Where to Place the Altar

Where to place your Ancestral Altar will depend on your personal-belief system,
what you have available to use as an altar, and the amount of space that you wor
k in. There really are no hard-and-fast rules on altar placement. Sometimes you
will hear that an Ancestral Altar shouldn t be placed in the bedroom due to privac
y concerns when intimate moments arise with your partner. However, there really
is no reason that you can t put your Ancestral Altar in your bedroom except that i
t makes you feel uncomfortable to do so.
Just because your Ancestral altar is in your bedroom doesn t mean that your ancest
ors are bound to that room. If an intimate moment arises you can feel secure in
the knowledge that the Ancestors would excuse themselves. If you have no choice
but to place your Ancestral Altar in your bedroom, you can cover it with a white
cloth whenever you think you may be intimate with your partner.
An altar can be made out of virtually any available flat surface. This could be
a coffee table, the top of a chest-of-drawers, a book-case, a shelf hung on a wa
ll, an end table, etc The only requirement for your altar is that it be large eno
ugh to hold everything that you wish to place upon it. For example, my Ancestral
Altar is the top shelf of a bookcase which is located just inside my door.
Before setting up the altar it is important that the area be cleaned. I usually
wipe down the area with a damp rag and a few drops of ammonia followed by anoint
ing the four corners and center of the altar with a tiny drop of Spirit Guide Oi
l or Peaceful Home Oil.
What to Place on the Altar
A basic Ancestral Altar can be made with the following items.
A White Altar Cloth
A Glass of Water
White Candles
White Flowers
Photographs and/or belongings of deceased relatives
The items are placed on the altar in a manner pleasing to the eye. The practice
of using a white cloth, white candles, and white flowers is derived from the bel
ief that white represents both purity and cleanliness. Water is offered to the s
pirits to give them refreshment. However, sometimes the Ancestors will request t
hat you offer them coffee, whiskey, or some other liquid to drink. When this occ
urs you should do as they ask. The Water is traditionally changed on Monday, how
ever I personally do this on Sundays as this was the one day of the week my enti
re family was sure to come together.
In addition to the items mentioned above, you may also place items which belonge
d to the dead in life, or items which they liked. For example you may have your
grandmother s glasses, or your father s watch; you may choose to place a certain bra
nd of cigarette on the altar because it was favored by an Uncle, or a cross-word
puzzle book because an ancestor enjoyed completing them.
In some cases, you may even decide to do things at your altar that you ancestor
enjoyed doing in life. For example, if you mother loved to sew you may honor her
by sitting before you altar as you sew a mojo bag or doll-baby. If your grandfa
ther loved to read westerns you may purchase a book to keep on the altar and rea
d it to him a chapter at a time.
The only admonition when placing photographs on the altar is that you should nev
er place pictures of the living alongside pictures of the dead. In addition ther

e may be a deceased Ancestor whom you are uncomfortable inviting into your space
. You two may not have gotten along in life, they may have been considered an evi
l person, or have died bad , etc If this is the case, I would suggest that you work w
ith the Ancestors whom you are more comfortable working with in the beginning. A
fter you have developed a relationship with these Ancestors, you may wish to ask
them to assist you in making peace with the other individual(s).
The Ancestor Doll
Picture
The Ancestor Doll is a doll that represents all of your positive ancestors known
and unknown and, for this reason, the doll will not have a face (see photo at r
ight) nor will its gender be evident. However, in some cases a practitioner will
make a female ancestor-doll, a male ancestor-doll or one of each depending on t
heir personal choices.
To make an Ancestor Doll, sew a doll from the used clothing of a deceased relati
ve or relatives. Alternately, if no such clothing is available, the doll can be
made in white cloth. The doll can then be stuffed with bunting as well as those
items that are usually found on an Ancestor Altar such as personal artifacts, gr
aveyard dirt, copies of birth/death certificates, etc...
If you don't have any personal artifacts for a deceased family member, simply wr
ite their full name on a piece of paper and include whatever pertinent informati
on you have (birth/death date) as well as any happy memories or stories involvin
g that person. In this way you are preserving the memory of that event/story and
creating your own personal artifact.
To use the doll they are held, talked to, and can be carried with you when trave
ling. In this way the Ancestor-Doll is akin to a portable ancestral altar. The A
ncestor Doll is the perfect choice for anyone who wishes to honor and work with
their ancestors but who has a limited amount of space to work with or for those
who must work in secret for any number of reasons.