HOME SHRINE
 Requirement:
A brief description, with photos if possible, of the Dedicant's home shrine
and plans for future improvements.
When I made the decision to dive back in to the Pagan end of the
pool, I was fortunate in that I’d kept most of my paraphernalia
and had a good basis to work from when reconstructing my home shrine.
I rarely leave my shrine alone for long and am always on the lookout
for accoutrements to enrich my worship area. After I first set up
my shrine I was missing some essentials, so I made a trip around
the corner to the thrift shop we live near, and I found some perfect
things to flesh out my altar.
 Currently
my shrine resides in our extra bedroom on my desk. This is not ideal,
as I’d prefer to have the shrine in the main area of the house
or in the bedroom, but I’m not willing to give up my incense
use, and I don’t want to drive my partner either insane with
aromas or force him back onto his asthma inhaler! The extra room
has actually turned out to be quite convenient, though, since I can
go in there and close the door and perform my devotions without fear
of interruption. The chair provides a relatively comfortable seat
for meditation and there is a window next to the chair; I love performing
my devotions when it’s raining, hearing the patter of the rain
outside and feeling the cool, rain-scented breezes come through the
window!
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 My
tree is actually a decorative tree-like plant of some sort; I think
it’s “really most sincerely dead” but I water it
occasionally just in case. It was in an ugly glass cube-pot when I
got it but I repotted it in a large glazed urn from the thrift store
and it’s now a beautiful representation of the World Tree! At
the base of the tree I have placed some special stones: a volcanic
stone from my Arizona homeland, a stone from the Church of All Worlds’ sacred
land Annwfn, and a couple other stones I’ve collected over the
years; I use them as representations of the Land. My well has been
both a small cast-iron cauldron and a handmade blue ceramic bowl; the
cauldron is symbolic but I can’t leave it filled because it is
prone to rust, so I have replaced it with the bowl, which also has
a spiral pattern in the bottom as a result of the way it’s constructed,
which I find very suitable. My fire is a large votive candleholder
with three tea lights on it; I want to make a more hearth-like construction
to replace the holder but haven’t found the right materials yet. |
 In
addition to these, I have an incense burner and a bowl of salt that
can hold more sticks of incense if needed; a small bowl in which I
place smoking sage leaves after using them to smudge myself and my
shrine; a small footed bowl that actually makes a clear chime when
struck; an offering bowl (terracotta molded with a motif of oak leaves
and acorns!) and a small wooden carving of a wolf that has long reminded
me of the Nature Spirits. I want to obtain some more statues or other
representations once my hearth culture(s) have settled out and I have
figured out who my Patrons are. I also want to increase the beauty
of my space, which is currently quite utilitarian. I am currently using
an altar cloth I embroidered many years ago with a tree, well and flame,
but there are more ways I could beautify the shrine. |
I have also been considering creating an Ancestor Shrine but haven't
started collecting items for it yet; I will post about it when I
create it. My partner also gifted me with a very small copper cauldron
(below) which I plan to make the basis of a small traveling altar
kit; this will come in handy especially this winter when we take
our planned river cruise down the Rhine -- right through the ancient
homeland of the Celts.
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UPDATE: Having moved into a new house, I now have a
room of my own where my shrine lives. I've added a few new pieces to
the shrine as well.
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 I
found my beloved Gaea statue, designed by Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, and
she now graces my shrine as the quintessential Earth Mother. She's
accompanied by a quartz crystal phallus and a seashell. |
 I
also came across my old statue of Cernunnos by Paul Borda from my Wiccan
days; since I call on Cernunnos as my Gatekeeper and since the statue's
symbolism is still
evocative
for me, I have placed him on
my shrine along with an offering bowl to hold the Gatekeeper offering.
I had been using the silver bowl for that before I found the offering
bowl, which is why there is sage residue in it; once I clean it out
it can return to its original use as a bell. |
 I
added a small Halloween skeleton for the Ancestors, and a small wooden
boar that I bought in Speyer, Germany to go with my wolf for the Nature
Spirits. I also added a large quartz crystal to the base of my tree
to add a symbol of "omphalos" to my axis symbolism. |
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