Almost all Filipino knows what is an Altar, and we were raised to have an Altar in our Homes. Usually we see grand Altar on the Church, but sometimes our Home becomes a Church because of the religious images we see on it. An altar is an object such as a Table which we prepared and dress up to place our religious objects such as Statues and Figurines of the Divine such as Saints or Deity whom we pray with. Most likely, if you are Catholic, you will see a cross and image of Mama Mary or Senyor Santo Nino in your altar. When I become a Bible Baptist Church member, my Altar was changed as it has been forbidden in the Bible Baptist Church to have a graven image or idol in our devotion. Though I still keep an Altar which is on my study table and instead of a cross or image of divinity, I posted on my wall my favorite Bible verse where I can focus with. Now as awakened and who remembers, my altar have changed. I have a Bulol as primary focal point of my devotion. Though i have different statues or figurines place on my altar, representing the Deities whom I prayed with, so as the image of my mother who died last April 19, 2019, who now become my Spirit Guide, so as all other objects which i use in praying to the Divinities.

Usually, Altar is just a small part of a Temple which is a Physical Construct or establishment built for the purpose of Communing with the Divine. But an Altar is an object that can be found in a specific part of the Temple that is called as a Shrine. Usually this Altar in the Shrine is a specific place where you communicate to a specific deity or spirits. Since we do not have a Physical Building yet for a Temple, I just make a Small Shrine with an Altar where I could communicate with the Spirits. When I say Communicate, it means i Pray or talk to the Spirits, and the Spirits talk back to me.

In doing this communications, a devotee may need some tools such as candle, incense, food offerings and so on. In your communication the spirits may tell you to do something such as cutting or removing of negative energies that may require the use of knife or sword or scissors, or drums to symbolically do pounding such as what we do in mortar and pestle. So with that much activity happening on your altar, we are leaving mess on it. As mess clutter up, our movement and flow of energy in our Altar is being blocked and limited. Though some witches takes pride on a messy altar as it is a sign of a Busy Working Witch, but what we didn’t realize is that we are limiting the flow of magical energies by blocking their pathways to move around in our Altar which is their Shrine. So cleaning up your altar is a Service to the Deity or Spirits whom we are working with. It is part of our Offerings that the Diwata, Engkanto and Anito will be pleased to as, as we offer them safe place where we can interact with them.