neptunesdolphins | A COMMUNITY ALTAR TO MINERVA (Reply)

At the time, I did not realize it but I had established a community altar to Minerva. (For over a year, I have continued to maintain it.) It all began because I wanted to find a place to donate my surplus books. Walking by, I saw that the “Community Book Nook” was sadly being neglected. Therefore, I reasoned that it would be the perfect place for my books.

The local strip mall in my neighborhood has a bank, CVS store, three local eateries – pizza, taco, and yoghurt, and a grocery store. The owners of the mall wanted it to be a pleasant community space. Hence, they placed wooden benches, tables, and chairs around in cozy arrangements surrounded by planters. They set aside an area with built-in bookshelves with chairs for reading.

Since few people knew what to do with the “Book Nook,” it had empty shelves. The Nook was a sad little place where people waited for carryout pizza. Since I had a hundred books to get rid of, I decided to adopt the Nook. Weekly, I would bring books and arrange them. Weekly, they would disappear, and a few new books would appear.

Over time, more and more books appeared. Readers were looking for books to read, and books were looking for readers. Within three months, people were donating children’s books. The Nook now had two sections of books – child and adult. When I came by, I would find fathers reading the books to their children.

Now, people regularly donated many different genres of books turning the Nook into a “proper library.” I continued to bring mine, and rearrange the books into categories. As I was doing this, various people would ask me about the books. I would tell them that they could take them, read them, and donate other books. Thus, I become known as the “book lady” around the neighborhood.

Upon reflecting this further, I realized that I had established a community altar (consisting of books) to Minerva, Goddess of Learning. Not only that, but I became her “priestess” tending to the books. Since it was her altar now, Minerva blessed the “Community Book Nook.” It has become a thriving spot in the neighborhood for people to come and enjoy books.

My simple action of finding a place for my books morphed into a mini-library. People now regularly check for new books or old favorites. Through it all, I am still the Book Lady, Priestess of Minerva.

Meanwhile, I continue to drop off books on Pagan and Polytheistic topics. I regarded this as stealth activity for the Gods. These books were usually the first to be snatched up and read.

The actions I took established an altar to a God. As Polytheists about in the world, we can become aware of opportunities for community altars. They do not have to be simply for Polytheists, but with creative thinking, they can be for everyone. What I found was that people participated in the spirit of the Nook.

Meanwhile, Minerva was probably prompting them unawares or simply opening them up to other possibilities. One is that Polytheism is a viable choice. The Gods do things that we cannot imagine unless afterwards we take time to ponder.