Pics of your altar/shrine

[Brinne]

I just have a collection of rocks and things I find on hikes I have collected. My prized possession is my "Lingam/Phallic Stone" which I think it my greatest piece to my altar. Yes, the penis is very important to me(don't judge). I also have a bunch of clay circles with various gods inscribed on them written in various languages. Most of it is Sumerian though with some Greek or Roman ones added

Don't judge? You're talking to somebody who's religion has an entire festival dedicated to the penis . I digress, though that does sound interesting. Sumerian gods are really interesting in my opinion, though that's really out of my realm of knowledge.

 

[Sha'irullah]

Don't judge? You're talking to somebody who's religion has an entire festival dedicated to the penis .

I forgot about Kanamara Matsuri!
I have seen so many pics of that thing it just baffles me why it occurs no place else.

I digress, though that does sound interesting. Sumerian gods are really interesting in my opinion, though that's really out of my realm of knowledge.

Assyrian myths and deities are very shallow in development(very early era in humanity) and they are portrayed as being nature orientated characters more so than any European mythos. They do resemble very Shinto like attributes in how they are portrayed.

 

[Brinne]

I forgot about Kanamara Matsuri!
I have seen so many pics of that thing it just baffles me why it occurs no place else.

Mainly because It's associated with that particular shrine and the kami enshrined there. It'd be weird to celebrate a shrine like that on a national scale since it's only really associated with one profession in Japanese society. However since nowadays it's mainly a HIV awareness/fundraising thing I agree that it should be celebrated more or get more attention.

Unless you're talking about the celebration of the penis in general which yes it's strange how there aren't really many other festivals dedicated to it. I guess some people might view it as 'indecent' but it's a part of the human body, and an important one at that.

Assyrian myths and deities are very shallow in development(very early era in humanity) and they are portrayed as being nature orientated characters more so than any European mythos. They do resemble very Shinto like attributes in how they are portrayed.

Ah interesting I'll have to dig around a bit and look into it when I have time. At the moment I have seven books on Tenrikyo I ordered so I really should get through those first...and then the books on Buddhism I ordered...then the books on Taoism.

 

[Sha'irullah]

Mainly because It's associated with that particular shrine and the kami enshrined there. It'd be weird to celebrate a shrine like that on a national scale since it's only really associated with one profession in Japanese society. However since nowadays it's mainly a HIV awareness/fundraising thing I agree that it should be celebrated more or get more attention.

Plus, I like penises......yeah. But seriously, if you have one you love it and if you a girl you want one for yourself. Penises rock!

I also would like to nominate this conversation as the most informative post on any forum ever.

Unless you're talking about the celebration of the penis in general which yes it's strange how there aren't really many other festivals dedicated to it. I guess some people might view it as 'indecent' but it's a part of the human body, and an important one at that.

Sumerians and any culture in general when you refer to the primitive primitive forms of development all worship some sort of phallus symbol. I do not know why but usually the phallus represented power and the vagina fertility in relation to crops.

Ah interesting I'll have to dig around a bit and look into it when I have time. At the moment I have seven books on Tenrikyo I ordered so I really should get through those first...and then the books on Buddhism I ordered...then the books on Taoism.

Yikes. I have already red the Tao De Ching a long time ago along with various Buddhist scriptures and Hindu scriptures. I found them all very boring and uninformative. I really cannot tolerate scripture of any kind.

Philosophical ponderings are where the fun is. Buddhism and Daoism by today's standards are just bad philosophy. Presuming too much and knowing so little makes for bad philosophy but at their times they were at the peak, even centuries afterwards.
All holy scriptures in my opinion have been replaced with better things. I have read so many and found none mildly useful.

The only thing close to scripture I find to be powerful is Homer's The Songs of Ilion but that is not scripture in my book.

 

[Brinne]

Plus, I like penises......yeah. But seriously, if you have one you love it and if you a girl you want one for yourself. Penises rock!

I also would like to nominate this conversation as the most informative post on any forum ever.

I agree

Yikes. I have already red the Tao De Ching a long time ago along with various Buddhist scriptures and Hindu scriptures. I found them all very boring and uninformative. I really cannot tolerate scripture of any kind.

Philosophical ponderings are where the fun is. Buddhism and Daoism by today's standards are just bad philosophy. Presuming too much and knowing so little makes for bad philosophy but at their times they were at the peak, even centuries afterwards.
All holy scriptures in my opinion have been replaced with better things. I have read so many and found none mildly useful.



The only thing close to scripture I find to be powerful is Homer's The Songs of Ilion but that is not scripture in my book.

I've read Tao Te Ching already as well and I really liked it. I'm just reading some follow ups more about Taoist rituals that came after, interesting stuff how they adapted a lot of the Chinese folklore into the religion.

I'm a fan of scripture I liked Tao Te Ching as a I said and the Ofudesaki contains some very nice poems from what I've read so far. The Kojiki is interesting but sometimes hard to follow and hard to find a good translation.

The Quran also had a section I liked too, it was about not talking like a mule or something like that. I found it kind of funny and applicable to certain people I know

 

[Sha'irullah]

I agree


I've read Tao Te Ching already as well and I really liked it. I'm just reading some follow ups more about Taoist rituals that came after, interesting stuff how they adapted a lot of the Chinese folklore into the religion.

I'm a fan of scripture I liked Tao Te Ching as a I said and the Ofudesaki contains some very nice poems from what I've read so far. The Kojiki is interesting but sometimes hard to follow and hard to find a good translation.

The Quran also had a section I liked too, it was about not talking like a mule or something like that. I found it kind of funny and applicable to certain people I know

The Qur'an is very thick and philosophical to a minor degree but what is called philosophy is easily outdone by HLA Heart

 

[1137]

How do you upload pictures?

