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ОглавлениеEstablishing a Power Source: Creating a Personal Altar
Before there were temples and churches, the primary place of reverence was the altar. The word altar comes from a Latin word that means “high place.” With a personal altar, you can reach the heights of your spirituality and grow higher in wisdom. You construct an altar when you assemble symbolic items in a meaningful manner and focus both your attention and intention. When you work with the combined energies of these items, you are performing ritual. Your rituals can arise from your needs, imagination, or the seasonal and traditional ceremonies that you find in this book and in others. In her marvelous collection, A Book of Women’s Altars, Nancy Brady Cunningham recommends “bowing” or placing your hands on the ground in front of your altar as you end the ritual. “Grounding symbolizes the end of the ritual and signals the mind to return to an ordinary state of awareness as you re-enter your daily life.” An altar is a physical point of focus for the ritual, containing items considered sacred and essential to ritual work and spirituality. An altar can be anything from a rock in the forest to an exquisite antique table. Even portable of temporary altars can suffice—a board suspended between two chairs, for example, can become sacred space if it’s consecrated. You can also create more than one altar if you have the room or have multiple, specific needs, such as attracting work, creativity, love, or healing. You can also have altars dedicated to various deities, if you desire to go deep into the energies of those gods or goddesses. You can also create shrines to honor a deity. A shrine is a place devoted to a divinity that becomes hallowed by that association. A shrine can be any size that suits your circumstance, such as a corner in a room, an entire building, or even a small shelf or windowsill that receives the light of the moon and sun. You can also use a large space or create a home temple space that accommodates highly complicated and intricate rituals for regular use with a large group.
Tradition usually places the feminine Goddess space on the left-hand side of the altar and the masculine God space on the right. Once you are comfortable and experienced with ritual work, you can begin to customize the altar.
Tripods: Mobile Altars
Outdoor altars are usually of a temporary nature—the beach is a wonderful place to set up a one-day altar on driftwood with seaweed and shells. There, unless the beach is too crowded, you can commune with the water deities and seek your deepest reaches of spirit. Forest, farm, and meadow offer earth and sky and the sanctity of nature in which to build your altar.
In Athens during the classical period, the lane leading to the temple dedicated to the god Dionysus was called the Avenue of Tripods because it was lined with small tripod altars; this was a holy road indeed. Tripod originates in the Greek word meaning “three footed,” and these altars functioned as the sites of offerings. A three-footed altar is more practical for outdoor use than a regular four-legged table because it is stable on uneven ground. For your outdoor rituals, therefore, it’s best to acquire a tripod that will provide a steady surface for your ritual work performed out in the holy realm of Nature.
At Delphi, the revered oracular center, the Pythoness and her sisters prophesied from the sacred seat of power, a tripod.
Fireplace Altars
Vesta is the Roman cognate of the revered Greek goddess, Hestia, “first of all divinities to be invoked” in classical rituals. In Greece, they had public hearths called prytaneums that came under the domain of the most revered Hestia, protector of “all innermost things,” according to the great philosopher Pythagoras, who also claimed that her altar fire was the center of the earth. The altar of Vesta in classical Rome was tended by the Vestal Virgins and was also believed to be the very center of the earth. The insignia for the goddess Vesta was an altar table with flames at both ends, forming the Greek letter “pi,” which is the numerological symbol for the Pythagorean sect.
The Vestal Virgins were the keepers of Rome’s eternal flame. It was believed that if the fire of Vesta’s altar went out, the Roman Empire would fall. In the fourth century, C.E., Christians extinguished the vestal fire and began the process of erasing pagan religions and symbols.
The oldest lore of Hestia and Vesta comes down to us from Cicero’s De Natura Deorum and stems from ancient forms of worship performed by people for whom the hearth and clan fires were under the province of the clan mother. During the ages when people were hunters and gatherers, one dominant woman took care of the clan by keeping the fire burning at all times. She fed her clan and became the presence at the very heart and center of the tribe. She held the tribal wisdom and stories, healed wounded hunters, acted as midwife, and took on the role of key caretaker of the people. These most basic needs of life—food and warmth provided by fire—created the solid center of life for clans and tribes and soon became holy. This sacred center of fire has continued to evolve through the millennia to our modern altars, shrines, and churches with their candles.
