Healing Altar


     I am going to have a hip replacement on February 13th. I am not worried, but I've never had major surgery before so I am anticipating it just as I would any major life event. Preparations for this event have included multiple medical and dental appointments, transforming the dining room into a temporary bedroom, and creating this healing altar that I hope will energize my recuperation. 

    The color green is healing for me, and yellow reminds me of the healing sun. The yellow bird brings joyful energy to my life, and the spiral goddess reminds me that I am a work in progress, both spiritually and physically. 

    The photograph behind the yellow bird is of me at the top of a flight of stairs in Praiano on the Amalfi Coast of Italy in 2019. Mark and I climbed hundreds of stairs up and down the cliffside town in May of that year. The picture reminds me of what I have been capable of doing and what I will be able to do after my recovery. 

    The yellow-framed photograph is of me in my kayak, and the tandem bike is another reminder of an activity that Mark and I enjoy together. This summer I will be able to walk, swim, bike, and climb easily into a kayak.

    A live flower grows in the little watering can, a symbol of healing and growth, and a promise that I will be able to work in my garden this spring without any pain. 

    The ibis bird is a sculpture from Indonesia, purchased through SERVV International, a fair trade company. I originally chose this sculpture for its beauty, but the ibis bird is revered by many cultures and symbolizes healing as well as knowledge, science, magic, justice, wisdom, purity, grace, and mystery. The ibis also teaches us the power of friendship, family, and cooperation with other people in general, so it's a good all-around symbol to have on any kind of home altar.

    Finally, the candle flame reminds me of my inner light - the divine light that shines within every human heart - sometimes just a glimmer, sometimes a bright flame - the light that never dies, no matter in what condition our physical body may be. I do think this light tends to shine more brightly when we our feeling our best, as I will be soon. 

    I share this altar and these prayers with anyone else who may be in need of healing.

Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 7, 2023 at 4:19 PM

    Heal well sister! Thank you for the symbolism talk. It was, I must say, curious that the background picture of the whole thing was left out of the family of symbols, as it was indeed the background to the whole thing.
    You can’t talk about the set of a theatrical play without including the backdrop, for they are one. You can’t discuss the subject of a painting without including the background. Sometimes it’s even the best part. Yours is the first time I’ve ever read an exegesis of a still-life without mentioning it’s relation to its background, because it’s one, whether you recognized it or not.
    There’s my art appreciation 101 lesson of the day. Love you. God bless your healing.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Symbols of Divine White Light

Image
       While rummaging through the Christmas decorations in our attic, deciding what to display this holiday season, the white glass angel inspired me to create an altar for the White Light of Christ consciousness, purity, and wholeness. White light contains the frequency of all the colors in the rainbow - thus its symbolism of wholeness.       People who report near-death experiences describe a brilliant white light that emanates unconditional love. Those who have the ability to see chakras tell us that the crown chakra, our gateway to divine love and spiritual wisdom, is white. Jesus, Mary, and the saints are pictured with halos around their heads, because their crown chakras are so brilliant.      I placed a white scarf on my altar table before arranging on it the white symbols. There was so little contrast between the white crystals and shells, and the white cloth, that the objects were barely noticeable.  I switched the white scarf for a gray one. These symbols of divine connectio
Read more

Gift from the Sun

Image
     When I created this arrangement in our living room it was not intended to be an altar, and yet it does include three of the elements necessary for a sacred nature space. The earth is represented by the fruit and bare twigs which are replaced by pussy willow in the Spring.  On the wall a partridge in a pear tree represents the element of air. Above that is my father's wood representation of the Great South Bay, the body of water near my childhood home.      The only element missing in this arrangement is fire. But one morning the sun hit the nearby piano lamp in such a way that it created a halo of light over this scene, transforming it into a sacred space. My husband recognized the beauty of this fleeting gift, and took the picture.      Homemade altars often include connections to and reminders of family members and ancestors. The music cabinet on which this arrangement sits belonged to my mother, and the doily was tatted by my paternal grandmother. The halo blesses all three
Read more

The 12-12 Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadeloupe

Image
          Today is the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadeloupe.   According to tradition, Mother Mary appeared to Juan Diego, who was an Aztec convert to Christianity, on December 9th and again on December 12th, 1531.  According to the traditional account,   the name of Guadalupe, as the name was heard or understood by Spaniards, was chosen by the Virgin herself when she appeared on the hill outside Mexico City.      I have created an altar to commemorate this feast day (even though I'm not Catholic!) and to emphasize the significance of this occurring on the twelfth day of the twelfth month of the year. The figurine represents Our Lady of Guadeloupe, the Divine Feminine, who is flooding the earth with Her blessings and love - to restore the balance of masculine and feminine energies to humanity and our world.      The twelve tea lights symbolize the significance of the number twelve,  a symbol of balance, as it is made up of two perfect numbers (six and three). Twelve also symbolizes
Read more

Winter Solstice Altar

Image
     Today, December 21st, we honor the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, which heralds the return of the sun. This day has been celebrated in many cultures throughout history, but was largely forgotten as the celebration of Christmas grew more popular. Growing up, I never heard anything about the solstice, but judging by the numerous Facebook posts about the winter solstice today, I believe it has regained popularity in the world.      This is the first time I have added a winter solstice altar to my Christmas decor. Instead of red, I'm displaying a yellow bird and lemons to honor the rebirth of the sun. Of course the candle flames are another reminder of the sunlight we will celebrate as it increases every day after today.      I will close with one of the odes to the solstice I found on Facebook today: May you find peace in the promise of the solstice night, that each day forward is blessed with more light. That the cycle of nature, unbroken and true, brings faith t
Read more

The Spirit Altar

Image
          A good friend of mine just gave me Denise Linn's book: Altars: Bringing Sacred Shrines into Your Everyday Life. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in creating a home altar of any kind. Many of her words echo my own thoughts about altars. Linn says: "The urge to create sacred spaces is so deep in the human psyche that we often create them unconsciously. A gathering of photos on a piano, an arrangement of personal objects on a desk or fireplace mantel, are perhaps outer manifestations of an inner desire to establish hallowed and holy spaces in our environment."     When an altar is considered a sacred space where we can deepen our connection with the Divine, Linn calls it a spirit altar. I like to make spirit altars in different parts of my home, and I frequently rearrange them, so their energy is never stagnant.      The backdrop for this altar is a mandala surrounded by symbols of the world's major religions. Over the mandala are the wor
Read more