Altars & Rituals
(This is an excerpt from a University Of Metaphysical Sciences course at www.umsonline.org,
please feel free to visit the school website)
Altars And Rituals
Written by Nova Love
Introduction
Review of Literature
History Of Altars
What Is An Altar?
What Is A Ritual?
Why Do People Build Altars?
Why Do People Create And Enact Rituals?
Elements Of Altars And Effective Rituals.
Create An Altar
Create A Ritual
Conclusion
Bibliography
Introduction
Humankind has a historical, as well as a current, relationship with the use of both altars and ritual. The age-old questions of "Who am I," and "What is the purpose of my existence?" have driven us on the quest for greater inner knowledge. This desire to connect to the mysteries of human existence is foundational to the use of altars and ritual in various cultures, worldwide. The use of altars and ritual are outgrowths of religion and spirituality, and are the 'maps' we use on the spiritual search. These maps are tools in the quest to answer the questions people have been guided to ask. Worldwide evidence of the use of these often interrelating elements of spirituality is abundant.
Why do people build altars? Are altars and rituals useful in one's journey through life? What do we hope to convey or accomplish with the assistance of an altar? Why do humans create and enact rituals? What need is a ritual intended to fulfill? In exploring potential uses for altars and rituals, can people be assisted in their personal quest for a measure of solace or celebration in life? In what specific ways have altars and rituals been, and continue to be, effective for people? By examining examples of altars and rituals, the student will be presented with answers to these and other questions. Another method we will pursue in this course is to seek an answer to these questions by designing rituals and altars that have meaning to the student. By doing so, this method endeavors to personalize the experience, thereby allowing the answers to present themselves.
The 11th edition of Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary describes ritual as "a ceremonial act or action...an act or series of acts regularly repeated in a set and precise manner." Altar is defined in this dictionary as "a table on which the Eucharistic elements are consecrated or which serves as a center of worship or ritual." Through these definitions, the student will begin to see how the elements of religion and worship are connected with altars and ritual and how they are inexorably linked with our response to elements of human existence beyond our mortality.
This course will introduce the student to some of the known, ancient uses of altars and ritual, as well as to several modern examples of such usage. As well, this course will cover an investigation of the meaning of altars, along with a description of what ritual activity entails. The reason for the importance of these tools will also be addressed.
Review of Literature
Face Of The Gods: Art And Altars Of Africa And The African Americas (1993), by Robert Farris Thompson. This is a large text exploring the "Black Atlantic World" concept of and evolutionary migration of altar use. This book is filled with photographs which chart African religions as they transition to the New World. I think this book does what it sets out to do by revealing the presence of African spirituality in modern and historic America. The illustrations and photos detail with stark clarity the artwork of various peoples, and sets these works in the context of deep belief as the sacred is built into the useable.
Joshua's Altar: The Dig At Mount Ebal (1991), is a text in which Milt Machlin's personal story as an author with interest in archaeology is focused on at a point in time of Jewish history when, upon conquering the Caananites, the victorious tribe built the altar called for by their Lord. As an archaeological text it speaks little of altars as described in this paper. It does however set up historical context in a time frame modern readers can relate to. Many questions remain unanswered about biblical accuracy, but this book discusses with frankness both the provable and the hypothetical.
Santeria Garments And Altars: Speaking Without A Voice (1994) by Ysamur Flores-Pena and Roberta J. Evanchuck, gives an overview of Santeria or "Lucumi," the Caribbean Orisha system of worship. The overview is offered as a necessary prelude to a vivid photo-documentation of the sacred clothing and altars of this Afro- Caribbean religion. Written by practitioners of the belief system, the information is accurate and detailed without being overly intellectualized. The personal voice of the text is especially interesting because Ysamur is in the vanguard of a living tradition.
Beautiful Necessity: The Art And Meaning Of Women's Altars (1999), by Kay Turner chronicles twenty-five years worth of research on personal altars of women. The text is richly illustrated with drawings and photographs both historical and modern, giving voice to a long suppressed truth of human belief that the home-based feminine center of worship is the rootstock of spirituality. This book is engaging as both a source of history and more so as a testament to modern altars, where all diversity is welcomed and inclusivity is broad and beautiful.
