Ok, while reading the other post that began with a simple question on how to contruct an altar to honor the God, the Lwa, and the Ancestors, it became clear that somewhere we had taken a very, very wrong turn indeed. Now since this is the Vodou tribe, please only post about the design and construction of Hatian Vodou altars and shrines. I understand that alot of us are also iivolved in Orisha traditions and Palo, as am I, but they have their own tribes. The reason I want to revisit the topic i beacuse I love to build altars and shrine, and my house might as well be a temple, so I would love to hear what others have to add about how to design, furnish, construct, and keep-up with an altar or shrine.

I personally love working with Catholic images, as I am catholic myself, but some are not confortable with this type of imagery, so while Catholic saints are all over my altars, they may not have a place on others. When ever I first get the idea to make an altar or shrine one of the first thing I do is to find out which saints fit that Lwa, and which ones have traditionally been used as their symbol, then track down a statue of that saint ( sometimes this is easier said than done, like when I spent weeks looking for a St. Ulrich statue for my Met Agwe altar.) Some other items are fans in the colors of the Lwa, and of course lots of white and appropriately colored candles. Also, items taken from nature, or a place that is symbolic of the Lwa are great, (feathers for Erzulie-Freda, leave garlands for Gran Bwa, shells for LaSarine and LaBaline, etc)

And while having an elder or mambo is very good for building orthodox altars, it is my no means imperative to the process, especially for a beginner.

much love

Lucie