Day of the Dead altar in Oaxaca, Mexico
Throughout the world and over the eras, people have used shrines as objects of worship as well as works of art. Assembling your own shrine can be a meaningful process for remembering someone significant to you, or it can be a creative endeavor that adds something a little different to your decor. It can be as simple as gluing pictures to an empty box of Altoids, or as complex as mixing cement to make memorial stepping stones.
Instructions
1. Get inspiration by doing research. Look online or in books for images of altars and shrines from around the world. A famous example is Thailand's carved teak spirit houses, built to accommodate spirits that will provide protection. There are also the Shinto shrines build to house "kami" or Shinto gods, voodoo shrines, Buddhist altars for daily prayer and meditation practice, Wicca altars incorporating nature, Taoist altars dedicated to ancestors and spirits, and Norse pagan altars of stacked stones.
2. Choose your base. If it's to be an outdoor shrine, consider what time and weather will do to the surface, though it can be beautiful to have a shrine made of distressed materials, too. Good bases for outdoor shrines are stepping stones, rocks, stacked concrete blocks, flower pots, plant stands, old window frames, aquariums and ceramic dishes. Some options for indoor shrines are shadow boxes, stacked boxes covered with cloth, a shelf nailed to the wall, cigar boxes, a niche in the wall, a window seat or just a corner of your desk.
3. Personalize the shrine. Photographs, bits of costume jewelry, little scraps from favorite clothes, journal entries, song lyrics, paper flowers, candles in glass holders, stacked objects, little toys, teacups, incense and drawings all make altars more special. You can also use items from nature, such as sea glass, shells, sand dollars, driftwood, rocks, bark, dried flowers and moss. An outdoor altar can be as simple as some colored glass pebbles in a tin pail, or sticks attached to the fence in an interesting pattern. Many altars incorporate archways which serve as a symbolic portal.
4. Consider the symbolism of altars. Mexico's Day of the Dead altars have items representing the elements of earth, wind, fire and water. Earth can be represented in flowers, whose brilliant hues are said to attract and feed the souls of the dead. A moving object, such as hanging tissue paper, symbolizes wind. Candles are lit to symbolize fire. Finally, gourds hold the water that is intended to quench the thirst of the soul that has traversed the other realm to visit this world.
5. Affix your items to the shrine base. A hot glue gun works wonders for indoor altars, and quick-set cement can attach many items in outdoor altars. For a thorough breakdown of advice on the best adhesives for various surfaces, consult the website This to That at the link below in the Resources section.
6. Celebrate your work of art. Light the candles, put on music, burn incense, read a passage from a book or invite someone special to add elements to the shrine. Remember that a shrine can be a life-long work-in-progress, with new pieces and found items added to it over time.