In Living Shrines: Home Altars Of New Mexico (1997), the author Marie Romero-Cash brings her personal history and experience as an altar-using child into the present as an adult. She uses both photo-documentation and quotes from many New Mexicans in a statewide exploration of shrines and altars. The many personal accounts make possible a wide perspective of altar use and belief within the Catholic-based interviewees. The photos are exceptional in this book, and one gets a real feel for this Southwestern reality.
In Home Altars Of Mexico (1997), Dana Salvo documents the traditional spiritual lifestyles of Mexico's mixed native people, photographing scores of home altars from the most simple to the amazingly ornate. A rich tradition is conveyed through text and illustrations that are both historical and modern, with discussion on spirituality ranging from that of the Aztecs to modern Mexicans. Native stories, both personal and cultural, are told throughout this book as many details surrounding altars used by these people fill the rich pages.
Rituals In Psychotherapy (1983), by Onno Van der Heart, sets the basis for a scientific approach to ritual. I appreciated the inclusion of several traditional healing, therapeutic, and family continuity rituals. The final chapter discusses the functions of therapeutic ritual.
Understanding Global Cultures (2001) is a textbook by Martin J. Gannon with a broad sociological overview of cultural metaphors, charting seven realities of modern culture as illustrated by multiple international examples of how humans address these states. I liked how culturally pervasive themes such as American football are equally considered with the Turkish coffeehouse as food for thought as these metaphors are examined.
Bringing Ritual To Mind (2002), by Robert M McCauley and E. Thomas Lawson, is an intellectual read in every sense, fit for upper division focused study. The graphs within present the abundant verbiage in a way that may help visual learners doing a study of the cognitive theories of religious ritual. The book Beginnings In Ritual Studies (1995), by Ronald L Grimes, is concerned with mapping modes of ritual. I was most drawn to the section of ritual and theater, but then found the "parashamanism" topic to be of the most interest.
Ritual And Religion In The Making Of Humanity (1999), written by Roy A. Rappaport, focuses on the religious aspect of ritual. The author completely disassembles and redefines virtually every aspect surrounding and including ritual. I found the definitions to be the most useful part of this work.
Urban Shaman (1990), by Serge Kahili King, is a book that brings into practice the benefits of ritual. It relies on Hawaiian shamanism as a foundation for numerous rites and invite the reader to participate in suggested rituals. The section on "What determines effective ritual" has been the most useful to me, a concise, cogent presentation on crafting great rituals.
Spirals (1979), written by Walter L. Brenneman, is a study of myth, symbol, and ritual. It is a reflection with a Jungian-based approach and modern mystical treatment. It is a literary treatise that is 'campy,' yet intelligent. I appreciated how ritual and myth are studied concurrently, paragraph by paragraph, throughout the dissertations on various topics.
The Magic Of Ritual (1991), by Tom F. Driver, presents ritual as a fundamental part of our terrestrial embodiment. I enjoyed the light, almost self-deprecating voice of the author as he links human ritual with animal ritualization as the basis for his approach to the study. The well chosen examples throughout this book engaged my interest.
Religious And Social Ritual (1996), edited by Michael B. Aune and Valerie De Marinis, discusses modern ritual aided by examples from several cultures. The text leads to a section on psychotherapeutic ritual and the overlap between science and religion. The material on Shingon Buddhist tradition is of particular interest.
A Druids Herbal (1995), by Ellen Everet Hopman, is for the most part a magical herbal, designed for use throughout the Western seasonal paradigm. Written from a Celtic Pagan perspective, the ritual material is a bridge between ancient Druidism and neo-Druidism. I enjoyed the clear concise writing and the novelty of writing an herbal around a circular theme rather than as a linear index of plants.
Entering The Summerland (1996), by Edain McCoy, is full of ritual ideas and descriptions related to its topic, that of death and dying. I rarely find the "cookie-cutter style" of examples of ritual to be useful. However, this book contains so many facts, ideas, chants, and bits of interesting information that it is a treasury of ritual fodder.
History Of Altars
The history of altar use is expanded with virtually every archeology discovery that predates our current scope of knowledge. In 1994, evidence of the oldest altar yet to be acknowledged was found with the discovery of the Chauvet Cave paintings in France. These pre-historic painted caves, dated to be up to 30,000 years old, also contain a block of stone with a skull of a cave bear placed upon it. In this respect, Robert Farris Thompson states in his book Face Of The Gods: Art And Altars Of Africa And The African Americas (1993) that "The altar appears in the art history of virtually all of the world." For those societies that have knowledge of their ancient cultures, such as the Greek and Chinese, the memory of altar use stretches back into the depths of time immemorial.
