Not that it made any kind of difference for me personally, but since we all spend most of our time at home these days, I thought it would be a good idea to virtually open the doors of my Living Space and let you peek inside the room I occupy most of my waking time.

Grab yourself a cuppa and come with me, we’re going for a tour of my Atelier!

🌿 The Threshold

First, let’s start with a little bit of context. My Atelier is nested in the mezzanine of our last floor apartment. Top of our home, top of the building, top of the city, top of the hill. Ancient Mountains and Lush Forests all around, the sky up above to watch Bald Eagles and Red-tailed Hawks soar high, wings spread majestically, motionless and quiet. Did I already state that I am in love with this corner of the world?

My Atelier isn’t just a craft room though. I call it a Sacred Space, because not only does it serves my Creative Work, but also most of my Spiritual Practices. Tarot reading, journaling, rituals, spells, meditation, yoga… you name it. Beside drawing and wood-burning, this is the space you’ll also find me doing all these sorts of things.

Okay, before going any further, give me just a second to acknowledge the fact that I’m lucky enough to have a whole room just for myself, dedicated to these activities, that I can decorate in any way I want without having to compromise anything. It’s the best, really, and I am so thankful for that.

🌿 The Creative Workspace

And here is my desk, set up so that I can see the Olympic Mountains on the horizon while sitting on my chair working. It’s always a great sight to have when catching a break, resting my eyes, and changing perspective after a long time spent on a particular working, being focused on small details.

Left side of the table is the Computer Area. When I’m using the screen, usually for photo editing under Queen Pachimari’s supervision, my laptop is hidden underneath it. If you’re a cat owner yourself, you know the reason why: afternoon nap + laptop heat = purrrrfection.

Aside with several natural treasures like pine cones, moss and crystals, forming a small Shrine there, I also always have a Yankee Candle jar tucked in the cup holder of my screen stand, because 1. I’m shamelessly addicted to those, and 2. I really enjoy having one burning nearby when doing creative work. By the way, if you have a favorite scent to share in the comments below, I’m all ears!

The rest of the Creative Work happens on the right side of the table, which is usually a mess. Papers with notes and sketches everywhere, random beads and ink stains, slices of wood waiting for their turn to be decorated, old lemon-ginger tea bags piled up in a corner… In my defense though, I make sure to clean up this spot at the end of each week to be able to start afresh on Mondays. Clear space, clear mind, clear focus.

The tiny picture framed is The Magician card from the Dark Days Tarot that I got at a Pagan Festival in Seattle, you know, when we could still have those. It’s a sweet reminder of what I’m doing here, sitting at this table with my favorite tools at hand. Underneath it, my favorite Tattooed Guardians, Bear and Deer, always here to accompany me in my craft.

Last but not least, the three Black Beasts with the printer on the far right side are my two wood-burning stations, plus an electric transformer, privilege of the Expatriate Artist. Cute as they are, the little faces of American wall outlets won’t take those Frenchy plugs I brought here with me.

🌿 The Treasure Nest

Now here is the spot where Pumpkin is very much welcome to rest and keep me company while I’m working in the Atelier. His worn-out favorite bed, sitting next to the Wooden Chests where I keep most of the creations listed in my shop. I didn’t take the time to decorate them yet, even though I have a very distinct image in my head of what I’m gonna do with these. Hopefully they’re in my list for this year’s Personal Projects.

The shelving unit underneath is supposedly keeping my shop-related stuff organized, but I really need to improve this particular area. Like, a lot. Recycled USPS and Amazon boxes are not the most efficient thing in the world for keeping your work area tidy and neat, I can tell you that. And I won’t go further talking about the aesthetics of it, because it makes me wanna cry a little bit. But hey, at least here’s some room for improvement.

On top of all this, a jar of small wood slices, bigger ones on the side, a couple of watercolor notebooks (yes, Wildera Lenormand was one of them ♥ ), and a frame in which I place a different illustration each year.

It’s a little ritual of mine: I pull a Tarot Card for myself at Samhain (usually a Major Arcana from Tarot Noir, one of my favorite decks ever) during my Year Ahead reading. This archetype then sparks a theme, a quality to develop or a shadow to pay attention to, which in turn inspires a painting, incubated and created during the stillness of Winter Time.

By January 1st, I have a brand new illustration put on display in my Atelier to remind myself on a daily basis of the reflections involved in this whole process, and to motivate me to keep going all year long. Best thing about it, since it’s hooked right in front of the stairs, it’s often the first thing I see anytime I come up to my Sacred Space.

🌿 The Witch’s Altar

Now to the pièce de résistance: my Main Altar, which is structured both on a horizontal and a vertical plane. Yep, that’s right, all of the pictures and Wooden Ornaments hanged up there are a part of it and are consciously curated to play a role in my Spiritual Practice. Having this space set up this way allows me to have a sort of Axis Mundi to rely on, so that I can mind my witchy business with solid foundations and roots.

Underneath my Main Altar is my current bookshelf, with various sentimental trinkets and witchy paraphernalia scattered in front of my journals and books – that’s also the place where the rest of my Pachimari Tribe lives. This shelf unit is far from keeping my entire collection of books though; the vast majority of it is still packed in boxes in France, waiting for me to get them back… someday, when the world gets less crazy.

🌿 The Seer’s Alcove

Last but not least, here comes the Divination Corner of my Atelier. It’s quite practical but still very cozy: a 2nd hand coffee table large enough to spread my cards, a bunch of guidebooks on the side if I ever need one, my Tarot Journals and a couple of pens ready, and sure enough, boxes and drawers packed full of the beautiful decks I collected over the years. A couple of them are always out though, like the Visconti-Sforza pictured here and, of course, Mildred’s Oracles, living in the Wooden Box I made especially for them.

Anyway, this spot is comfy enough for me to enjoy sitting here almost every night, a dozen cat-proof LED candles lighting up this cute little nook, and my favorite Oracles, Runes, and Ogham Sets at hand.

All right Earth Walkers, I hope you appreciated this visit in the warmth of my Atelier. Let me know if you enjoyed it; I won’t be far away from this place when answering your comments. In fact, I will be right here, in this very Sacred Space of mine.