--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Beyond the table, there is an altar, with…" description: "\"“Beyond the table, there is an altar, with candles lit for Billie Holiday and Willa Carter and Hypatia and Patsy Cline. Next to it, an old podium that ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54c/carmen-maria-machado-26278_dark-chocolate_beyond-the-table-there-is-an-altar-with_310264.jpg" --- # Beyond the table, there is an altar, with candles lit for… ![“Beyond the table, there is an altar, with candles lit for Billie Holiday and Willa Carter and Hypatia and Patsy Cline. Next to it, an old podium that once held a Bible, on which we have repurposed an old chemistry handbook as the Book of Lilith. In its pages is our own liturgical calendar: Saint…” quote by Carmen Maria Machado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54c/carmen-maria-machado-26278_dark-chocolate_beyond-the-table-there-is-an-altar-with_310264.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54c/carmen-maria-machado-26278_dark-chocolate_beyond-the-table-there-is-an-altar-with_310264.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54c/carmen-maria-machado-26278_dark-chocolate_beyond-the-table-there-is-an-altar-with_310264.jpg) > ““Beyond the table, there is an altar, with candles lit for Billie Holiday and Willa Carter and Hypatia and Patsy Cline. Next to it, an old podium that once held a Bible, on which we have repurposed an old chemistry handbook as the Book of Lilith. In its pages is our own liturgical calendar: Saint Clementine and All Wayfarers; Saints Lorena Hickok and Eleanor Roosevelt, observed in the summer with blueberries to symbolize the sapphire ring; the Vigil of Saint Juliette, complete with mints and dark chocolate; Feast of the Poets, during which Mary Oliver is recited over beds of lettuce, Kay Ryan over a dish of vinegar and oil, Audre Lorde over cucumbers, Elizabeth Bishop over some carrots; The Exaltation of Patricia Highsmith, celebrated with escargots boiling in butter and garlic and cliffhangers recited by an autumn fire; the Ascension of Frida Khalo with self-portraits and costumes; the Presentation of Shirley Jackson, a winter holiday started at dawn and ended at dusk with a gambling game played with lost milk teeth and stones. Some of them with their own books; the major and minor arcana of our little religion.”” [Carmen Maria Machado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-maria-machado/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A whimsical, eclectic liturgy celebrates diverse women creators, blending personal ritual with cultural homage, highlighting the power of invented traditions to honor marginalized voices. **In simple terms:** Creating personal rituals to honor varied women creators. Key Takeaway Design your own inclusive celebration. Themes creativity celebration inclusivity ritual feminism Mood playful reflective Type ritual inspirational When to use this quote - personal holidays - community gatherings - artistic inspiration - educational workshops Key Concepts mythmaking intertextuality commemoration Questions to Reflect On - How can you adapt this ritual for your own community? - What figures would you include in your personal liturgy? A Different Perspective Limited to those familiar with referenced figures; may feel obscure to outsiders. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dark chocolate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-chocolate/) [Game Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/game-play/) [Literary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Winter holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winter-holiday/) ## Related quotes > [A dining room table with children's eager hungry faces around it, ceases to be a mere dining room table, and becomes an altar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simeon-strunsky/a-dining-room-table-with-children-s-eager-hungry-faces-around-it/) [Simeon Strunsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simeon-strunsky/) > [“Here’s what I’ve got, the reasons why our marriage might work: Because you wear pink but write poems about bullets and gravestones. Because you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-olzmann/here-s-what-i-ve-got-the-reasons-why-our-marriage-might-work-because/) Matthew Olzmann > [Playing Frida was hard and wonderful. I found such a force in her, bigger than me. I tried to make it just a woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarita-choudhury/playing-frida-was-hard-and-wonderful-i-found-such-a-force-in-her/) [Sarita Choudhury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarita-choudhury/) > [I do love Shirley Jackson, but I don't deserve to be named in connection with her. I remember reading 'The Haunting of Hill House'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/i-do-love-shirley-jackson-but-i-don-t-deserve-to-be-named-in/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [I've been a fan of vampire fiction since way, way back - I loved Stephen King, Anne Rice, Peter Straub, Robert McCammon, Shirley Jackson,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-caine/i-ve-been-a-fan-of-vampire-fiction-since-way-way-back-i-loved-stephen/) [Rachel Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-caine/) > [“Don’t do it, Eleanor told the little girl; insist on your cup of stars; once they have trapped you into being like everyone else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/don-t-do-it-eleanor-told-the-little-girl-insist-on-your-cup-of-stars-4/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [THE THREE is really wonderful. A mix of Michael Crichton and Shirley Jackson, hard to put down and vastly entertaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-three-is-really-wonderful-a-mix-of-michael-crichton-and-shirley/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [By the time I got to college I had stopped reading books because I