The Altar Within: A Radical Devotional Guide to Liberate the Divine Self

I’ll give you my elevator pitch breakdown of the book, but honestly, you should read it. For reasons that will become clear, I’m going to be quite general.Colonization happens when one huge, organized group of people come in like a bulldozer and take over another, perhaps less militaristic & organized people, subjugate them, and force them to assimilate or die. Perhaps you can think of some examples from history.VERY generally speaking, and especially in the modern (meaning, in this case, the 18th century forward) world, the colonizers are monotheists and the colonized are another type of monotheists, or possibly polytheists or animists. Pagans. Followers of “primitive” religions, spiritualities, and traditions.The colonizing culture generally imposes its own state or state-ordained religion on the colonized people as a means to inflict a very effective method of control: an internalized representative of the colonizer — the colonizer’s god living in the brain of the colonized as a constant judge. He sees you when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake. It’s a really effective way to break the spirits of people and make them, or at least their descendants, willing subjects. Bootlickers, as it were.What does all that have to do with The Altar Within? Well, as it turns out, everything.The Altar Within focuses on decolonizing your own spirituality. It’s about focusing on the divinity within you, honoring that spark, that connection with the divine, above all other things. Throwing off the shackles of the multi-billion dollar industries that tell us “you’d be cute if you lost 20 pounds” or “most women your age have 2 kids. You don’t have any? Doesn’t that worry you? We recommend this pill!” Or “if he doesn’t spend 3 months of his salary on a rock for your hand, he doesn’t really love you.” You know. Things like that.This book is about deprogramming all that crapola and tuning instead into the divine, the goddess, the queen, whatever you want to call her/him/it/them inside you. The one who whispers empowering wisdom to your soul rather than beating you over the head with messages that make you anxious.It’s awesome and it’s empowering and I love it.

I rarely write reviews. But, if you have found yourself here, read The Altar Within NOW.As if the words in this book were meant for me, I know they were meant for you. At first, while reading the introduction, my spirit became so restless. I did what I usually do when I was intimidated by my methods of setting myself free from depression; I closed the book and distracted myself with other tasks. But, when I couldn't avoid the curiosity anymore, I spent the entire day reading Chapters 1-6 over and over. I took notes, and if I could have, I would have called Juilet to thank her for this devotional I knew I needed. This book, so far, is filled with insight that I felt within, aspects of my spirit that I knew; I just needed a human confirmation. The Altar Within eased my anxiety about being a good enough woman, activist, writer, mother, wife, human, and spiritual AF content creator. Even though I have been practicing my craft for years, Juliet shared her experience, magic, and spirit in a way that resonated as a woman of color who struggles with my human experience rather than accepting it, being afraid of my intuition, and ignoring it.What stands out the most to me is that Juliet didn't write this devotional for the gaudy witches that fill our feeds and inboxes with solely money-making magic. Juliet spoke for the witches of the world as if they were her BFF and made it clear that a woman doesn't need flashy Instagrams, magic tools, or fancy altars to connect with Spirit. Juliet emphasizes that we have Spirit within us and doesn't delve into the science behind connectedness. She writes in prose, and as a modern-day writer myself, I fully appreciated reading.The Altar Within offers free resources to help witches get unstuck in their spiritual practices with personal experiences and exercises within the book and with QR codes for free resources to continue self-worship practices.I will update this review when I finish and practice each chapter to apply to my path. In the meantime, Juliet, thank you for sharing your

This book is incredibly useful. I am a Mental Health Therapist and am extremely impressed at the sheer humanity and introspection which Diaz achieves so readily with great clarity and practicality. It is a Go To that I am already cherishing and recommend to my clients.. (I also have her Plant Magic which is on my Adore list.) Indispensable for anyone who is interested in achieving the real truth of what it means to care for the Self.

This book is beautifully written and provides a new perspective about spirituality and self-care. The whole conversation about the Divine Self is insightful and liberating, and the conversational tone of the book makes it feel like you are talking to a friend.Further to this, all the information about decolonising spirituality and how toxic positivity in spirituality is a new form of oppression of minorities is eye opening. This book has made me reevaluate my white privilege, and in doing so it’s making me look at the world in a different way. It’s put a mirror in front of me and forced me to see that I have been ignoring the problems of the world, and that it’s my duty as a human being to do more to help other people.I highly recommend it!

Juliet, acaba de llegarme tu libro. No se por dónde empezar para que no sonara muy superficial, porque la experiencia está siendo totalmente increíble. Hace un par de semanas, mediante un sueño se me ha dado conocer el mensaje que única manera como honrar LA diosa, es honrar nuestro cuerpo. Cuidarlo, honrarlo, amarlo. Yo siempre era muy pasota con todo lo que se relaciona con el cuerpo. Comida, sueño, ejercicio..pero eo sueño ha sido muy potente y no podía ignorarlo. Un día leí en un foro una reseña de tu libro y sabía que lo necesitaba. Solo ver la portada en Amazon me parecía increíble pero cuando lo toqué ahora y lo saqué de la cajita mis manos empezaron a vibrar. Luego me di cuenta que eres la autora de las cartas que estaba mirando desde hace tiempo. Me he ido a lavar las manos antes de abrir el libro y es lo más potente que he visto. Diría que se moviera el pelo al abrirlo cuando toda la energía se salía. Estoy en una cafetería, llorando, y no puedo hacer otra cosa.Mis manos están temblando y estoy llorando y me siento haber llegado a casa. Me parece que en mis manos tengo la información más valiosa del mundo. No he podido leer mucho, solo ojear rápidamente y quería darte las gracias. Gracias, Juliet

Juliet has once again managed to write a mega beautiful book. That also appeals to people who sometimes have a bad day or month and are allowed to be and the people who do not show it in front of many other people around them because our society lives from #goodvibesonly and many have this mentality and do not understand if someone around them is not in such a mood. She speaks to the people who want to be connected to their spirit more and to love and worship themselves who have to put themselves in first place and not other people in that place. Your body and spirit should always be in the first place to heal yourself, which is a long-lasting process that is definitely worth it. I stared to read this book only today but I am already in love with it because it really feels like she is speaking to people and knows the struggles that some of us have. Love it Juliet ❤️

This is a potent read full of deep wisdom and a wealth of knowledge. I love the power behind Juliet’s voice and that she’s speaking of the tragic loss of culture and knowledge in our magical spaces and practices caused by colonization. What many do not understand is that colonization happened to all of us. We have all suffered from the destruction of culture, ancestral practices, and traditions that didn’t get passed down for fear of persecution. And that fear grew and spread. The altar within teaches us that all of what was lost can be found within. It’s a great book that sits on my nightstand as a reminder of who I am and where I want to take my life, my practice and my community.