wholeness.       People who report near-death experiences describe a brilliant white light that emanates unconditional love. Those who have the ability to see chakras tell us that the crown chakra, our gateway to divine love and spiritual wisdom, is white. Jesus, Mary, and the saints are pictured with halos around their heads, because their crown chakras are so brilliant.      I placed a white scarf on my altar table before arranging on it the white symbols. There was so little contrast between the white crystals and shells, and the white cloth, that the objects were barely noticeable.  I switched the wh...
Read more

Ode to Autumn

Image
       Like many people, I enjoy creating nature arrangements for each season. I usually try to include something symbolic of each of the four elements as done with earth-based religious altars. While I do not subscribe to a particular nature-worshipping religion, such as paganism, I do embrace the pantheistic belief in  the Divine as immanent; the Divine existing in everything and everything having a Divine aspect. (After all, didn't God create the universe from Godself?)     The earth element can be symbolized by rocks or crystals, or anything that is grown in the earth. My fall arrangement includes dried grasses, pumpkins, and pine cones. The pumpkins remind us of nature's abundance, especially present at harvest time, while the dried grasses and seeds add a touch of melancholy to the scene because I always hate to see summer go. Throughout history, pine cones  have been a symbol of  human enlightenment, resurrection, eternal life and rege...
Read more

Day of the Dead Altar

Image
       Many of us enjoy arranging still lifes in our homes. Perhaps a new one for each season, or for certain holidays. A still life can include flowers in a vase, framed pictures, a bowl of fruit, or any decorative objects that have meaning to us, or just look good! I like to arrange things that have symbolism and meaning for me. Sometimes I call these arrangements “little altars.” However, I looked up the definition for “altar” and discovered that it is “ a raised area in a house of worship where people can honor God with offerings. It is prominent in the Bible as "God's table," a sacred place for sacrifices and gifts offered up to God.” My altars are not offerings to God, but rather sacred places that connect me either to the Divine, to Nature, or to some spiritual aspect of my life, such as familial love.  This blog gives me the opportunity to create sacred spaces and altars to share with readers. Feel free to attach pictures and ideas of your still lif...
Read more