Ostheimer Wooden Figures - An Altar In My Home
In our home, altars are an important tableau to celebrate daily life as well as elevate holiday and important days that we would like to honor. Having a space to pause and contemplate the meaning of the day - as a seasonal table scape allows us to slow our pace and find a moment of reflection. Taking in the quiet space of a lovely altar is a ritual that offers a simple yet profound embrace of our days. It connects to our ancient ancestors as well, as they also arranged objects as symbols of importance.
A variety of materials of course may be used to create your own home altar or seasonal table corners. Items from nature are always beautiful to add to a scene. Simple materials of any kind that you find particularly relevant allows the making of the altar specific to you. As you go out on a nature walk perhaps you find abundance of sticks, leaves, bones, shells, tree back, moss, flowers and such. Of course do not take too much from a particular area and always be mindful of not harvesting anything that is on the species at risk list of plants. A list of these can be found at United Plant Savers. Creating a nature or seasonal altar that holds meaning should be ethically created.
Here is a simple altar in the photograph above that I created to honor and celebrate gratitude. Crystals provide the nature element to reflect purity of intention. Crystals can be found in many places. Find the colors and particular crystals that have resonance for you and your altar space. Ostheimer wooden figures are beloved pieces we have collected over many years that often find their way into a seasonal altar scene. The reminder and display of this lovely family creates connections in my mind of the long story of my own family. The mother and father stand in support of their young daughter. The simple and quiet posture of the figures brings an immediate sense of focus and calm.
Over time a collection of important items that are meaningful to you will begin to conjure up instant patterned memories and heart connections. This is good for your soul. A relevance of soul over the years provides an easy and comforting way into soul reflection as well as healing ways. As your eyes cast over a seasonal display that you have put time and energy into creating - all of this is taken in as you stand before your display. This can be for just a moment or for a little bit longer period of contemplation. A pause - a rest - a reassurance that life continues as you are a part of it - bringing strength and resilience to you.
You altar space is really a momentary and visually available meditation. It is a living picture of what your soul might need in that particular seasonal celebration. A gratitude altar can be this simple as I have shown. The meaning finding comes from what is important to you and your unique biography. A created altar cannot really be copied as it does not hold anything of importance to you and your own life path. It is so interesting to look at others creations of altars and corner celebrations - and many ideas can be gained in observing and researching altars. Examples and ideas can be found in art books, stories, shops, museums, Pinterest, album covers, botanical gardens and nature preserves. Here is a useful article for you to gain more ideas from - There Is Only One Rule For Creating Your Home Altar. There are so many creative ways to support yourself. Part of the fun in this creating is the contemplation, research, wandering, creation aspects of this unique form of meditation - art making - and meaning finding.
The subject of creating home altars is a large one. Books and articles have been written about this from a wide variety of viewpoints. An altar can be anything that you find as a focal point. A simple branch can be set upon a windowsill - done with intention this can become an altar space for you. A small vase of flowers will evoke feelings and thoughts that can be utilized as a focal point of meditation, enjoyment and pause. Photographs of a beautiful nature scene can provide dreaming and remembrance. Photos of loved ones or individuals that we admire can also sit on your altar space. The possibilities are infinite in this temporary art installation. I do not know of another form of creativity that can make manifest our inner lives as an outward reflection to have as a living picture of beauty.
Finally, altars are found everywhere already in your home. If you look at the items in your home as well as the arrangement of things - really everything can be seen with this intentionality. Your stove is a hearth and focal point of your kitchen - an altar to the sustenance that this object helps your prepare. The way you arrange your rooms is an altar - inside the container of that particular room. As you can see this wonderful way of looking at your surroundings offers creativity for our imagination each day. If we awaken to what is around us with wonder and curiosity - an offering of deep significance can be found reflected back to us from our living homes. If you decide to create intentional altars in your life, I believe it will offer you a rich and full palette of beauty as a helpful box of available medicine for your soul. I hope you will share your thoughts about altar making in your own life.
Tasha Tudor Cookstove From Book by Richard Brown