How To Create An Altar

Deck is Offerings Oracle Deck by Kaitlyn Graña. Get it here.

I remember how intimidated I was when I first started creating altars, now it’s one of my favorite rituals. I am here to remind you that the process of building an altar can be fun and creative. It doesn’t have to be aesthetically pleasing as long as it looks good to you. You are one of the main ingredients in this process.

In this blog post, you will learn what an altar is and get ideas on how to start building your altar. Spirit work is meant to be accessible you don’t need much to create an altar. Don’t worry if none of this resonates, rely on your intuition to support you.

What is an altar?

An altar is an area in your home dedicated to your spirits. Altars are an invitation for your honorable and good spirits to enter your home/space and bless it. It’s somewhere you go to be in communion with Spirit, to sit with them, to pray for them, to place your offerings for them. It’s a place where your creativity, intuition, and your interests can come together.

Can you have more than one altar?

Yes, you can have more than one altar. I suggest creating a main altar for your well Spirits, and others for your specific manifestations or for deepening your relationship with deities, plants, or planets. When you are first starting out, I suggest working with one altar until you have the basics down.

Pick a corner

You can use the directions, your traditions, or feng shui to guide you or pick any corner in the house that calls to you. I create my main altar facing the East based on my christian upbringing. I also utilize feng shui as a tool to utilize while working on manifestations or while working with specific planets. For example, if you desire to call in more love in your relationships you can work with planet Venus and create an altar where you honor her by using the planet’s colors and setting it up in the southwest corner of your room; which represents love and relationships. You can work with any Chinese Medicine practitioner who teaches feng shui.

Gather your items

When creating your altar you want to include all the elements if they are accessible to you.
Start with cool water in a clear glass, you can use tap water.
Next move to your candle, preferably white, because color carries energy and no other color attaches itself to white.
Then, pick an incense or an herb to burn. Preferably something you dried yourself like a rosemary bundle or cypress, or cedar.
You can use a selenite wand to clear and work with your favorite protective and clearing crystals like black obsidian black tourmaline.
Now it’s time to choose your altar cloth. Preferably a neutral color. It can be a crochet that your grandmother or you worked on. Pay attention to the pattern and the colors on the cloth for every little detail plays a role in calling in a specific energy.
When you are working with a specific ancestor you can use their photos and their items. If you don’t have access to their photos you can write their name on a piece of paper and place it on the altar. Allow your intuition to come out and have fun choosing the items for your altar. If something doesn’t feel right, trust it.
I also suggest working with bells to call in Spirits

Once you pick your location and gather your items, clear yourself, say your protective prayers, bless your hands, and get to work.

Clear yourself by:

Taking a cold shower
Taking a flower essence
Imagining a bright light waterfall
Using a selenite wand
Saying a cleansing prayer
Any clearing practice from your lineage

Protect yourself by:

Saying a protective prayer
Imagine a protective ward around you
Ask Archangel Michael to assist you here
Use black tourmaline

Clear your corner both physically and energetically using the tools you have gathered. I like to make a spiritual cleansing blend using PineSol, Flower Essences, Florida Water, and Water and use it when I'm cleaning my altar space.

Now that you and your space are clear, place all the items you gathered on the altar, light your candle and say your opening prayer inviting in.

A Traveling Altar I created in Edinburgh to honor and feed my late great Aunt

Offering ideas:

Flowers, Coffee, a meal, a poem, a song, a story, your time and attention.

Note: If you are offering your ancestors a snack or a meal keep the food on the altar until it’s not edible and dispose of it after.

Things to keep in mind when you are deepening your relationship with your ancestors through creating your altars

Your lineage and traditions play a key role in this journey
Your ancestors and their stories matter remember their stories
Your ancestors love hearing your voice so remember to read and sing to them
Your ancestors love to be fed (especially if some went through genocide, displacement, famine etc) so remember to feed them
You are working with the Spirits of your home and the land you’re on so remember to acknowledge them and honor them
Spiritual work is political
Reclaiming your spirituality is activism
Your intuition is your greatest guide here.
Remember to have fun and enjoy the journey

How To Create An Altar

In this blog post, you will learn what an altar is and get ideas on how to start building your altar. Spirit work is meant to be accessible you don’t need much to create an altar. Don’t worry if none of this resonates, rely on your intuition to support you.

What is an altar?

Can you have more than one altar?

How to create an altar

Pick a corner

Gather your items

When creating your altar you want to include all the elements if they are accessible to you.

Start with cool water in a clear glass, you can use tap water.

Next move to your candle, preferably white, because color carries energy and no other color attaches itself to white.

Then, pick an incense or an herb to burn. Preferably something you dried yourself like a rosemary bundle or cypress, or cedar.

You can use a selenite wand to clear and work with your favorite protective and clearing crystals like black obsidian black tourmaline.

Now it’s time to choose your altar cloth. Preferably a neutral color. It can be a crochet that your grandmother or you worked on. Pay attention to the pattern and the colors on the cloth for every little detail plays a role in calling in a specific energy.

I also suggest working with bells to call in Spirits

Once you pick your location and gather your items, clear yourself, say your protective prayers, bless your hands, and get to work.

Clear yourself by:

Taking a cold shower

Taking a flower essence

Imagining a bright light waterfall

Using a selenite wand

Saying a cleansing prayer

Any clearing practice from your lineage

Protect yourself by:

Saying a protective prayer

Imagine a protective ward around you

Ask Archangel Michael to assist you here

Use black tourmaline

Clear your corner both physically and energetically using the tools you have gathered. I like to make a spiritual cleansing blend using PineSol, Flower Essences, Florida Water, and Water and use it when I'm cleaning my altar space.

Now that you and your space are clear, place all the items you gathered on the altar, light your candle and say your opening prayer inviting in.

Offering ideas:

Flowers, Coffee, a meal, a poem, a song, a story, your time and attention.

Note: If you are offering your ancestors a snack or a meal keep the food on the altar until it’s not edible and dispose of it after.

Things to keep in mind when you are deepening your relationship with your ancestors through creating your altars

Your lineage and traditions play a key role in this journey

Your ancestors and their stories matter remember their stories

Your ancestors love hearing your voice so remember to read and sing to them

Your ancestors love to be fed (especially if some went through genocide, displacement, famine etc) so remember to feed them

You are working with the Spirits of your home and the land you’re on so remember to acknowledge them and honor them

Spiritual work is political

Reclaiming your spirituality is activism

Your intuition is your greatest guide here.

Remember to have fun and enjoy the journey

Cleansing During Eclipse Season