Preference for Altars?

[knightcore]

I honestly can't remember if I've asked this before, but do any of you have altars? I have a small one in my room that I keep clean and set up. I think that the ritual of changing it every couple of months or so keeps me grounded honestly. I tend to feature a lot of rabbits in it even outside of spring because it's an animal I really resonate with, and I also have several dishes I use for offerings. I keep it pretty simple when I do those, just whatever snacks I have and I sit down and have a little chat with whatever might visit before lighting a candle and going about my business.

 

I guess I'm just interested in anyone else's habits if they have them!

[Ellinas]

I honestly don't know.  I have  a shelf with a bust of Athena on it, and the top of a small cabinet has figurines of the Minoan Snake Goddess, labrys and a bull's head based on an ancient Minoan rhyton.

 

Are these altars?  They have  no practical use.  I make no offerings on them.  Perhaps they are just vaguely symbolic shelf displays?  What makes these more or less altars than the other shelf with the figurine of Cthulhu and a little wooden Buddha (an odd combination that would probably give many a Chaos magician a headache)?

 

On balance, no, probably I don't have altars in any generally accepted sense.

 

Leaving that to one side, there is nothing unusual about your practice in pagan circles.

[♦ Fuego ♦]

We have a goddess statue, which wasn't intended that way by the designer, but is supposed to be Eve springing forth. Very buxom like the lady that made it.

I also have a bronze face of the Green Man.

But I make no offerings or such, I have them sometimes arranged with greenery around the winter solstice, and burn incense occasionally.

 

[knightcore]

23 hours ago, Ellinas said:

I honestly don't know.  I have  a shelf with a bust of Athena on it, and the top of a small cabinet has figurines of the Minoan Snake Goddess, labrys and a bull's head based on an ancient Minoan rhyton.

 

Are these altars?  They have  no practical use.  I make no offerings on them.  Perhaps they are just vaguely symbolic shelf displays?  What makes these more or less altars than the other shelf with the figurine of Cthulhu and a little wooden Buddha (an odd combination that would probably give many a Chaos magician a headache)?

 

On balance, no, probably I don't have altars in any generally accepted sense.

 

Leaving that to one side, there is nothing unusual about your practice in pagan circles.

 

I think that the main difference between a display and an altar is intent personally. You could make anything an altar, but you would have to intend for it to be so.

 

Also I'm aware! I was just curious about the practices on this website specifically  

[knightcore]

19 hours ago, Fuego said:

We have a goddess statue, which wasn't intended that way by the designer, but is supposed to be Eve springing forth. Very buxom like the lady that made it.

I also have a bronze face of the Green Man.

But I make no offerings or such, I have them sometimes arranged with greenery around the winter solstice, and burn incense occasionally.

 

 

That's interesting, I repurpose stuff a lot too in that way ahaha. I can't burn incense in my house (roommates are allergic and I love them so I forgo it) but that's why I do the candles in a similar tribute. 

[Ellinas]

23 hours ago, knightcore said:

 

I think that the main difference between a display and an altar is intent personally. You could make anything an altar, but you would have to intend for it to be so.

 

 

That has some potentially interesting ramifications in itself.

 

What intent?  Are all altars created equal, so to speak?  In the instances I give, these are hellenic and pre-hellenic symbols of some relevance to me.  What intent do I need to turn these into altars?  And, as the physical composition would likely be unaffected, how can anyone know the difference between the altar and the display?

 

Also, does focusing on intent mean that an ancient altar, no longer the focus of religious activity, ceases to be an altar in the absence of continuing intent?

 

Which, in turn, raises the question of whether your altars are always altars, and my displays always just displays?

[knightcore]

5 hours ago, Ellinas said:

 

That has some potentially interesting ramifications in itself.

 

What intent?  Are all altars created equal, so to speak?  In the instances I give, these are hellenic and pre-hellenic symbols of some relevance to me.  What intent do I need to turn these into altars?  And, as the physical composition would likely be unaffected, how can anyone know the difference between the altar and the display?

 

Also, does focusing on intent mean that an ancient altar, no longer the focus of religious activity, ceases to be an altar in the absence of continuing intent?

 

Which, in turn, raises the question of whether your altars are always altars, and my displays always just displays?