Fireplace altars today hearken back to this earliest custom. Home and hearth have primal appeal to the comfort of both body and soul. If you have a fireplace, it can become the very heart of your home. The fireplace is also one of the safest places of the ritual work of fire keeping. Sanctify your fireplace with a sprinkling of salt, and then set it up as an altar to the four seasons. Like the Vestal Virgins of old, you can keep a fire burning in a votive glass holder in the back of your fireplace and have an eternal flame. The fireplace can be your simplest altar and a reflection of the work of nature. If you don’t have a real fire in your fireplace, you can place in it beautiful sacred objects—pretty rocks, feathers, seashells, glistening crystals, beautiful leaves, and anything representing the holiest aspects of the world around you. Let nature be your guide.
In ancient times, altars were blessed by blood. In fact, the word “blessing” is derived from the Old English bletsain, derived from the older form bleodswean, which means “to purify thought the application of blood.” Indeed, altars were blessed in earliest times by the blood of animals or even captives from tribal wars. Now we bless altars by sprinkling them with salt, a magical substitute for blood.
Seasonal Altars
There are many reasons to create personal altars, and four of those reasons are the seasons of the year. You altar helps you to maintain balance in your life and deepens your spiritual connection to the world around you. A seasonal altar is your tool for ceremonies to honor Mother Nature and connect with the deeper wisdom of the earth. A seasonal altar enshrines the natural world and blends the energies of flowers, stones, shells, leaves, and any and all gifts of the season. I think of my seasonal altar as the middle ground between earth and sky, the meeting point of the four elements: earth, air, fire, and water. Creating a seasonal altar is a life-affirming act. It is my way of honoring our ecology and our planet.
Spring
You can create a wonderful outdoor altar for spring by planning two seasons ahead and planting tulip or hyacinth bulbs in a circle. When the flowers begin to bud, place an image or statue in the center. It could be a bust of the Greek youth, Hyacinth, immortalized in myth and in the gorgeous flower itself. Throughout the spring, you can stand inside your circle and pray or chant for the rebirth of the world all around you.
Summer
During this season of sun and heat, the fullness of life and growth can be celebrated with colors of yellow, green, and red. As you travel on vacation, bring back shells and stones and create an altar devoted to this season of joy.
Fall
The leaves are now falling and the harvest is here, calling for a gratitude altar that reflects the bounty and continuance of live. An arrangement of pumpkins, acorns, multicolored branches, and a handsome bouquet of leaves will honor the natural changes that characterize autumn.
Winter
White and blue represent snow and sky. Star-shaped candles and a bare branch on your altar symbolize this time to go within, explore the inner reaches of self, and draw forth the deepest wisdom for the coming spring. In The Blessed Bee, a Pagan family magazine, Selene Silverwind writes on the subject of setting up a candle-free children’s altar. She emphasizes the importance of changing the altar for every season and holy day, specifically for Samhain, our modern-day Halloween, and Yule, the precursor to our Christmas. In so doing, Silverwind points out that you are “teaching children to connect with faith at a deep level,” helping them participate in their religion in a physical way instead of trying to stand quietly at a ritual. You are also teaching them the meaning of the seasons and how they affect us.
Healing Altar: Crafting Well-Being
Creating a healing altar will safeguard your physical health and that of your loved ones. Your altar is your sacred workspace. It is charged with your personal power. Set up your healing altar facing north, the direction associated with the energy of manifestation. North is also the direction of the hour of midnight, the “witching hour,” and an altar set up facing north at midnight promises potent magic.
To ensure healthful beginnings, find a pure white square of fabric to drape over your altar to make a tabula rasa, or altar equivalent to a blank slate. Take two green candles and place them in green glass holders or votive glasses and position them in the two farthest corners of the altar. Place your incense burner in the center between the two candles and light the incense. Sandalwood, cinnamon, camphor, and frankincense are all powerful purification incenses that are perfect for the creation of a healing altar. Burn one or all of these purification essences to consecrate the space. Adorn your altar with objects that symbolize healing energy to you. You may perhaps choose a candleholder carved from a chunk of amethyst crystal, which contains healing properties; an abalone shell with the iridescent magic of the oceans; a sweet-smelling bundle of sage; a small citrus plant bursting with the restorative power of vitamins; or a bowl of curative salts from the sea.
