WulfcwenStar
June 25th, 2007, 10:23 AM
SG Lesson 1
Planning a Sacred Space
We all live in different area and in different circumstances. Some will own their own home whilst others rent from local authorities or a landlord. You may live in a flat or apartment or in a college or university. Wherever you live there will be rules that you have to abide by.
A landlord may have planted the garden and will not appreciate you altering it but would not object to you adding plants in pots or an ornament or two.
You may live in an area where the gardens are open plan so no fences or hedges are allowed, this is the problem I have but have managed to overcome it by using shrubs and open trellis work.
Maybe you have a tiny courtyard or a balcony or even less, a window box or inside windowsills, some modern houses don’t even have that.
Whatever you have you can still grow plants and create a sacred garden no matter how small it is.
So lets look at a few things to get us started.
If you have a garden you will no doubt share it with the family so having the entire garden as a sacred garden will out of the question. You could however plan to have a small border of part of a border that is special.
You could place elemental markers in your garden.
Have an Altar stone or small table.
Create small shrines to your deity.
Have a place were you can sit and contemplate or meditate in.
All of these things are possible to do and are not difficult with a little thought.
Elemental Markers
The first thing you would need to do is find the compass points. This is easy to do and you do not have to exact. Simply note where the sun rises in the East and were it sets in the West from these two points you can work out where North and South is. In each quarter you can place a single plant in the colour of that element.
East = Yellow so place a yellow flowering or foliage plant here.
West = Blue so place a blue flowering or bluish foliage plant here
South = Red a red flowering or red foliage plant goes here.
North = Green place a green foliage plant here.
You don’t have to use plants you could other things:
Wind chimes in the East, a birdbath in the West, a sundial in the South and a stone or rock in the North. For an even simpler idea why not have painted pots or stones at the four quarters..
An Altar
This does not have to be elaborate it can be a simple flat stone or even wooden log, a small table works well and can be moved if need be. I have a old concrete plinth with a stepping stone on the top as my altar it faces east and I can burn candles on it safely.
Small Shrines
These can be small statues that represent your deity or a specific plant associated with them. You can put a small flat stone in front of it so you can light a small tea light when you want to commune with your deity.
A place to contemplate
Choosing a spot where you can see the garden and relax, contemplate or meditate in undisturbed is wonderful. You don’t have to buy expensive arbours you can make it secluded with plants. My space is on the patio hidden from the rest of the world I can sit there first thing I the in morning and meditate weather permitting of course.
Take your time and think about what you can do with the space you have.
Planning a Sacred Space
We all live in different area and in different circumstances. Some will own their own home whilst others rent from local authorities or a landlord. You may live in a flat or apartment or in a college or university. Wherever you live there will be rules that you have to abide by.
A landlord may have planted the garden and will not appreciate you altering it but would not object to you adding plants in pots or an ornament or two.
You may live in an area where the gardens are open plan so no fences or hedges are allowed, this is the problem I have but have managed to overcome it by using shrubs and open trellis work.
Maybe you have a tiny courtyard or a balcony or even less, a window box or inside windowsills, some modern houses don’t even have that.
Whatever you have you can still grow plants and create a sacred garden no matter how small it is.
So lets look at a few things to get us started.
If you have a garden you will no doubt share it with the family so having the entire garden as a sacred garden will out of the question. You could however plan to have a small border of part of a border that is special.
You could place elemental markers in your garden.
Have an Altar stone or small table.
Create small shrines to your deity.
Have a place were you can sit and contemplate or meditate in.
All of these things are possible to do and are not difficult with a little thought.
Elemental Markers
The first thing you would need to do is find the compass points. This is easy to do and you do not have to exact. Simply note where the sun rises in the East and were it sets in the West from these two points you can work out where North and South is. In each quarter you can place a single plant in the colour of that element.
East = Yellow so place a yellow flowering or foliage plant here.
West = Blue so place a blue flowering or bluish foliage plant here
South = Red a red flowering or red foliage plant goes here.
North = Green place a green foliage plant here.
You don’t have to use plants you could other things:
Wind chimes in the East, a birdbath in the West, a sundial in the South and a stone or rock in the North. For an even simpler idea why not have painted pots or stones at the four quarters..
An Altar
This does not have to be elaborate it can be a simple flat stone or even wooden log, a small table works well and can be moved if need be. I have a old concrete plinth with a stepping stone on the top as my altar it faces east and I can burn candles on it safely.
Small Shrines
These can be small statues that represent your deity or a specific plant associated with them. You can put a small flat stone in front of it so you can light a small tea light when you want to commune with your deity.
A place to contemplate
Choosing a spot where you can see the garden and relax, contemplate or meditate in undisturbed is wonderful. You don’t have to buy expensive arbours you can make it secluded with plants. My space is on the patio hidden from the rest of the world I can sit there first thing I the in morning and meditate weather permitting of course.
Take your time and think about what you can do with the space you have.