sacred space

[poz]

I'm having a problem finding a spot to practice rituals. I don't have any privacy in my apartment and there's always teenagers over.(stepson lives with us). The bedroom's out because the bathroom is directly off of it (kids always in & out) I'm a very private person and I read that you have to feel comfortable where you do it etc. and I have nowhere to put an altar. Anybody in the same boat?

[Lavender]

Sometimes, you don't need a large space for an alter. It doesn't have to be elaborate as well. At work, I have a mini one. It's the ledge in front of my computer...about 1" wide & 7" long. I've got a tiny little clay pot & dried flowers & herbs & rocks & crystals that represents the 4 elements, a little braid of sweetgrass. What about a window ledge? Maybe pick a window that you like to look out of a lot.

[bluecat]

Welcome

May I say without sounding too glib, that you carry a sacred space within you always. Anywhere you wish to make sacred can become sacred for the time it needs to complete your worthy task.

Blue

[Dria El]

What about something portable that you can stick in a sock drawer? You can get yourself an old shoebox, cigar box, or jewelry box and put your representations of the elements in it. It would be something you can take with you to a park, in the bathroom, where ever and when you're done, pack it up and put it in the sock drawer.

[Walach]

Where do most of you have a sacred place? Do any of you actually have 'proper' sacred places?

[Dria El]

Not I... I have 3 kids, the youngest being 3. And, he's very aggressive, etc. so there's NO way I can have anything worth anything down where he can reach it (not that there IS a safe place! lol). So, I have my stuff shoved in a cabinet of my computer desk where I can keep an eye on it! lol I pull it out when needed and put it back when I'm done (ie. when he isn't looking! lol).

[Emerald Sky]

Originally posted by Walach
Where do most of you have a sacred place? Do any of you actually have 'proper' sacred places?

Ooh, ooh, ooh, :jumping up and down:, me, me, me! Well, that is until I realized it is literally covered in poison ivy. :( :mad:

I live on 13 acres, and there's a clearing out in the one corner that's hidden by pine trees that is my sacred spot. The first time I saw it I felt it's energy pulling me, trying to tell me something. There's a spot to the left that's a natural circle (surrounded by pines) and to the right is an area with four or five trees, a huge pile of big rocks and some more pines. It's beautiful. There's a lot of work still to be done on it yet.... like getting rid of all the poison ivy. :mad:

[Lilu]

We are fortunate to have altars in several places in the house, but then we don't have any children yet *grin*

We have a large altar in our living room which is sort of our "sabbat" altar, which we decorate for the seasons, and use for burning incense, candles etc.

My husband has his personal altar set up in a corner of our spare bedroom/storage room. And I have my personal altar set up in our bedroom.

But truly, when it gets down to it, you can have it wherever you want. When we had a "friend" (not anymore) staying with us, I had an obscure "altar" (candles, fake flowers, etc) set up on the top of the toilet. Whenever I wanted some privacy I went in there and pretended I was taking a bath or on the toilet! hehe

Another option might be to check out Walmart or Kmart or someplace like that for a cheap table/cabinet which you can set an altar up inside of. You can leave it in your bedroom, or in a storage room (if it has wheels) and just pull it out whenever you need it. And by getting one with a door on it, you can just put a plant on top of it when not in use, and no one will know it's a hidden altar!

Now, if your problem is more finding the PRIVACY to conduct meditation/ritual/spellwork I would recommend going with the "locking yourself in the bathroom" thing *grin* Especially if you can drag your altar in there with you for a little while.

Are your husband and step-son privy to your religion? Could you not set up some sort of curtain in part of the bedroom that can come down and up at will (maybe one of those clothes hanging things with a curtain over it) just to section of a corner of your own to sit in without people being able to see in?

I'm running out of ideas, especially when I don't know what your house really looks like. Write or PM me if you want, I might be able to help you come up with some ideas! I'm usually quite creative like that :)

BB
Lilu

[quixote]

My father ownsa fairly large bushlot with a beaver pond on it (and lots of poison ivy). I am the only one in the family who regularly goes up there. I've just got a slab of marble to build an altar with. It is the one place I feel I can be myself (other than here)
Blessed Be
quixote