Creating a healing altar will safeguard your physical health and that of your loved ones. Your altar is your sacred workspace. It is charged with your personal power. Set up your healing altar facing north, the direction associated with the energy of manifestation. North is also the direction of the hour of midnight, the “witching hour,” and an altar set up facing north at midnight promises potent magic. Your shrine to the healing craft should be highly personal and represent all that signifies wellness to you.
This altar is dedicated to the goddess Artemis (see right).
Gather together
* white fabric
* 2 green candles, for health, in green glass holders or votive glasses
* a small statue of Artemis, or a moon-shaped symbol to represent her
* incense such as sandalwood, camphor, or frankincense
* healing crystals and objects that bring comfort
To ensure healthful beginnings, drape the white fabric over your altar to make a tabula rasa, or altar equivalent to a blank slate. Take the candles and position them in the two farthest corners of the altar. Place the Artemis statue at the center of the altar. Place an incense burner between the two candles and light the incense.
Now adorn your altar with objects that symbolize healing energy to you. You may perhaps choose a candleholder carved from a chunk of amethyst crystal, which contains healing properties; an abalone shell with the iridescent magic of the oceans; a sweet-smelling bundle of sage; a small citrus plant bursting with the restorative power of vitamins; or a bowl of curative salts from the sea.
These symbolic items, and any others that you select, will energize your altar with the magic that lives inside you. It is also important that the altar be pleasing to your eye and “makes you feel good when you look at it so that you want to spend time there each and every day. After you have been performing rituals there for a while, a positive healing energy field will radiate from your altar.