wanted to "be cool" and started reading books simply because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-rich/by-the-time-i-got-to-college-i-had-stopped-reading-books-because-i/) [Simon Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-rich/) > [Shirley Jackson said that a confused reader is an antagonistic reader, and I live by that. It's okay to start anywhere, and to let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/shirley-jackson-said-that-a-confused-reader-is-an-antagonistic-reader/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“and if it played its cards right they could end up flitting through the Overlook’s halls like insubstantial shades in a Shirley Jackson novel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/and-if-it-played-its-cards-right-they-could-end-up-flitting-through/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Shirley Jackson's writings are a must for aficionados of the gothic and of good literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/shirley-jackson-s-writings-are-a-must-for-aficionados-of-the-gothic/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [Ambiguity and the horror of possibility play a part in so many of my favorite horror stories: Shirley Jackson's 'We Will Always Live in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-g-tremblay/ambiguity-and-the-horror-of-possibility-play-a-part-in-so-many-of-my/) [Paul G. Tremblay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-g-tremblay/) > [I read Betty Smith's "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn," all of Shirley Jackson's books, which I loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/i-read-betty-smith-s-a-tree-grows-in-brooklyn-all-of-shirley-jackson/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“Betty Dravis is a fantastic mix of Shirley Jackson, Edna Buchanan and Janis Joplin. Don't ask me how I came up with that unlikely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-laflamme/betty-dravis-is-a-fantastic-mix-of-shirley-jackson-edna-buchanan-and/) Mark Laflamme > [The world of Shirley Jackson is eerie and unforgettable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-m-homes/the-world-of-shirley-jackson-is-eerie-and-unforgettable/) [A.M. Homes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-m-homes/) ## More by Carmen Maria Machado > [“She was a stranger because something essential was shielded, released in tiny bursts until it became a flood---a flood of what I realized I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-maria-machado/she-was-a-stranger-because-something-essential-was-shielded-released/) [Carmen Maria Machado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-maria-machado/) > [“Many people live and die without ever confronting themselves in the darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-maria-machado/many-people-live-and-die-without-ever-confronting-themselves-in-the/) [Carmen Maria Machado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-maria-machado/) > [“What I say: “Why did you leave her with me?” What I want to say: “This almost broke me, but it didn’t. It made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-maria-machado/what-i-say-why-did-you-leave-her-with-me-what-i-want-to-say-this/) [Carmen Maria Machado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-maria-machado/) > [“And there was nothing in my eyes. Or even worse -- nothingness. Not the presence of a thing but the presence of a non-thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-maria-machado/and-there-was-nothing-in-my-eyes-or-even-worse-nothingness-not-the/) [Carmen Maria Machado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-maria-machado/) > [“You never live with a woman, you live inside of her, I overheard my father say to my brother once, and it was, indeed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-maria-machado/you-never-live-with-a-woman-you-live-inside-of-her-i-overheard-my/) [Carmen Maria Machado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-maria-machado/) > [“I once heard a story about a girl who requested something so vile from her paramour that he told her family and they had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-maria-machado/i-once-heard-a-story-about-a-girl-who-requested-something-so-vile/) [Carmen Maria Machado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-maria-machado/) > [“That night, I wash myself. The silky suds between my legs are the color and scent of rust, but I am newer than I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-maria-machado/that-night-i-wash-myself-the-silky-suds-between-my-legs-are-the-color/) [Carmen Maria Machado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-maria-machado/) > [“A feeling settles over me—a one-beer-deep feeling, a no-more-skittering-feet-after-the-trap-snaps feeling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-maria-machado/a-feeling-settles-over-me-a-one-beer-deep-feeling-a-no-more/) [Carmen Maria Machado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-maria-machado/) > [“Will I ever be done, transformed in the past tense, or will I always be transforming, better and better until I die?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-maria-machado/will-i-ever-be-done-transformed-in-the-past-tense-or-will-i-always-be/) [Carmen Maria Machado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-maria-machado/) > [“She’s like dough, how the give of it beneath kneading hands disguises its sturdiness, its potential.