The altar is the holiest place in the house, so it needs special attention. There are 9 taboos to remember on the altar to avoid misfortunes happening to the family.
Do not leave the incense bowl unsteady, not in the middle of the altar
On the altar, there must always be three incense bowls, the largest middle bowl to worship the earthly mandarins, earth gods, Tao Quan, etc. Two bowls on either side are for worshiping grandparents and ancestors of the family.
Wealthy families often have additional altars and bronze tops placed on the board. As for ordinary families, they should have more oil lamps or candles to light each time they burn incense.
However, no matter how you arrange the altar, note that the incense bowl must be centered, balanced, firm, and not moving.
Do not use stone incense bowls on the altar
The incense bowl in the family altar should be made of porcelain, or if more convenient, a bronze incense bowl should be used. Absolutely do not use stone incense bowls, because it is only suitable for temples, shrines, pagodas…
Do not move the incense bowl when cleaning on Tet holiday
The incense bowl on the board must be left in place, absolutely do not move because this will cause “movement”, extremely bad for the owner.
When performing foot trimming or cleaning before Tet, it is necessary to make sure that hands are clean and pure. When withdrawing, withdraw slowly, avoiding scattering ashes in the incense bowl.
The number of incense sticks left in the bowl must be odd and the remaining incense sticks can be carried to a river, lake or chemical. If the shelves or bowls of incense are channeled, they must use paper money or votive paper for the shelf, do not use other things.
Altar cleaners must not be used with dirty items, but must have their own
Items for cleaning the altar such as towels, brooms… must be new, separate. Absolutely do not use wipes “utilized” from old towels, or used items, because that is a great cavalry, easy to be punished.
Keeping the altar clean, using new, unique items will help show respect and reverence. Only then can Gods and Buddhas and ancestors help.
Do not place the altar in bad directions, toxic directions
The biggest taboo is that the direction of the altar must not be opposite to the direction of the house, this is very toxic.
In addition, the direction should be chosen according to the age of the owner, the altar should not be placed at the end of the aisle. If the road goes straight into the altar, it will cause damage to the family’s fortune and personality.
The altar should not be placed opposite the toilet so that people in the house can avoid painful illnesses.
The altar if placed opposite the kitchen will cause controversy, the owner’s temper is hot. If placed under the stairs will hardly have the opportunity to develop.
If placed on the concave ground will make the owner difficult. If the top, bottom, left, and right of the altar have windows, the owner is easily distracted.
Absolutely do not place the altar on the top of the cabinet. The ancestral altar should be avoided in the middle of the house. An ancestor altar and a Buddha altar should not be placed opposite each other in the same room.
The materials for making the altar should use camphor, sandalwood and hand-carving is the best because these types of wood avoid termites and can be used from generation to generation.
Do not worship the 3 families on the altar
The altar in the house should only worship the gods, the earth god, the apple army in the family and worship the paternal and maternal families, in addition, should not worship more. The paternal surname is placed on the left and the maternal surname is placed on the right.
Many families can set up additional altars to worship their aunts and uncles, red boys and girls, this is completely normal and will make everything better.
Regularly clean the altar to keep it clean and pure
When worshiping, do not use artificial flowers and fruits. Because “the ceiling is so negative”, the flowers have no scent, the fruit can’t be eaten, why don’t people like it, why put it on the altar? Absolutely do not try things before offering, this is taboo.
In addition, it is recommended to regularly clean the altar and worship space so that the poetry table is always clean and pure.
Do not put miscellaneous items on the altar
Many people have the habit of putting miscellaneous things on the altar, but this is not true. On the altar it is forbidden to place miscellaneous objects, cutlery, medicine, do not use the altar as a place to store furniture or fish tanks, televisions, loudspeakers. This will lose the purity and solemnity of the altar.
Do not use sand to put in the incense bowl
Homeowners should absolutely not use sand to replace the ashes in the incense bowl. Because this will make the family quarrel, encounter unlucky things.
The incense bowl must be made with clean ashes, burned from clean glutinous rice or straw, sifted and carefully filtered to remove impurities.