A Book of Women's Altars: How to Create Sacred Spaces for Art, Worship, Solace, Celebration [Paperback]

Nancy Brady Cunningham (Author), Denise Geddes (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2002

Altar (noun): an elevated surface upon which one displays meaningful objects. Any surface can become an altar. Geddes and Cunningham, with beautiful, inspirational photos and text that's both instructive and poetic, show us how. For women, they say, an altar can become a sacred space upon which to place symbols of her true self. Whether indoors or out, permanent or fleeting, an altar helps you to quickly focus on the spirituality inherent in common things -- the flicker of a candle flame, the heady scent of freshly picked lilacs. Part One of A Book of Women's Altars explains the cultural and historical background of the altar and why to create one. Making and using an altar literally clears a path for a woman through the clutter of her world. She creates a place where she is free to make her inner journey, where healing is abundant. Cunningham describes the process of selecting a theme, choosing a place, finding the right objects, and knowing when to change the altar. Part Two focuses on what to do with altars on special occasions. The author and photographer have created and illustrated -- with photographs and stories -- sixteen special altars. There are altars for the seasons of the year and the seasons of our lives -- including loss, remembrance, celebration of new life, and many more. Each has its own purpose, story, and ritual.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

How do women create altars-and more importantly, why? This slim guide by Cunningham (I Am a Woman by Rite) explains the background of altar making, which she demystifies by observing that "an altar helps you to quickly focus on the spirituality inherent in common things," such as photographs, candles or fresh flowers. In the opening chapters, Cunningham describes various kinds of altars-indoor and outdoor, temporary and permanent, entirely private or open for public viewing. She guides women through the process of selecting objects for their altars, choosing a theme and creating meaningful rituals. These chapters will be useful to a wide range of women who want help in establishing their own altars. The last few chapters, which discuss special occasions, seasons and holidays, will be best appreciated by readers of a New Age or Neo-pagan bent. The book is generally well written (though the author's poetry is superfluous), and the 66 b&w photos by Denise Geddes offer valuable visual cues.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Red Wheel Weiser (September 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590030117
• ISBN-13: 978-1590030110
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #489,175 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Lacks inspiring imagery, January 7, 2007

By 

B. Tighe (NC, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Book of Women's Altars: How to Create Sacred Spaces for Art, Worship, Solace, Celebration (Paperback)

This book may be helpful as an VERY BASIC introduction to making your own altars.
*If you like the concept of altar-making, but feel intimidated or lost about them, then this book would probably help make you feel at ease about creating your own.

THIS IS NOT A BOOK FOR AN ARTIST.

Anyone who already feels comfortable making an altar will need to be *VERY PATIENT* to find the new ideas scattered throughout. So far, I have lost that battle of patience.

I was expecting a contemplative, image-rich publication.
Instead I got a book with images that are uninspired & a lot of text that is not insightful.
The photos chosen look ameteurish & many are rather bland nature shots, or of home decorations/ potential altar fodder.

My main disappointment was that all the altars look like they were made by the same person and none of them are very aesthetically exciting.
One of the altars near the end of the book appears to feature a sheet of tinfoil underneath.
The book includes ideas about ritual use of an altar that may be new-- even to someone who has made altars, performed sacred rituals or explored symbolism. For me, the tinfoil effect is making it hard for me patiently sift through to the new ideas.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book for Every Woman, January 13, 2003

By 

Dolores Riccio (Warwick, RI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Book of Women's Altars: How to Create Sacred Spaces for Art, Worship, Solace, Celebration (Paperback)

I found this to be a beautiful book that inspires the reader to create places for everyday reverence and meditation to enjoy within and around the home. An ideal gift for daughters, sisters, mothers, friends. Highly recommended.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book was very helpful to me, January 24, 2008

By 

Book Lover "BookLearner" (Kansas, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Book of Women's Altars: How to Create Sacred Spaces for Art, Worship, Solace, Celebration (Paperback)

The authors of this book have put together many good suggestions to assist women in putting together simple, meaningful altars that could help them meditate, think deeply, or simply enjoy daily life. I like the photographs and the fact that the altars are created from common, everyday items that most women, whether in urban areas or rural, could easily find. I also like the fact that suggestions are given for constructing altars both inside the home and outside in all kinds of natural places. The book has given me many ideas for creating meditation centers, and I enjoy just leafing through the pages and looking at the pictures. I recommend this book for anyone who likes to meditate, comtemplate, or just plain sit quietly and think.