Creating altars...some musings...

Altars are important to me, aside from being one of the few non-messy places in my home, I love beauty, often in natural forms and found objects. Displaying such things for the pleasure of deity and spirit rocks my world.  However, once you start, they do have the tendency to overflow into other areas of the house. Loose altars pop up in odd places, next to the kitchen sink, on the stand in the bathroom, on top of cupboards. Basically any flat surface is open slather, so be warned you may gather around yourself symbolic and significant items that reflect your soul.

So what’s the difference between a flat surface covered in books, remote controls, ex cuppas, red poppy seeds, a pincushion, mobile phone, and an altar? Well the aforementioned chaos, sitting next to me as I type is a shrine to what’s been going on today, but its formed organically rather than been arranged for beauty and to focus intention. Altars are generally put together with a specific purpose or occasion, perhaps to share with others, or just to get one’s self into a shifted state.

 My brain is a chaotic place sometimes and structure helps keep it on target, whilst flexability can allow its creative side to flourish. I find this combo works for me in my altars too. I’m trying to have a regular altar practice where I change flowers, clean, light incense, candles, but also just spend  time hanging out and keeping the energy flowing by appreciating what’s there by simply gazing.

It’s all pretty meditational and I imagine that at some point your life could morph into an altar. Everything in it treated with respect, soul, appreciative type energy. Sounds good, but for now, especially as a creative project type, the tidyness aspect just happens in pockets.

Gargoyle...

I was at one of those $2 bargain basement type shops looking for candles when i met him. Now Im not usually your garden ornament type o gal but this particular gargoyle caught my eye, he has such a nice face, despite the fangs and protruding tongue. So for six bucks I bought him home. Im tempted to have him inside cos he's so cool but his energy is definitely garden orientated, so for now he's under a lilly pilly tree amidst the straplike leaves of grasses.

Gargoyles are traditionally functionality merged with imagination. When we see them on church rofftops they generally have a hollow inside that channels water away from the mortar of the stonework hence preventing its erosion over time. Usually the water comes out of the creatures  mouth but I did see one gargoyle who was mooning the world and the water came out his arse.

It has been said they were used to scare common folk into church showing that such beings couldnt get inside churches but I have a feeling that pagan stonemasons were having fun with it whatever their officially stated purpose. Their creatures hark back to gods and godesses of old such as the sheela ne gig figures, the depiction of a woman with an exaggerated vulva perhaps a fertility goddess or simply a lustfull hag.

Spring altar...

The night before last was the new moon, the perfect time to plant seeds and reassess what you are wanting to create in your life as the moon waxes towards full once more. I used a piece of the hand made paper my granma Alice left me, to write a list on. She made paper from nigh on every kind of plant material she could get her hands on, this was a piece embedded with petals and was lovely to use. I had wanted to use an atmospheric feather quill to write it, and so tried to make one from an eagles feather, but it made my writing splattery rather than calligraphic, so in the end I simply dipped a wooden shish kebab stick into the ink and wrote, which worked.

I set up a spring altar and have been picking fresh flowers for it, as I try to connect with the spirit of Brigid, as the spring maiden. After the strong connection I felt to Cailleach Bhur, the croney winter goddess,  Ive found it hard to let her go and connect to more of a youthfull maiden energy. I love the growth in the garden, its busting its seams and Ive been harvesting greens almost daily, but I have been feeling disconnected from the maiden at this time said to belong to her...

Some say Cailleach and Brigid fight it out at winters end, or that Cailleach either turns to stone, or morphs form becoming Brigid. Im sticking to the latter theory, but the years wheel turns either way. In a journey i was shown the aspects of enthusiasm, innovation and passion of the maiden, she creates the forms and focus for her time. The outward manifestations of a muse Brigid is sometimes depicted with a crown of inspirational flame emerging from her head.

Maybe Ive just been doing too much crochet and missing Alice.... 

Snake blessing....

Last night I decided enough was enough, its time to give my altars (in our bedroom) a good cleaning and sorting. Ive been neglectfull of my practices. I swept, burned incense and wrapped items for other times of the year and sorted them into a stash of wooden boxes. It was exciting, kind of like opening a present in reverse as I imagined rediscovering things at a later date.

The first odd thing that happened was that my Druids Plant Oracle deck (which Im on my l plates with) somehow leapt out of a set of drawers, and every last card was on the ground spread nicely about. Perhaps my cat somehow pulled it off. She has been a little odd today, I told myself, meditating cautiously on a mouse (or so I thought) under the bed. But saw it as a push along to get to know the deck either way.

So merrily I kept packing. Then went into the kitchen to give my cauldron a bath. When I came back there gliding across my spring altar was a python. Amazing creature, just a baby with fresh skin but still a good metre n a bit long! Ive been here 3 months or so and never seen her before. She moved slowly exploring crevices, and gliding between statues and stones.

I gotta tell you she gave me a fright at first, but its highly likely it was a two way street. There was no aggression and once Id worked out she was not a venomous snake, and got over my fear, to watch the way she moved was awesome. Literally climbing up brick walls with the muscles in her underbelly. No wonder they are sacred to so many cultures, she was mesmerising especially in candlelight.

So Nomadcat and I slept in the study with the door shut to let her find her way outside in peace. She was trying to get out the window but the security grill was stopping her. This morning she seems to have left the building, but what a generous blessing of our refreshed altars!