Don't get me wrong, I do a lot of outside work. We've erected fences and a metal and canvass gazebo and raised beds on our modest small town lot. We have even planted apple trees and blueberry bushes and laid out a medicine wheel herb garden. But a true sacred space is lacking.
Maybe it's the traffic that whizzes back and forth on our very busy street or the many things I have to do both inside and out - but I don't spend much time in my own outdoor space. The space that I've been given. And this is something I can fix.
So in the spirit of doing I made a list of things that most of us can do to create sacred outdoor space. Some of them are things I'm already doing. Others are things I'm going to plan for. Most can be done on a small city lot, on a balcony or even in a window box or public park.
- Provide Food and Water for Our Wild Friends.Something like providing water might not seem like a big thing - until you're thirsty! Over the last few days, with temps in NE PA in the mid 90s or higher, we've seen a record number of birds and bees at our little birdbath, including 2 Cardinals and a group of 4 Sparrows (at one time). We share our medicine wheel herb garden with a family of bunnies and I like thinking that the little ones were raised on lemon balm and parsley. We also have birdbath and are planning on getting a bird feeder.
- Create a Meditation Space and / or Go Outside and Ground. A few weeks ago I went to an estate sale and the property I saw made a big impression on me. Walking out to check out the patio furniture, I saw that someone had turned a the space between the garage and the back fence of a small yard into something special. There was a small flagstone path flanked by greenery and flowers. At the end were more flagstones and a vine covered arbor and a spot, a neighbor told me, where a fountain had once stood It occurred to me that almost anyone could do this All it takes is a few plants or even seeds and the commitment to create a sacred space for meditation, reflection or clearing. And if all that hard work is too much, just take off your shoes and stan barefoot upon the Earth Doing this will help you ground and clear toxicity or blockages.
- Create a Sanctuary for Plants and Wildlife. Plant a few heirloom or endangered plants, a bee or butterfly plant or any of the many flowers, plants and trees attractive to wildlife. These include (but aren't limited to) sunflower, honeysuckle, yarrow, lilac, daisies, lemon balm, rosemary, thyme, purple cone flower, heliotrope. pansies, hawthorn, peonies, holly, apple, fern, or thyme.
- Make a Space for Sacred Gatherings Set aside a space can be used as a ritual space (our women's circle met in my yard on the Solstice and gathered around the chimnea), a group meditation space, a labyrinth (made from a simple stone pathway) or a gathering space for family. Last year we discovered a discarded metal and canvas gazebo on the street and set it up this summer. It's the perfect place for family to gather and while I haven't gotten everyone together for an outdoor game night yet I know that when I do, the laughter and comrade of that kind get-together is truly sacred space. This can work on a balcony or porch or if you don't have your own space, find a spot in state or community park that calls to you.
- Grow and Gather Healing Herbs. This was the point of my medicine wheel garden before I deeded it to the bunnies and I am still working on creating my own medicinal garden but it something I know I will do eventually. Try common remedies like lemon balm for anxiety or parsley for fluid retention or get a book on herbal and learn by doing. Herbs are very easy to grow and can even be kept in a window box or indoors in any sunny location. For reference consider Your Backyard Herb Garden or Rosemary Gladstar's Medicinal Herbs to start.
- Make a Direct (Not Book) Connection with the Elements. This is an activity open to anyone who can get outside and is really just an exercise in awareness. Go outside and enjoy the element - in your own yard, on a walk or in any public space. Take a journal if you'd like and write about the warmth of summer fire or the clarity of the winter wind. You may even want to carry a sketch book and draw your own version of Earth, Fire, Air or Water Fairies!
- Practice Sustainability. This something that many of us can do in big ways or small. Ideas include having a garden or patio plants or hanging tomatoes or strawberries, planting a garden or making a rain barrel to water outside plants but there are many many more things being done. This a wonderful way to honor the Earth, save money, secure your future and reducing the heavy heavy load our species has placed upon the planet. For more ideas check out one of my favorite books on this topic: The Backyard Homestead.
- Make a Place to Observe the Stars and Moon. Any window or balcony will do! Attune to the cycles of the heavens by becoming aware of and observing astronomical events - like Moon phases, eclipses and the special appearances of planets and stars. I use Llewellyn's Astrological Calendar to keep track!
I have been seeing angels everywhere - in rock, and paint and plastic - and last weekend I saw such an angel in jumble of holiday decorations on a flea market table, holding a tin horn and looking like he didn't belong.
"It's Gabriel," I said as if I had run into an old friend unexpectedly and I suppose that the truth is, I had.
Only a few minutes before, I had told my family that I was looking for an angel, for my online shop or for myself. That Gabriel would be that angel was a happy surprise. I knew he was a keeper.
Gabriel was the first angel who caught my interest. The messenger who came to Mary and to Zacharias. The warrior of Daniel.
Among my books, I have an orthodox Jewish prayer book. Toward the end of the bedtime prayer, the text asks God to protect and guard our souls through His holy watchers, the angels, who walk through the night. It goes on to call "Michael to my right side, Gabriel to my left, Uriel before me, and Raphael to my back."
Among my books, I have an orthodox Jewish prayer book. Toward the end of the bedtime prayer, the text asks God to protect and guard our souls through His holy watchers, the angels, who walk through the night. It goes on to call "Michael to my right side, Gabriel to my left, Uriel before me, and Raphael to my back."
Of these four, it is Gabriel who appears most often in the Hebrew bible and biblical commentary. He
is first mentioned by name in the Book of Daniel. After Daniel experiences a vision, Gabriel comes to him and tells him what it means (8:16). A year later, Gabriel appears again telling Daniel that He has "been at war, and going to fight those who remain" (9:27). No further details of this war are given and Gabriel's name is not mentioned again in the Hebrew bible. But he is referenced repeatedly in the rabbinical literature as a warrior and a holy protector.
In the Book of Enoch, Gabriel is an avenging angel, sent to provoke sinners to war. In the Talmud, God sends him to smite the Assyrians, and Gabriel answers God by saying that him sword "has been sharpened since the six days of Creation." Which is to say that he was born to fight.
Consistent with this declaration, most traditional Jewish sources describe Gabriel as the emissary of God's power. And the Hebrew name Gavriel, or Gavar El, means "God's might." He is represented by the element of fire in some Talmudic references and in others by water. In all instances, he is among the strongest of the seven archangels and a force to be reckoned with.
Be that as it may, it important to remember that when we first meet Gabriel in the book of Daniel he appears as a messenger and a translator of visions. And this is fitting. Communication being the divine purpose of angels.
When I first met Gabriel in Scripture, he served in this capacity. I was lonely and discouraged and the idea that angels existed filled me with hope. And, in some ways, that feeling has never entirely left me.
Even so, I've been feeling lonely these last few weeks and in the midst of this sense of separation from others, I am seeing angels of almost every description. Some are innocent children and others are beautiful women but few resembled the angels of Scripture.
This weekend's flea market angel was different. His wings were battered and his garments were faded but his face was beautiful and strong and really, surprisingly, just as I imagined it. I count his unexpected appearance a message and a reminder: Angels are emissaries and we are never really alone.
This weekend's flea market angel was different. His wings were battered and his garments were faded but his face was beautiful and strong and really, surprisingly, just as I imagined it. I count his unexpected appearance a message and a reminder: Angels are emissaries and we are never really alone.
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