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

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