Wind continues. i watch the old parts of the wooden fencing for movement. go out when i see it and reposition whatever it is that is propping it, holding it. wonder why i go through this again. why i don't just go out there this April when Wind has for the most part gone back to the Mountains and dig post holes, put in new posts.
But back to the Altar Cloths. i think i will try. and that requires just going, just Beginning. So...
7 1/2" x 11 1/2" plant dye muslin on plant dye old cotton of some sort on undyed raw silk..noile. the weight of it feels good. i barely invisible basted it and let it soak in water overnight. put it on the clothesline this morning. gave it to Wind for a while. now it's on the table and i am looking.
and i'm thinking about whether or not i need to say anything at all about altars, or my own sense of altar. i guess maybe a little. for me, there is no connection to "worship". more, it is about Intention. about Focus i think. about identifying what is important and creating focused intent. so that's me. for anyone/everyone else, it can be anything at all. and this morning i was thinking about when i first created what would be called an altar. it was when i was doing the Lamaze classes. Pregnant with my daughter. they suggested a focal point to practice our breathing with that we could bring with us for the birth. i created a small collection of things. on a small piece of cloth. it was a 27 hour labor and it worked.
altars can be anywhere and everywhere, too. i have that one in the post of the other day. it stays there. but there are others in the house and outside that move and change. and here in New Mexico, altars on the dashboard of vehicles are common. sometimes when i feel like things are moving very fast, i might make a temporary one, maybe just a cloth with a reminder note, and set it on the kitchen counter. where i have to work around it, be careful, which helps me slow down. so, how would i define altar? maybe as a designated space, created with thought full care, with meaning full things that help Acknowledge and Focus Intention on some urge toward uhhhh well, hmmmm. toward_____________________. fill in the blank.
so right now i have NO IDEA what these cloths might look like. they will all be very different one from another. and different sizes too probably. so i don't know. but i am going to make a little altar cloth altar now when i finish this and see how it goes.
