n addition to their coven involvement, many Garden Path members practice as solitaries. A close, personal association with deity is highly encouraged in the course of coven training. Often, we erect shrines or altars in our homes in honor of

the deities with whom we connect. This page displays some of those shrines and altars.

arden Path member and co-founder Geoff Miller is a devotee of Anubis, the ancient Egyptian god of the dead and protector of souls. These are pictures of shrines that he has erected in his home. The

shrine pictured above is primarily for meditation. The statue gazes to the west - the realm of Anubis. In ancient Egypt, the necropolis (the city of the dead) was located on the west bank of the Nile.

he altar prepared for the In-drinking Spell. The In-drinking Spell is an alternative to invocation, and is used to "borrow" a specific power of deity for a short period of time.

Here, Anubis is sought in his aspect as Judge of the Scales (represented by the tarot image of Justice from Corwley's Thoth deck). The desired aspect of a diety is called into the image. Consecrated water is then poured over the image and the person performing the spell drinks the water to absorb the deity's power.

n altar prepared for a Wiccan ritual in which Anubis will be invoked. The deities on the shelf above the altar are (from left to right) Horus, Osiris (seated on the Djet pillar) and Isis - the divine triumvirate of Heliopolis.

his altar is made ready for a ritual honoring Ma'at, goddess of Truth and Universal Balance. In the ritual, sand is placed in one pan of the scale as the celebrant declares thanks for a blessing received or

desired.

The nature of Ma'at is balance. The gods do not require gifts of us, but the more blessed are we when we honor that balance by offering them of our own free will. In honor of that principle, a feather is placed in the pan opposite the sand, each with the declaration of a gift that we offer back to the Universe. Ma'at is well satisfied when the pans are brought back into balance.

nubis delights in sharing with us. Here, a ritual meal is offered while we share cakes and wine in the Circle. Anubis favors grains, ale and meat, but whatever we're having will do as well.

Once the Circle is opened, the offering meal is taken out to the woods and scattered. The plate, made of unfired clay, is then smashed so that it can never be used for any other purpose. The fragments of clay are scattered and will soak back into the Earth whence they came with the next rainfall. Thus, even with the offering meal, the balance of Ma'at is observed.