Have you ever lit a candle with your morning prayer, pinned words of inspiration to a bulletin board, or gathered an element from nature that appealed to you and displayed it in a prominent place?
If so, it’s likely you’ve been creating mini altars of your own whether you were aware of it or not—little vignettes that house hopes and express longings. You’re not alone, after all; Seekers of the Sacred have been creating altars to mark experiences of Sacred Encounter and symbolize their Sacred Search for millennia.
The word “altar” literally means “high place,” and it is these high places that we as pilgrims journey toward, whether we’re walking the storied road to the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela or journeying to new places of awareness right at home.
For the pilgrim at home, altars are representations of the Sacred stirrings that are happening within. Just as the altars or Ebenezers created in Biblical times were expressions that “something Sacred happened here,” the altars we create today remind us that “something Sacred is happening here”—both in our travels and in our everyday lives.
Creating a mini-altar at home to accompany you on your journey can remind you what it is that you seek and hold your intention on your behalf as you go about your day. Create your own home altar by following these three steps:
