City Magick: Urban Rituals, Spells and Shamanism - Christopher Penczak 2001

Homes and Offices
The New Urban Temples

The first of the new temples is the home. Home altars have become important components of urban magick. In essence, these altars are not new, merely reclaimed from the traditions of the past. In many ancient cultures, the home shrine was not only accepted, but commonplace. Home altars are a place to do magick, and a place to be reverent to the deities of your life and fallen ancestors. You don’t have to go to a church building for spiritual rejuvenation. Spirit is all around you. By creating sacred space in your home, you make your home into your primary magical temple.

The office is the next magical urban temple. In the cultures of the past, most worked in or near the home. The concept of “going to work” had no meaning for them. The home held much of the work, in the form of farming, raising livestock, preparing food, or making clothing. The primary temple, the home shrine, was therefore never far. Later, as civilization developed, “work” moved farther away, to the meeting places of merchants and the state houses of ancient cities. Even then, however, the people were usually united through common beliefs, and the temples of the city were not far from either the home or the workplace.

We now spend much of our lives at our jobs. Now, however, there is no common bond of belief to unite us at the workplace. People would find it strange if you took a meditation break or ran off to a local sacred spot, whether it was a conventional church or your own outdoor space. Modern industries only observe spirituality by sometimes begrudgingly giving employees time off for religious holidays. Our daily observances must, therefore, be done in private. Our places of renewal can be hidden among the items in our offices as nondescript office altars and shrines.