ALTARCITO PRAYER PLAQUES are lovely "little altars" that can be showcased on your existing altar or hung in a special place in your home. They can also be easily packed for traveling.
There are 7 mandalas, including 2 labyrinth designs. Each one is 5x7", and mounted on a 1/8" black mat board, with a hanging hook, and embellished with genuine turquoise or Swarovski crystals. The back side explains the inspiration for the art and prayer. Each plaque is protected by a cellophane sleeve.
Size: 5 x 7"
Price: $12 each
O Great Spirit, whose Voice I hear in the Winds,
Hear me ~ for I am small and weak.
I need Your Strength and Wisdom.
I seek Strength, O Great One,
not to be superior to my brothers,
but to conquer my greatest enemy - myself.
I seek Wisdom: the lessons You have hidden
in every leaf and rock, so that I may learn
and carry these messages of life and hope
to my people.
May my hands respect the many beautiful things
You have made.
May my ears be sharp to hear Your Voice.
May I always walk in Your Beauty;
And let my eyes behold the red and purple sunset;
So that when life fades with the setting Sun,
My Spirit will come to You without shame.
BACK SIDE
The mandala was inspired by the Pueblo pottery of New Mexico, and the words from this excerpt of the full Prayer to the Great Spirit. Origin is unknown.
The Chartres Cathedral built near Paris, France around 1200 is the home of this iconic labyrinth, which measures 42 feet in diameter. Pilgrims walk the labyrinth as a spiritual meditation, weaving through four circuits that take them farther away from before returning them the center, a metaphor of life’s journey .
BACK SIDE
This labyrinth is referred to as “Man in the Maze”. The Tohono O'Odham nation of south central Arizona used the pattern in their basketry in the early 1900s. It rep-resents their emergence story and the path of life. The human-like figure is sometimes called Elder Brother, I'itoi.
Tohono O'odham oral history varies family to family. The Man in the Maze labyrinth depicts to some the experiences and choices we make in our journey through life.
In the middle, we find our dreams and goals. When we reach the center, we have one final opportunity (the last turn in the design) to look back upon our choices and path, before the Sun God greets us, blesses us, and passes us into the next world.
Here is the full Pueblo Indian prayer that inspired this plaque. The artwork was designed after a day of watching the beautiful dancers at Santa Clara Pueblo.
Hold on to what is good
even if it’s a handful of earth.
Hold on to what you believe
even if it’s a tree that stands
by itself.
Hold on to what you must do,
even if it’s a long way from here.
Hold on to your life
even if it is easier to let go.
Hold on to my hand
even if I’ve gone away from you.
Dance Prayer Plaque
BACK SIDE
This artwork was inspired by the beautiful regalia of Pow-Wow dancers. The prayer is from an excerpt written by Sister Dee Smith, Maryknoll, who has worked tirelessly to help the people of Guatemala. Although she is not native, her heart understands.
Dancing is power. Dancing is prayer. Some say that all is dance. Now there’s a big dance happening, a dance to heal the earth.
You take part whenever you do whatever you do to help heal the earth. When you choose to show love, to fight for justice, to bring healing, to bring out what is good in others. When you avoid cruelty and dishonesty and waste. When you are outraged. When you speak out. When you give. When you consider the generations to come.
And, of course, when you dance, dance to heal the earth. Not just when you’re dancing, but always. Live the dance, whenever you move, in all you do, dance to heal the earth.
Rumi Prayer Plaque
BACK SIDE
This mandala is inspired by the spiral, which is found throughout nature, and also represents the journey of life. The beautiful words come from Rumi, 1207-1273, the Sufi mystic who remains one of the world’s most beloved poets.
At the twilight, a moon appeared in the sky;
Then it landed on earth to look at me.
Like a hawk stealing a bird at the time of prey;
That moon stole me and rushed back into
the sky.
I looked at myself, I did not see me anymore;
For in that moon, my body turned as fine
as soul.
The nine spheres disappeared in that moon;
The ship of my existence drowned in that sea.
RUMI
Divan, 649:1-3,5
Lotus Prayer Plaque
BACK SIDE
This mandala is inspired by the lotus flower, which is sacred among many of the world’s cultures. It begins in the mud, but soon sends its stem and exquisite flower above the surface of the water.
Hindus see the lotus seed as a perfect blueprint
for the future plant, representing how the Divine becomes material.
Buddhists see the lotus as purity and resurrection
from the chaos and illusion of the world.
Iconography in Greek and Roman Christian churches show the Archangel Gabriel holding a spray of water lilies.
In Egyptian art and mythology, the lotus symbolized rebirth, closing at night and re-opening by day.
In Taoism, the full lotus blossom represents openness and wisdom.
Native Americans used every part of the lotus, acknowledging the Sun’s power to transform energy into food.
