Little Somethings

Over the past several months, I've been slowly re-organizing my altars.

It wasn't long ago that Sekhmet and Anubis/Upwawet shared the same altar space. It never felt right.

The gods who were sharing space with one another, are very different from each other. The energy raised, and being worked with one, might be counter to the other.. so I determined that I would be taking a step forward in my relationship with these deities, if I were to give them their own altars.

Anubis and Upwawet share the same space still, but their worship has historically gone hand in hand with each other. I don't see an issue there. It was Sekhmet who I felt I needed a separate space for. So I put my intention out to the Universe, and slowly but surely, things for her new altar popped up for sale.

I sacrificed a corner of the room to her. (quite literally, that space was reserved for storage and the laundry basket before) It isn't some out of the way corner though. There's a short wall opposite to the door that leads into the room. This means that Sekhmet has a prominent location: her space is the first thing I see when I start to enter the room.

Blood red velvet curtains drape down from the wall, and over the altar table. From eye-height, Sekhmet stares back at me through the curtains. Her hand reaches out to me. Fire dances around her, and blossoms from her claws... a reminder of the power that she holds, and the strength that she offers to those who can handle it.

On the altar itself, is a small, carved wooden tile. It was purchased years ago at the Lan Su Chinese Garden in Portland. It was one of several that were being sold there as "relics" from a pre-communist Chinese palace. Some of them still had traces of gilding on expertly carved flowers and other scenery. As they were a symbol of the previous regime, they were supposed to be destroyed. Someone managed to save some of them, and one made its way into my hands.

The tile itself doesn't "look" like much when you first see it. It looks like a small wooden plaque with carved flowers that someone might hang on a wall. I had stored it in various places over the years. After breaking once, being repaired, and put into storage again... I felt it would be a perfect addition to the altar space I was putting together for Sekhmet. I didn't think about the history or significance of the tile at the time, just that it was beautiful and seemed fitting somehow.

It isn't until now that I'm really thinking about the fact that I have a piece of a palace, a piece of history that was supposed to be destroyed, sitting on Sekhmet's altar. It doesn't look like much, but in truth I have adorned her altar with a miraculous treasure.

For a while, that was the extent of things on her altar...minus a vase with the head of a lion on it that I use to hold and burn sage, and a few gemstones.

A week or so ago I had a little bit of extra money, and I considered getting this beautiful alabaster candle holder that reminded me of a sun. I had planned on getting it for her altar for a while. When I checked online, I found it had been discontinued. I wasn't happy about it, but I told myself something else would turn up.

Fast forward a day or two, and I ended up in a thrift store. My housemate called me from a dark looking corner to show me something. In her hand was this strange, thick amber glass. I wasn't sure what it was but it had a hole that was the perfect size for a candle. There were designs in the glass that reminded me of suns, or stars. My heart lept when I thought about the beautiful golden glow that would be cast from a candle placed under it. There was no question, it would be mine.

I went to the front of the store to pay for it, pulling several bills out of my pocket. The guy behind the counter pointed me towards a jug that was full of money. A paper label, held on by roughly placed scotch tape, said "donations" I wandered over to it, and put the first dollar in. I reached for the next one "no need, that's fine" the fellow said to me. It felt strange, but I wasn't going to question not having to pay more than a dollar.

When I got home with it, it was assumed that it was a light cover for some kind of funky vintage lamp or something. It ended up being something much more interesting. It was the top half of a "fairy lamp" which is a type of candle holder. If I had the bottom piece, I would be able to put water in it, and place a candle in it. This was designed as a "safer" method of keeping candles lit, to avoid fires during the Victorian era. While the one I have is from the 70s, the weight of the glass alone, is enough to protect a candle from the cats that have decided that Sekhmet's altar is their new loafing spot.

Someday I'll get the bottom half of that fairy lamp, but for now I'm just happy to embrace the wonder that comes with putting intention out into the world and seeing what responds. It's those little somethings that make the world go around, and that remind us of how incredible and blessed we are in our own stories.