Many of us have altars and physical spaces that either are, or we create them to be, sacred space for us. Spaces that allow us to step away from the physical world, and step into a place of magic and spirit. They are spaces that create a trigger for our mind and our soul so we can experience beyond the tangible world.
We carefully craft them based on what our spiritual path is and the interests of our craft. They grow and change, as we grow and change. As we enter different seasons of time, so do our sacred spaces. The items we place within that space are reflections of us, our magic, and our beliefs. It is a space where we house our tools and perform our practices.
No matter what that looks like, no matter how big or small, the effect they have upon us is profound. They help us to slip into a place that allows us to experience what is beyond us, beyond the mundane world. They hold importance to us and we have crafted them for very specific reasons or purposes.
Our community spend a lot of time discussing these external sacred spaces. Much of that I think has to do with these spaces being able to provide a good starting point for connection. There is also some element of sharing that helps create this focus on our physical spaces. Sharing pictures and videos, showing off our spaces and inviting others to draw inspirations from them.
Although I feel these physical spaces are important, at least for me, there is another kind of sacred space, one that we carry everywhere. That needs no money, materials, or items to create. That can be anything we need it to be. – Our Internal Temple.
What is an Internal Temple?
An Internal Temple is one we build within our mind. A place where we can house different tools, call upon powers that we work with, store information, and more.
Since your inner Temple is not restricted by the limitations of the physical world, it opens up a whole host of other possibilities and uses. It gives a space that is under your control when interacting with non-corporal beings and spirits. A place to blend and create magic on a completely different energetic level. It is a storage warehouse for servitors, different tools, sensitive spells or information, and more. It really is only as limited as your imagination.
Some people are more naturally inclined to seeing within the mind. For those people, creating an internal Temple tends to be easier. Others do not have the ability to visualize in the mind and they may need a different approach or technique of building but nothing excludes someone from being able to do this.
Building Your Inner Temple
Depending on your personal strengths and abilities will determine where to start in the actual building process. A first step that I feel is universal though, is designing the idea structure. This is putting together the various ideas and mapping out what it will look like.
I personally find it helpful to draw it out on paper. Not the visual look of it, but more so the layout, structural pieces you want to put into place, activities you want to be able to do within it, other entities that I may want to inhabit or visit me there, and so forth.
Some examples: A main room/ chamber that is like a greeting center, can be used when connecting and first getting to know new spirits/ energetic energies. A sacred room that houses the effigies of any Deities or Guides you connect with regularly – You can also use this room for interacting and talking with Them. Another space that is dedicated to magical practice if you are a magic practitioner – A place to brew, create and carry out spell work, and that holds those tools. You can add your servitors in different places around the Temple or a specific space for them depending on what you created them for. Again, you are only limited by your imagination.
The Building Process
Take time to decide what the structure itself will be like. Its shape, the materials it will be made out of, what those materials will feel like. If it has doors, what do they look like, feel like, how will they work. What kind of lighting and lighting sources do you want – perhaps you want more old school with fire and torches, perhaps more modern with more electric type light, or maybe you want to go full nature and use natural lighting sources such as fireflies, stars, sun and moon light.
Remember, for many this will probably be a building like structure, for others though it could be a grove, an island, or something similar.
Make sure you are doing this for each space within your Temple. Thinking about the different aspects you want included into each space. How are those spaces separated – by doors? curtains? Force-fields? – or are they all part of one giant room? Remember, this is your space and you can alter it, expand it, or reduce it as you like throughout your time with it. With this in mind, you may want to start small – constructing one space at a time. Once that part is fully built, then you can expand and add on to it.
Internal Visualizers
If you are good at seeing and creating in your mind, you can start this one of two ways. You can create it in your conscious mind, working through it and getting all the details worked out just as you would develop any other project, and then pull that completed work into the astral/ spirit space. Or you can enter into that type of trance/ meditative space and construct it fully in the astral/spirit space.
Non- Visualizers
There are people who can not construct with visual senses in their mind – this also changes their experiences in trance/ astral spaces. I am a visualizer, so the information in this section are techniques those people have shared with me and ones some of my mentees have found effective over the years.