These symbolic items, and any others that you select, will energize your altar with the magic that lives inside you. It is also important that the altar be pleasing to your eye and makes you feel good when you look at it so that you want to spend time there each and every day. After you have been performing rituals there for a while, a positive healing energy field will radiate from your altar.
Altar Herbs
Refer to this list whenever you are setting up your altar and setting your intention for ritual work. It is a concise guide to the enchanted realm of herbs, essences, plants and plant properties.
Benzoin can be used for purification, prosperity, work success, mental acuity, and memory.
Camphor can be used for healing, divining the future, curbing excess, especially romantic obsessions, and a surfeit of sexuality.
Cinnamon refreshes and directs spirituality. It is also a protection herb and handy for healing, money, love, lust, personal power, and success with work and creative projects.
Clove is good for bringing money to you, for protection, for your love life, and for helping evade and deter negative energies.
Copal should be used for love and purification.
Frankincense is another spiritual essence that purifies and protects.
Lavender is a plant for happiness, peace, true love, long life, chastity, and is an excellent purifier that aids with sleep.
Myrrh has been considered since ancient times to be deeply sacred. It aids personal spirituality, heals and protects, and can help ward off negative spirits and energies.
Nutmeg is a lucky herb that promotes good health and prosperity and encourages fidelity.
Patchouli stimulates and grounds while engendering both sensuality and fertility. It also supports personal wealth and security.
Peppermint is an herb of purification, healing, and love. It supports relaxation and sleep as it helps to increase psychic powers.
Rosemary is good for purification, protection, healing, relaxation, and intelligence. It attracts love and sensuality, helps with memory, and can keep you youthful.
Sage brings wisdom, purification, protection, health, and a long life. It can help make your wishes come true.
Sandalwood is a mystical, healing, protecting essence that helps attract the objects of your hopes and desires and dispenses negative energies and spirits.
Star Anise is a lucky herb that aids divination and psychism.
Tonka Bean brings courage and draws love and money.
Vanilla brings love and enriches your mental capacity.
Wood Aloe is good for dressing or anointing talismans and amulets you want to use for protection.
Prosperity Altar: Using the Laws of Attraction
Your altar is the nexus of your magical powers; it is also your medium through which you give gifts to the Roman god of abundance, Jupiter, also known as Jove. Jupiter is a rain and thunder deity who also controls fertility. He will rain abundance down upon you if you gain his favor through ritual observance. His “jovial” qualities include leadership, jollity, generosity, expansiveness, and a royal manner. Your middle finger is your Jupiter finger and you can also increase your fortunes by leaving a ring on your altar overnight and then place it upon the middle finger of either hand. Ideally, for the best result, it will be a green or gold stone such as peridot, tourmaline, or citrine. If you can find a statue or bust of Jove, you should place this symbol on the right side of the altar, accompanied by the image of an eagle, which is the ideal prosperity altar emblem, as the eagle is Jupiter’s bird totem. The eagles of Rome and America are this royal bird of the king of gods. Lapis lazuli, the beautiful blue stone beloved of the Egyptians, is also sacred to Jupiter. The alchemical symbol for this stone is the astrological sign of Jupiter in reverse, and the blue of the lapis stone is associated with the blue of the sky god. You can increase your prosperity by remembering one of the most basic principles of prosperity: By giving, so shall you receive.
To create a prosperity altar, consecrate the area with sea salt. Cover a low table with green and gold altar cloths or scarves and place matching candles on it. Each day, “recharge” your altar with an altar gift such as flowers, jade or other green crystals, golden flowers, scented amber resin, and coin-shaped pebbles. On any Thursday or new moon, light your candle at midnight and burn frankincense and myrrh incense. Make an offering of a golden fruit such as apples or peaches to Jupiter, and anoint your third eye with a corresponding essential oil such as myrrh, frankincense, apple, or peach. Pray aloud:
This offering I make as my blessing to all.