With the development of written languages being relatively recent, the history of ritual is harder to date than altar use, and long-standing oral traditions are forever blurred in the fog of our past. Oberon Zell- Ravenheart, while discussing the history of fire in his book Grimoire For The Apprentice Wizard (2004) states, "Gathered around our hearths and campfires, we sang our first songs, chanted our first chants, made our first music, danced our first dances, told our first stories, and performed our first plays." These activities remain as the foundation for many rituals.
Ancient sites show evidence of the probable marriage of ritual and altars found in such places as Stonehenge in Britain, where the "altarstone," as named by Inigo Jones, challenges modern thinkers to imagine the exact uses and inspiration for such a massive piece. Jewish history, with its written texts, is a trove of information regarding the history and use of altars in Hebrew tradition. Milt Maclin quotes [Deuteronomy 27: 1-8] in Joshua's Altar (1991), "...you shall set up these stones about which I charge you this day on Mount Ebal and coat them with plaster. There, too, you shall build an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones...you shall offer on it burnt offerings to the Lord your God...rejoicing before the Lord your God."
Current altar and ritual use is simply the continuation of an ancient practice. The modern use of altars and ritual is apparent in our present cultures, globally. An important initial step in this study is to examine in detail some of the definitions of "ritual" and "altar" as presented by some of the many writers on these subjects.
What Is An Altar?
Kay Turner, in her book Beautiful Necessity: The Art And Meaning Of Women's Altars (1999) explains, "... from the very beginnings of human consciousness, a particular religious artform has assuaged the terror of separation by creating a special site to serve the human desire for relationship with the unseen gods and spirits. We call that place an altar, a place set apart to house the images of powerful sacred beings, who by their presence there can be called upon for help and comfort. An altar makes visible that which is invisible and brings near that which is far away; it marks the potential for communication and exchange between different but necessarily connected worlds, the human and the divine." The terror she refers to is the uniquely human perception that we are disconnected from the divine as a consequence of our self-consciousness.
In its most basic structure, an altar consists of any surface, usually flat, upon which special items are placed. By being uniquely designated as an environmental space, an altar acts as a psychological trigger through which we are asked to recognize some element of life other than the mundane. The arranged items in this special place are a natural focal point for the observer, especially to the individual or organization responsible for the altar. Modern altars can be constructed from any number of materials: wood, glass, cardboard, and stone are often used. Many an end table or bookshelf has been converted into altar-space, as well as simply an area covered with a cloth. Milk crates, cardboard boxes, and brick and board shelves are on one side of the spectrum of useable materials; elaborately carved artworks and crystal surfaces are on the other. Kay turner writes in Beautiful Necessity: The Art And Meaning Of Women's Altars (1999), "Contemporary altar-builders range from the very traditional to the radically revisionist". Currently, set guidelines for altar construction can be followed, such as through Catholic and Jewish traditions in which directions for such are traced to the sacred texts of those faiths. Also to be found are altars which are continually evolving, such as one observes in Santeria.
Going beyond the basic level of the physical definition of an altar, we find its deeper truth for existence. People build altars as a portal to, and as a reflection of, the Divine. Marie Romero Cash explains in her book Living Shrines: Home Altars Of Mexico (1998) that "Altars project the faith of the believer into the heavenly realm, which they know exists but to which they have no access other than by the daily prayers said to the saints on the altar. They serve as a means to establish and maintain the communication that provides the spiritual well being of those who pray to the saints."
Altars personalize the grand mystery of the universe by bringing the vast into the manageable. Modern pagans, among others, use altars as reflections of this universe by presenting the macrocosm in the microcosm, using images of divine and natural forces as embodied in earthly forms. Yasmur Flores-Pena writes in Santeria Garments And Altars: Speaking Without A Voice (1994) that "Believers construct statues and altars to honor the spirits just as in many other faiths." However, most people of European Christian faith travel to temples and churches to experience the use of altars. This likely stems from the concept that a recognized intermediary in the form of a priest is to be responsible for the communication between humanity and the Divine. Catholic and Jewish sacred spaces feature prominent altars, while Protestant altar display has been reduced considerably to a simple table that holds the sacred text within the church.
