To Walk a Pagan Path: Practical Spirituality for Every Day (4 page)

action should be to establish a place where you can maintain

and continue to build that connection. This can be as simple

or as elaborate as you wish, but there should be some place

in your home that is sacred and set aside for your gods.

The design of this sacred space will depend on several

factors. The first factor to consider is your spiritual focus. A f 19 2

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Greek altar will always have a flame, even if this is only a single candle. A Saxon altar (wéofod) will always have a statue

or symbolic image (wéoh) of the honored deity. Whatever

path you have chosen, your altar should be a reflection of its

aesthetics. The sacred space you reserve for your gods should

be a space where they can rest comfortably.

Where you live will also influence the design of your

sacred space. Some Pagans devote entire rooms to their wor-

ship, furnished with appropriate wall hangings, cabinets for

incense and regalia, and the altar itself. This obviously is not an option if you are renting a studio apartment. Nor is it necessarily the best choice even if you do have that option. For

one person a separate room may be a place of wonder and

enchantment; for another it may be a room that is easily for-

gotten amidst the distractions of daily life.

My own household altar is in the living room, where I

pass by constantly. This works best for me. The altar itself

is a library table. This gives me plenty of space and fits the room, which is fairly large. In theory, I could have the same

altar in a studio apartment, but it would be overwhelming

and unattractive. Consider the surrounding environment,

and keep in mind that bigger is not always better.

Another factor is how “out” you are as a Pagan. Nobody

looking at my household altar—with its idols and runes and

offering bowl—is going to mistake me for a Southern Bap-

tist. But many people, because of fear or circumstance, do

not have this freedom. Sadly, even in the 21st century, some

of us could lose our jobs if our spirituality became common

knowledge due to the ignorance and prejudice of others.

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Others are simply afraid of censure by friends, neighbors or

relatives.

If this presents a problem for you, there are two possi-

ble solutions. The first is to locate your altar where it will

not be seen by others. You could set up the altar in your bed-

room, or even in a basement. This is where a separate room

becomes practical if you have a large house. Keep in mind

that somebody may discover your altar no matter how care-

ful you are. And this really is a problem, then, because the

altar was hidden, which implies that you have something to

be ashamed about.

A better solution is to “hide” the altar in plain sight. Your

altar can be subtle and unassuming, appearing to the unini-

tiated as nothing more than a table with a couple of knick-

knacks. A Saxon Pagan, for example, could arrange a small

table with a single, attractive candle, a large quartz crystal

(representing the god Thunor) and a ceramic (offering) bowl.

While it is better, of course, if you can be out and open

about your spirituality, the important thing is that you have

sacred space where you can connect with Spirit undisturbed.

Your primary household altar should be indoors so you

can approach your gods even in the most inclement weath-

er. But if you have the resources, by all means, touch the

earth! A secondary, outdoor altar will give you the opportu-

nity to listen to the wind, to enjoy the warmth of the sun

against your skin and to feel the rich soil beneath you. Like

your primary altar, an outdoor altar can be as simple or elab-

orate as you wish. When I moved to Pennsylvania, I bought a

house with a gazebo in the back garden. From the beginning

I knew there would be very little “sit in the gazebo” time.

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Does anybody today really spend much time in a gazebo?

Rather than let it sit empty and useless, I converted the gaze-

bo into a
wéofodsteall
, a Saxon shrine, dedicated to the god Ing Fréa. Following Anglo-Saxon tradition, I placed an image

representing Ing Fréa inside the gazebo. (The Old English

word for an altar,
wéofod
, literally means the place where the image of the deity stands.) I placed a few decorative stones

around this image just to make it attractive. Then I planted

herbs and flowers around the gazebo, because Ing is the Lord

of the Elves and governs green growing things.

But an outdoor altar can be as simple as a flat stone set

in a place where you feel especially close to your gods, along

with the minimal requirements, if any, of your spiritual path.

So far we have looked at the altar as sacred space for our

gods. Some people, myself included, like to maintain a sep-

arate altar to honor their ancestors. This is not strictly nec-

essary; however we tend to approach our ancestors in a

different way than we approach deities. As one Pagan recent-

ly described it to me, going to your deities with a problem

is like seeking an audience with the king, whereas going to

your ancestors is like asking help from your family.

An ancestral altar can include photographs of ancestors

who you knew in life, as well as symbolic representations

of more distant ancestors. I have known some Pagans who

made ancestor “dolls” sculpted from clay or sewn as stuffed

poppets. Some of these dolls were intended to represent spe-

cific ancestors, while others were more symbolic. The ances-

tral altar might also hold items that were significant to one or more of your ancestors. My grandfather’s fishing knife rests

on my own ancestral altar, next to a photograph of him. An

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incense burner and offering bowl on the altar will serve to

receive the gifts you bring to your ancestors.

As I mentioned earlier, ancestors are not necessarily limit-

ed only to your biological lineage. I define ancestors as those who have, in some way or another, shaped us and brought us

to where we are today. An adopted parent (and that person’s

parents) is an ancestor. If you are widowed, your spouse is an

ancestor. A teacher or older neighbor who inspired you as a

child is an ancestor. A close friend who shaped your life sig-

nificantly before he or she passed away could be considered

an ancestor. Even a beloved pet might be an ancestor, for we

rely on our companion animals today to a degree that people

previously did not.