Greatest of gods, Lord Jove of the sky.
From you, all heavenly gifts do fall.
Most generous of all, you never deny.
To you, I am grateful, and so mote it be!
Put the candle in a safe, fireproof place and let it burn all night. You will dream of your loved ones, including yourself, receiving a bounty of material and spiritual wealth.
Pot of Gold: An Abundance Altar Blessing
Cauldron magic is more about the act of brewing something new than it is about purification by water. To attract money, fill a big pot with fresh water and place it on your altar during the waxing moon. Pour into it an offering of a cup of milk mixed with honey. Toss handfuls of chamomile, woodruff, moss, and vervain into the cauldron. With your hands raised, say aloud:
I call upon you, gods and goddesses of old, to fill my purse with gold. In return, I offer your honey’s gold and mother’s milk. With harm to none and blessings to thee, I honor you for bringing me health and prosperity.
Place the offering bowl on your altar and leave the aromatic mixture there to imbue your space with the energy of abundance. When the magic has been fulfilled (or before the milk and herbs begin to spoil). pour it outside your home into the ground and bow in appreciation of the kindness of the gods and goddesses.
The Bounty of Nature
The following list of herbs can be used in ritual work whose intention is prosperity. Try these alone of in mixtures, tinctures, or incense. You can also plant a prosperity garden and refresh your abundance altar with herbs and flowers grown by your own hand.
Prosperity herbs include: allspice, almond, basil, bergamot mint, cedar, cinnamon, cinquefoil, clove, clover, dill, ginger, heliotrope, honeysuckle, hyssop, jasmine, myrtle, nutmeg, oak moss, orange, peppermint, pine sage, sassafras, vervain, and woodruff.
Peace of Mind: A Happy Home Altar
On a low table or chest of your choosing, place a forest green scarf and a brown candle to represent your family. Add lovely objects that you have found around your home and garden: a special fallen leaf, ocean-carved driftwood, lacey dried lichen, smooth stones, or whatever your heart desires. It is of utmost importance to add a bouquet of wildflowers native to your area that you have gathered close to your home or purchased locally. This bouquet will help integrate your home into your neighborhood and the geographic area in which you live. If possible, add a sweetly scented sachet of potpourri made from your home kitchen garden. Add personal mementos like photos or a locket with a photo of your spouse and children. Burn your favorite essential oils, the ones that create an aura of instant comfort for you, such as vanilla, cinnamon, or sweet orange neroli in an oil lamp. Finally, anoint the brown candle while concentrating on peace and bliss surrounding your home. Chant:
Here burns happiness about me.
Peace and harmony are in abundance,
And here true bliss surrounds.
From now on, disharmony is gone.
This is a home of peace and blessings.
Here sheer joy lives.
This consecrated space will ease your spirits at any time. Your altar connects you to the earth of which you are a part.
Home Protection Potpourri
Simmer this mixture whenever you feel the need to infuse your home and heart with the energies of protection. This will safeguard you and your loved ones from outside influences that could be negative or disruptive. Set your intention and gather together the following herbs:
1/4 cup rosemary
4 bay laurel leaves
1 tablespoon basil
1/8 cup sage
1 teaspoon dill weed
1/8 cup cedar
1 teaspoon juniper berries
Mix the herbs together by hand. While you are doing this, close your eyes and visualize your home as a sacred place protected by a boundary of glowing white light. Imagine that the light runs through you to the herbs in your hand and charges them with the energy of safety, sanctity, and protection. Add the herbs to a pan filled with simmering water. When the aromatic steam rises, intone:
By my own hand, I have made this balm;
This divine essence contains my calm.
By my own will, I make this charm;
This precious potpourri protects all from harm.
With harm to none and health to all,
Blessed be!
Astrological Herbology
You can also choose the herbs for your altar based on your sun or moon sign. Explore making tinctures, incense, oils, potpourri, and other magical potions for your rituals using celestial correspondences. For example, if the new moon is in Aries when you are performing an attraction ritual, try using peppermint or fennel, two herbs sacred to the sign of the Ram. If you are creating a special altar for the time during which the sun is in the sign of Cancer, use incense oils, teas, and herbs corresponding to that astrological energy, including jasmine and lemon. These correspondences create a synthesis of energies that adds to the effectiveness of your magical work.
