Paper Altar Quilt

This week our big home school project was starting an altar project for Jilly.  We made an "Altar Quilt" out of construction paper to map out the areas of the altar, quarters, and color and element correspondences.  She helped me glue it together, then I drew pictures we thought would help remind her of each element and the Pentacle, and she put the glitter on Lady, Lord, and Spirit patches.

  Now we have a basic setup to start learning about the altar, the elements, and the Lady and Lord.  We put empty baby food jars on each quarter and on Spirit so she can collect things that go with each element.  For example, on East she put some little bells, a yellow bead, and her meditation feather we got at Camp Chesterfield at the Spring Equinox service.  It will be a challenge to come up with objects for Fire that do not actually involve fire.  Hopefully we will find a lot of red stuff, and maybe a small cauldron.  She is already irritated I will not let her have candles on her altar!

We have always included Jilly in our practices,such as rituals, meditation and prayer.  She even likes to help me when I work with my Reiki grid, so if I have ever put you or yours on the healing list you got a little extra dose of Ladybug energy!  Recently she has become very interested and likes to 'cast spells' in the incense smoke and so I felt it was time to more directly teach her.  We have a family altar in the living room, and she has started to 'arrange' it, so to keep that area neat we decided she needed her own altar.  I donated some small Moon and Sun tea light holders, minus candles of course, but the rest of it she will be coming up with herself with toys, knick knacks, and found objects.  We have it laid out up on her dresser so Mojo can't reach it, and next week we will be making a box to keep her magickal tools in.  I can't wait to see what she comes up with to put in her element jars!

H.W.