Creating a Work Altar
Harnessing the Power of Mysticism in the Workplace
Making 'Hidden in Plain Sight' a good rule of thumb, this article details some creative ideas for keeping an altar at work in order to live more consciously.
Regardless of your spiritual preference, true seekers and kindred souls generally choose to live embracing the Spiritual in every aspect of their beingness and not just on certain days or in specified places. To be alive embraces the concept that all things are holy, so there exists an argument whether one needs tools or reverie at all. Until a unified collective evolution is reached, incorporating the Spiritual in a generally not-spiritual atmosphere can provide an effective source of strength and inspiration as well as serving as reminder to nurture that higher essence, especially when you feel least like it.
Altar Placement
Subtlety should be the watchword of the day. Irrespective of your Faith, maintaining a modicum of professionalism sans in-your-face dogma is key in most workplaces, and doubly more so for Pagans, Heathens and Alternative Spiritualists. However, even in the most rigid environment, there are always opportunities for altars. Some of the most powerful altars resemble lovely, decorative arrangements at first sight. Only you ever need know what its truer purpose is.
Starting with a general Spiritual Altar can serve as a daily reminder of that which we are within. As with all Altars, placement and size is an individual preference. In the atmosphere of an office, small is better generally.
Altar Bases
Good altar bases can include everything from a decorative placemat to a small leather box. Using what you have at hand is both practical and utilitarian. Since you'll be covering the base with a silk handkerchief or other colorful swatch of organic fabric, consider rifling through the storage cabinet for unused and/or antiquated office materials, such as:
- Old books, dictionaries or other outdated reference manuals
- Index Card files
- In/Out trays
- Pencil boxes
Sacred Items
Incorporate elements that invoke the essence you most desire. For some this may be more inner peace, others may prefer to use symbols of money and success to keep their minds focused on the truer purpose of what abundance is for. Ideas include:
- Flowers, Leaves, Herbs
- Pictures - either of a Deity or a representation of your desire
- Coins - to symbolize wealth
- Lavender - to promote relaxation and well-being
- Feathers, Shells, Crystals - to promote whichever essence is most appropriate to your needs.
Anything that represents the sacred to you.
As an aside, obviously carting in a six-inch pentacle likely isn't that best way to achieve subtlety. Ditto giant, erect phalluses or figurines of the Great Horned God. Do consider drawing or print your own relevant symbologies when questionably appropriate onto a small piece of paper obscured from common view.
Cleansing and Dedication
A very effective ritual for cleansing your environment is as follows:
Seat yourself in your chair, preferably in the early AM or late PM when there are fewest people around
- Close your eyes and etherically visualize crystal clear water rising from the floor. As the water rises, imagine all of the psychic junk and melee dissipating and dissolving. Allow the image of the water to fill the room until you feel that energies are sufficiently cleansed.
- Imagine the room then as being filled with pure light and love, bursting through every crevice and into every corner.
- In your minds eye, see your altar and mark it as protected and invisible to unfriendly eyes, or those that would wish you harm.
- Send forth a blessing of Thanks and a vow to practice and seek the Spiritual in every aspect of your workday.
In office environments, things are particularly vulnerable to negative energies, so be certain to care for your altar regularly. Additionally, seasonal tokens of nature are nice touches to keep it current. And as with all altars, treat it as a sacred connection between you and the Divine, and tend to it with the same care you would anything precious to you.
