Better late than never: Photos of my altar

I did create a lovely altar recently and I thought I'd share some photos. I feel like it's getting a little dusty and needs some refreshment, so I hope to work on that no later than next weekend. 

Cards & An Altar!

I'm very excited to report that I received my new tarot deck this afternoon and I created my altar!

We were successful this weekend in executing that big spring cleaning I mentioned previously. We worked our BUTTS off this weekend sorting, decluttering, scrubbing, sweeping, mopping, washing, and more. We have a whole bunch of clothing, books, and other goods set aside to be donated, and we have so much more space and organization now! I'm not really a neat-freak, but my boyfriend and I live in a rather small 3-bedroom apartment with two other roommates and two cats, so things can get a bit out of hand if they aren't kept clean and tidy regularly. It feels so good to have everything fresh, clean, and sorted. 

We also are part of a community garden in our area, and today was our first work day in the garden. It was actually a bit chilly, only in the high 30's, but it was sunny and the mood was very hopeful and positive and excited. We do have an individual plot in the garden, but everything comes together for a few hours each month to spend time working on the shared parts of the garden, which include perennial patches of herbs, rhubarb, berry bushes, flowers, shrubs, and other plants. We rake, we weed, we repair. We all did such a great job and my boyfriend did a great job helping remove this massive stump that was such an eyesore. We also found out exactly which plot will be ours, which is very exciting!

With all of that great energy I moved on to cleaning and setting up my altar space. First, I removed everything that was previously there, found a new home for some things, and determined which items were going to stay on or be added to the altar. I wiped down the whole area and placed a beautiful knitted shawl over the surface. I cleaned everything that was going to be placed on the alter, including all of my sooty candle holders. Then, everything that was going to go on the altar was washed with chamomile tea. Once things dried, I set up the altar.

I used a rock for the element of earth, shells for water, candles and incense for fire, and a rather beautiful illustration of a bird for air. I didn't find anything more concrete I liked for air, so the illustration will do for now. I also added flowers and various figurines and statues that have meaning for me. 

In terms of my "portable" altar for my bed, I washed the tray using the same methods and I will use it while sitting on my bed and playing with the cards. I probably won't put anything else on it but I will light my candles and incense on my main altar. In this way, the tray feels like an extension of the altar for me to lay my cards on. 

I'll update the post with pictures soon, and I'll be back with some photos and first impressions on my lovely deck!

Thoughts on an Altar

I'm getting excited about the prospect of creating a small altar or other sacred space to enhance my journey and my practice with tarot. I don't have a lot of space in my home, and I will want to confine the altar to my bedroom specifically since I live with roommates. In the future, I'm hoping that my boyfriend and I will find a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment where we can set aside a room to serve as a space for yoga, reading, listening to music, etc. and I think that future place would be a great place to have a larger altar. But, for now, I will happily work with what I have.

I realized that I already have a space in my room that serves this purpose. On top of my bookcase I usually have candles, incense, flowers, and figurines. This space could be tidied up a bit, unnecessary items such as my knitting needles and other items could be removed, and I'd like to add some things like representatives of the four elements (fire, water, air, and earth). I'd also like to knit a sacred cloth. I have a beautiful variegated green/gray sock yarn that would be perfect for the purpose. It's machine washable and I can create a beautiful lace stole to drape over the bookcase. Done and done.

However, since the space is small and I would have to stand in front of the altar in order to use it, I don't think it would be a good space for reading the tarot. I will most likely sit on my bed and spread the cards in front of me when I do this. I think that what I will do is create a small portable altar on this beautiful tray I was given by a friend, and then I can put the tray on the bed with a few chosen items and perhaps a tea candle, and then lay the cards on the bed in front of me.

I took a lot of my ideas and inspiration on how to create an altar from this post on Rabbit Moon Tarot. I'll post pictures as soon as I set something up!

I'm feeling a strong urge for change in my life and I think I'll dedicate some time this weekend to doing a major spring cleaning. I think it'll just feel great to get rid of a lot of old things that are no longer serving me, that are just weighing things down a bit. What better way to start on this journey than by wiping the slate clean? I want to be ruthless about getting rid of stuff I don't need. For whatever reason I have a hard time getting rid of things but I think it'll be very beneficial to me to be strict about it. Tap into that Emperor energy! And incorporate the lightness of the Fool, yes? All creating a safe, sacred space to be explored and filled with new energy.

Since my new knitted cloth most likely won't be completed this weekend, I have another knitted shawl in mind that means a lot to me that would look beautiful in the meantime. 

I'll be receiving my book and cards next week. I want to be ready for them.