Al buscar 'altares personales' en google, aparecen muchas páginas web que animan a crear altares personales, a camino entre la autoayuda, la manualidad y una espiritualidad alternativa sin religión. Pueden crearse para honrar algo/alguien, para expresar sentimientos, para recordar, para conseguir un resultado estético vintage, para sanar/curar (autoayuda), exploración personal...
"Building a shrine can be a way to remember people who have influenced you greatly and who are no longer physically present in your life. By collecting pictures and reminders of our loved one and arranging them in one special place, we create a memorial in a way that words alone can’t accomplish. Taking the time to make a shrine, not only helps us grow through our grief, it can also help us to heal the unfinished hurts we carry as a result of that lost relationship. When we pass such a shrine, we are reminded that although the person is no longer physically present in our lives, the love endures." (http://www.kporterfield.com/creativity/shrines.html)
Entre ellos sobresalen los 'Spirit Houses' (casas de espíritus) de Carol Owen, autora del libro Crafting Personal Shrines. "Carol Owen sees her Spirit Houses as protective icons of family history, "My Spirit Houses are shrines to family memories. They make sacred those shards of the past that have made us what we are."Enshrining memories of family and home and incorporating personal mementos which celebrate the people, places, and events important to us, Carol's unique, three-dimensional assemblages honor people's most intimate histories and truest treasures." (http://www.carolowenart.com/spiritHouses.html)
