Happy Birthday, Matsya!

There are things I want to write about this, but right now, you get pictures. I need a few days to sit with this.

Preparing the shrine. I knew I wouldn’t be celebrating Matsya’s Birthday on the proper day, so I wanted the shrine at least prepared in celebration for that date. This is the first cloth I had for Poseidon’s shrine, lo those many years ago. It felt fitting to use this for Matsya.

Coloring is fun! A simple search yielded a nice image to color.

actual marigolds did not happen, for a number of reasons. The first alternative was to knit some, and then i tried making pom-poms in marigold colors, but was unhappy with those. In the end: coloring wins again!

Vishnu gets a bath in prep for shrine cleaning.

All the above are pre-ritual steps that took place at least a week before the ritual. Historically I’ve been extremely not good at preparing in advance, so I’m sort of amazed that I managed this — and that it was not only easy, but fun.

Offerings. Durga’s teacup with water offering, hand-knit cloth to serve as a cushion for Matsya icon, bowl to bath the icon in, my Beloved’s teacup with water offering. On the plate: water mixture (sea water, river water, etc.), cardamom, and cream for bathing, rice.

Matsya icon seated. I have to be real here: I’m in love with this figure. Beth is awesome, and made him for me when I despaired of ever being able to do it myself. Also: this fish has personality all of his own, and I don’t know how much I see him as Matsya so much as his own self, and no the tool that this could become, in helping me to better understand Himself is not lost on me.

Post bath, post giving of gifts, post heart-to-Heart.