In contrast to what has been stated above, many Mezo-American Christians avidly dedicate themselves to the construction and maintenance of home altars and shrines. This practice is similar to Afro-Caribbean and neo-pagan practice. Dana Salvo says in his book Home Altars Of Mexico (1997), "Mexico's Indian and Mestizo peoples, in acts of private devotion, regularly construct home altars to commemorate their relations with their ancestral past and their place within a grander cosmic order." An explanation of why this may have come to be the norm for American Latinos is discussed by Marie Cash in Living Shrines (1997): "Because priests and churches were spread over vast areas, the people developed their own home liturgies and church events... The Altarcito de Casa (home altar) was used for either formal or informal prayer. This community practice of devotion at home nurtured the faith of the people and strengthened their faith."
What Is A Ritual?
Ritual and ritualization are defined in practice as some set of actions carried on in some structured form. The term "rite" is analogous to ritual, and both are defined in Webster's Dictionary as "A ceremonial act or action." The process of performing a ritual leads to its ceremonialization, by way of drawing away from ordinary processes to enact some special display. Serge Kahili King Ph.D., in his book Urban Shaman: The Healing Rites Of Ceremony And Ritual (1990), writes, "I know that the word ritual can be used to mean any set pattern of behavior that may be carried out consciously or unconsciously (i.e., smoking, driving, exercise), but I'm using it...to refer to consciously organized behavior intended to impress and influence." This is also how we will use the term for the purpose of this course.
Some of the most common rituals modern people enact include: going to church services, creating personal worship outlets, marriages, funerals, baby showers, graduations, and the like. These events, like most rituals, are created for and carried out to be meaningful delineations of pastimes during one's ordinary life. In a similar way that altars are set apart in order to denote special environmental spaces, rituals stand apart in order to denote special meaning in life.
The use of ritual is intrinsic to the human condition. Tom Driver explains in The Magic Of Ritual (1991) that, "All over the world people perform rituals; and, from the archaeological evidence, it looks as if they always have... Most people in our society are not educated to think that the performance of ritual is a characteristic of human beings as is speaking language and living in social groups; yet this is what the record seems to show."
Why Do People Build Altars?
Any practice as widespread as altar building will present the appearance of many or at least several motivations for this practice. Looking below the surface, one may begin to discover the deeper similarities between apparently disparate human actions. The fundamental urges upon which we act reveal subconscious reasons for them relating to our human connectivity as a family, and as reminders of how we are connected. As stated in the introduction, religion and spirituality can be seen as maps that humans have employed to chart a course on the great adventure of our search for self-purpose and the reason for existence. Charting a path into the unknown is cause for some amount of concern, especially when that trail leads us into the realms in which energies and/or entities exist that are larger than our mortal envelope. In its quest to find a tool to interact with these larger forces, humankind has found some success in the form of the altar. Through such a form, grand concepts and divine mysteries can be easily symbolized, with objects that rest on it that represent these macrocosmic elements.
Humans have long sought a portal of communication to bridge the chasm we imagine exists "between" human and divine realms. Kay Turner writes in her book Beautiful Necessity: The Art And Meaning Of Women's Altars (1999), "An altar makes visible that which is invisible and brings near that which is far away; it marks the potential for communication and exchange between different but necessarily connected worlds, the human and the divine." Because charting the course into the unknown poses questions that cannot be answered on the human plane of existence, humans have striven to receive inspiration and guidance from the Divine. The altar becomes the nexus point at which the limitations of duality are released, and the holiness of certainty can be experienced.
The altars themselves are not representations of the divine. Rather, they house or host a space to display the Divine. In the book Joshua's Altar (1991), Milt Machlin describes primitive altar-like stones: "The practice of setting up commemorative stones, of maseboth, survives from very ancient times... The Israelites erected maseboth without ascribing divine qualities to them..." As well, an altar can be said to be a tool that holds other tools. Edain McCoy states in her book Entering The Summerland: Customs And Rituals Of Transition Into The Afterlife (1996), "On the practical side, an altar serves as a place to organize and set out tools and other items that will be needed during the rite, or which lend ambiance to the occasion... Symbolically, the altar represents the "All That Is," the canvas upon which reality is painted. It raises the sacred objects physically above the floor as symbol of raising the witch's attention of these things... All the objects upon the altar are representations, and also channels, for the larger ideas and concepts beyond the simple objects. Because of the belief in immanence, the altar objects become sacred-reflections and manifestations of the greater Divine."