Sanctuary and Serenity Magical Potpourri
Potpourri was a medieval product revived by the Victorians, who used the symbolic meanings and powers of flowers. Grow these flowers in your kitchen garden or buy cut flowers. Dry them; then pace them in a pretty container. Choose flowers that connect with your astrological sign and personal energy from the following list:
Aries, ruled by Mars: carnation, cedar, clove, cumin, fennel, juniper, peppermint, and pine
Taurus, ruled by Venus: apple, daisy, lilac, magnolia, oak moss, orchid, plumeria, rose, thyme, tonka bean, vanilla, violet
Gemini, ruled by Mercury: almond, bergamot, mint, clover, dill, lavender, lemongrass, lily, parsley
Cancer, ruled by the Moon: eucalyptus, gardenia, jasmine, lemon, lotus, rose, myrrh, sandalwood
Leo, ruled by the Sun: acacia, cinnamon, heliotrope, nutmeg, orange, rosemary
Virgo, ruled by Mercury: almond, cypress, bergamot, mint, mace, moss, patchouli
Libra, ruled by Venus: catnip, marjoram, mugwort, spearmint, sweet pea, thyme, vanilla
Scorpio, ruled by Pluto: allspice, basil, cumin, galangal, ginger
Sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter: anise, cedar wood, sassafras, star anise, honeysuckle
Capricorn, ruled by Saturn: mimosa, vervain, vetiver
Aquarius, ruled by Uranus: gum, almond, acacia, citron, cypress, lavender, mimosa, peppermint, pine
Pisces, ruled by Neptune: anise, catnip, clove, gardenia, lemon, orris, sarsaparilla, sweet pea
New Moon Herbal Potpourri
This flower-infused potpourri is wonderful for clearing the way for the new in your life and planting “seeds” for new moon beginnings. You can also create a wreath with garlic bulbs for self-protection and insurance that your newly laid plans won’t go awry.
Flower Ingredients:
Rose, Marigold, Cyclamen, Snapdragon, Carnation
Place the flowers in a bowl and then sprinkle them with a few drops of geranium, clove, and cinnamon oil. Place the mixture on the south point of your altar for the duration of a full lunar cycle, from new moon to new moon. A wreath of these same flowers with garlic cloves woven in will protect you from harm and illness. If you want to remain calm at your place of work, place a small, sweet-smelling bowl of your sanctuary incense on your desk for constant comfort.
Inspiration Altar: Unleash Your Creative Powers
Your personal altar is the ideal environment to incubate your ideas and can be a touchstone for daily conjuring and contemplation. By preparing your home and sparking your inner flames, you can clear away personal blocks and invite in friendly spirits who will aid you in personal pursuits, no matter what your line of work is.
On a low table or chest, place an orange or gold scarf and the following elements: yellow, orange, and gold candles for stimulating intelligence and clarity; bergamot oil for energy; and vanilla incense for mental power.
In an amber or clear glass bowl on the altar, place cloves and sage leaves or bundles. Next, add items that symbolize your personal creativity—perhaps a poem you wrote, a figure you sculpted, or a photograph you took of the altar.
Place benzoin, an herb for all-around mental strength and clarity, in your incense burner; it will bring inspiration from the psychic realm. Add any gifts from nature that inspire you—luminous shells, chunks of quartz, or feathers. Arrange your altar in a way that pleases you and stimulates your senses. Now, anoint the candle with bergamot essential oil while you meditate to clear your mind of any distractions. This is an essential step in opening the mental and spiritual space necessary to create, whether your intention is to create a ritual of your own design or an art project. Once you feel focused, light a sage leaf and wave it gently around so the cleansing smoke permeates your altar space. Light the anointed candles and the incense with a candle. Now set and speak your intention:
By my hand,
And by the blessing of the spirits,
The fire of my creativity
Burns bright,
Burns long,
Burns eternal.
