September 1st, 2015

It's been an interesting day, and I have some news, but I'm probably going to wait to share that on here until I've got all the details hashed out. I did think that I would share a picture with you all, though.

This is where I ended up putting my dragon statue I bought Saturday, on a shelf over my desk. I've attached some warding to the statue, and put an offering of water in the glass dish. He wanted some crystals set around him, so I put a Black Onyx and two Tektites on the shelf as well.

On either side of the statue, I have two Japanese amulets for academic success; to the left is my green Maneki Neko, and to the right is a little mini shrine-shaped amulet I bought at Meiji Jinja in Tokyo.

I also have two little shells sitting there, although they're hard to see in the photo. One shell is holding water, and the other is holding salt. I don't have a Kamidana at this point in time, although I would like to acquire one. In the meantime, I am using the shells to hold offerings to the Kami.

September 7th, 2013

Oh my, did it slip into September somehow? Good gracious! I seem to have missed the memo. However, I had an exceptionally productive Saturday for a change - I spent something like 12 hours crocheting a lacy steampunk choker. Why? Because my high school is going to use steampunk costumes for our upcoming production of A Midsummer Night's Dream - I'm going to play Puck and wanted to get a head start on costume design.

I also redecorated my altar for Mabon. It's so nice to be up-to-date on things; I can actually feel the energy change in my room!

It's got a much simpler design than I've had in previous years; right now, I'm appreciating austerity (or at least, a look that's austere for me).
My mini shrine got an update as well; after a field trip to the Anderson Japanese Gardens yesterday, I had several new items for incorporation, compliments of the gift shop.
First and foremost, I bought a package of Japanese incense, scented like lotus flowers. It smells wonderful even without burning it. I didn't realize the package came with its own incense holder, so I bought a ceramic one shaped like an origami crane.

I also bought a Maneki Neko, the beckoning cat who calls forth good luck. The kanji, 学問運, is read "Gakumonun" and means "academic luck"; he's going to be my college kitty! The kanji appear on a gold coin which represents wealth and is also a play on the Japanese idiom "To give gold coins to a cat", which is the equivalent of "Pearls before swine".

 

My final big effort of the evening was to painstakingly reduce the number of stones on my shrine - it was getting way too cluttered! I moved all the stones to boxes and pouches, and put all of those into a large cosmetics bag to keep them together. I left out only a few pieces: a Fossil for earth, Emerald for air, Garnet for fire, Amethyst for water, and a geode for Akasha.

I also left my Quartz point and Petrified Wood for the Goddess and God, respectively. Two snail shells were added to the same effect, and I finished it off with a mussel shell for water offerings.