Friday, September 27, 2013

My Goddess Altar



With this video I would like to share my altar for the Goddess that I've set up in my room. I've told you that this blog will also be a place for me to share my search for the Goddess and to write about my ever changing relationship with Her. This is much more difficult for me to write about in English than about other topics. Sometimes I don't even have words to describe my connection with Her in Dutch. But I'll give it a go.

For me at this time in my life, the Goddess is an indescribable force. She is too immense to comprehend so I commune with Her Aspects in deity form. I see Her in every goddess all over the world . I don't think it matters which deity you choose for every deity is a part of the Goddess. I don't think that even the earth mother is the all-embracing Goddess. Even she is a part of Her. Because it’s She who is behind every other deity.

In my point a view it doesn't matter how you honor Her as long as you honor Her with your best intentions. You can’t make mistakes in rituals or prayers. You can’t fail in Her eyes when you do your best. I believe the way we try to relate to her is more about us than about Her. She always relates to us; every moment of our life. We however still have to stop in our daily life and make a shift in awareness through meditation, prayer etc.
We often like to follow ancient lore, because that’s giving us the certainty we do everything right. And many aspects of the goddess have imbued the female archetypes. That’s why we don't honor for instance Freya for wisdom. It just doesn't feel right. But deep down I think it also doesn't really matter. Likewise any stones or herbs associated with any deity can be mixed up at random. That’s what I mean by you can’t make any mistakes. It is all about how we feel. And if we feel great and empowered then we can align with Her much more easily.

universe, the divine
The divine
This is why you see goddesses of different pantheons on my altar: Isis, Bast, Hekate, and the earth mother. The old lady near the vase represents every old crone goddess. I also have sometimes representations there of Holda, Demeter, Tara and so forth. It variates by my feelings for Her and what aspect of Her I think I need to work with. The other items on my altar represent the elements (stones, shell, feathers and candles).  Also I have some symbols thereon (crystals, pumpkin, owl, book…) And there are always cards. I cannot imagine my altar without cards. Oracle or Tarot, it doesn't matter. I tend to choose the cards for my altar because they represent attitudes or situations I want to focus on.

My view is my own and I want to emphasize in no way  that my view is any better than anyone else’s. I would like to know very much how you experience God(dess) and how you've set up your altar.



5 comments:

  1. Ellen, your altar is LOVELY - the video is well done and the music you chose seems to fit the setting perfectly. My favorite part of your altar is the elderly woman (crone) with her staff with her companion the owl. :)
    I am lucky enough (now that the kids have grown and gone except one) that I have a small meditation room. I have statues from deities of various religions - Buddha, Durga, Ganesh, etc. - as well as symbols from various philosophies. To me they represent mankind's attempt to define the Mystery in various ways. Unfortunately, some of those ways come with lots of dogma attached, which I don't pay much attention to. But I do choose to believe their is something greater, not only "out there" but that runs through all of creation like a string through a necklace of pearls. Like you, I don't think the Limitless and Boundless can be put in cage of words. Thank you for sharing your altar and your thoughts!

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  2. Thanks you for this compliment.and sharing your opinion about all of this. It means a lot to me.

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    1. Ps the elderly woman and the owl I both found in a thrift Store :)

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  3. You put this beautifully, Ellen. It took me a long time to realize I couldn't get it 'wrong'. There are so many people out there trying to tell you how to relate to spirit and the universe, and yes, many of these people will tell you you are getting it wrong, 'wasting your time doing it wrong'. We should not listen to these people. They do the goddess a disservice.

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    1. Thank you. I am glad I've managed to put this in words. It is so liberating not to have to watch out for "mistakes" :)

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