Moon Altars: Honoring Traditions Award

Vicki is the winner of the Moon Altar Honoring Traditions award. She started making the centerpiece of her altar by purchasing an unfinished, 11-inch/28-centimeter plywood plate/wall hanging on which she subsequently painted and glued other plywood shapes to create a raised effect representing the phases of the moon. Next, she found a resin grandmother figure with a moon (marble) in its lap online and purchased it for the altar.

The moon-phase plate is further surrounded by a number of items representing the four elements (earth: crystals; water: shell; fire: candle, pipe; and air: smudge, smoking mix) and the four kingdoms (mineral: crystals; plant: smudging and smoking herbs; animal: feather, dog statue, shell; and human: grandmother holding the moon).

Although she describes the entire altar as permanent and located in one of the healing areas of her home (as "what is put away is too easily forgotten"), she adds that she can take the plate and grandmother statue elsewhere for ceremony should that be desirable, as she combines the altar and her pipe (smoking Grandmother Eve's ceremony, although she looks forward to learning the Grandmother Moon ceremony as well).

Vicki says she typically does ceremony and pipe at the altar during the new moon one month -- where she sets new goals, desires, etc. -- and then she follows up the next month and does ceremony on the full moon -- releasing anything that came up from the previous cycle that is no longer needed and will help her shift into her new goals.

"This altar is a reminder each month to honor Grandmother Moon and the 13 moons," Vicki explains. "My desire in creating it was to learn and connect to these teachings and for self-reflection. My plan is to smoke my pipe each month with prayers for her, all the feminine, and the moon teachings."