Week 14 - The Home Shrine (revisited)

I’ve added a picture above my shrine and a letter given by my wife in blessing of my path, a piece of Icelandic spar to help me find my way, and two hand sickles as Samhain approaches and I move to that part of my Lady, Persephone. I’m likely to remove the holder for the incense, but I’m still debating that.

The hand sickles were just refinished by a devotee of a metalworking god, and I’m just beginning use with them, so they’re on the altar for both seasonal and hallowing reasons.

Does it feel like there is something missing? Does something seem out of

place? Is it just right?

The glass and plastic incense holder will probably go pretty soon in favor of a small cauldron or iron plate to burn loose incense on. I’m feeling a pull towards heavier and more solid objects.

How have you worked with it over the past seven weeks? Has the method

of your working shaped the way the altar looks now, or does the way the altar looks

affect the way you work? Are you happy with the location of the altar? Have you

moved it in the past seven weeks? Do you plan on moving it in the future?

I’ve added the picture when I made my dedication to my Lady and the sickles when I was given them at a Mabon celebration. Other than that, it’s probably as it will be for the next while.  I do change things seasonally.  I don’t have a lot of room or spots living in an apartment, so it’s on the cabinet at the foot of the bed, which is the best I can do for someplace I consider private and special.

Now, what would you like to do to improve it? Write down your dreams, or

sketch out your dream altar. Can you make it look like that? What do you need to

do in order to make your altar look the way you want it?

A huge house with a room or outbuilding devoted to being a temple would be nice, but that’s not coming just yet. I’m happy with it, though I’d probably use a different cabinet beneath it, perhaps a wooden one in which I can store those seasonal items.

Finally, consider how this shrine compares with the spot where you visit

with nature. Do you feel that nature is accessible from this shrine? Or do you prefer

to be outside in order to deal directly with nature? Are there ways to bring nature

into your Home Shrine?

The shrine isn’t as much about nature as it is about my connection to my Lady.  It’s a spot for focus and meditation and prayer.

Meditation Log - Week 16

Week 16

Nature: I’ve not had much chance, as Lady Beth’s funerals were this week, but I’ve tried to take notice of the trees, the leaves, the changes, the differences between here and South Carolina. The pine tree species and maples change the color pallette.  

Meditation:  I’ve been doing this mostly while on the long drives back and forth, letting my mind spin down, somewhat like highway hypnosis while Jennifer sleeps.

Two Powers: When I’ve needed to feel centered during the ceremonies, I’ve sunk my roots and stretched my branches, and it’s helped.

Meditation Log - Week 15

Week 15

Nature: I did this for a while before the Samhain ritual, while getting ready to smudge the site. I was very disturbed because of Lady Beth’s death, but I cherished spending time at the farm, especially watching the clouds rush past across the sky as the front moved in.

Meditation: Been continuing the walk-the-dogs devotions, looking to the sky, and it helps bring me back to center in those moments.  

Two Powers: I’ve been using this more and more as my go-to ground and center type practice. Before it was just roots, but now it’s roots and branches in the wind.

Meditation Log - Week 14

Week 14

Nature:  It really felt like fall, with that leafy skittery sound across parking lots, the rains and leaves falling, smell of woodsmoke in the air. The bunnies are hiding, but the deer are realllly out and about!

Meditation: It’s been early mornings and late evenings, but in between the classes I’m teaching, I’ve been catching spare moments of silence. I need to have more dedicated longer periods of time, though.

Two Powers: I’ve been scared to do this while working at a hospital, but I’ve tried once outside, and it’s been fine. Maybe I’m just scared, given the old baggage.

Meditation Log - Week 13

Week 13

Nature: I’ve just stared in absolute awe as the leaves have been changing, the cold weater finally arrived.  There’s a scent to the air, the faintest hint of fireplaces and woodsmoke, and of the papery scent of leaves as they skitter by.  This morning, I saw a deer bound across the higway on my way into work, even this far into the city, and it brought home for me that there is no place that is not wild.

Meditation: I’ve been keeping up with the daily devotions in the morning and evening, and they’ve helped re-center me a lot.  I’m going to work more on the longer meditations as a friend is having good results with it.

Two Powers: first time I go out in the daylight, I’ve been pulling from my roots and from the sky, and concentrating - a shorthand of it, but useful