While participating in Joanna Colbert Powell's 30Days e-courses around the Wheel of the Year in 2016, I revived my practice of creating seasonal altars. But recently I have started being a bit counter intuitive to the seasonal symbols. I have had to have a bit of a ponder, squaring up what my unconscious was nudging me to create with what my more logical, conscious self was prescribing as 'appropriate' for the current station on the Wheel of the Year.

First off, I have to say that I have twin devotions to Brigid and Danu. Since Danu's feast is in June she precides from June to the January New Year. Then Brigid is the deity who has pride of place. So you see Danu in this photo of an altar I created this week just before the Aries Full Moon. 

I have to say that I love autumn and I am a fervent collector of found natural objects - conkers, leaves for pressing and keeping, berries, pine cones, drift wood and pebbles. But since Mabon I have felt strongly called to offer rose petals on my altar.  I save them when I deadhead our roses in summer and preserve them in the dehydrator. Usually, I save for bridal confetti, but I missed that opportunity this year. So the jar of petals was staring at me longing to fulfill its magickal potential.

Rose petals are floating in the holy well water within my Harmony Bowl in this blog's featured photo.  I felt strongly led to roll out the purple altar cloth that usually bedecks that space for Imbolc. This turn of the Wheel of the Year feels decidedly  skew-whiff!

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I note that purple is often used magickally for changing luck, for shifting energy. Rose petals can also be used as as sort of evil eye deflector, but what I had on mind and intent was more peace and love than shield. Or maybe in these turbulent times our shield is peace and love. The rose quartz tea light holder came out of hibernation from the back of the cupboard, too. 

It is not that I feel that I, personally, am in particular need of more love or peace. As I was assembling this altar that had nothing to do with fall leaves or harvest cornucopoeia, I felt I was summoning a bit of peace, harmony and love to counteract the cognitive dissonance, strife and hatred that is proliferating in the world.  I certainly held intentions for individuals, but mostly it was a way of sending out a an SOS to Hope for all the planet's beautiful creatures.

And the significance of the marbles holding the tea-light? They were a completely random and intuitive addition, which probably has to do with glass enhancing the play of light. We need plenty of light in dark times.

Things are out of sync and my altar reflects this with my lack of seasonal symbolism. But it also sends out the intent that we find some harmony, that our collective luck changes for the better and that love and hope will blow into hearts as the wheel of the year winds down for the cosmic reset at Samhain.