Why Do People Create And Enact Rituals?
Rituals are moments of designation. The very nature of ritual is to separate from normal daily life. Our human need to create religion seems beyond question. Roy Rappaport, in his book Ritual And Religion In The Making Of Humanity (1999) states, "...humanity could not have emerged from its pre- or proto-human condition...in the absence of what we, in a common sense way call religion...The absolute ubiquity of religion, however defined, supports the attribution of such profound significance to it." Religion can only become overt with the enactment of ritual. The inner landscape of belief can only be witnessed outside of the self through this enactment. In the book Spirals: A Study In Symbol, Myth And Ritual (1979), Walter L. Brenneman, Jr. writes, "Ritual plays the role of an instinctual action and myth of the psychic image which apprehends that action. Myth, then, could be understood as archetypal image expressed in word, and ritual, as archetypal image expressed in gesture. Both are stylized, abstracted and iconified from the life-world and thus function as models..."
The maps of religion and spirituality, for humans, enable the enactment of rituals to become milestones and markers on the personal quest for peace of mind and spirit. When we embrace ritual, the dynamics within our psyche can benefit us greatly in those moments specifically designated to acknowledge times of challenge, celebration, growth and change. In the text Religious And Social Ritual (1996), edited by Michael B. Aune and Valerie DeMarinis, Richard K. Payne writes, "It is a widespread popular prejudice that, unlike science, ritual is not effective...ritual tended to be assigned to the lower, more primitive level called magic. The usual explanation is that magic's failure led, on the one hand, to science as a true technological mastery of the natural world, and on the other hand to religion as a true spiritual relation to the transcendent. If such a view of ritual were true, the advance of the science and secular institutions should have led to the disappearance of ritual... On the contrary, ritual remains a part of modern society... If we do see people as fundamentally pragmatic, then the retention of ritual would indicate that ritual continues to serve some useful function in contemporary society..." It can be seen by this statement that ritual is indeed effective, natural and useful in life. As Peggy Papp, in the Foreword to Rituals In Psychotherapy: Transition And Continuity (1993) by Onno van der Hart, writes, "Throughout history mankind has used rituals and ceremonies to mark the passage from one state of experience to another. It is an innate characteristic of human beings to dramatize important experience in this fashion."
An investigation of the effectiveness of altars and rituals for humanity could fill many books. Suffice it to say that they both enable us to feel connected and contented on some deep level. As part of the learning process of this course, the student is expected to create an altar of sorts, and to conduct a ritual. This activity will enable the personal truth within each student to be added to the truths that have been observed about the effectiveness of altars and rituals.
Elements Of Altars And Effective Rituals.
As stated earlier, an altar can be designed to be quite simple; it can be a designated place that contains as few as one element. Generally, though, people use the opportunity of altar-building as a tableau to feature multiple elements. Modern usage of altars can be separated into two categories: decor altars, and working altars. Decor altars are depositories for personally meaningful items which are often gifted, found or purchased by loved ones. These structures tend to grow in an organic way, evolving in complexity and character as the keeper of them also evolves.
Working altars are created with purpose and intention as a place where time will be spent in a focused way. These kinds of altars are often created and maintained according to a tradition that has been passed down. Examples of these are the home altars of some cultures, as Kay Turner writes in Beautiful Necessity: The Art And Meaning Of Women's Altars (1999), "...domestic altars are a very old tradition practiced for thousands of years by women of different religious beliefs the world over. The home altar is ancient in its legacy and yet continues to this day." The use of objects that reside on an altar can be dictated by tradition, or personal intuition can be the way they are chosen (or some combination of the two). A modern Wiccan altar is likely to be comparable to another altar created by unrelated builders. In these, one can expect to find items such as candles in the cardinal directions, a container of water, and an incense smudge stick, among other objects. Some traditions use embellishment to a great extent, as we read in Santeria Garments And Altars: Speaking Without A Voice (1994). Ysamur Flores-Pena explains, "The altars, which are usually built in a corner, display a variety of foliage or rich, beautifully suspended fabric... Transitional offerings of fruits and vegetables placed at the foot of the structure add the final decorative touch to the altars. This area is called the plaza." In many instances, statuary is an important element of altar design. The tremendous diversity of people can be expressed in what they choose to display on this sacred stage. Dana Salvo begins to explain the motivation of object placement this way in Home Altars Of Mexico (1997), "The sedimentary levels of history and experience represented by the particular emplacement of objects that adorn these domestic altars are powerfully emotive. Here objects, space, and time combine to conjure the holy." Yasmur Flores-Pena concludes, "The materials for the altar are considered sacred and are never used for anything else once they have been hung in or around a shrine."
