Anyone here have an altar or altars?

[elshiva]

My altar is very eloborate. A lot of statues of Jesus and the saints as well as Krishna and Tara. Also novena candles. Voodoo altars and Catholic processionals are a great inspiration. I put strings of beads, political buttons, medals, crosses, and scapulars on statues.

[intheflow]

1. I kinda have two.

The top of one whole bureau in my bedroom is an altar, and in the center of it is what I call my portable altar.

I'm UU, so the portable altar is a chalice candle holder on a brass plate. At also on the plate are small items of religious significance to me: a perfectly round stone from the shore, a spiral sea shell, a piece of a geode, a melted piece of glass from the Ludlow Massacre. I can take it with me traveling or whatever.

My bigger alter around it has mostly images of madonna and childs-one Native American, one Palistinian one carved from olive wood. I have a Mary candle without Jesus. I have my sister's funeral card. I have tributes to my ancestors, especially my female ancestors. I have momentos from spiritually significant times in my life. And candles--lot of candles.

[LWolf]

2. I have a very small altar in my bedroom.

It holds various things; they change as it feels right to change them. The only "image" is a little clay pueblo storyteller I made a long time ago. There are always a few rocks or crystals and a candle or two. Usually some plant parts; acorn, pine cone, branch. Often something representing an issue I'm seeking clarity on, or movement on.

In reality, my whole home, from the front gate to the back, IS an altar. There are symbols and artifacts that have spiritual meaning to me everywhere.

[intheflow]

6. Interesting! I also have changing alter parts!

I have these cards, I think they're called inspiration cards. Anyway, they have beautiful illustrations and each card says something like "study," "dreaming," "ancestors," etc. I rotate those cards as the spirit moves me. I also add plant pieces occasionally, or other things that seem like they need elevation in my life at any given time.

I really like the idea of the whole house as an altar. But then, I also like the idea of the whole world as an altar. :)

[LWolf]

10. Exactly!

I treat the whole world as an altar, and consciously make my home into an altar. I've been told that people like my shabby, tiny cottage on the border between an industrial area and the projects, because it "projects peace."

It's for sale; I'm packing. I'm taking things down and packing them up. I hope prospective buyers still "feel the peace" and know that this little "fixer" can be a sanctuary for them, as it has been for me.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. Yes

It faces east, and is in our living room. What is placed on it has changed from time to time. Right now, the candle representing the Light of God is there, along with the candle lighter. There are my tasbe (prayer beads), and books with sacred scriptures of various traditons. There is a picture of my Pir and photos of shaykhs and shaykahs are around it.

When I do Universal Worship, I do the whole setup, arranging the holy texts with a candle in front of each, incense, and flowers.

[elshiva]

4. Who is your Pir?

Thank you for posting.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

7. My Pir

is Pir Zia Inayat Khan, grandson of Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan, who founded the Sufi Order International.

[elshiva]

5. Who is your Pir?

Thank you for posting.

[Maat]

9. Wow, I now have some great suggestions for my home altar.

n/t

[Maat]

8. Oh, Elsiva, you already have a home altar!

I just set mine up yesterday - it is outside, in a little enclosure we have around the spa. I took a huge stone birdbath and filled it with the whitest sand. It has a beautiful Tibetan Buddha, made for the outdoors, in it, and I filled it with beautiful polished stones. It has a stone incense-burner.

I bring Lord Ganesh (Ganesha) out there - to clear obstacles from my path; and I bring Jesus out there too!

My hubby rigged a sound system, so that I can listen to meditative music or whatever.

I did a great meditation out there yesterday. It was lucky because my daughter got scratched by a neighborhood cat yesterday, and I had to keep calm (lucky, it was no big deal).

Great minds think alike!

[elshiva]

11. Thank you!

I love altars.

[Ranec]

12. My altar is a simple place in my bedroom.

I have some candles on it and a scrap of cloth that I bought. The meaningful pieces are a bit of shell that I found on vacation with my wife, and stone that I bought that I hold in my hand when I'm doing my meditations.

I like to have small items to arrange and move around on the surface. Somehow it feels centering to place the objects in order.

[sam sarrha]

13. i was introduced to Tibetan Buddhism, i have a simple altar, they dont mix

traditions.. I dont even have a traditional Tibetan altar.. just a Buddha witha Stupa on the left and a Tara on the right, candle and insence holder with small glass vessel for water in front.. and a 2 1/2 foot by 3 foot copy of a 10 century Thanka, behind it, of the 'Wheel of Life'.

[Princess Turandot]

14. I have a little altar to St. Francis of Assisi..

(I'm one of those damn idol-worshippers..) with a copy of a painting of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Clare of Assisi standing together. It has several different animal figurines around it, as well as candles. My only problem is that lighting the candles causes my truly whacked out cat Razputin (at the end of my sig) to try to do whatever he can to get onto the shelf where they are burning. It's a special purpose altar; I light the candles on behalf of animals in need of prayer.

St. Francis of Assisi is the Catholic patron saint of animals.
St. Clare ran away from a wealthy family as a teenager, to try to join St. Francis's order, disguising herself as a teenage boy. When her plan failed, she founded her own order called the Poor Clares.
Several Catholic and Episcopalian churches bless animals on his feast day. I've thought of bringing Razpy in, but the image of him mauling a priest discourages me. Plus, he'd need a good dunk in holy water, not a few drops!

[elshiva]

15. Nice! I've got a St. Clare statue.

Looks like this:

[Princess Turandot]

16. Ah, you have her with the ciborium

a chalice of sort holding a consecrated host.
She is represented that way because her legend says that she stopped an invasion of Assisi by northern forces by standing at a window holding it up. The invading soldiers fell back and the city was saved.

One of the miracles presented for her canonization involved a cat!
It was said that when she was on her death-bed, she would ask her pet cat to bring her things, and it did. If that is true, it's miracle enough for me!

[elshiva]

17. Actually I dressed up as St. Clare for a European History

course and did a dramatic first person account of the whole ciborium miracle.

I heard a bit about the cat.