A is for Altars

Yeah, I'm sure everyone is going to be doing altars this week, but every altar is different, no? So let me show you mine. I don't have the best light on this wall, so the camera's flash throws shadows a bit oddly.

I'll have closeups in a moment. So this is the last part of the hallway into the living room; the door to the kitchen is just to the right of the altar. That means I walk past this spot multiple times a day. I like that it's in such a well-traveled spot; it keeps me mindful of it. The necklace hanging on the left side of the altar is a sun, the necklace on the right is a moon. The statue in the middle I found in the same shop that I bought the little statue of Ganesh and the little statue of Shiva. I don't see it as a fertility symbol so much as a sexuality symbol. Here's a close up of it:

 

When I'm not wearing my necklace, it hangs here. It's a trinity knot inside a dragon ouroboros. The statue stands on top the tarot card The Sun, for family, love, and loyalty. Turning to the left side of the altar:

It looks cluttered in this shot, but it's really not. Ganesh is sitting on top of a glass cube with a dragon etched inside; That represents me. I coil my hematite bracelet around the cube when I'm not wearing it, and there's two more pieces of hematite to either side of the cube. I love hematite; it grounds me and makes a lovely worry stone. (Those two pieces occasionally go in my pocket if I know I'm going into a stressful situation.) I usually keep a tarot card or two under the glass cube for various purposes. The crow feather is one of many that I own; Crow is rather dear to my heart. On the left wall of the altar is a stuffed bull - I am a Taurus, after all!

Now the right side of the altar: 

This glass cube has the Marine Corps' Eagle, Globe, and Anchor etched into it; it represents my husband until I can find a Peter Pan statue. Shiva sits next to him; Sascha rather likes destruction for creation's sake. As he's still looking for a job, there's a coin sitting on top of the cube; it happens to be a British pound coin, but it more the monetary symbol of it. (It was also left in our car by a dear friend and not discovered until we were halfway across the country from said friend, so it's a special coin to us.) In front of Sascha's cube is a dragon sheltering a fairy under his arm, a good symbol for us.

The two goblets on either corner hold small lavender candles for serenity. The altar cloth has an aquatic theme; I may be a very earth person, but I have Pisces rising and can be watery in my imagination and emotions. The entire altar is the top shelf of a bookcase (one of many in our house!) but this bookcase holds my pagan/feminist/philosophy/mythology books. 

I'm very happy with my current altar; it's the first time it's really been out in the living space instead of hidden in a bedroom. I like not having it hidden anymore.