Dragonflies, Butterflies & Lady Bugs

Jasmine's Altar

Here's a picture of Jasmine's altar. It's a little over a week old, but I thought some of you might like to see it.

A few things of note:

Rufus is the pink dog-like creature on the right side of the altar. We bought him for her before Jasmine was born and he was there for every single one of her hospital visits, except for the one time she was in and out too quickly for us to bring him.

The blue dragonfly, which is the same dragonfly on this page, was designed by Jeff. It is the image he will have tattooed on his back when we return from Jamaica. Her name is integrated in the design, but you'll have to have Jeff show you.

There is a red pillow sitting on top of a brown wooden box. I wrote about that red pillow in a prior post. The box currently contains her ashes.

The large white handprint in the middle was made after she died by the chaplain at the hospital. It is so detailed that it has fingerprints. The chaplain inscribed it with her name and birthdate, as well as a spiral, which he thought would be meaningful to us. As it is a symbol of the cycle of rebirth and of spirit in my tradition, he was absolutely correct.

In the background are three dragonfly collages made by various friends. The large yellow one came from St. Louis Children's Hospital and was signed by many of her caretakers there. The white-matted yellow one was made by a good friend of mine from high school, and the purple one that is being propped up by Rufus was made by a good friend I made here in Bloomington.

On Jasmine's box, you can see a white stone. My covenmates stamped these stones with dragonflies and offered them as remembrances for her memorial. Many people took one, along with a tealight, from either the memorial service or the wake.

There are many other beautiful things on the altar, many dragonflies, many candles and scattered jasmine flowers. There are letters from classmates, friends and relatives and gifts from Gabrielle. It is a sacred place, made even more so each time someone stops in front of it to remember Jasmine.

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