Juneteenth is an emotionally charged celebration of freedom from enslavement. Understandably, it is a time when anger and other feelings may arise. With all that we hold inside, it is a great day to get busy and manifest something with meaning, like an altar.

Start by laying a red (for our blood), black (for the Black people) and green (for Mother Nature) cloth(s) on a table or mantel. Then collect the Earth's gifts respectfully and with great care:

• 5 pink carnations (for healing and self-love)
• 4 red roses (a symbol of quiet strength)
• 3 oak leaf branches (to symbolize African American strength, endurance, and cultural continuity)
• 1 orange, peeled and separated (to symbolize the release of trauma)
• 9 cracked hazelnuts (the Celtic June 20 tree of justice and wisdom)

Put the flowers and oak branches in a vase of water and place on the cloth(s). Arrange the other items artfully. Go to this altar three times today for prayer and reflection.