My Portable Altar

January 30, 2011 By Teo Bishop 6 Comments

I have been away from home for nearly five full days. This isn’t that unusual. My work takes me away rather often. But, this is the first time I’ve traveled at all since I began my work on the Dedicant Path.

The trip I’m on now, which still has another 3 days yet, has been a kind of trial run in maintaining my spiritual discipline on the road. As the year goes on I will likely have cause to travel for 2, perhaps 3 weeks at a time, and keeping up with my work – specifically my daily devotionals – is very important to me.

I trust that the academic side of the DP work may be put on pause during long trips. One can only carry so many books at a time, and – alas – most Druid-relevant titles haven’t made their way to a digital format….which, I might add, strikes me as a little strange. You’d think, as Nature Worshippers, we’d be on the forefront of non-tree based media. Why aren’t our titles on the iTunes or Amazon bookstore?

I digress.

I’m OK with taking a pause from academia. But, worship? Worship goes with.

Enter, the travel altar.

My portable altar

This little Altoid box contains all I need to set up the Hallows and create a sacred space for my  morning devotional. Items I brought with me:

1. Matches
1. A tea-light candle
3. A dram of the water from my home-altar chalice
4. An itsy-bitsy offering dish
5. A photo of an Oak tree (just like the one here on Bishop in the Grove)

On this trip I had the pleasure of visiting a great, nearly 200 year old Fig tree, and I picked up this small piece of broken branch from the ground beside it. I’ve been using it for my Sacred Tree (but the photo worked just fine before then).

Having this portable altar has brought my daily tradition with me, and as a result this trip has been imbued with a new spirit and an invigorating energy. There has been a sense of continuity and integration. I’m still the same Druid-y Teo I was back home. I didn’t shed that as soon as I stepped on the plane.

Blessings to Rev. Michael J Dangler for sharing this idea with me. If you find yourself in a situation where you might need to travel, or if you would simply like to have the ability to ritually connect with the Kindred wherever you are, I highly recommend fashioning for yourself a little kit like this.

Filed Under: Meditation, Practice Tagged With: , , , , , , , 6 Comments

My Altar: A First View

January 5, 2011 By Teo Bishop 7 Comments

My altar is my Cathedral.

It is the place where I go each morning to worship, to pray, to meditate.

I make my altar new with each ritual I perform, infuse it with more of my essence, my intention, my magic.

There is fire on my altar.

There is water on my altar.

There is wood on my altar.

There is a place to make offerings to the Three Kindred, and there is special recognition of Brigid, my patroness.

Atop my altar is The Awen, and Brigid’s Cross.

I placed The Awen above all else because, to me, The Awen represents the Source of All Things. It is, in my understanding, the First Inspiration, the Eternal Fire, The Essence of us all.

The Brigid’s cross is a sacred symbol that I acquired during a pilgrimage I made to Ireland almost 10 years ago. I journeyed as a Christian, along with a group of other pilgrims. On this trip, I first encountered Brigid, visited her sacred well, and established my first, conscious connection to the Irish land.

I have placed a statue of Brigid on my altar. She stands, serene and prayerful, at the edge of a well. At her feet are two young sheep. Her head is framed by the rays of the sun.

I grew up in a tradition that accepted statues as useful tools for focus, but not physical embodiments, necessarily, of the Divine.

I chose to have a statue on my altar because I value the reminder of the Personhood of Brigid. She is a real, active force, and seeing a physical representation of a person helps to keep that understanding forefront in my mind during worship.

In front of Brigid, I have placed the candle, the wand, and the chalice.

I stand before this altar in the morning and make my offerings. I give thanks. I pray. I meditate. I am filled with wonder at just how close the Kindred are.

They are no more than a deep breath away.

Filed Under: Walking the Talk Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , 7 Comments
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