A white table cloth
A wine glasses
A white candles
Four stones
A really old picture of my mother’s mother and her mother
This is all I had in my first altar. I changed the water very Sunday. I would sit at my altar and write in my journal. Praying to myself. I was about halfway through reading Jambalaya by Luisha Teish and my entire perspective was open to new practices and beliefs. My first altar was so simple but it was everything I needed. Eventually, I added a small plate for food offerings and a vase for flowers. That altar became my sanctuary.
Queen Afua described the Sacred Altar as “the designated area where you will commune with the Creator, receive spiritual, mental, and emotional comfort, and gain inner guidance through visions for your greater upliftment.” At my Altar I learned to listen to myself, I felt my intuition guiding me, I found peace. After experiencing years of depression. I laughed. I smiled, I cried. I allowed myself to FEEL all of those emotions I had tied down and packed away. At my altar I believed in myself. Every time I lit that candle the fire inside of me grew. That fire reminded me that I am beautiful. That glass of water reminded me that my feelings are important. Those stones gave me the strength to show my truth to the world. That altar reminded me that my purpose in life is bigger than I am.
It’s amazing how that little table in the corner with the stones, candles, wine glass, flowers, And a 30 year old picture helped me find my Ashé. My Strength, Wisdom, Power; tied down and buried by trauma. Reborn at that altar. My purpose revived. My passion reignited.