Altars - The High Priestess {II}

My High Priestess altar (before it evolved, as they tend to do...).

I am taking a very cool Tarot Archetypes class that is sort of like group therapy based on Jungian Archetypal Psychology and realized with the help of the Major Arcana of the Tarot.

Our teacher recommends that we create an altar for every card/archetype/key/persona. For me, it has proved most illuminating (this probably has a lot to do with the fact that I am largely a visual/spatial/experiential learner!). Gathering all of the different aspects of a card together and adding all of the supporting 'characters' (plants, animals, stones, etc.) really helps an archetypal personality come to life!

I can also see how creating altars around intentions or affirmations or dreams or visions or what-have-you could really be helpful in reaching one's goals or keeping important things in mind! It dawned on me (and, on my husband recently) that I treat most decorative surfaces as altar space: the entry way, the side table, the cabinet, the built-in, the bed-side table... All of these spaces easily become sacred observations when they are dressed with intention and care.

One important aspect seems to be to keep these sacred spaces 'fresh.' I remember learning about this concept in terms of Geomancy (such as Feng Shui), where it is said that energy (Chi or Qi, using the Feng Shui terminology) gets stuck in places that are neglected. It really seems true. The difference is clear when you walk into a place that is well cared for vs. one that is neglected.

Over the holidays, I realized that THE most common altar HAS to be the Christmas Tree! It is amazing how common they are and how often so full of meaning (even for those on whom the symbol of the tree, itself, is lost), what with all of the gifted, carefully selected, inherited, and/or home-made ornaments! People all over the planet carefully select a tree, place it, dig out their ornaments, hang them all over the tree, take them all down when it is time, wrap them all up and put them back in storage until next year (or whatever different practices there might be...). It is a long, involved ritual! And, as far as I can tell, has much more meaning than most people even fully realize! I think it's great. =)

At any rate, altars have become a mainstay in our home thanks to this class (I started late as the class was progressing, so I never did get to do a Fool [0] altar or one for The Magician [I], though I plan to after the course terminates!). Also, there have been a few altars that didn't quite make it into digital for the archives... C'est la vie! Excepting those few, I will continue to share my altars here. Hopefully, you will be inspired to try one or two of your own!

~Aunt Magic