A hiker and their young son stumbled across what appeared to be a makeshift “spiritual altar” deep in the woods—and the internet can’t stop speculating about what it all means.
The viral post, shared by Reddit user u/corys_stories in the r/whatisit subreddit on July 18, has since drawn 37,000 upvotes and thousands of comments.
“My son and I saw this in the woods.. WTF is it????” the post is titled. Alongside the question were several images showing an eclectic mix of items arranged at the base of a tree—candles, seashells, a bottle of Legoland shampoo, a toy gun, a facial roller, a hand cream labeled “You’re Berry Sweet,” and a packet of Gummy Peach Rings.
“It seems to be some sort of spiritual altar or something,” the poster wrote. “The candle reads: ‘eros, God of lost love and disire’ or ‘eros, god of lust, love, and disire.’ I couldn’t tell if the word was ‘lost’ or ‘lust’ but I think it was ‘lost.'”
In a later comment, the user added: “I put everything back where it was. I think we left something there of our own. It was a while ago now.”
The unexpected mysterious discovery comes at a time when hiking is enjoying widespread popularity across the United States. Day hiking ranked as the most popular outdoor activity in the U.S. in 2023, with 20 percent of people participating, according to Statista. Outdoor recreation overall contributed approximately $640 billion to the U.S. economy last year. National parks alone saw a record 331.9 million visitors in 2024, according to the National Park Service.
‘Sweet’ vs. ‘Harmful’
As for the Reddit post, interpretations were swift and wide-ranging. Some users viewed the scene with spiritual sympathy, while others saw it as misguided or even environmentally irresponsible.
“This looks like a spiritual altar, likely related to love or loss,” wrote u/-TheSilverScream-. “The references to Eros, combined with shells, pink items, perfume, and personal objects, suggest it’s an offering setup. Almost certain it’s someone’s personal thing, wouldn’t mess with it if I were you. Maybe they went through a break up?”
Other commenters speculated that the altar might be a way of coping with grief. “With the children’s toy gun and Lego shampoo I suspect possibly someone who lost a child?” wrote u/CD_Projeck_Blue. “Either way, I would not mess with it OP [original poster]. This is someone’s way of coping I believe.”
Another user, u/Spare-Willingness563, offered a more poetic reading, saying: “Only the person who made it could answer correctly but you’re right. It has a very sweet vibe to it. Like two spirits did this together rather than one on its own.”
But not all responses were so gentle. Several users criticized the altar as a form of littering and expressed frustration that spiritual practices could lead to environmental degradation.
“It looks like a pretty rudimentary attempt at a love spell or altar for a magical work of some sort. Definitely an inexperienced person doing it though. Anyone with experience doing this wouldn’t just leave it out there,” said u/longdayinrehab. “It’s disrespectful to nature to pollute it like that.”
“This seems like someone’s teenage idea of a shrine,” added u/Feisty_Pollution7036. “I’d pack it out too. I don’t think the wildlife need a facial roller or to eat a candle.”
Others were more blunt. “It is harmful being random trash left in nature. This is littering,” wrote u/ForRoiBoi. “Don’t leave it there, random plastic shit shouldn’t have been left there in the first place. What a selfish mindset.”
“Littering is harmful and nature based religious practitioners should know better,” echoed u/frogonmytoe.
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via the Reddit messaging system.
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