 

[Brinne]

How do you upload pictures?

Upload the photo you want to an image sharing side (like Imgur, Photobucket, ect.) and then copy and paste the url of the image between this"

"

That or you can copy the URL and press the image button next to the quote button in the advanced post editor.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Beautiful!

 

[Andal]

Thank you everyone for sharing your shrines. These are beautiful and so fascinating! I hope to post mine sometime soon. In the mean time I hope others keep posting

 

[illykitty]

I haven't got an altar, since I'm not sure about my path yet.

I only have a "zen garden" receptacle with sand, incense holder, a tiny rake, some rocks, a smaller receptacle and a little meditating Buddha on it. It's on a small shelf so that my cat can't get to it (too small for him to jump on). I got it from my mother-in-law for Christmas a few years ago.

This thread is really inspiring though and I hope I'll be able to post a picture here someday.

 

[Brinne]

I added some things, nothing too much though.
I really need to get a third Ofuda I'm just not sure for which kami, I like them all too much.

 

[Andal]

Beautiful altar James. I don't know a lot about Shinto. What do you do at your altar? How do you practice?

Aum Hari Aum!

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

I don't have an altar. I'd love to have one, but I'm poor, unemployed and my crappy apartment has no room for one right now.

 

[Leftimies]

Home altars/shrines are common practice throughout a plethora of religious traditions. If you have one that you'd like to share post a picture! I find it interesting to see how people worship in their homes, altars and shrines are also beautiful to me and show something about the person who owns/maintains them.

If you don't have a home altar/shrine feel free to share a picture of a plane in your home where you worship, pray, meditate or a place outside of the house (a park, your church, your temple) where you pray. I realize there was a thread similar to this however since it's from 2009 I figured I'd maybe be more appropriate to create this one instead of posting in the old/dead one?

Anyways, Kamidana to Amaterasu Omikami-sama, Inari-Okami, and Sarutahiko no Okami-sama (once his I order the Ofuda (talisman) for him). In this photo the curtains are a little messy, they're fixed now.

Kamidana to Tenchi Kane no Kami-sama (Great God of Heaven and Earth) and Ikigami Konko Daijin-sama (Founder of the Konkokyo sect and Divine mediator). The doll represents Tomie Takahashi, a disciple of Konko-sama who's story is pretty inspiring. The framed paper is called the 'Divine Reminder' and is the center piece/center prayer of all Konko altars.

Astonishing. I am still planning on my Amenominakanushi Shrine. I will be posting it here once its ready, but still, I think its safe to say you made Amaterasu, Inari and Sarutahiko proud

 

[roger1440]

 

[Viker]

Just remember. I'm a bit of an iconoclast.

 

[1137]

I don't have an altar. I'd love to have one, but I'm poor, unemployed and my crappy apartment has no room for one right now.

Do you have a mental on you can draw / describe?

 

[Brinne]

Beautiful altar James. I don't know a lot about Shinto. What do you do at your altar? How do you practice?

Aum Hari Aum!

Thank you!

At a Shinto altar (or kamidana) it is typical to leave out a daily offering of rice, sake, salt, and water. You are to approach off center of the mirror in the center of the kamidana (the area where the kami alights itself) and place the tray of offerings and slowly slide them towards the mirror.

After this, you back up and approach from the center line and align your spirit/heart. According to typical Shinto tradition you bow twice and then clap (when you clap your right hand starts lower representing you than the other hand which represents kami/god, then you slide the hands together to represent you and kami meeting in prayer). The clap is very important, it purifies the negative energy in the air by sending out (the first clap) and receiving (second clap) the energy. During this period you pray and make your wish, it is OK in Shinto to petition the kami for something like wishing for a new car. After this you can recite Norito (pre-written prayer) if you want. When you're finished you bow once more and step away.

Evening service is similar except you approach sincerely and say 'Thank you' to the kami and explain your day and any thing that happened. You remove the offerings and bring the tray and shinki set (offering set) downstairs to start the process the next morning.

That is the traditional Shinto daily practice however people don't always stick to traditional practices as you may know. Some families will leave out the offerings for a longer period of time and say a simple prayer while putting them out like 'Allow my day to be good' or something like that. There are also certain taboos with kamidana like that the altar should usually be placed above eye level, it should be kept clean, and Ofuda (inner talisman kept inside the wooden box) shouldn't be shown usually until New Years.

On another note, my Quan Yin / Kannon and Buddhist altar is almost finished. I picked up a lot of Buddhist stuff in France (a nice bowl, prayer wheel, statues) and hope to add to my altar. I find I venerate Quan Yin very deeply, almost as if she is like my patron deity

Anyways sorry for the long post. Shinto traditional practice has a lot of quirks to it and lots of little things. Like the order in removing the lids from the water offering and two sake offering but if you have a pure heart then little mess ups don't matter. Can't tell you how many times I've accidentally put the rice where the salt should be and vice versa.

 

[Brinne]

Gee it's almost embarrassing it's taken me so long to post this. We're still moving everything in so things change around a lot but FINALLY (and lastly, ironic right?) I put up the altar/shrine to my patron deity Quan Yin/Kannon. There's also an Amitabha statue on the left and a Lord Shakyamuni statue on the right (I believe). Though this is mainly Quan Yin's altar I felt like throwing those two on there felt right; they're all protectors of the Dharma.

Behind the statue are cloth prayer flags with images of Quan Yin, Lotus flowers, and calligraphy. The paper cards on the table all have different prayers focusing on Quan Yin, love, compassion, and peace. They're all on the opposite sides of the prayer flags hanging above.