Altar Setup

Every religion has its altar, adorned with images, symbols, icons, or elements essential to its liturgy. When we speak of liturgy, we refer to the set of indispensable "tools" or items used in religious practices.

Now, altars didn’t simply emerge because someone invented one and then everyone else copied the idea, merely changing the elements placed upon them. No, that’s not the case.

An altar's primary function is to create an earthly magnetism through which divine energies can descend. These divine forces flow vertically from the gods and then horizontally, spreading throughout the space designated for the religious practices that take place in front of the altar, in honor of the deities worshipped and represented upon it.An altar is a focal point of religious power. If properly constructed and established, it becomes a channel through which the divine energies reach all who stand before it. In a Sacred Umbanda Temple, for example, you might see a mix of Catholic saints, natural deities, angels, archangels, Caboclos, Pretos Velhos, Children, Mermaids, and more.

To the uninitiated, this religious mix may seem illogical, combining elements from different religions in one space when most religions typically exclude anything foreign to their tradition. However, Umbanda is a synthesis of all religions, bringing together spiritual currents from Hindu, Chinese, Persian, Arab, Jewish, Buddhist, Doric, Egyptian, Mayan, Inca, Aztec, Tupi-Guarani traditions... and Christian! Each spiritual current formed under the luminous mantle of a religion, with its members shaping their beliefs in a single God and humanized deities, allowing them to better communicate with their followers.

Each line of work in the Sacred Umbanda ritual is guided by an intermediary Orixá, who may also be an ascended spirit, positioned within the natural hierarchies by intermediary Orixás. These intermediaries serve as conduits between the divine and the human dimensions of life, where we spiritual beings live and evolve.

Many Umbanda practitioners, who often come from a Christian background, place Jesus Christ, a humanized intermediary Oxalá, as the central figure on their altar, with images of saints synchronized with other Orixás below him. Syncretism explains the use of Christian imagery, and many spirits who incorporate through mediums have evolved under Christian influences, justifying their presence. Similarly, the images of "Caboclos," indigenous figures, or "Roman" soldiers (from the Doric line) indicate that spiritual mentors who were shaped by other religious traditions also manifest here.

The use of crystals, minerals, flowers, necklaces of semi-precious stones, symbolic weapons, magical symbols, etc., reflects the presence of numerous spiritual and intermediary forces, all represented, activated, and ready to intervene on behalf of those deserving assistance from the spirits or Orixás.

The religious and magical foundations of an altar can only truly be explained by the one who erected it. However, the divine purpose that justifies their presence in temples is simple:

"Every altar is a place where, if we stand reverently before it, we are directly in front of and close to God and His humanized deities."

But there are also natural altars, locations charged with high magnetism or electromagnetic vortices, where the energy creates a natural sanctuary. If consecrated for religious practices, these sanctuaries allow people to commune with the natural deities that govern nature.

Umbanda, as it derives from the Nation Cults (Candomblé) and is based on the sacred Orixás—who govern the elements and nature itself—respects and cherishes its natural sanctuaries. For example, the mountain is Xangô’s natural sanctuary, and a large flat stone serves as his altar, where offerings are made. Rivers are Oxum’s sanctuary, and a waterfall serves as her altar. The sea is Iemanjá’s sanctuary, and the beach is her altar. The forests are Oxóssi’s sanctuary, and a grove is his altar.

This connection extends to all Orixás, as they are the natural rulers of our planet. Long before any organized religion existed, they governed the Earth and will continue to do so, as they are the natural caretakers of both the Earth and us, their natural children. Therefore, before temples and their altars were ever built, people revered the divine in front of natural altars located in sanctuaries—nature itself.