Why create a space clearing altar?
An altar is used in space clearing to create a symbolic representation of the focus for the ceremony and an anchorage for the frequencies of change that it is designed to bring about.
Conducting a space clearing ceremony without creating an altar is like setting off on a journey with no idea why you are travelling or where you want to end up. This unconscious approach not surprisingly leads to random and sometimes undesirable results, whereas taking the time and care to create an altar greatly increases the effectiveness of the ceremony on many levels.
I didn’t include very much information about space clearing altars in the first book I wrote back in 1996 because at that time I was only teaching that level of skills to professional practitioners. But it really is such an essential part of space clearing that I now always include information about altars in the space clearing workshops I teach, and there will be a substantial section about them in the new space clearing books that Richard Kingston and I are writing at the moment.
How to clarify the focus for a space clearing ceremony
Before creating an altar, it is necessary to first establish the main focus for the ceremony. The best way to do this is to set some quiet time aside to write a description of what you are hoping it will help with.
This is not about composing a long, rambling wish list of everything in your life that needs fixing. Keep it concise. Just one main focus is best. You will be holding it in your awareness throughout the ceremony, and it is much easier to do this if it is simple and clear. It’s also best if you prioritize top-down rather than bottom-up – addressing the most important issue in your life usually resolves many smaller issues along the way, whereas focusing on less important matters keeps you lost in small details.
If other people live with you, ask them what they would like to get from the ceremony so that their main focuses can be included in the altar design too. If they do not want to participate, then do not include their personal areas of the home when you do the space clearing.
How to choose the best location for your altar
Each circuit of the space clearing ceremony begins at the main entrance of the area being cleared, because this is where most energies as well as people enter. It is therefore best to place the table your altar will be on within easy reach of this whenever possible. In most homes, the main entrance is the front door, but if another door is used more frequently, then each circuit of the ceremony needs to begin and end there instead.
How to create an altar
You will need a clean white table cloth that is only used for ceremonial purposes. Lay this on the table, place an altar cloth on top of that, and then add colourizers as required, using the design that symbolically best represents your focus for the ceremony.
Balinese altar cloths and colourizers have been specifically created for space clearing. Made of gold-threaded cotton silk, each one is an extraordinarily beautiful hand-crafted work of art that adds depth and dimension to the ceremony. They are available in large, small and miniature sizes, and a range of colours.
From your space clearing kit, choose the altar cloth colour that resonates with the foundational frequency you most need in your life at the time you do the ceremony, and then add colourizers to augment this, using these guidelines.
The New Beginnings altar design
To help you create your own altar, there’s an example at the top of this page of a New Beginnings space clearing altar design. This is one that is frequently used because it’s for any kind of new start. You can adapt it to your own needs by choosing the colours that represent the qualities of your own main focus.
A white altar cloth was chosen for this altar because the person for whom it was created (we’ll call her Mary) needed to rebuild her life from a foundation of clarity, simplicity and purity. Mary had spent many years devoting herself to her job as a teacher, putting her own life on the back burner.
The two most important colourizers on any altar are the one placed in the base horizontal position and the one placed on the central vertical axis.
On this altar, a pink base horizontal colourizer was used. Mary’s life had become a dull routine based in duty and obligation, and she had lost touch with many of the things that had inspired her so much in her youth, such as painting, sculpting and other creative pursuits. Pink was chosen to resonate with the frequencies of passion and zest for life that she wanted to regain.
A red colourizer was chosen for the central vertical axis because Mary wanted to see results as quickly as possible. Red on a space clearing altar anchors the frequencies of motivation, action and accomplishment. It is the antidote to lethargy and stagnation.
The New Beginnings altar design can be created using one, two or three colours each side of the central vertical axis to represent qualities that will support the person in moving forward. In Mary’s case, since she was so ready to go for it, it was decided to use six additional colours in total, and to use large colourizers with triple ripples signifying her wish for changes to happen fast (if she had not wanted this, small colourizers with just one ripple or no ripples at all would have been more fitting).
Yellow and orange colourizers were placed on either side of the red vertical axis to create warmth at the heart of the altar and bring in the frequencies of hope, joy and happiness (yellow), together with creativity and confidence (orange).
Purple was added to boost her level of personal empowerment.
Green was added to bring more vibrancy into her life.
Turquoise represented her resonance with the wisdom of ancient cultures.
Blue was added to help restore her sense of truth, integrity and purpose.
The six offerings were then placed on the altar (the sixth is not quite visible in this photo, hidden behind the bell stand). The final items to add to any altar are a space clearing bell and bell stand, and a harmony ball and harmony ball stand. That’s it. Anything more would have been clutter. You can see from the photo how clear and vibrant a well-crafted altar looks.
The first offering to be activated is always the one in the centre at the front of the altar and as the ceremony progresses, the others are taken, one by one, and activated in individual rooms. In Mary’s case, the altar was placed in her entrance foyer, so the first offering was lit there. The offerings on the four corners of the altar were for her kitchen stove, living room, bedroom and study (in that order), and the last one was a matrix offering to link them all together. If Mary had had more rooms in her home, more offerings could have been placed on the ends of the purple, blue, yellow or orange colourizers.
More information
For information about how to activate offerings and all the other steps involved in conducting a space clearing ceremony, please refer to my book, Creating Sacred Space with Feng Shui, or sign up to receive free monthly newsletters so that you will get to hear when our new, completely revised and updated space clearing book is published.
Related articles
White altar cloths & colourizers
Purple altar cloths & colourizers
Red altar cloths & colourizers
How to choose the right space clearing kit