I do honor the companion animals who I have shared my

life with, but not at the same altar where I honor my human

ancestors. Again, this is because I have a different relationship with them. I might commune with my dog Sheena for comfort, but I am not likely to go to her for advice, as brilliant as she was.

Not everyone has the space for multiple altars, and not

everyone feels the need for this. However you should have at

least one sacred space somewhere in your home where you

can connect with Spirit. Do the gods and ancestors have a

place in your home, or do they not?

Step 3: Creating Sacred Time

If you do nothing with your altar, it is not truly an altar; it is merely a table or shelf holding an incense burner, a couple of

candles and perhaps two or three interesting statuettes. The

activities that take place at that table or shelf—the reverence, f 23 2

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the offerings and the meditation—are what give meaning to

your sacred space. Therefore your next action should be to

set aside sacred time to connect with Spirit consistently.

The value of this step cannot be overemphasized. Life

happens to all of us. You may have an important test coming

up, or your boss has asked you to work overtime, or the baby

has kept you up all night. These things happen, and when

they do it is easy to put your spiritual needs and obligations

aside “until tomorrow”. The problem is, tomorrow is always

a day away, because life continues to happen constantly. Next

week you may have the flu, or a surprise visit from an old

friend. The week following that will bring its own demands.

Those perfect, serene moments when you can connect with

Spirit without interruption are rare unless you take action to

create them yourself.

Consistency is the key. People who are successful in any

endeavor have made a habit of actions that lead to their suc-

cess. They act consistently. A crash diet will not lead to long term weight control. People who succeed in weight loss have

developed consistent, healthy eating habits. Likewise, you

cannot have a well trained dog simply by taking it to a series

of ten obedience classes. Well behaved dogs have owners

who consistently reward their good choices and ignore their

bad choices. Successful artists paint or draw consistently, successful writers write consistently and successful athletes exercise consistently. Habitual behavior keeps us focused on our

goals.

To develop a habit of connecting with Spirit, set aside a

specific time for doing this. You are setting aside sacred time for yourself, your gods and your ancestors. Find a time in

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your schedule that you can devote to this. You devote time

every day to your physical body: bathing or showering,

brushing your teeth, preparing meals. You perform these

actions consistently, and it is no more difficult to set aside

a consistent time devoted to your spiritual body. When you

create sacred time, you begin developing a habitual, empow-

ering behavior that will nurture your relationship with your

gods and ancestors.

Consistency requires a realistic goal on your part. Let’s go

back to the example of training a dog. My own dogs are rel-

atively well behaved because I work with them, consistent-

ly, every day. Do we have an hour long session of obedience

work? Of course not. Professional trainers of animal actors

can devote themselves to long, daily lessons, but most of us,

including me, cannot consistently have daily, hour long train-

ing sessions. Instead Lucky and Caesar wait patiently while

I fill their food bowls, sit at the back door until I tell them they can go out and, once a day, every day, we quickly run

through a set of activities: sit, down, stay, give me your paw, stand, go do the dishes. (Okay, neither Lucky nor Caesar

will wash the dishes. I am still working on that.) They prac-

tice what they know in short intervals. I can be consistent

because I keep it short.

If your goal is to give an offering to Woden and then

meditate for thirty minutes every evening, you will almost

surely fail. Your sacred time should define the
minimal
time you will invest in connecting with Spirit. You are not limited to this. When the circumstances are right and you feel the

need, you absolutely can give an offering to Woden every

evening and then meditate for thirty minutes. But be hon-

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est with yourself and acknowledge that this is not something

that you can do indefinitely. Your sacred time is a long term

habit, something that will eventually be as essential and nat-

ural as putting on your underwear in the morning. Assuming

it is your habit to wear underwear.

How much time can you give to your gods and ancestors

consistently? How much time can you fit into your life, not

just today or this week, but for years to come?

A commitment of fifteen minutes every week is not

unreasonable. Does this sound ridiculously simple? It should,

because a ridiculously simple commitment is a commitment

you are likely to stick with. Choose a day and a time when

you will spend at least fifteen minutes at your altar, giving

offerings to Spirit and listening to what your gods and ances-

tors may have to say. The day and time should fit your life-

style. One person may find it easiest and most natural to

commit to fifteen minutes every Tuesday evening, while Sat-

urday mornings may be more suitable for another.

Exactly what you do during these fifteen minutes should

reflect your spirituality. Some offering should be given to

Spirit to nurture the process of reciprocity. We give to our

gods and our ancestors so that they might give to us in

return. The offering may be as simple as a pinch of incense.

Norse and Saxon Pagans will probably offer libations of

mead or ale. A Roman Pagan may offer spelt, a grain relat-

ed to wheat that is often sold in health food stores. Tradition-al offerings for the Egyptian Pagan include bread and beer.

After giving the offering, the remainder of your fifteen min-

utes can be spent in prayer, in singing or chanting, in medi-

tation or in any other activity that connects you with Spirit.

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