When we think of the word abundance, the first thing that may pop
into your head is material items, such as a new home, car, or
furniture. If this is what abundance means to you, great! However,
abundance can mean many things other than material possessions. To
some, abundance may mean having more time to do the things you love,
or the means to travel, or maybe that perfect career which is your
life's passion. One man may feel wealthy because he is a news
reporter and gets to travel around the world, while another may feel
this man has a poor life because he is away from home so often. The
second person's idea of wealth maybe to live in a secluded cottage in
the woods far from the rat race of a large city, where they have room
to walk in the woods and bond with nature. I would like you to think
about abundance, and, what it means to you.

The first thing we need to do is to decide where we should place our
altar in our home. You will want to take into account the amount of
space you have. An altar need not be huge in order for it to be
effective. Anyone can make an altar, it does not matter if you live
in a mansion or an apartment, use the space you have, but most
important of all, use your intuition. Where do you spend most of your
time at home? Is it in your living room, bedroom, or den? I suggest
you use a place that is convenient for you. Remember, this is not
rocket science, choose a place that suits you. For example: My altar
is in my bedroom/office because this is where I spend most of my
time.

Once you decide where in your home the altar will be placed, we need
to think of what we are going to build our altar on. It can be
anything from a dresser, a nightstand, table, or even a wall. I
happen to use a dresser because I am tight for room. Again, keep in
mind that you do not need to go out and purchase a special table or
anything fancy, so do not worry about this. (I have a close friend
who uses an apple box draped in silk cloth.) The main thing is that
you build one!

Now it is time to think about the special objects that you have
around your house, which has meaning to you. This can be anything and
everything, just keep in mind that whatever you choose to use is
important because it has significance for you. These items generate
the life force of your altar. Every altar should have an object
placed on it that represents the spirit world or the Divine realms.
Being that we are creating an altar for abundance, you may wish to
place a deity such as the god of abundance Daikoku in the center of
your altar. I personally use a carved wooden Buddha for all of my
altar designs. However any sacred statue or even a picture of a deity
will do. Think of Kuan Yin, Mother Mary, Jesus, St. Christopher,
Gabriel, White Buffalo Calf woman, etc. It can even be a picture of a
teacher, no matter what your spiritual beliefs are we each need to
believe in something larger than ourselves. I think you get the idea.

Now we can add our special treasures and items that are significant
to us. A few examples would be a sea shell, stones or crystals, a
bird feather, a pretty twig, bones and horns, metals, plants and
flowers, dried plants, herbs, fruit and grains, pine cones, leaves,
animal symbols, essential oils, candles, pictures of pets or loved
ones, a medicine pouch, special gifts or even a table top water
fountain. For our altar we may wish to place a bowl of rice,
symbolizing abundance, fitting huh?

Before we can begin creating our altar, we need to purify the
spiritual energy in the room and the altar area. To do this simply
burn incense or sage while asking the higher forces to cleanse this
area of unwanted energies. Some like to use drumming to rid the room
of negative vibrations, others like to chant or use bells and rattles
to do the same. After a thorough cleansing you will be able to sense
a change in the energy of the room, it will feel more light and airy.
I like to chant the Reiki symbols while blowing the smoke around my
sacred objects.

We now have our altar area and table ready, we have placed our cloth
and deity in the center, we have our small bowl of rice and are now
deciding on other sacred objects to place on the altar. Let's go with
a green candle, again symbolizing abundance. Beautiful polished
stones such as quartz, chrysoprase, and citrine would be nice. If you
have a certain crystal that you love, place this on the altar too,
again, use your intuition and let your inner-self tell you what to
place. I like to add a pretty vase of flowers or a small potted plant
to the altar to bring living, vital energy! Finally, place all of
your sacred treasures on the altar as well. Arrange them the way you
feel fit. Some like to make patterns with their gemstone choices; a
circle means completion, a spiral signifies movement of energy, a
cross means intersection of heaven and earth or Christianity, and of
course the triangle is about divine trinity or a path toward higher
unity. Take your time arranging and rearranging your objects until
you feel they are placed just right.