There are two approaches that can be taken but the most effective seems to be a combination of them for building your inner Temple:
1. Create a physical representation of it. This can be in the form of pictures, maps, collages, all the way up to building a full miniature model of it. You can create this from scratch or use a space you already feel that sacredness in, and use it to help replicate it. Get creative! This could also be a good use for some AI art programs to help create different aspects or the whole thing.
These physical visuals can be hung on your walls in your room, placed onto your phone, or in any physically sacred space you may have. Just a place that you will see it often or be able to commune with it when you want to use it.
2. Play to your strengths. We all have different clairs (psychic senses) that we are really strong in. Perhaps it is hearing – So in that case focus on the sounds of your sacred space. Perhaps a certain song on melody plays there. If water is a strong element for you, you could add sounds like the ocean, a stream, or waterfall.
Maybe you are stronger in emotions – Then start thinking able the emotional feel of the space. You can even divide different spaces by emotional feel and the purpose behind the space. Many associate or have emotional triggers with certain colors. Use that your advantage by having that color in front of you, wearing the color, or covering your work space with the color of the space you want to enter.
Do not limit yourself here. We usually have different levels of strengths through most or all of the clairs. Start where you are strongest, but going through this process is also another opportunity to strengthen the others. When you are in your Temple you can work on the ones you are not so strong in, in a controlled space and environment, building them up.
Spending Time in Your Temple
Just as you took your time to construct your Temple space, let it be a place you go to often. Explore it, and solidify it as your personal sacred space and working space. Both in the spirit/ astral space, but also in your waking thoughts. The more we think about something, the deeper it gets ingrained in us and becomes a part of us.
Use it as a place to travel to in your dream-scapes. Perhaps you do not Spirit Walk/ astral travel but do a lot of that other-planar work in dreams. As you close your eyes to sleep, envision yourself walking to and entering your Temple space. Each time training yourself to dream walk to your Temple to do the work you want to accomplish. Not a visual person – use an aspect of the clair sense you are most attuned to.
My Personal Space
I am not going to share all the details of my space as it is private, but I will share some elements so you can get an idea of the different ways I use mine.
I am a Death worker, so I deal a lot with spirits. I have a welcoming type Hall that I use for this purpose. I have gatekeeper servitors and an Ancestor that decide on what spirit is allowed into that space. There are sometimes I need to work with some not so savory spirits but where there is also hope for them to find peace – so I allow my gatekeepers decide on who they are. By handing over that responsibility to them, allows me to focus on the communication and task at hand.
There is a sky room, that allows me to visualize, work with, weave, and move planetary energies and those associated with my Wheel of Time.
There is a witchy work room. Here I can do spell work in a more visually energetic way. Weaving or blending energies in a more physical context. It holds an astral version of some of my physical tools, as well as, special tools that are only found there.
A room I am currently working on is an apothecary room. Where I can have the plant physically in front of me – or on my altar – in this world, and then move its energy into my Temple space to work more deeply with it and do deeper magical work with it.
These are just a few examples of what I have incorporated and reasoning behind them. I also use a combination of all the techniques above to create them. Along with the astral building, I have a physical altar in my witchy room that represents that space – its mapped out on paper – and artistic renditions of the various spaces.
My two strongest clairs are hearing and sight. I am using the time there, and the space it provides to help strengthen and develop others. The more time I spend there, the more in-tuned to the other senses I become.
I use it when Spirit Walking and am developing it more in Dream Walking.
It is a process, it takes time to fully develop it, but once it is completed, it is always with you. You will be able to conjure it or move into it whenever you need to, no matter where you are or what you have with you. It is an extremely useful space in my opinion.
Closing Thoughts
I believe everyone has the ability to do this work. We may take different approaches, it will look different for all of us, but everyone can achieve this if they put their energy and focus into it.
There are many advantages to having a space like this. Spiritually – Gaining clear communication between you and your Deities/ Guides – Expanded magical crafting – deeper development of your skills – a protected space to interact with and work with different spirits – a place to learn about your ancestors, your ancestral soul, their stories, and even see events and aspects of their lives.
Do you have a space already? How does it serve you? What do you use it for?
If not, perhaps now would be a good opportunity to build one. As we head into the cooler months, we also tend to turn more inward. Use that natural flow to your advantage.
Get creative, dream big, and make it what you need and want for your own practice and path.
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