So, I’ve been working with students on creating their own sacred space, be it an altar, a nook outside, a shelf, or whatever they need that will give them their own area to work.  I used to have a whole spare room all of my own that I know would really give my eye teeth for now, but I didn’t really utilize back then.  I think the reason is that I would often do my work and then lie down on my bed to meditate so naturally my own room became my sacred space.  I created a real energy in there that was all my own.  At that time I was single (divorced) and my child was older and not so dependent, and took direction much more easily.  This also meant he wasn’t getting into my stuff.

Now I’m remarried with a toddler and a newborn.  There are no extra bedrooms and even my bedside altar was constantly getting covered in mundane crap my husband would put there.  When I got him to stop, my toddler would steal my stuff from it.  (In all fairness, who can resist a pretty crystal?)  So I had to get creative.  I was desperate.  So I literally went “into the closet.”

When some pagans say they’re in the closet, they mean they can’t share their beliefs.  I have physically moved my sacred space to a corner of my closet.    I then took long tapestries and covered up the shelves of necessities I have stacked in there.  Right now, it’s a mess again, but when it’s right, I really like it.  The biggest issue at the moment is powder residue from things I’ve been making, or ash from incense or what have you.  Oils I need to put away, etc, etc.  Still, it’s my space.  My header has part of it in there, but below is a full picture of it:

It’s nothing fancy.  It consists of a corner shelf with “stuff” on it, and a mirror in front of which my cauldron sits.  I do most of my work inside the cauldron being of Celtic tradition and also because I really would prefer not to burn my house down.  Cast iron manages to protect just about anything I’m cooking up or burning in there.

It’s funny really, how creative one has to get in order to get a little bit of darn peace and quiet, where small hands aren’t taking off with my stones, or opening my oils and annointing everything in sight (or drinking them).  How about you?  Are you one of the lucky ones?  Or are you like me, carving out a corner of life to fit in a just a little bit of magic?