Blessings to me and all who create!
Banishing Creative Blocks: Nature as Altar
To overcome any blocks of fear obstructing your creative output, you can dispel the negative energy by going for a walk in the nearest park. Find a round, flat rock, six to ten inches wide. This will become an altar supplied directly to you by Mother Nature, and it will have the purest energy. Begin by charging this stone on the full moon at your home altar. Light a white candle for purification, and then place your hand on the stone and chant three times:
Goddess of Night, moon of tonight,
Fill this stone with your light,
Imbue it with all your magic and might,
Surround it with your protective sight.
So mote it be.
Ideally, you’ll want to perform this spell three times on three consecutive full moons before you begin drawing upon its energy. Like your altar, your stone will be a reservoir you can turn to any time you feel stuck or uninspired. Make a pilgrimage to it when you require creative rejuvenation.
Aphrodisiacal Altar: Sacred Space for Love
To prepare for new relationships and deepen the expression of feeling and intensity to your lovemaking, create a center from which to renew your erotic spirit. Here you can concentrate your energy, clarify your intentions, and make wishes come true. If you already have an altar, incorporate some special elements, such as red candles or red crystals, or anything associated with Venus, like copper or a seashell to enhance your sex life. Your altar can sit on a low table, a big box, or any flat surface dedicated to magic. One friend of mine has her sex altar at the head or her bed. Begin by purifying the space with a sage smudge stick—a bundle of sage that you burn as your pass it through the space. Then cover your altar with a large red silk or silk-like fabric. Place two red candles at the center of your altar and place a soul mate crystal—two crystals naturally fused together—at the far right corner of the altar. These are available at metaphysical stores. Anoint your candles with jasmine and neroli oil. Also keep the incense you think is sexiest on your altar. Your sex altar is also a place where you can keep sex toys that you want to imbue with magic. Place fresh Casablanca lilies in a vase and change them the minute they begin to fade. Lilies are heralded as exotic and erotic flowers prized for their seductive scent.
Love Altar Dedication
Light candles and incense and dab the jasmine and essential oils above your heart. Speak aloud:
I light the flame,
I fan the flame,
Each candle I burn is a wish.
My lust will never wane.
I desire and I will be desired.
Harm to none, so mote it be.
Sacred Aztec Animal Altar: Become Conscious of Your Nagual
In Central Mexico, the Nahuatl Indians believe we all have at least one “animal soul.” Like your natal chart, the animal soul, or nagual, is born exactly when you are. It is tied to your destiny. Legend tells us that our soul animals are kept and cared for in the underworld by the Aztec Lord of Animals. If you care for your nagual, you will also be under the safekeeping of the Lord of the Underworld. One excellent way to take care of your nagual is to create and altar to honor and work with it. Place photos and mementos of living loved ones and pets on an altar table in a circle to represent the world in which you live. Hang symbols or illustrations of protective presences on the wall behind your nagual altar—gods, goddesses, saints, orishas, or whoever you feel is benevolent. These deities connect you to the realm of the sky. Beneath your altar, place a treasure box of photos, gifts, or keepsakes in honor of your ancestors to please the spirits of the underworld and their realm, known as Talocan.
Place fresh flowers upon your altar every day and “feed” you soul animal, the Lord of the Underworld, and his throng. They will feel well served if each day you share with them water, food that you have cooked for yourself, freshly baked bread, and sweets. While it might seem surprising, the spirits of the nether realm like the earthly pleasures of tobacco and alcohol, so provide them with these offerings as well. Light a candle on your altar each and every day as homage. Obtain a feather, a horn, a bone, and another animal relic to place on your altar; it is important that you get this sacred object without harming any beasts. Your altar is a blessing to the animals of this world and the next.
You now have a way to discover your personal soul animal. The dream world is where we can encounter such spirits. Sleep in front of your Aztec altar, and pray to the Lord of the Underworld to care for you and reveal your nagual to you. Keep a dream journal and pay close attention to any animals that show up in your life. As you go about your day, take time to pet and commune with these animals if it is safe or possible to do so. Taking care of animals is our sacred duty and is pleasing to the spirits of Talocan.
