Meet Me At The Altar: Building Your Sacred Space

My play cousin in my head, Jay Versace, once tweeted, “Don’t befriend ppl who you wouldn’t want near your altar.” That’s because your altar is a sacred space, baby girl. A place to perform rituals, meditate, or honor your ancestors. A place to house your spiritual tools, special mementos, and objects that connect you to this wild Universe. Basically, a place to be your authentic ass self. 

Sure, you can tap in anywhere, but energy is so important to your journey. Designating a specific space that supports the energy of your spiritual practices and self-work will make a world of difference. And building an altar doesn’t have to be hard or stressful. In fact, it should feel good and uplift your spirit. 

While everyone’s altar will differ, here are some tips to help get yours together:

Choose A Space

The first step is figuring out where to put your altar. Wherever you place it, make sure it feels right. Since you’ll be doing some pretty personal work there, you might want it to be in a location that’s private or doesn’t have a lot of foot traffic. (Remember what cousin Jay said.) Oh, and your altar can be any size—from a tray, to the top of a nightstand, to an entire room if you got it like that. Try testing out a spot out for a while and notice how your spirit takes to it. 

Clean and Cleanse

Once you pick a place, you’ll want to make sure it’s physically and energetically cleansed. This is yours, and maybe even your ancestors’ and guides’, sacred space—so take care of it. Start by cleaning any dust or dirt and be sure to do this regularly. When you’re finished, clear out the energy with your favorite cleansing methods like sage, Florida water, or a selenite wand. Again, you’ll want to do this regularly to maintain your altar if it’s a permanent one.

don’t befriend ppl you wouldn’t want near your altar

— jay (@JAYVERSACE) June 30, 2020

Gather Your Goods

Think about what you want on your altar. You can start by adding items you typically use for spiritual work, like journals, prayer beads, sound bowls, and oracles cards. Then add some personal touches like your ancestors’ pictures, an inspiring quote, or a symbol of any deity you may work with. 

Embrace the Elements

An altar should be a place of peace—one that can connect you to the Universe from which you came. Adding objects that represent earth, air, fire, and water can help you do this. You can also use this space to connect to elements in your natal chart or give you a boost from some of the ones you may be lacking. For example, the cosmos put not a nan air placement in my chart, so I like to balance myself by keeping an incense to represent air on my altar. Try adding at least one object that symbolizes each element to your altar. Things like crystals and plants can embody the earth, candles and matches for fire, a diffuser or wind chime could represent air, and a drink and seashells for water. 

Remember, this is your altar and you can add personal touches and use it for whatever you align with. This is also a living space that may transform over time. You can place, replace, and purge items at a pace that feels right for you. Some things may be permanent fixtures, while others, like tools you’re using for specific rituals, may be temporary. Again, do you. If you haven’t noticed, that’s the most important step in building your altar. 

Now that you’ve got everything together, go and work your magic!