11/01/2025
💖🙏🏽🫂
Dear Brave Souls, Las almas valientes… Here is now the leave-taking time of the flying colored carpets through the air of Las Mariposas--headed in their annual migration for the warmer climates of the Mexican borderlands.
Like us, so fragile yet strong all at the same time. Dont forget- they travel thousands of miles through wind and weathers and predators and sunlight with full hearts and souls. Like us.
Here too it is Dia de los Mu***os, the time of specially communing with the communion of santos y our ancestors. Though every day is to be a day of reverent love and communing with los santos, saints, y los angelitos angels, y nuestro antepasados y los ancianos, our deceased in body, and our ancestral far back people...
this time which coincides with harvest, AND the great migrations of birds and butterflies and animales, to life-giving territory, is like our soon to be severing and leave-taking and summoning new environs more habitable to us.
There is much commercialization of Dia de los Mu***os of recent years, with some extravaganzas and parades and galas and fiestas but in the traditions I learned --this is a time of the small, the humble and the holy
-- with prayer and also humorous stories told, and the listing of the names of our loved ones by all their long and many names, and remembering their good traits we hope to emulate.
I've no case against extravagance, and have made some boss ofrendas myself in my lifetime, but most of the time carrying the family and loved ones who have need, and tending to those who come to learn, and giving daily time to creative life-- not to mention cleaning bathroom, kitchen, cooking etc lol... I carry my ofrenda on my person in the old way... a little altar with pictures of my loved ones and their names and when I've found it, a dab of their cologne.
Below you see what I lean in to teach my students; 'to make it holy, make it portable, make it meaningful to you.' This is my portable altar.
Mine is tiny, about 3 to 4"x5" unfolded.
Here is how dear ones, if you wish. Cut out the little madonita pattern in the drawing below4 . It is essentially 4 squares or rectangles {depending on how wide and long you'd like to create it] and a half circle.
Pin it to your material, and cut out the shape. You can whip stitch or pink the edges as you wish.
You can use paper, or soft felt, or pillowcase or t-shirt that has some weight to the cotton. Then sew or place or glue the images and names and words onto the side flaps. In the center, place image or santito of your most devotion. It can be paper or metal or whatever you have at hand. Suggest you not buy, but use what you have.
You can put pressed yellow flower petal there too, [chyrsanthemum are still in bloom in many places] - remembering it often stains yellow as it dries... Then put pictures of food you and your familiares relatives liked also inside. Leave the top rounded flap free of anything.
Then fold closed as indicated on dotted lines. First fold in the bottom flap, then the side flaps, then the top rounded flap last.
Bless your work and your ancestors and your Greater and your sweet self, and as you will ---tie shut with ribbon or lace or rubber band or paper clip. This is not to make beauty, the Beauty is already in your love for fashioning 'seeable love for your kin and your ties to the ancients.'
If you would like to you can also sew a little snap on the outside of one of the flaps and one inside another opposite flap, to snap it all together.
You can also use no ties and put it in an envelope you have cut down to size and carry it that way, protected.
Remember 'humble, portable, holy.'
i love you and we will convene again soon.
No lack of love, from my heart to your heart mis biscochitos
Dr E
