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.

Week 7 - Home Shrine

Write down what is on the altar, how it looks, and why you chose the things you did.

I've had a mostly wicca-ish altar for a few years, changing it up seasonally, but the ADF ritual has a few different components and needs. I use the altar for daily meditations, special prayers, and seasonal rituals, so it needed updating for these new needs. I have to my left fire in the form of a pillar candle on an iron holder. Behind it is a holder for various incenses I use. When I'm outside, I'll burn the loose incense, but inside I just sprinkle it on the little upraised dish. On the right is a small pottery dish with a beautiful blue glaze that has sparkling facets set into the bottom of it for the well and a bell to open rituals. In the middle in the front is a small dish with a spiral worked into it and a glaze that speaks to the idea of dawn for offerings. Behind that is a picture of Angel Oak, one of the largest and oldest oak trees in existence, and one I was privileged to visit on a recent vacation, for the Tree. Behind that is a barely representational figure of a woman, with an opening in her middle where a candle can be placed. I'm still deciphering her identity, but I've seen her, and this is the best way I know to represent her without attributing any qualities to her in error. I'm seeking a suitable chalice as a horn doesn't feel quite right, and I'm thinking of adding a few items back in as focus objects such as seasonal items like wheat stalks, but better to add to something once the framework is made than to twist and edit something else to suit a different style.