View Full Version : Home Altars
Sad Eyed Lady
6-15-17, 9:43am
This is probably something I will never do, but for some reason I am drawn to photos of home altars. Anyone have one in their home? The attached photo is just for reference of some of the kind I like to see.1764
catherine
6-15-17, 10:03am
I had an altar in my room when I was young. It looked somewhat like your picture, but less ornate. I'm sure it had a crucifix and a wooden statue of Mary that wound up and played Ave Maria. Can't remember what else it had.
I have a bit of a makeshift altar now, with one candle, a rosary, and a picture of the Japanese symbol for "beginner's mind"--because that's how I would like to approach meditation and life in general. I don't have any other icons or statues.
I kind of do, and I tried to take a photo of it to post, but having trouble getting it to send. Basically, I have a picture of my family of origin on the beach when we were all little, and a turtle shell I found at my parents' farm, along with arrowheads found over the years, and a little metal turtle that showed up in the pocket of a down jacket I bought at a garage sale. It seemed turtle energy was showing up a lot. Oh, and two candles. It just kind of evolved.
I have a steadfastly non-believing friend who has been drawn to religious icons lately, and now has a little niche with various figures and a rosary, I think. It's probably a response to the gloomy end-of-the-world miasma many of us find ourselves in.
I do have a little area with a crow feather, a solid glass carving of a moon, and other ephemera that are meaningful to me. I like the idea of an altar.
I have an old mirror tray on the dining room table with glass , shells, feathers in cordial glasses and a glass powder box. The display changes as I find or just rearrange things. I have a rock from each Great Lake, the feathers as I find them and shells that strike my fancy. In the kitchen I have a tiny shelf with a Buddha and a copper ware little pitcher from my great grandmother when she was a child...I have things all over to remind me of those who love me. I guess each is an altar of sorts, but the mirrored tray is where I write and journal.
Williamsmith
6-15-17, 3:10pm
The word, "alter" conjures up images of sacrifice ingrained in me from my childhood. Probably the first story of the use of an alter was that of Abraham offering up his son Isaac as a human sacrifice.....on an alter he built on a mountain at the behest of God. As a little tike in Sunday school I can remember sitting on a little wooden stool in the basement off our church. The teacher had one of those flannel boards with characters from the Bible that would stick to them. She stuck Abraham on the board, put an alter in front of him and then stuck Isaac up on the alter on his back preparing to be killed and burnt as an offering to God. Of course, their was a happy ending but my little brain really never understood why Isaac had to be treated so cruelly just so God could make a religious point. I know I thought, if God were so smart...why couldn't he figure out a better way.
There are more reasons why...but I will just say...I'll take a waterfall at a cool mountain stream for my "alter."
Sad Eyed Lady
6-15-17, 4:48pm
The word, "alter" conjures up images of sacrifice ingrained in me from my childhood. Probably the first story of the use of an alter was that of Abraham offering up his son Isaac as a human sacrifice.....on an alter he built on a mountain at the behest of God. As a little tike in Sunday school I can remember sitting on a little wooden stool in the basement off our church. The teacher had one of those flannel boards with characters from the Bible that would stick to them. She stuck Abraham on the board, put an alter in front of him and then stuck Isaac up on the alter on his back preparing to be killed and burnt as an offering to God. Of course, their was a happy ending but my little brain really never understood why Isaac had to be treated so cruelly just so God could make a religious point. I know I thought, if God were so smart...why couldn't he figure out a better way.
There are more reasons why...but I will just say...I'll take a waterfall at a cool mountain stream for my "alter."
In the religous sense maybe shrine would be a better word, but altar doesn't always have to have a religious significance. There are personal altars where mementos are gathered, and objects that have meaning or connections to people or places. I guess I orignally meant this to be about religious altars but just saying there are others that hold a certain fascination for me as well.
......but I will just say...I'll take a waterfall at a cool mountain stream for my "alter."
Me too, Williamsmith.
I have a cross on the wall and on a stand beneath a statue of Buddha, Bible, Koran, Bhagavad Gita and book by Thich Nhat Hanh. But I have no way to show you the picture since even in advanced options I am only seeing upload from computer not tablet as an option here. A bench faces this and there is also a southwestern rug in front of it to sit on. I call the room my chapel.
Thank you all for sparking an idea for me. I've been toying with the idea of an altar in my home for awhile, but couldn't figure out where to put it. I have a bentwood rocker in a corner in my living room, but sadly, the caning in the seat part has exploded. I've tried to decide whether to have it fixed ($$), try to fix it myself (time and exasperation) or just let it go. It's a pretty little rocker that I bought when I was 16 with my first income tax refund (so it's about 40 years old, so some sentimental value).
To the point, the thought occurred to me to let it go and use that corner for my altar.
http://i.imgur.com/QML2OqK.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/F2fBSbC.jpg
Is that a kraken and Norse ship? Whatever, I like it!
Is that a kraken and Norse ship? Whatever, I like it!
Sort-of-a-mythical-super-kraken.
And the knife is made partially with meteoric iron, and mammoth ivory.
We like The Old Time Religion hereabouts :-)
ToomuchStuff
7-25-17, 1:55am
Cthulhu lay dreaming.
That is a beautiful knife Bae. Did you make it?
The Storyteller
11-3-17, 9:06pm
Mine takes up almost the entire length of my living room wall. The lr is for meditation, yoga, reading, and desk work (small desk in one corner). The entire atmosphere is geared to getting me in the mood for mindfulness. I can meditate almost anywhere (my favorite spots are at the various lakes at a local wildlife refuge), but this really helps day to day.
TV is reserved for another room, to cut down on distraction.
That is a beautiful knife Bae. Did you make it?
Oh, I wish I had. That's made by a crazy Siberian knifemaker, in the Olde Style. Grips are fossilized wood and mammoth. Metal is from a meteorite. The fellow knows his stuff. This'll slay demons :-)
The Storyteller
11-4-17, 10:25am
Oh, I wish I had. That's made by a crazy Siberian knifemaker, in the Olde Style. Grips are fossilized wood and mammoth. Metal is from a meteorite. The fellow knows his stuff. This'll slay demons :-)
It's very nice. Well done.
My bedroom is really supposed to be a den, however I don't need the closet space of a big bedroom and there is a fireplace in the room! Awesome. So I have my alter set up in there with 3 candles, tibetan bells, some rocks from different retreats, a mirror in the back and a string of christmas lights. I also have a box of different stones/crystals that I put out depending on the mood and a pack of tarot cards that I choose some cards from to place out. Right now I have celtic knotwork I drew as well.
happystuff
11-11-17, 9:12am
I have "pieces" placed throughout my house... a little Buddha in meditation sits on the little shelf at my desk, feathers and sage on shelf in living room, ceramic Buddha with offering bowl on kitchen half-wall, wedding cross above arch between living room and dining room (actually used for computers). I like that I can be almost anywhere in the house and look to find my spiritual "reminders".
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