Oh hey. So I've linked this information before. But I've recently moved back home to my mom's house, and I've moved into my sister's old room, so in that vein there's a whole slew of redecorating that I want to do with her room. And one of the things I'm planning to do is use some of the shelves that are bolted to her walls to set up some altars to various dieties I'm working with. Right now for Odin I'm using the top of the small TV that is in there, I just set the channel to static, and spend my time with him. It seems to work reasonably well.
But yeah, so this sort of tells how to set up a vodoun offering, which is a decent basis for a lot of other kinds of altars, and sort of hits at the principles behind why you'd do an altar.
"Here is one possible way to set up a basic altar indoors, without a dirt floor. Get a white cloth, and wash it in water with some of your first urine of the morning. For urine, you can substitue vinegar. Let the cloth dry outdoors in the sun if possible. Cover your altar table with it, and then sprinkle it lightly with your favorite perfume or Florida Water.
Next, get four small stones from near your house, clean them by scouring with salt and rinsing well, then place one at each corner of your altar. Clean a wineglass, cut glass bowl, or other vessel and fill it with water. Do not use metal or earthenware - glass or crystal only. Place it at the center of your altar, and add three splashes of anisette or white rum as you bless the water.
It is common in Vodou practice to baptise ritual objects, that is, to give them names. You can take a spring of basil and splash a baptism onto your water glass, which is now a powerful passageway for spiritual energy. You might name it almost anything appropriate, fanciful, and positive - "Water of Life", "Gurgle Mama Brings Spirit", or whatever!
Into a glass candleholder, place some earth from near your house and a few grains of salt. Take a white candle, and with a pure vegetable oil rub the candle from the middle up to the top and then from the middle down to the base. As you oil the candle, direct your energy into your hands and pray for spiritual awareness. Put the candle firmly into the candleholder and place it in front of the glass of water. Don't light the candle just yet.
Around the altar you will place other objects according to the divine principles you wish to serve. An ancestor shrine will have images of deceased ancesters, Ogoun's altar will have a machete and a red kerchief, Erzulie Freda's shrine will have flowers and jewelry, and so on."
3 comments:
But what does your mom have to say about it?
This is a real concern. We'll see though. I may have to write a blog "disguising your altars as Christian Bale posters".
hahahaha christian bale posters. you silly.
what about Ganesha, though! don't leave him out, he's the remover of obstacles.
he also grants safe travels. and great writing skillz.
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