Shrines

Shrine space is problematic. I am not at home but living in a far removed corner of my parents' condo. When I am back in my own household, I will once again have my full shrine cabinet and Ahku shrine and festival altar:

But for the time being, I am squeezed into a tiny corner of the spare room I sleep in (once a sewing room--before mom was ill) and because not all of the guests coming to visit my mother in her final days are aware of my decidedly unusual faith, I can not make anything that would be overly noticeable. So I have had to make due:

(You can actually see by the corner how close it is to the bed. Not ideal, but I don't have many options)

(A close up of the actual work surface. My other supplies are stored inside the tin everything sits on. That little clipper like silver thing, by the way, is an excellent little tool used to put a candle out without creating a lot of smoke.) 

I don't think it's a bad thing to be forced to simplify once in a while.

Not having the statues, for one, helps me focus on Netjer instead of individual names, which is important for this class. Being forced to use simple objects and keep the small altar fairly clutter free reminds me that the artifacts of faith and the tools of faith are not the faith itself. The words and the heart are the core of ritual. Though I am not with only that.

I have my natron with me for purity, and though I can not use incense because of an overly sensitive smoke detector in that room, I have my Kyphi based oil* and a handmade diffuser which serves me just as well:

(The lower part conceals a piece of coton which holds the scent. I wave the talisman about the altar to release the scent at that part of the ritual)

In the event that I need access to my real shrine, I also have the linking talisman I made before I left:

My talisman making skills to the rescue once again.Yes, that is fully hand beaded by me. :)

There is a small scroll in the tube which bears half of a spell which links it to it's identical twin hanging above the statues in my home shrine. Speaking aloud the verse contained in this Talisman, then speaking the verse from the other should, in theory, connect the two spaces and allow me to tap into the consecrated space in my home and feel that comforting energy just as if I were really there. In theory. I will admit that I haven't tried it yet so I don't know how well it will function, but I felt pretty confident when I preformed the first half of the spell at my home shrine so I think it will work.

Overall, I feel prepared to do any work that needs to be done. I do miss my home shrine, though. But life is life. This is a temporary situation and even though I sometimes feel like I am stuck somewhere between normal life and life in the presence of the dying... I will make it work. I always have and I always will. As the Names keep telling me, life goes on still.

It must.

______

*The oil is vegan--meaning no animal products or by-products in it, is called Cairo and can be found here:  http://www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com/wanderlust.html It is excellent for travel and situations where smoke based scent just isn't feasible.