Grief Altar

A grief altar is a sacred and intentional space created to honor, process, and hold space for grief. It serves as a tangible expression of the emotions, memories, and transitions that come with loss.

We invite you to bring with you:

Photographs or Mementos: Representing the person, relationship, or situation being mourned.

Natural Elements: Stones, feathers, flowers, or leaves to ground the space and connect it to the natural cycle of life and death.

Letters or Written Words: Notes, poems, or journal entries.

Offerings: Small items that hold significance, such as favorite foods, meaningful objects, or symbols of shared experiences.

We kindly ask that you leave your candles, incense, and other flamables at home.

You may leave your offerings, which can be retrieved at the end of the festival. Any items that remain will be woven into a small ceremony, where they will be returned to the earth or surrendered to flame.

Casket Weaving

Near the grief altar, I will be weaving a casket, and I invite you to join me in this sacred act of creation as a way to move with and through your own grief.

Willow, strong and flexible, offers itself as a bridge between worlds. As we weave, we honor the cycles of life, death, and renewal, shaping a vessel that will cradle a loved one on their final journey. I dream that this casket will stir a deeper remembering, an invitation to reclaim the wisdom of weaving and bring it back into our end-of-life rituals here in Alberta.

You don’t need any weaving experience to take part. Weavers will be present to guide your hands, but the heart of this work lies in the collective energy of those who gather. The casket will hold the stories, prayers, and love that are woven into its form.

When we are not weaving, the casket will be wrapped with care, resting in quiet stillness. The altar, however, is always open, an ever-present space for tending, reflection, and connection.