Using a Working Altar for Trancework
A working altar is something that I use in trancework. It is basically a community tool station and everything that is placed upon it has a specific purpose. Everything on it gets used by everybody who has come to trance. That altar is doing business. It is not there to look pretty, though it can also do that. Every item sitting on it plays an active role in the trance process.
A trance altar is a hypnotic trigger (one of many) that aids in the process of trance. The same things are found on it every single time without much deviation. There will be incense (though the type may change depending on the type of trance being done), there will be flowers and herbs for tea (the type may change), there will be some kind of āgroundingā food (chocolate, fruit, or dark bread are normal), there will be a plate for money, there will be a bowl and a pitcher of scented water, there will be oils and perfumes (types may vary), there will be votives for those who want to make them, and there will be salt.Ā
(Pictured: The left half of my working altar. Just off camera to the right, you would find a pitcher of scented water and a basin to pour it over. Plus a whole heap of scented oils and wake-up water.)
The photo above was taken just before a trance session in either 2016 or 2015. For basic trance, the color of the altar cloth does not matter. It can be anything that you are proud of that only gets used for trance. Everything placed on a trance altar has to be used, consumed, burned, or buried. (Not counting the bowls, plates, and jars.) This encourages a type of reverence and concentrated focus on trance that makes it easier to accomplish--part of the hypnotic trigger that now is time for trance. When these items come together in this way, trancework always follows.
There is a strong emphasis on responsible sourcing of materials. Take time and pay attention to detail when acquiring things for a trance altar.
Flowers & Herbs: Fresh picked or hand dried. Grow your own if you can or pick them wild. Edibles with heavy scents or flavors are best. Flowers can be dried afterwards and harvested for seeds.Ā Beauty, scent, and nature establish a space of spiritual cleanliness.
Foods: Place small amounts of food on the altar but no meat. Fair-trade chocolate is good. Homemade breads are good. Homegrown fruit is good. Those who trance have to eat something when they are done.
Plates & Bowls: Glazed and unglazed pottery and brassware is always nice. Take the time to clean each item before and after trance work. You will need a water pitcher and a basin to catch the water so that people can wash their hands and face before you begin. Keepin' things clean here.
Scented Oils: Choose a scent for yourself that you will only use for trance and use it every time you practice and every time you sit down for a trance session but do not use it in your regular day to day life. It can be anything that has meaning to you but you have to be consistent in how you use it to gain its full benefits.
Votives: Candles, clay, stones--these are all foci that can be used according to your personal religious or spiritual practices. Some people like to light candles and make prayers, some like to shape clay offerings, some like to charge stones. We have diverse backgrounds. Some of us are religious, some of us are not. This is a way of synchronizing what we do together with who you are as an individual.
Salt: Funny thing about salt... ātheyā say it is used for āpurification.ā What that means is, āit keeps crawly bitey bugs away.ā It also burns in pretty colors and is traditionally very valuable. I lay down chunky koshering salt around the area to keep things away from the places creepy crawly things donāt need to be.
Anything that doesnāt get used or consumed that has been placed on the altar, and is not reusable, should be either burned or buried. This is a pretty standard formula for Mediterranean ritual items. That which is burned goes to the gods/spirits of life. That which is buried goes to the gods/spirits of death. This includes flowers, herbs, leftover food, votives, and any salt that has been left on a plate. This does not include money, vials of oil, boxes of incense, your altar cloth, or your plates & bowls. If you/ your group are non-spiritual, you can either adopt this method, alternate between the two, and file it mentally under hypnotic suggestion OR come up with a different reverent manner of handling these items. No matter what you choose to do or why, there is a psychological benefit to treating trance/ritual items differently than you treat everything else so it is worth it to go through.
How your group wants to handle money is totally up to you. I include it mostly because I want to prepare people for what the spectrum of normal looks like in living traditions of trancework around the Med. Just fostering an awareness and good manners. It is okay to ask for donations to cover using a space and buying supplies but you should never expect a single penny. When I lived in a place where busking was more prominent, I used to take whatever money was placed on the trance altar and give it all to the first busking musician I saw after. This was my way of thanking the spirit of the arts. Money given freely is the key. If you are the acting agent of the spirit of the arts and you keep that money, be prepared to accept what that means and what role you play.
When money is placed on a trance altar, it becomes a votive offering. The giver is asking whatever communal forces are at work for something in exchange. It is a very serious thing. There are multiple layers to it as well. The metal of coins, which used to be common currency, had/has a spiritual value. The metal was and is used as an apotropaic focus to break the evil eye, to drive away angry spirits, and to give the gods back what was borrowed to begin with.
Many living trance cults in the Mediterranean use the donations that people bring in to provide for their livelihood but those are almost entirely for possession cults. The people who do this traditionally are born into it and it is all they do. The people who come to them are not learning to trance or learning about trance. They already know what it is and they know exactly what they are paying for. Should you ever find yourself with them, do as they do and understand that it is a part of the experience.
(Pictured: My trance wife taking a smoky bath with stick incense. Note how the fabric is tented over the smoke to catch and hold the scent in. This takes a few minutes. Aim to saturate everything with the scent and be careful not to let hair or fabric come into contact with the burny bits.)
Every scent has a purpose. Basic trance uses only one or two fragrances to keep things consistent while you are still building up your hypnotic associations. Catalyst trance utilizes a different scent for each type of trance. Possession trance uses a different scent for every type of spirit. Religious trance uses a different scent depending on the religion/deity involved.
If you are new to this, I recommend starting with labdanum resin or benzoin resin. Labdanum is specifically associated with protection, which is why I use it. Benzoin is also associated with a polite, warm, and welcoming place. Both are very appropriate for this kind of work. Pine resin is also good and easy to gather in some parts of the world.
I buy most of my resins from Greek Orthodox monks because few people take incense more seriously than they do and I know that it has been meticulously prepared. Also, I use a lot of the same scents. Source your incense however you want to and use whatever scents you want with your own group but have a reason for the ones you choose and stick to the same scent every time. Be consistent.
Incense is used to smoke bathe everyone and everything to include drums, votives, all trance wear, and all people involved with the trance session. Resin incense needs to be tended to so that when the resin has burned out, it can be quickly replaced.
Scent is the most spiritual of the senses. Good scents are believed to attract good spirits and bad smells attract harmful spirits. This is why many living traditions for trancework are extremely fragrant affairs. Incense is used in offering to all manner of gods and spirits. It is considered āspirit food.ā In many cases, incense is viewed as a gift from a particular spirit or deity. Burning it sends the suggestion that the area is ready for good spirits to attend and be fed. One of the most impolite things you can do at a trance session is show up unwashed and reeking of BO.
That's the basics! Good luck with your magic floppy time!
