Little Sacred Spaces

       In her book about altars Denise Linn discusses wall altars that can be created on a shelf. She also says: "Some of the most magical altars are handmade. By building a shelf for your altar you are infusing it with love and care that will continue to emanate from it for a long time."     This shelf was handmade with love by my husband a very long time ago. For many years it hung on the wall in our living room. Now it hangs on the wall in my own room where I can see it from my desk and from my green chair.      Over the years I have placed a variety of objects in the cubbies of this shelf. Each item is meaningful to me. The current display includes photographs of my two children when they were younger. The madonna and child icon was carved for me by my father. The two icons of Jesus were gifts from our neighbors in Oneonta who used to go to Greece every summer to visit family.      The eggs on the top and the bottom of the...

          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 rel...