Welcome!
Welcome to the inauguration of This Creative Life, the blog for Adriana Díaz and Creative Life Coaching and Mentoring. For those who are not familiar with my work, please check out my Visual Artist and Creative Life Coach pages.
Spanish Sun
October 2007
Summer departs along with the colorful leaves swept into compost piles to replenish the hungry earth for another season. Beyond the playfulness of Halloween, we honor the season ‘when the veil is thin between the worlds”.* Whether celebrating Samhain, the Wiccan new year, or All Souls/All Saints’ Days in the Christian tradition, this is a time for honoring our departed in some special way.
The Mexican tradition of building altars is a colorful way to honor the dead, but you don’t have to be Mexican to build an altar. My family is not from Mexico, but over the years I have accumulated some knowledge about this practice, and enjoy building an altar every October. So I’d like to pass on some basics, suggesting that you add this creative practice to your autumn season. Remember that an altar can be as big or as small as befits your situation.
Marigolds are traditional for honoring the dead at this time of the year, so bringing some of these flowers to your altar is a great start. Use a colorful scarf, weaving, or sheets on the base. Photos of the beloveds will go on the altar, and memorabilia from their life. It is traditional to put the foods they loved on the altar, too. (If you can’t get the real thing, try some type of facsimile.) Candles are also appropriate. I like to place elements of earth, air, fire, and water on my altars. Mexicans decorate with papel picado (cut paper); you can make your own out of tissue paper, or buy some already cut.
In parts of Mexico, families decorate the tombs and burial plots of their family members and spend the whole night there, playing music, praying, and having a welcome party for the spirit of their beloved. The altar is a way to honor our departed loved ones, and welcome their spirit in for a visit. You might want to read a special poem or passage.
You can include people in public or intellectual life who have also been important to you. Dr. Martin Luther King, Ghandi, Susan B. Anthony, Chief Seattle, Eleanor Roosevelt-anyone who has been a meaningful mentor or role model can be honored.
Building an altar can be a uniquely powerful experience, something you can do with your family. It can be a very nice tradition for children, learning to cherish and honor the departed.
Happy Halloween!
*The Spiral Dance, Starhawk.
