Little Altars

Yesterday, winter arrived on my doorstep.  4pm, and already the sun was setting.  Outside it was cold and raining with a hint of snow in the air.  To ward off the darkness I did some of the things I know to help.  I brewed a cup of tea.  I baked some bread.  I put on pajamas at 6pm and snuggled in with a blanket and a novel.  But the next day, when the darkness came again, it came with melancholy and I knew that another kind of magic was needed, so I put on my rain boots and my warmest coat and went for a walk.

When gathering items for making an altar, I let my eyes wander.  I become a treasure hunter in a land that is full of surprises.  This time I noticed Rosemary growing outside my house.  A soft cushion of moss- emerald green.  Under some big fir trees in the park I found a fir cone and some of the branches that had fallen together.  Peeling bark of a madrone tree.  A stick painted with yellow lichen.  An acorn, A walnut and a chestnut, smooth and glossy brown.  As I collected my treasures, something started to lift inside of me.  See, said the something, there are wonders waiting everywhere.  

At home, I arranged my gifts and lit some beeswax candles.  A smell of smoke and sweet honey filled the air.  When I make altars, I like to lay down something there to let go of.  Something that feels heavy in my space that I am ready to release.  Then, I welcome in the energy that would support to me .  Gratitude.  Magic.  Wonder.  Abundance.

I keep the little altar up for as long as it speaks to me, lighting the candles  whenever I want to refresh my space with the intentions I have set.  Then, after a while, I clear it away to make space for a time I want to create something new.  

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