image credit Clifton John Galasinao
Creating an Altar or Sacred Space
Creating and maintaining an altar can be a simple and effective way of shifting our focus from an outer world of doing to an inner world of being. An altar is any surface or area dedicated as sacred space that provides for a focus of spiritual intention. An altar doesn’t need to be fancy or ornate. Simplicity can actually help you to create focused intention.
Our intention for Soul Bridging is to create a place of rest, replenishment, delight, and discovery – in that way Soul Bridging itself could be considered an altar for Michelle and I. We carefully choose what contributes to it, in order that it holds the highest vibration possible. Through the energy of our intention we support connection, both for you internally through your personal work, but also through connection to wonderful and ordinary people doing soul work in the world.
Michelle and I want to share our personal altars with you in hopes that you will do the same. Let’s start a conversation about how we create sacred space in our everyday lives!
Michelle’s Altar
I have several altars in my home. Each of them hold sacred space that always reminds and calls me to remember who I am, and who I am called to be.
The altar in my creative workspace has a cloth from my Grandmother which represents all my ancestors. Placed on the cloth are two clay pieces; one, a woman representing the Divine Feminine and the other, a hand representing the Divine Masculine. Between them is a small basket that holds small gemstones that I use to offer prayers and intentions. I am committed to uniting these two energies within me.
Behind the cloth is a braid of sweet grass. Said to be the hair of Mother Earth, it is made of three braided strands representing love, kindness, and honesty, known by some as walking the Beauty Way. With the sweet grass is a sage stick. Sage medicine purifies and dispels negative energy. Quan Yin, the Goddess of Compassion, is to the left and she holds the door of compassion open always for me. On the right is a horse , a very important energy in my life – my journey with the horse invites me deeper into self discovery around true power, presence, friendship, and an indescribable love. Above my altar space I have placed my drum. It represents a renewed connection to rhythm and relationship that transports me in to greater connection to all that is.
My candles represent Spirit and serve as a reminder of my eternal connection to the light, as well as my commitment to continue to transform my darkness and bring the light to those places.
May you be inspired to create your own altar.
With love, depth, and beauty;
Michelle
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Therese’s Altar
My altar space is a very simple table in my workspace at home. A statue of Quan Yin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, is seated on a violet silk cloth with a candle behind her. Violet is the energy of bringing heaven to earth, and the candle is symbolic for bringing light into the world. Quan Yin carries the divine feminine (Sophia) energy of wisdom and loving kindness. I chose her to be the centerpiece of my alter to support me in being kind. I have a quick nature and this can be experienced by others as abruptness and impatience. Quan Yin’s presence serves as a reminder for me that I must always work through compassion and kindness to bring light into the world. Beneath the silk cloth and the alter are crystals that I sometimes use during meditation.
Next to the alter is my meditation space and burning bowl. During times of anxiety or stress, I will write my worries, fears, or unfulfilled hopes on a small piece of paper and place it in the bowl. When I am ready to let it go, I take the bowl outside and release them with fire.
We hope you will share your altar story. Sacred practices inspire others and your story may inspire someone else to make room for the sacred in their lives.
Love, light, and blessings;
Therese
Create Your Own Altar
A personal altar can be very easy to create. Choose a quiet space – a table, shelf, room, or even an area in nature will do. As you establish your altar space, it is important to set an intention that the space will be used to hold the energy of the divine. Light a candle, or burn incense to sanctify the energy of the space. As you select objects for your altar, choose meaningful items that represent, for you, your focused intention. They will serve as a regular reminder of what you are attempting to accent in your life. You may choose to cover your altar with a cloth, select a color or texture to the cloth that is symbolic or representative of intention. As you place the objects on your alter, focus your intention and infuse them with the power of your thoughts. Don’t be afraid to change your altar items over time. When new changes and challenges present, bring them to the altar for focused intention and inspiration.
Major life events often bring us to a deep place of uncertainty and challenge. Being willing to explore the emotions and questioning that these events often trigger can serve as a way for us to live beyond our roles and experience life more fully.
This month we celebrate the sun in the sign of Pisces and the moon in its opposite sign of Virgo. There are 5 planets in Pisces at the time of this full moon so we are flooded with this dreamy, mystical energy. Pisces is a water sign so we know that our emotional bodies will be highly sensitive this month. One of the most significant aspects of this full moon has to do with the planets Neptune and Saturn. Virgo is in opposition to Neptune and is trine to Saturn. What this asks of us is to access our unlimited imagination (Jupiter) and create the structure, (Saturn) to bring it into manifestation. Some good descriptive words for Pisces are: the dreamer, the mystic, the idealist, the martyr, the victim, the lost soul. At its highest expression Pisces can be a visionary, seeing the oneness in all things, and dreaming of how she can serve. But the lower octave of this energy can give her all in an attempt to save the world and thus martyr herself or begin to feel victimized by her sacrifices.
The planet of imagination, idealism and mystery, Neptune is the planet that generationally defines what society and culture finds glamorous and appealing. In recent years one could highlight the arts, movie stars, reality television personalities, the rich and famous, musicians, and many others, providing an outlet or avenue for some to lose themselves in the illusion of what is perceived as desirable.
The Twelfth House of the horoscope represents the areas of life associated with things that we cannot see, such as secrets, hidden friends and enemies, faith, the unconscious and karma. It also includes our inner strengths and weaknesses, the path to self-undoing, spiritual renewal and things lost. Often considered the ‘closet’ or ‘storehouse’ of the chart, anything that does not fit into the previous eleven houses seems to turn up here. Contrary to the 11th House, where everything is visible and ‘out there’, here in the 12th everything is considered either hidden, out of sight, or behind the scenes. T
Believe you can and you're halfway there. ~ Theodore Roosevelt
When we are willing to turn inward and face and understand our emotions and wounds, we unlock a tremendous potential for transformation. Through this process, we can begin to understand our emotions so that they can become a profound place of transition.