Magical Animal Correspondences:
Canary: harmony, joy, love, luck
Chameleon: mutability, color, invisibility, protection, and power over weather
Fish: wealth, family, children, divination, finding your spouse
Frog: initiation, transformation, regeneration, annihilation of the negative and psychic blocks
Bird: travel, amplified mind and memory, divination
Cat: independence, protection, uncovering secrets, spirits
Dog: loyalty, sustained effort, hearing, friendship, guardian
Lizard: dreams and dream divination, powers of the imagination
Lovebirds: love and marriage, partnership and companionship
Parrot: impersonation, mindless chatter, repetition
Snakes: creativity, wisdom, psychism, rebirth and regeneration, relation to spirits
Spider: insight, originality, new start
Turtle: patience, perspicacity, longevity
Stone Shrines: Creating a Crystal Altar
By building a stone shrine, altar, or power center in your home, you can create a place for daily conjuring, rituals, and thinking. This will set the stage for you to focus your ideas and make them grow. Having a shrine in your home allows you to rid yourself of personal obstacles and invite friendly spirits. Your shrine will spark your inner flame and bring daily renewal. The more use an altar gets, the more energy it builds, making your spells even more effective.
Create your shrine on a low table covered in a white scarf. Set rainbow candles in an arc and then add black and white candles. Place a heatproof bowl containing amber incense (good for creativity and healing), and place it in the center of the rainbow, surrounded by quartz. You should also keep a stick of sage or a seashell on your altar for cleansing the space every day.
Prosperity stones should be to the far left on the altar, in the money corner. Romance crystals should sit to the far right on the altar.
The rest of your altar should consist of meaningful, personal symbols. They should reflect your spiritual aspirations. I keep fresh wildflowers in a vase, a statue of a goddess, abalone shells, a magnetite obelisk, and a rock-crystal ball on my altar. An obelisk or pyramid on your altar can be used for writing out desires and wishes. You can use just about anything—photos of loved ones, religious images, and so forth.
With your altar, you can create a bridge between your outer and inner worlds. It can even be a place where you commune with the deepest and most hidden parts of yourself. An altar is where you can honor the rhythms of the season and the rhythms of your own life. An altar is a touchstone, a place to see the sacred and incorporate it into your life each and every day. It can be your special corner of the world where you can rest and connect with your spiritual center. Creating and augmenting your altar every day is one of the most soul-nourishing acts you can do.
Following it a table of different crystals and what their presence on your altar will mean:
Altar Crystal: amazonite, aventurine, carnelian, chrysolite, chrysoprase, citrine, green tourmaline, malachite, yellow fluorite
What They Mean: Creativity
Altar Crystal: amethyst, azurite, celestite, lapis lazuli, moonstone, selenite, smoky quartz, sodalite, star sapphire, yellow calcite
What They Mean: Intuition
Altar Crystal: amethyst, magnetite, rhodochrosite, rose quartz, twinned rock crystals
What They Mean: Love
Altar Crystal: bloodstone, carnelian, citrine, dendritic agate, diamond, garnet, hawk’s-eye, moss agate, peridot, ruby, tiger’s-eye, topaz, yellow sapphire
What They Mean: Prosperity
Altar Crystal: amber, apache tear, chalcedony, citrine, green calcite, jade, jet, smoky quartz
What They Mean: Protection
Altar Crystal: azurite, chalcedony, chrysocolla, green tourmaline, hematite, rutilated quartz, tiger’s-eye
What They Mean: Self-Assurance
Altar Crystal: amber, aventurine, blue jade, dioptase, Herkimer diamond, jasper, kunzite, moonstone, onyx, peridot, quartz, rhodonite
What They Mean: Serenity
Altar Crystal: carnelian, obsidian, quartz, selenite, sodalite, topaz
What They Mean: Success
Altar Crystal: agate, aventurine, bloodstone, calcite, chalcedony, citrine, dioptase, emerald, garnet, orange calcite, ruby, topaz
What They Mean: Vigor
Altar Crystal: emerald, fluorite, Herkimer diamond, moldavite, serpentine, yellow calcite
What They Mean: Wisdom
