Messages from
a Star Traveler
Mystic Arts &
Healing
Star Traveler's Dreams
Sacred Altars
Whate are Sacred Altars?
An altar is a sacred space, it can be a central point in your home where you go to pray, where you place, religious or spiritual symbolic items, photos of family members, candles, crystals, or other objects that you hold dear to you.
Altars can be set up to promote healing, manifesting something, clarity, and also for providing protective energies for grounding and for clearing in a space.
Before you build your altar, think about the theme, or purpose you wish your altar to have? Do you wish your altar to inspire you? Are you in pursuit of a dream? What is that dream? Could an altar reflect your goals and aspirations? You may wish to become a published author, an artist, a musician, a baker or candlestick maker, whatever your goal, could an altar on that theme aid you on your life path? You may have collected inspirational verses, paintings or photographs on your chosen theme, you may well wish to use these treasures within your altar setting. If you do decide to create an altar, do what feels right for you, take time, give your motives and theme great consideration, and create a haven in which you can relax, feel inspired, and feel connected to all that you hold magical.
The above example is a Wiccan altar that is honoring the god and the goddess and the elemental forces of the universe. This altar brings in wisdom, ancient knowledge from the universe, and spiritual growth. The altar has an Athame for bringing in energy, Bell for sound cleansing, Black Mirror for scrying, Wands for clearing energies, Crystals for protection, Chalice for ritual work, etc. These are tools that Wiccan’s use in their ceremonies and rituals to do magick.
Wiccan altar with a turtle rattle honoring the animal kingdom, crystal skull honoring the earth kingdoms, and Seal of Solomon mirror protection grid.
Altar with Native American feather fans and crystals to provide protection for the meditation space.
Altar having a mirror with crystals, singing bowls to bring in calm, peace, and tranquility, Isis statues to present the magick that exists in the world, and luck. This altar also has a drum shield with shells to provide protection for the home environment.
Shaman Native American altar with a painted drum, feather fans, and a talking stick to represent the various tools that are used in the healing arts of a Shamanic practitioner. Feather fans are used in smudging ceremonies to cleanse people's aura's with sage smoke, drums are used by Shaman's during shamanic journey's to explore the soul path of individual's and help them on their life choices. Talking sticks are used after a shamanic journey has been completed to give people a chance to talk about what they experienced during their drumming journey.
Table Shamanic Altar honoring the earth, nature, and life force energies sustaining the universe. The way of the shaman offers peace, tranquility, and a balance with life on earth.
This altar brings honor to animals like the eagle, pelican, owl, and butterfly. There are feathers to acknowledge the element of air and the winged beings, sage to honor the element of fire, abalone shell to respect the element of water. The shaman’s stone is brown and the jade stones are green representing the element of earth as the cradle of life and civilization. There is a cedar smudge fan for cleansing negative energies from the body and the environment, the fan can either be used to cleanse with water or smoke coming from sage when lit in a soap stone bowl filled with sand.
All these items represent the beauty of living matter and a sense of finding the true self, the inner and outer being becoming one. This altar brings stability and good health to the physical and the emotional sides of a person.