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THE ALTAR WITHIN

Indigenous Taino and first-generation Cuban American author Juliet Diaz, globally renowned for her award-winning and internationally bestselling works, presents a groundbreaking spiritual revolution.

In this new and revised edition, Juliet Diaz offers a radical devotional guide for inner and collective liberation in this transformative work. True liberation requires unlearning everything we’ve been taught about who we are, how we should exist, and what is possible. The Altar Within provides a path for those who refuse to separate spirituality from justice and seek healing that does not bypass the realities of oppression and the struggles we face. It is for those who understand that personal liberation is deeply intertwined with that of the collective and that community care and mutual aid are not just ideals but necessities in building a world that is inclusive, diverse, and just.

With reflective writing prompts, embodied practices, rituals, spells, decolonial and liberatory teachings, this book invites you to go into the depths of our humanity.

It invites you to become the alchemist, the witness, and the architect of your own liberation.

Let your inner altar be your anchor.

Let this work be your guide.

The revolution begins here

—within you.

A NOTE ON THIS SECOND EDITION

This second edition is a realignment of the original iteration of this book. After it sold out and being unavailable for over a year, The Altar Within has found its home with a new publisher.

To give this book new life, I have refocused and made some much-needed changes and additions. This book has been highly recommended by therapists and has served as an invaluable tool for healers, social justice organizations, and activists alike. In response to its widespread use as both an educational and healing resource, I have carefully revised the layout and framework for a more cohesive flow, making it easier for readers to engage deeply with the material.

These changes were made with the intention of supporting those who are actively using this work in their personal and professional practices, in community settings, and within social movements.

Recognizing the need for continued growth and reflection, I’ve also expanded the content significantly. There’s a new chapter and additional material added to take readers deeper into the heart of this work, enhancing its capacity as a guide for inner and collective liberation.

  • • DEVOTIONAL #1: Let’s Root In Radical Love

    • DEVOTIONAL #2: Unlearning Spiritual Bypassing And Reclaiming Our Humanity

    • DEVOTIONAL #3: Reindigenize Your Practice: Decolonizing Wellness

  • • DEVOTIONAL #4: Building A Healthy Relationship With The Self

    • DEVOTIONAL #5: Practices Of The Self

    • DEVOTIONAL #6: A Vision Of The Self (Self-Discovery)

  • • DEVOTIONAL #7: The Power Of Community Care And Mutual Aid

    • DEVOTIONAL #8: Collective Visioning For Rebuilding

    • DEVOTIONAL #9: Our Shared Home: Protect Earth

  • • DEVOTIONAL #10: Rituals And Spells For Dismantling The Empire

    • DEVOTIONAL #11: Creating A Liberation Altar: Supporting Resistance And Calling For Justice

FORWARD by Dr. Jennifer Mullan , the author of the national bestselling book “Decolonizing Therapy

“The Altar Within is a spell. An invocation. A key into your ancestral locks. A practice in embodied liberation.

It welcomes, beckons and aches for us all to reclaim what has always been ours.

What Juliet has channeled and created is not just a book – although many of us understand that books are sacred, historical entities and creatures that expand the worlds within us. The Altar Within is a portal of sorts, giving the readers permission to take off the colonizer’s clothes, and take notice of the shining ancestral technology of which we are the rightful owners.

The decolonial process is not about ownership and the medicine is also our Peoples’ to care for, to ignite, to cook up, to protect, and to spread. We must honor the lineages that have passed on the medicine and the people who have co-created and held the tether between worlds. This is what The Altar Within and Juliet gives us – the ancestral medicine and her own medicine.

I recall meeting Juliet years ago in her shop on Central Avenue in Jersey City, New Jersey. I had not written Decolonizing Therapy yet, nor even dreamed it up. I imagine she had not envisioned The Altar Within, or one of her card decks, hadn’t yet imagined how she would impact so many readers and kindred spirits globally. But our Ancestors did. So here I sit, years later, writing on this snowy December day about a Cuban Indigenous bruja, Juliet Diaz, who is using Voice, Community, Storytelling, and Sacred Fierce Rage to spread messages of reindigenizing and the importance of the unlearning journey first. A starting point and real, essential work if we are to become cycle-breakers and trailblazers.

From “Ancestral Recipe Exploration and Ritual Eating” to “Unpacking Lessons of Conditioning” to “The Power of Joy in Revolutions,” each section of this book is crafted to invite you (back) IN: into your journey, your conditioning, your process, and your own kin-magic.

Whether you are a practitioner, space holder, healer, helper, phoenix, witch, warrior, teacher or unclear– this book is a practical opening and guide.

May we lovingly and communally disrupt colonial systems of harm in the most magical of ways.

“This book is an act of revolutionary love.
Somewhere along this journey, I realized healing is not about perfection or arriving at some final destination. It’s about learning to hold space for all that we are: the beautiful, the messy, the parts that have weathered storms we never asked for, and the dreams that still flicker
even in our darkest hours. This work, this return to the self, is for those willing to sit in their truth, to peel back the layers that life, trauma, and survival have built around them.

The Altar Within is an invitation to sit with what’s already here. To take each piece that you uncover and honor it, not for what it should be, but for what it is. It’s not about fixing; it’s about witnessing, about allowing yourself to be seen by the one person who truly matters – you.”
— Juliet Diaz

“A sacred tool for collective transformation. The Altar Within is a luminous guide to navigating the complex intersections of personal and collective liberation. Juliet Diaz blends decolonial teachings, spiritual practices, and fierce love to help us reclaim our magic and humanity. This book is a gift for activists, healers, and dreamers working toward a safer and more just world where everyone can thrive.”

– Kalaya'an Mendoza, Organizer, Facilitator and Head of U.S. Programmes for Nonviolent Peaceforce

“Often, deep within us, we fear liberation, even though our true Self knows there's nothing to fear. Juliet Diaz masterfully reminds us of this and invites us to connect with our truth for healing, remembering, and reclaiming. Juliet powerfully reminds us that we are the liberation we seek. She emphasizes that this spiritual work must include caring for our community. Juliet's words are the medicine we need.”

-Natalie Y. Gutiérrez, LMFT author of The Pain We Carry 

“An inspiring book that beautifully illustrates how Indigenous values can help us reclaim our wellness and health.”

– Jessica Hernandez, Indigenous Climate Scientist & author of Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes through Indigenous Science 

Why Pre-Orders Matter

Pre-orders are vital to the success of a book. They help signal to bookstores, media outlets, and distributors that there’s real excitement around this work. Every pre-order tells the publishing world this book matters—and that makes a huge difference in how far it can reach and how many people it can touch.

If you’ve pre-ordered—thank you from the deepest part of my heart. You’re not just supporting a book; you’re supporting years of self & community work, healing, unlearning, learning, research, writing, and believing in humanity. You’re making space for stories that matter, for voices that deserve to be heard. I don’t take it lightly, and I carry your support with me every step of the way.

Thank you for believing in this offering before it even reaches your hands. I truly hope it meets you exactly where you are.

Note: I encourage you to pre-order through Bookshop.org if you can—it supports independent bookstores and helps get this book into more hands.

But truly, please purchase from wherever is most convenient for you. The book is available wherever books are sold.

You can also support by requesting it at your local library or bookstore. That small act makes a big difference.

Thank you so much for your support—it means more than you know.