The act of creating effective rituals can be both a science and an art. The art aspect is one that can take years to develop, and the personal style with which it is crafted will evolve as comfort level and skill level progress over time. Of course, the elements of art and style should be incorporated into the first and most basic of rituals that are created, because it will be seen that they have an important role to play. Keeping these additions simple in early rituals will help keep the focus on the task at hand. It will also help to create an effective ritual that has impact, and influences all that are involved in the ritual. As Serge Kahili King writes in Urban Shaman: The Healing Art Of Ceremony And Ritual (1990), "Ritual can serve many different purposes, but it won't serve them unless it is effective. An effective ritual is one which leaves a lasting impression and strongly influences people to reinforce or change assumptions, attitudes, or expectations. To do that it must be intellectually and emotionally satisfying... Otherwise it is no more than lifeless habit and dogma..."
In order for ritual to be effective there must be "very specific elements," King states, present in at least some measure. First, it must be set aside from all other time in some special way, such as by having a beginning and an ending. Those present will only be able to distinguish the ritual as such if it stands apart from the normal events of the day. It is important to have noticeable transitions for beginning and ending the ritual, such as a drum roll to introduce it and applause at the end. Next, a good ritual will involve as many of the senses as can be engaged. The sights, sounds, smells, movements, and even tastes present in the ritual will involve each participant exponentially as a co-creator in the reality that the rite is reflecting. In order to be understandable to those present, a ritual should also follow at least a somewhat known form. One would not begin a ritual at the end, nor end a ritual somewhere in the middle, if an effect other than confusion was desired. As discussed in Beginnings In Ritual Studies(1995), Ronald L. Grimes writes, "The sense of timing in a ritual process is as distinctive as it is in a piece of music..." The cues of familiar flow and reasonable expectations of event sequence are needed by ritual followers, as Robert N. McCauley and E. Thomas Lawson explain in Bringing Ritual To Mind: Psychological Foundations Of Cultural Forms (2002): "Although it may not always be immediately obvious, ritual actions are systematically connected to one another. The acts involved must follow in a certain order."
In order for a ritual to have maximum effect, the reasons for each element within it should be understood. People create and attend rituals, and it is these people for whom the rite is enacted. We are the facilitators of change, and the ritual is a tool. In order to participate in the co-creation of change, participants need to understand what is going on, even when dealing with the element of mystery and transcendence. These elements cast the ritual into a realm of specialness, where art and science interweave harmoniously.
Create An Altar
It is entirely possible that there is already a place in your home that can function as an altar space. You may not consider it as such, but nearly everyone has a place that collects precious objects. With some work and sanctification you may be a few steps from having a functional altar. If you do not have an interest in dedicating or maintaining a separate sacred space, you can craft an entirely mobile altar. Follow the steps below to create, at the very least, a temporary place of connection to the aspects of this universe that exist beyond our mortality. Step one is to start with a clean slate. Remove everything from your chosen area, if only temporarily.
Even if you have a working altar, take this opportunity to disassemble it completely. Next, thoroughly clean the space. Wipe down, vacuum, scrub, and even repaint your spot if necessary. While completing this process, use directed willpower to energetically cleanse the area. Use gestures such as sweeping arm movements, or blow your breath over the area while imagining a wind of renewal clearing all the past energies of the space. Now is the time to create some sort of delineation for your sacred space, if needed. Many people use altar-cloths, which are pieces of fabric they find attractive, to frame the altar. If you are dedicating an entire tabletop from some structure such as an end table or dresser top, or even simply an overturned cardboard box, the edges of your structure will serve as its delineation.
Once you have finished the steps above, you will be at the point of 'ritually purifying' the altar that is beginning to manifest. Similar to the cleansing step, this is a process of energetic work. Many people find using utilizing a smoke bath from an incense stick or smudge stick is a great way to purify a space. Others will use water or salt water sprinkled over the area. By using your imagination, these purifying tools will, of their own nature, cause an energetic shift. Allow yourself to have the inner certainty that the space is undergoing a transformational process in a way that is appropriate to sacred work.
