Sacred space

Your are the Altar, not the Sacrifice!

Creating an Altar

Setting up a sacred space, simple or elaborate, using personal treasures, items that hold sacred and joyful meaning for us, that resonate within us.

Intuitively, we already do this, like creating a corner to display family photos or decorating a dining room centerpiece, a sideboard, a dresser, a bedside table...

The difference lies in the intention, the awareness, and the understanding of the sacred purpose.

We can have several altars in different places in the house

• a corner for meditation, relaxation, prayer, creativity...
• a personal, family, ancestral altar...

We don't need a large space, just a quiet place where you feel comfortable and where candles and incense can be burned safely

• the top of a dresser, a small table, shelf, or desk
• a windowsill
• a corner of the kitchen
• a nook in the living room
• an empty closet
• a wooden trunk or chest (to be able to close it if it's in a small room, choose the lightest one possible; wicker is lighter but difficult to dust)

With beautiful objects, preferably natural and/or handcrafted

• rosary/mâlâ
• bells
• crystals and/or stones, preferred metals
• original fabric
• flowers
• images that appeal to the senses
• spiritual, inspirational books
• mantras
• offerings (water, fresh flowers, fruit, grain, corn, rice, salt)
• small objects/knick-knack found during walks/travels
• family photos
• statues, figurines

• or very simply: a figurine, a vase with flowers, and two candles

• or traditionally, elements symbolizing the four elements* (earth, air, fire, water), a predominant color, a focal point (image of a deity or inspiring person), an offering (fruit), a symbolic element (mandala, crystal, mantras, prayers, affirmations, quotes/sayings...)

* Earth: crystals, flowers, pebbles, image of a land animal, stones, salt

* Air: incense, image of a bird, feathers, white sage, pens/pencils/markers

* Fire: white candle (or the color of natural wax), incense

* Water: bowl/vase/glass filled with water, seashells

My modest altar is in the office, on the top shelf and some figurines are on a beautiful white spiritual book

• a lovely anise green ceramic Buddha found by chance in a small supermarket!

• a super cute little blue barometer Angel as a gift (if the blue fades, it will rain)

• a small collection of funny, plump pachyderms of all materials, sizes, and poses

• a round candle in a nuanced, iridescent green glass (cute), a gift from a retiring colleague

• a sleek glass snowball paperweight, a corporate gift

• 2 Buddha postcards: one of the Emerald Buddha statue purchased in Phnom Penh and the other of the Great Buddha of Kamakura statue received from Japan

• 100% natural incense made from plants, but always with patchouli, in a wooden holder

• a large, 100% natural soy wax candle

• lavender, eucalyptus globulus, and rosemary cineole essential oils and an electric diffuser 

=> dried sage from the garden for purification and a small terracotta container => I no longer want to burn dried herbs for cleansing purposes; I can't stand the smell.

My mom's ancestral altar

• several statues of all sizes, materials, and poses
• photos of the maternal grandmother, grandfather, and great-grandmother
• fresh flowers
• some fruits
• candles, incense and holders

An altar according to Karen Kingston (Feng Shui Home Harmony)

"Setting up an altar in your home is an effective way to anchor energies, and maintain a high-level atmosphere":

• Choose a place that emanates good feelings.

• Place objects connected to your beliefs.

• The important thing is to include things that are special and meaningful, such as a unique fabric, a special crystal, a leaf picked at a significant moment, or a unique and inspiring trinket.

• You can also add meaningful symbols, mantras, photographs, etc.

• For the "consecration ceremony," add offerings and incense.

Her space clearing altar

Sarah Ban Breathnach's altar is a "meditation table" in her bedroom

• a small, dark blue lacquered bench, 45 cm by 20 cm
• covered with a small white lace tablecloth
• a gilded candlestick in the center
• a Victorian-era lithograph of an angel
• a painting of the Virgin and Child
• a small mirror with a gilded frame
• photos of her family and pets
• a small blue and white porcelain vase for fresh flowers
• rose quartz crystals
• an incense holder
• a small bowl of rose and jasmine potpourri

Jane Alexander's altar (The Spirit of the Home)

She says she loves using rituals and creating altars to provide small focal points for contemplation.

A quiet corner or a poustinia (a Russian Orthodox spiritual term) can mean either a physical place, a retreat (or the secret place within us).

Also sufficient and equally soothing are: a favorite armchair, a chair on the porch, a secluded corner, a particular step on the stairs, the kitchen table when everyone has left, a rug in front of the fireplace, the bathroom or laundry room, a section of the office, and even the computer or refrigerator (some people already do this sort of thing by decorating these objects, like Whoopi Goldberg in "Jumpin' Jack Flash").

Hers is her entire office, complete with

• a lit candle

• a particularly serene Buddha statue to her right

• a fierce guardian demon perched above her computer (back in the days of CRT monitors ^^) reminding her to be strong and not let herself be pushed around

• a magnificent golden and azure raku* bowl representing the idea of ​​completion without the need for perfection (beautiful despite its unusual cracks and fissures)

• She often burns essential oils to keep her mind clear and also because it helps create an oasis of calm and tranquility

* Raku is a traditional ceramic bowl (chawan) used in the Japanese tea ceremony (chanoyu); it is characterized by fine crackles in the glaze

Mari Kondō's crystals at her bedside even during travels

Personaly, I avoid buying precious stones and metals because of

• of "blood diamond": the trade in precious metals and stones has been linked to illicit financial flows, corruption, smuggling, drug trafficking, illicit arms trafficking, and the financing of terrorism... (those beautiful diamonds may look pure but source them back to their origins and you’ll find a tortured reality glazed in blood, conflict and abuse

• any type of resource extraction is harmful to the planet

• the toxic chemicals used in the mining of precious metals are, of course, not only harmful to the environment but especially to the local workers

• they need to be cleanse carefully and regularly

Lillian Too's altar

In the home, it is so beneficial to have a special sacred space, within which you place concentrated spiritual focus. This can be a small or an elaborate set up, where you place sacred holy objects that have been filled with rolled-up mantras, vases of beautiful flowers, rows of water bowls, rice and other offerings.

Lillian Too, with a prestigious MBA from Harvard Business School, is a former businesswoman and highly respected in the banking and corporate world.  A longtime Buddhist, lives in Malaysia, she is a renowned author and expert in the field of feng shui (one of the best selling authors).

It's impressive, but a bit too much for me, as I'm on the path to minimalism 🤩😅

Japanese altar

Last year or maybe the year before, I saw a beautiful Japanese altar, I don't remember exactly, but I think it was in a vlog; unfortunately, I don't know which one anymore (I find it much more beautiful than the one in the photo).

I really like the design of the Japanese altar; it's beautiful, there are designated places for some objects, and the doors can be closed.  I prefer the modern wooden version, more refined.

Chinese altar

You see them everywhere in Europe: near the main entrance to chinese shops, restaurants... However, it's quite surprising, whether in Cambodia (Buddhist majority) or Malaysia (Muslim majority), these are Chinese altars

At Glorious Hotel & Spa in Kompong Thom - 2016

Cambodian altar

This Cambodian altar is in the entrance to a French restaurant (one of the best) in Phnom Penh (2019)