My mother gave me an Easter lily when she was here visiting. Some of the blooms wilted and the petals were just about to fall. I decided to place them in an altar today.

I chose twelve for a clock to represent time and the cycle of life.

Intention: May we see how the cycle of life connects us to each other and to the earth.

Made with lily, blue spruce, two unknown vines, river rocks, and Mother Earth. Made on the ancestral lands of the Mountain Ute.

April 2022

Ordinary Acts

The aspens leaves on the tree in my yard are extraordinary, yet they remind me of something quite simple: a box of crayons. As I knelt in the dirt today and arranged these colorful leaves, I felt like I was coloring in one of the many color books I had as a child. I’m grateful my mother and grandmother gave me color books and new boxes of crayons. They taught me a lot more than just how to color.

“Do not ask your children

to strive for extraordinary lives. Such striving may seem admirable, but it is the way of foolishness.

Help them instead to find the wonder and the marvel of an ordinary life.

Show them the joy of tasting tomatoes, apples and pears. Show them how to cry when pets and people die. Show them the infinite pleasure

in the touch of a hand.

And make the ordinary come alive for them.

The extraordinary will take care of itself.”

-William Martin

Intention: May we engage in ordinary acts with our hands and be led to something extraordinary.

This altar is dedicated to my mom, and to my Morning Altars Practicum class. With guidance from our amazing teacher, Day Schildkret, we discussed what it means to get out of our minds and into our hands..

Made with aspen, juniper, gambel oak, seeds from an unknown vine, and Mother Earth. Made on the land of the Mountain Ute, now called Colorado.

October 2021

For a Morning Altars assignment we were to spend time building an altar for our bodies that was to honor the places in our lives where we needed to rest. We were asked to build an altar around the shape of our body and rest within it.

I decided to make a pillow. The place where I need to rest and release is in my mind. I rarely stop thinking about things. I used wild sage because it is sacred and holds a powerful scent. I used lambs ear for softness and columbine for how delicate it is, and how strong it is for its ability to bloom in the snow.

So rest, my friends. Lay your heads to rest and let go of things that are troubling your mind.

Intention: May we rest and release, and return to the natural cycle of life.

Made on the ancestral lands of the Ute, now called Colorado. 

June 2022

I didn’t pick the purple flower. Someone else did. Someone gathered it and added it to a bouquet. I bought the bouquet for my daughter, as a way to honor the custom of celebrating actors in theatre on the night of their performance. The flowers were wilting, so instead of tossing them, I decided to incorporate this one into an altar to give thanks for its beauty and for helping me celebrate my daughter’s first theatrical performance.

Intention: May we remember how nature helps us celebrate and grieve through ritual.  How do you incorporate nature into ritual?

Made with dandelion, lily, juniper, unknown flower, and Mother Earth. Made on the ancestral lands of the Ute, now called Colorado.  

April 2022.