The Home Shrine

What's the difference between a shrine and an altar? you might be asking. To sum it up, we would describe a shrine as a place primarily to conduct devotion, prayer, and make offerings, while an altar is primarily used for the purpose of ritual and should be considered a ritual tool in itself.

Just like we do now, many pre-Columbian Mexica kept shrines in and around their homes. We don’t know exactly what they looked like, but a consensus has emerged from followers of the Teteoh about what one’s personal place of worship might include. The details are up to you; get creative!

Icon or Effigy (Ixiptla)

An image of the deity or deities should be present, as they manifest most readily through the right ordering of their holy implements, colors, and regalia. According to Basset: "a teotl needs a teixiptla, a localised embodiment, in order to be present to devotees". This hearkens back to one of the most foundational elements of Mexican cultus: the tlaquimilloli, or sacred bundle. The tlaquimilloltin were very real artifacts, similar to the Catholic reliquae, that held what were believed to be real pieces of the bodies or paraphernalia of the gods, and were treated with the utmost care. Statues of the gods, called ixiptla, were also kept in the temples. (For our purpose any sanctified image of the gods, whether 2D or 3D, can be referred to as an ixiptla.)

For your shrine at home, drawings, pictures printed from the internet, or statues will all work, in addition to other items that remind you of the god(s) and make you feel closer to them.

Incense Burner

While a charcoal burner able to burn tears of copal resin is ideal, it is not feasible (or safe!) for everyone to produce that much smoke indoors. Stick incense made from resin is a good substitute, or even an essential oil vaporizer. The goal is to offer, through burning by fire, tree resin or oil (to us this is the "blood" of the tree) so that it may rise to the heavens. If you can’t make any smoke in your space at all, smokeless incense is available now in some places, and traditional essential oil warmers will achieve the offering of a pleasant smell.

In ritual, incense is particularly sacred to Quetzalcoatl.

Candle

Fire was incredibly sacred for the Mexica, as it was closely associated with the sun, the passage of time, and the count of years. Many, if not most, offerings to the Teteoh were burned in sacred fires, even including jars of water, because it produced such a direct link to the divine order. If no open flames are permitted where you live, LED candles are good substitutes.

In the home, all fire/burning is sacred to Chantico.

Cloth or Mat

Reed mats were symbols of high office, and sitting upon specially made lengths of woven reeds, animal pelts, or cloth, was a place of honor. We therefore extend this honor to our gods. A clean, appropriately-sized cloth or mat should go underneath the entire shrine, or underneath the idol. Feel free to layer several separate cloths as well. They can be any color, material, or design – get creative, and use something that speaks to you.

Riser for the Ixiptla

For most Teteoht, placing their image on a riser big enough to fit them (and no other shrine item) can be appropriate. This echoes the cosmology of the temple-mount, bringing the god closer to the heavens and placing them above the materiality of the earthly plane.