Why Altar as part of a Birth Preparation?
An altar can be used for private or shared communion. Creating an altar is a representation of your own personal view of the birth.
It is an expression of honoring what is yet to come in a highly personal way.
In our culture, I suspect that each of us already has an altar, even though it may not be designated as such…
It may be a desk or the top of a dresser where items from your pocket or purse end up, or an array of framed family photos on the living room table. Some may even keep an altar as a conscious statement of the sacred, evinced by various symbols, objects, and artifacts that uniquely express something beyond words.
If you don’t have an altar or would like to modify the one you do have, what follows are guidelines for constructing and creating your own.
These are suggestions, not formulas, so feel free to change these in ways that feel instinctively correct and that are compatible with your principles and beliefs.
Choosing a Location:
Basically, you’ll need a flat surface, free of clutter. It’s important to dedicate that space exclusively to the altar.
Be careful: It’s all too easy for this space to become a catch-all, such as a table in the bedroom where it’s convenient to drop car keys, wallets, earrings, and so on. Set a clear intention that this space is to be used exclusively for your altar.
The space can be as small as a small bookshelf or as large as a desktop.
This is a matter of personal preference; most of us can do with one or possibly two smaller altars in our home.
I like having altars in various rooms, especially the living room and bedroom.
Despite my apprehension about what people would think when they saw it, I found that all my friends who visited were either curious or said nothing.
Knowing me, most of them just took it in stride as part of my latest spiritual exploration…
Materials and Construction:
Once you’ve decided on a place to create a dedicated altar, it’s time to put it together.
First, cover with an attractive cloth. It can be anything from a piece of fabric that’s been sitting around for a couple of years to a sarong you purchased a while back and never wore.
Again, the guideline is that it looks and feels right to you!
For the centerpiece, choose an object that has a particular emotional, spiritual, or religious meaning.
It may be a card, a stone, a Buddha, or a photo of any figure. Pictures of various birth-inspiring statues, figures, etc., a photo of the echoes/ of you as a baby, your own baby photos.
Some additional items you can place on your altar represent the four elements: fire (a candle), air (a feather), earth (fresh flowers), and water (a small waterfall or a small plate with water).
Final touches:
Once you’ve established the basics, make it a living altar, one that becomes imbued with your essence.
Every few days, review the objects, assess their placement, and decide whether they still fit.
Add sacred items as they come to you, and remove those that have diminished in meaning.
You can use the altar for saying your affirmations for your birth, meditation, contemplating about how you wish your birth to be, or any other ceremony. It will grow on you, and you will grow with it… worth trying 😉
With Love,
Oda