Building Altars in the World

Are you lucky enough to know someone who creates altars in their home, or garden?  You may be surprised at how many of us do.  Next time you pass a house with a stone rune, or a solitary plaster angel by the door, you can be sure you have strayed onto sacred ground.

As we wend our way towards the end of the Lenten journey — a time of inward reflection, discernment, and new clarity — you can give yourself an early Easter gift by constructing a simple altar by which to remember what you have learned, give thanks for that learning, and to inspire you daily with whatever commitments and choices have come from this time.

Altars are holy places for every spiritual tradition on earth for a reason.  When the life around us is spinning amidst the chaos of the marketplace, war, political mayhem and opportunism — to say nothing of the personal dramas that come and go — having a space that in some way reminds us of what we value steadies and centers us.  Altars are often placed near thresholds into and out of homes, to greet and to bless as we enter and depart.

Altars are very simple affairs, actually, and wonderful tools for the spiritual life.  I usually begin by gathering the objects and colored fabrics that speak to me of the season, and represent something of my journey.  It might be a small stone, a feather, something I picked up on my walk that felt representative of my state of being, or an item once gifted to me.  I’ve been known to pick up rusted buttons, pieces of birch bark, a special paperweight, a small vase into which I can place spring flowers.  Here is one of my more elaborate altars, an homage to the feminine spirit.

Make a special time away from the bustle of your day to make your altar.  Be clear about your intentions.  Light a candle.  Maybe burn a bit of incense or turn on inspirational music.  Build slowly, adjust, refine and when you feel that your altar is finished, step back and take in what you have created.  Take a picture of it on your phone, so you have it with you wherever you are.

Eastern religions have a beautiful tradition of “movable altars,” constructions that serve to mark an event, or honor a wise one, or a season, before being changed to welcome in a new season.

Altars can be a powerful and beneficial presence in our days, reminding us of the values otherwise easily swept away by the relentless drumbeat of current events, household and professional demands, even our own waxing and waning moods.

Last week, we considered what we truly worship in our lives.  Altars remind us of the ongoing presence our true selves in the midst of time’s rapids.

Blessings.