Many energy or shamanic practitioners today create altars or sacred spaces in their homes or offices/studios. Based on our life experiences, we often resort to shopping when we desire something. We may look at photos online or visit other practitioners in an attempt to recreate what we find appealing. However, simply replicating these external inspirations will not enhance your life or practice; your creation must come from within and resonate with your soul and spirit. Traditionally, an altar is dedicated to a guardian deity, spirit animal, or helper spirit, and is intended to honor ancestors. Shamans often assemble a medicine bundle instead of a traditional altar.
Your sacred space or altar should not be a mere collection of pretty stones and crystals, nor should it be a display meant to impress visitors or look like an overcrowded storage area. For energy practitioners or shamans, if they do have an altar, mesa, or medicine bundle, it is deeply personal. This could be placed on a bookshelf or kept in a pouch for easy transport. Remember, having an altar is not a requirement; you can create one if you feel inclined.
What Belongs in This Sacred Place?
Items Connecting You to the Spiritual World: This could be an object you obtained while visiting a temple or cathedral, an incense burner, bells, or anything that helps you connect to a higher power or your spirit guides.
Representations of Nature: Collect items from the Plant Kingdom (sage, sweetgrass, cedar, corn, seeds, leaves, roots), the Animal Kingdom (lock of hair, bone, feather, claw, shell), and the Mineral Kingdom (stones, crystals).
Representations of the Past or Ancestry: Consider including items from your childhood or possessions belonging to loved ones who have passed away, such as a key, charm, personal item, coin, or photo.
Every item you include should have a profound spiritual and emotional connection to you. It may take time to assemble your altar or bundle, as these trinkets serve as reminders of the ongoing support you receive and reasons to be grateful. They are the doorway to your higher self, to universal consciousness or spiritual realms.
When examining traditional healers' altars, impossible to find commercially mined crystals. If they do include crystals, it’s often because those stones are chosen to be found by the healer. Many believe that the industrial mining of crystals and gems negatively impacts their energy and power, asserting that true spiritual connections cannot be bought.
You could bring home an item and a few days later start asking yourself why. This means this item does not belong on your altar or medicine bungle. Invisible changes occur in your spiritual world, and this item needs to be released. Return it to the place where you pick it up; if it’s not possible, then take it to someplace in nature where it will not be disturbed. In the world of spirituality, everything has a spirit; everything that is created by a higher power contains a small piece of it. It is as if we are touching something and leaving behind our fingerprints and traces of our DNA. Be very conscious when you take something with you. You bring with you not a unanimous item but the spirit, energy, and memories attached to it. It is why ancient wisdom informs us before we pick a stone, shell, or anything else, we need to ask them for permission and listen to the answer.
Sometimes when we travel or visit a special place, we are tempted to pick up a memento of a special occasion, and it is ok. But there is a big difference between pieces that belong on the altar and pieces that belong in a scrapbook.
Conclusion
Every item placed on your altar holds special meaning. The items you collect connect you with your spiritual or higher self, empowering you to heal yourself and others. They facilitate communication between the visible and invisible realms. Each item symbolizes your uniqueness as a human on a distinctive spiritual journey, helping you achieve peace and balance while connecting your body and spirit and enhancing your ability to receive messages.
With love,
Roman February 1, 2025
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