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-maria-machado/she-s-like-dough-how-the-give-of-it-beneath-kneading-hands-disguises/) [Carmen Maria Machado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-maria-machado/) > [“Mara, remember how you kicked sand into that neighbor child’s eyes? I yelled at you and made you apologize in your best dress, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-maria-machado/mara-remember-how-you-kicked-sand-into-that-neighbor-child-s-eyes-i/) [Carmen Maria Machado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-maria-machado/) > [“(If you read this story out loud, please use the following voices: ME: as a child, high-pitched, forgettable; as a woman, the same. THE…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-maria-machado/if-you-read-this-story-out-loud-please-use-the-following-voices-me-as/) [Carmen Maria Machado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-maria-machado/) > [“When you think about it, stories have this way of running together like raindrops in a pond. Each is borne from the clouds separate,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-maria-machado/when-you-think-about-it-stories-have-this-way-of-running-together/) [Carmen Maria Machado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-maria-machado/) > [“I have always been a teller of stories. When I was a young girl, my mother carried me out of a grocery store as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-maria-machado/i-have-always-been-a-teller-of-stories-when-i-was-a-young-girl-my/) [Carmen Maria Machado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-maria-machado/) > [“I was a creature so small, trapped in some crevice of an indifferent universe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-maria-machado/i-was-a-creature-so-small-trapped-in-some-crevice-of-an-indifferent/) [Carmen Maria Machado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-maria-machado/) [Explore all 22 Carmen Maria Machado quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-maria-machado/) ## More Altar quotes > [This is the sacrifice: the endless possibility that is offered up on the altar of the form...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/this-is-the-sacrifice-the-endless-possibility-that-is-offered-up-on/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [“...those others - they're looking for trends - subjects to catch a spark - but I have you - a coal from God's altar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/those-others-they-re-looking-for-trends-subjects-to-catch-a-spark-but/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [There was a time I worshipped at the altar of Rudy Martzke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-johnson-jr/there-was-a-time-i-worshipped-at-the-altar-of-rudy-martzke/) [Ernie Johnson Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-johnson-jr/) > [I'm a lapsed altar boy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-del-toro/i-m-a-lapsed-altar-boy/) [Guillermo del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-del-toro/) > [It is when we are in misery that we revere the gods; the prosperous seldom approach the altar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silius-italicus/it-is-when-we-are-in-misery-that-we-revere-the-gods-the-prosperous/) [Silius Italicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silius-italicus/) > [We dare not trim stones to make God an altar, for if we do we ruin everything. We would spend time bringing people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-anders/we-dare-not-trim-stones-to-make-god-an-altar-for-if-we-do-we-ruin/) [Max Anders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-anders/) > [God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/god-is-the-lord-which-hath-shewed-us-light-bind-the-sacrifice-with/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) > [“Sacrifice your fear on the altar of your dreams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-van-tuyl/sacrifice-your-fear-on-the-altar-of-your-dreams/) Barbara Van Tuyl > [“It doesn’t really matter what altar you’re being sacrificed on, it’s gonna sting either way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-roquet/it-doesn-t-really-matter-what-altar-you-re-being-sacrificed-on-it-s/) [Angela Roquet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-roquet/) > [Since once again, O Lord, in the steppes of Asia, I have no bread, no wine, no altar, I will raise myself above those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/since-once-again-o-lord-in-the-steppes-of-asia-i-have-no-bread-no/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [I was, not an altar boy, but a reader of the Epistle, and I walked in on a nun and a priest furiously French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-was-not-an-altar-boy-but-a-reader-of-the-epistle-and-i-walked-in-on/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“The quickest way to alter an altar is not with a hammer, or even religious deconstruction, but with a typo.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/the-quickest-way-to-alter-an-altar-is-not-with-a-hammer-or-even/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I acknowledge that the sacrament of the altar is very God's body in form of bread, but it is in another manner God's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wycliffe/i-acknowledge-that-the-sacrament-of-the-altar-is-very-god-s-body-in/) [John Wycliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wycliffe/) > [“Oh cold, cold, rigid, dreadful Death, set up thine altar here, and dress it with such terrors as thou hast at thy command: for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dickens-charles/oh-cold-cold-rigid-dreadful-death-set-up-thine-altar-here-and-dress/) [Dickens, Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dickens-charles/) > [“Since once again, Lord - though this time not in the forests of the Aisne but in the steppes of Asia - I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/since-once-again-lord-though-this-time-not-in-the-forests-of-the/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) Browse all 131 Altar quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Beyond the table, there is an altar, with candles lit for Billie Holiday and Willa Carter and Hypatia and Patsy Cline. 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