Last night I put together a small, humble altar for my work with Anubis, made a few offerings, and put some time aside to just chill, breathe, and thank him for his support over the years. I plan on expanding my altar-space in the future, but for now it's a start.
I carved the skull you can see here, some years ago. I'm quite fond of working with bone and horn, when I actually have the time and supplies to do so. I'll probably start getting more crafty again now that I feel more secure, and comfortable with my immediate surroundings. This will likely include me starting to do more metal work as well, and probably creating rune sets again. I have a lovely sterling silver set I made myself a few years ago, designed to look like ancient, and worn coins.
Sadly the cost of silver has gone up incredibly in the past few years, so unless I actually get any requests for sterling like these, in the future I'll be sticking with copper.
As for other crafty projects, it looks like I'm going to be working on the Sekhmet blade again. A couple of years ago I was going to create a special blade for use in my work with Sekhmet, mainly as a focus for directing her energy and my Will, towards things that need to be dealt with, with that kind of force. I had, had this idea kicking around my head for a bit, and eventually found a blade for sale online through a reputable seller who I believe had misidentified it as a spearhead. It was said to be from around the time of Alexander the Great, and my research told me that the patina in the images matched things found in that time period and that region. The reason I believe it was misidentified and is actually a dagger blade and not a spearhead is for two reasons: If the piece in question is actually a spearhead, why does it have a tang and no socket? Socketed spears were the norm during that time period from what I know. However it is also possible that I have no idea what I'm talking about here.
But regardless of what it started out as, the price was good, and if I had failed at restoring the blade, I wouldn't be destroying a priceless artifact. They aren't a dime a dozen, but apparently they aren't difficult to come by either. So I started restoring the blade a couple of years ago.
I got about this far before life hit me like a ton of shit-bricks, and the project got put on the backburner. This ranged from relationship troubles, not having the right tools and supplies to create the hilt of the blade, and financial troubles. Two years later, the tough shit is taken care of, and I have some...motivation to put this blade to use for reasons that aren't as petty as the ones I had back then.
While I'm currently taking a break from my usual job to recover from things, and get my bearings again, the only thing at this point that is holding me back is not having all of the supplies I need. At this point I need to get some Renaissance wax to seal and protect the metal once it's sanded completely smooth, and I need to decide what wood I want to use for the hilt. (or I might just do cold-cast bronze or copper)
This blade also symbolizes something- it symbolizes my Will being set into motion, and that even if things are delayed, that Will shall not be denied. It shows my devotion to Sekhmet, the energy she represents, and its completion will be the resurrection of my deeper work with her and her mysteries.
Yes, I think I'm going to be much more crafty in the near future, and putting a lot of little projects together I've let fall by the wayside over the last few years. I'm looking forward to it.