What follows is the completely personal task of arranging the items you will display and use on your altar. Begin by collecting all the special items you have been gifted with or procured for yourself over your life. This may be overwhelming to consider, or it may be as simple as gathering a few trinkets you have been spiriting away. Through a process of energetic elimination, whittle down the items to the most appropriate number for display on your altar. If you follow a spiritual path that has a protocol for altar creation, you can gather the items that fit the dogma of your chosen path.
Cleanse each item to be used on your altar in similar way that you purified and cleansed the altar itself. Each item on your altar is representative of more than it may seem, at first glance. Allow your emotional ties to each item to speak to you about its deeper significance. You will often find that archetypical or universal processes are represented by the otherwise mundane items. If you are following a prescribed setup design, ponder deeply the already thought-out correspondences of the items you will be setting on your altar to these universal processes.
Now arrange the altar items on the surface of your altar. Allow intuition to be your first guide; this is not a time to be self-editing your every move. Sometimes creating an altar is similar to playing a game of magical chess: you place and move your belongings in a dance-like juxtaposition of evolving 'energetic give-and-take.' Eventually a type of balance is found, and an agreement with yourself is reached as to the placement of each special item on your new altar. If you are following a system that has pre-agreed upon placements for the altar items, you can still personalize the process as much as possible, being sure to reconsider each step of the process in order to deepen your connection with your chosen practice. Once the altar is set up, it is time to ritualistically inaugurate it. This can be to simply smudge it again, or with a more formal prayer of sanctification and consecration. You may be motivated to craft a few formal lines on paper, or perhaps be inspired with some appropriate words at the moment of dedication. The important thing to accomplish is to inform yourself, on a deep level, that the space that you have created is different from all other places in your life. The new altar has become your own personal gateway to the Divine. You have imbued it with energy through the creation process, and you have energetically crafted the matrix of vibration surrounding the space.
Congratulations! You are ready to put your altar to work.
Create A Ritual
As an example for creating a ritual, we will use a ritual that allows us to adopt a special name. This action will accomplish the formalization of taking on a nickname as a 'primary use' name. To begin, set aside the time and place for your rite in which you will not be disturbed by visitors or phone calls. The time necessary for this will depend entirely on the complexity of design of the ritual; this example will be a very quick process, lasting only a few minutes. Prepare all the materials needed with a clear sense of purpose and intention. You may want to incorporate your new altar, in which case do all of the necessary work for that process also. Next, arrange any materials you will be incorporating into the ritual in accessible areas, so that they will be within reach throughout your ritual. You are now ready to begin.
Start strong by creating a noise that is not part of your normal daily routine. Pretend to be a trumpet fanfare, "Da da dad um, Ta da da dad a dum." Say in a strong voice, "Hear now all, this rite of naming," or some such declaration. Stand upright in the center of the area you have chosen and turn around slowly to the left in a full circle. Exhale all of your breath. Take a deep breath and vocalize again, something like, "I have been known by the name for all of the time that this name held power for me. I am now releasing that name into the winds of time, and into the fires that consume. I allow the waters of renewal to cleanse me, and I now stand upon this ground renewed and ready to accept my new name. From this moment forward I am , and I shall be called that and known as until such time as I choose otherwise." Turn a full circle around to the right. Take a deep breath in which you visualize all of the virtues that you will possess and embody being drawn into you as you fill yourself with air. Hold your breath and think on the responsibilities you will shoulder as you grow into your new name. Then exhale and give a victory shout! If there are others present, each of them can say your new name back to you as they look into your eyes. Embrace, and say something like "It is done, may it be for the greatest good."
Conclusion
Life and the cycle of birth through death and rebirth is ever-dynamic. Truly, "The only constant is change," and "Even this shall pass" are our only certainties during our short lifetimes on this planet. As we seek ways to cope with this against our desire to be stable, we find the wisdom that only by flowing like the river can we ride the tide of evolution. To this end, we have a few tools that can help us in taking advantage of special moments in our lives, so that we can gain the perspective that all is indeed well. We can best adapt to our inherited condition of constant modification if we ritualize some aspects of life, and spend some of our time at a special place. This focus brings harmony, blessings and well-being within the self in all aspects of life.
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