Abstract

The present work invites the reader to immerse into the intimate worlds of contemporary spiritual practitioners from urban centres of Argentina as they engage with their home altars. By means of ethnographic research we explore the process of creation of domestic altars, the spiritual practices conducted with altars and the effects altars have on spiritual practitioners. The notion of bricolage is useful to grasp the process of altar creation, and we will argue that this creation involves multiple forms of sociality. Localising the practices done with the altar in the everyday, we argue that the relationship people have with their altars disrupts the ordinary. Their intimate relationships, linked to modes of action that span from fleeting daily interactions to rituals, become part of a spiritual mode of life. We introduce the concept of atmospheres into the study of contemporary spirituality and material religion to account for the ongoing effects of the relationship and to address the transformational potential of altars, both on the spiritual subjectification and on practitioners' relations with others and their environment. Sacred atmospheres are experienced with intensity, charged with affects and emotions, and are inextricably linked with notions of well-being, intimacy and protection. Through altars practitioners open themselves to connect with a greater whole in the intimacy of their homes, inviting others to partake in their atmospheres physically and virtually.