 

You admitted yourself that you don't worship or pay tribute to them? Display isn't meant to mean that they're lesser than altars. I have several icons around the house that are just displays and they mean a lot to me. So much of faith is personal, and I believe altars are the same? Altars are really just a dedicated space to celebrate or beseech or meditate. If your displays are that to you, then I would consider them an altar but in the end it's up to you what you consider them,

 

Personally I think you need to maintain an altar for it to continue to hold weight, but that's just from my personal experiences with faith. The bible no longer seems sacred to me, and neither do most churches. But to many people those are tools or places of worship because they intend them to be so. If an older altar inspires a sense of awe and worship in you, then it still holds weight. If not, it no longer bears significance to you. By this I also mean that my altars could just be displays to you, but you don't have to be worshipful to be respectful. It's why I still covered when I visited mosques, even though I personally did not believe in their god.

 

I think I sort of answered your last question. I think everything with regards to worship, religion, and faith is subjective. My altar is not always going to be an altar to everyone, my mom sees it as a simple gathering of things when she visits me. But I know its importance to me and I hold that intent within myself.

[Ellinas]

On 21/09/2017 at 3:20 AM, knightcore said:

 

You admitted yourself that you don't worship or pay tribute to them? Display isn't meant to mean that they're lesser than altars. I have several icons around the house that are just displays and they mean a lot to me. So much of faith is personal, and I believe altars are the same? Altars are really just a dedicated space to celebrate or beseech or meditate. If your displays are that to you, then I would consider them an altar but in the end it's up to you what you consider them,

 

Personally I think you need to maintain an altar for it to continue to hold weight, but that's just from my personal experiences with faith. The bible no longer seems sacred to me, and neither do most churches. But to many people those are tools or places of worship because they intend them to be so. If an older altar inspires a sense of awe and worship in you, then it still holds weight. If not, it no longer bears significance to you. By this I also mean that my altars could just be displays to you, but you don't have to be worshipful to be respectful. It's why I still covered when I visited mosques, even though I personally did not believe in their god.

 

I think I sort of answered your last question. I think everything with regards to worship, religion, and faith is subjective. My altar is not always going to be an altar to everyone, my mom sees it as a simple gathering of things when she visits me. But I know its importance to me and I hold that intent within myself.

 

Correct, I don't.  Nor am I suggesting that display is greater or less than an altar.  I'm just not sure:

1. That it is possible to link the definition of altar purely to intent, as that would suggest there is no such thing as that which is objectively an altar;
2. That it is correct to define a personal area as an "altar" at all.

Regarding the first, earlier this year I was standing at the remains of a row of altars at Kamiros - I very much doubt that anyone sees them as other than historical curiosities, but they are still "altars".

 

Regarding the second, I realize that it is a habit in modern paganism, but I wonder if the word is better used to describe something that has wider - public certainly, familial or in some way communal at least - significance.  Perhaps the personal altar is better termed a shrine?

 

I have no settled view on this, by the way.  Just musing.  I might raise the question on a pagan forum and see what responses I get.

[Deva]

Yes, I have a Buddhist altar but I don't really do much with it.  It just consists of small statues of Buddha Shakyamuni in the center, Padmasambhava on the left and Tara on the right - very basic Tibetan Buddhist arrangement.  At times I have had all the offering bowls in front and the crystal in front of the the center Buddha, but the fact is I have a lot going on in my life and not much time to devote to doing things "the proper way."

 

[Orbit]

On 9/17/2017 at 12:04 PM, knightcore said:

I honestly can't remember if I've asked this before, but do any of you have altars? I have a small one in my room that I keep clean and set up. I think that the ritual of changing it every couple of months or so keeps me grounded honestly. I tend to feature a lot of rabbits in it even outside of spring because it's an animal I really resonate with, and I also have several dishes I use for offerings. I keep it pretty simple when I do those, just whatever snacks I have and I sit down and have a little chat with whatever might visit before lighting a candle and going about my business.

 

I guess I'm just interested in anyone else's habits if they have them!

 

I've got an altar with Saraswati (Hindu goddess of music, art, and education), and two versions of the Bodhisatva of compassion, Kuan Yin and Avelokitesvara. I also have Buddhist rosary beads there, a candle in a yellow lotus holder, and an incense burner. Not exactly traditional, but it serves my purposes.