Ancestor Altar

Since the death of  Deputy Pill, death in general has been on my mind. Her funeral was three days ago.

I have had an ancestor altar in my home since my Grand-Father passed away.  I thought I would share a picture of my altar and talk a bit about what an ancestor altar is and what it means to me.


My altar is a old side table that my wonderful Pepere, had by his favorite lazy boy chair until he passed in April 2009. On my altar, are pictures of him and my Memere, who passed almost a year to the day after him, in April 2010. Small urns of their ashes adorn my altar, as well as two silver horses. I choose to have horse symbol, because they raised horses for almost 50 years. There is a candle for each of them, that is lit on their birth days and the anniversary of their passing. I light the candles on April 1st and they stay lit until the end of the month. I use real ones when someone is home and flame-less battery powered tea lights when we can't be home. My Pepere’s old cowboy hat is there too.

My altar is in a corner of my dining room because that is the central gathering spot in my home. The altar is a permanent year round addition to my home but as we get closer to Samhaim, it becomes a place of focus and reflection. I add an offering bowl and put in food that my Grandparents enjoyed. I go to it daily and speak to them as if we are just chatting on the phone. I ask for guidance in the coming year and ask them to watch over my children as they did when they were alive.


On the night of Samhain, my family gathers for dinner and a ritual. We light the altar candles and we leave a chair open for the departed and I recite this prayer;


This is the night when the gateway between
our world and the spirit world is thinnest.
Tonight is a night to call out those who came before us.
Tonight we honor our ancestors.
Spirits of our ancestors, we call to you,
and we welcome you to join us for this night.
We know you watch over us always,
protecting us and guiding us,
and tonight we thank you.
We invite you to join us and share our meal.
(Theses lovely words were written By Patti Wigington)


Then we sit down to eat, making up a plate for the ancestors and talk about our favorite memories of  our departed loved ones.

 An ancestor altar is very personal.  I will be looking for a metal star to place on the altar, in memory of Dep. Pill. She was not a part of my biological family but she was a part of my law enforcement family. A friend of mine has placed photos and toys of a beloved pet who passed, on her altar. There is no right or wrong way to set one up. The only warning I have is to never place a photo of the living on your ancestor altar.

My heart is aching

 Law enforcement is a family! And one of mine has been killed. She was more than a just a cop, she was a Mom, a wife, a grand-mother and a good person.

I had taken today off, so I could go with my youngest on his school's field trip to the zoo. My cell phone started go crazy, missed calls, text messages and emails. Friends and family frantic to find out if I was ok. The news was reporting a female officer was shot in the north end of the city that I patrol.

I called my Husband, a detective in the neighboring jurisdiction, trying to find out what had happened. He told me it was a Deputy from the Sheriff's Department and that it was most likely Barbara or another friend of ours, Dani. He wasn't sure but he would call me back soon. 

I called everyone to let them know I was fine, but I wasn't. I don't remember the rest of the field trip or coming home. I remember finding out for sure, that it was Barbara. 

My squad had captured the suspects, doing their jobs with precision and perfection, even though they were angry and grieving. I am so proud of them.

I am sad, angry, and numb all at the same time. Below are the details of the incident.

Deputy Sheriff Barbara Pill was shot and killed after stopping a vehicle near the intersection of John Rodes Boulevard and Elena Way, in Melbourne, shortly before 11:15 am. 

The vehicle was wanted in connection with a stolen property call from a local motel. As Deputy Pill made contact with the driver and ordered him out of the vehicle he opened fire on her, striking her multiple times. Responding deputies, Melbourne police officers, and Florida troopers chased the vehicle a short distance until it crashed on Turtlemound Road. A male and female subject in the vehicle were taken into custody and face charges in connection with Deputy Pill's murder.

Deputy Pill was transported to the Holmes Regional Medical Center where she succumbed to the gunshot wound.

Deputy Pill had been in law enforcement for 30 years and served with the Brevard County Sheriff's Office for 15 years and had served in law enforcement for 30 years. She is survived by her husband, two sons who also serve in law enforcement, and a grandchild. 

R.I.P and may the Gods sing songs of your valor!

‎''Hel, great goddess,
Guard of the spirits of the dead
Our friend Barbara has come to you now
As Barbara kneels before you, hel
know how much she was loved in this life
And how many she loved in return
Before she crossed over she was an honorable soul
A soaring spirit, a brave warrior
Watch over her, hel as she crosses the bridge
From this life to the next
And welcome her with honor and glory
So that she may live on forever
In our hearts and memories.''

 

A Not So Lazy Saturday!

So far, the March photo challenge has been pretty easy. I have been posting the pictures on Facebook. I will post them here at the end of every week, like a week in review.

This challenge got me thinking that I may start one of my own in April. A Pagan one! I have to give it some more thought, and today there is no time for that.

I have to take the 6 year old to his baseball game, hit the store, drop by The Herb Corner for a chair massage and grab a few stones and herbs for a Mojo bag, then off to the Central Florida Pagan Association office.

Tonight is our general meeting and I could not be more excited! I will be meeting some new people who are interested in joining! We have a great year of events planned already! The first one is a Past Life Regression class, then we are having our Auras photographed. If you live in the local area and are interested look for us on Facebook under Moon Path Pagans or our Website.

Work was not so good this week, as we had a small plane crash and all aboard were killed. My department did all it could but the damage was catastrophic. This is the first crash I have ever had to deal with as an officer. Hopefully, never again. I can't explain how it feels when we don't save someone. Even if we never had a chance, it still leaves a strange hole in your heart. Hug your loved ones close and send healing energy to the family of the victims.