Hoop for Episode 11 - Dreamer. For @myidealhousehaschickenfeet , who kindly donated to The Okra Project. Thank you!
“It was then that I noticed that there was something wrong with the city below me. It was dark, lit by the sickly orange glow of the streetlamps and there too something pulsed oddly. Looking down I could see a web of dark tendrils criss-crossing the streets and crawling up the buildings. They were like blood vessels, thick and dark, some as wide as roads and some as thin as a telephone wire, and they all throbbed in time with the beat of light behind me.”
Offerings: How long should you leave them out for?
I just want to give the disclaimer that this post is only sharing how I do things. I’m sure different people have their own standards for these things, but this is what has worked for me.
I sometimes get the question “How long do you leave offerings out?” when discussing ancestor veneration and spirit work with others. There really isn’t any short answer for this, so I’ll be listing different offerings and how long I leave them out. I also want to mention that I do not work with or actively worship any deities. I do ancestor veneration and honor spirits of the land. Most of what I speak about here will be what I do for my ancestors.
There are some spirits and gods in the worlds that really must be approached with the correct offering, or will be very offended if you bring the wrong one. This post is not about them.
Thanks goes to @river-in-the-woods for help proofreading and providing additional perspectives
Spirit and deity work is a huge part of my deal, and therefore so are offerings. When I help people with various spirit issues or perform divination that suggests a spirit wants to contact them, I usually recommend giving offerings as a first step.
This usually creates a lot of questions, like:
I don’t want to worship them, so I’m not comfortable with offerings.
I only want to work with spirits I don’t need to pay.
What kind of offerings are OK? I can’t afford to buy extra stuff right now.
I can’t have a shrine or leave food sitting out so it’s not possible for me to make offerings.
The reasons why offerings are given change from culture to culture, and situation to situation. I personally see offerings as being one of two things: good manners, or equivalent exchange.
How to do so comes after the saucy radio dialogue and the fairy tale.
Good Manners
Your grandma comes over. She was just on a 5 hour flight to come visit you. She comes in through the front door. You offer her some water and a snack.
Offering grandma water and a snack isn’t a form of worship or payment. It’s polite and respectful. It took her a lot of energy and effort to come and see you. Her well-being and comfort are important to you (in this hypothetical, of course).
When I drive 10 minutes to see my best friend, she always offers me tea. She’s not paying me for my friendship – she’s happy I came, she wants me to be comfortable, and it’s a sign of mutual respect. “I value your presence; I’ll offer you some tea.”
If my friend stopped offering me tea, I’d wonder if our relationship was doing OK – and if she explained to me she was out of money, or she’s doing a no-tea challenge, we’d be perfectly good.
But if you greet grandma empty-handed and say you don’t think it’s your job to provide her meals, the situation feels a little different. It feels to me as if grandma might not be as interested in making the trip to see you next time.
Equivalent Exchange
“Hey, what are you doing here?”
“I’m going to bury some stuff. I just did ritual and an important part is burying the remnants at the crossroad.”
“Right on, we’re the spirits of the crossroad, so you came to the right place.”
“Yeah, so you’ll be opening the gates of the four directions and delivering my spell to manifestation, right?”
“Sure, we can do that.”
“…”
“…”
“Are you going to, uh… pay us for that service?”
“I don’t see why I should.”
“But you need us to open the gates for you. We have to spend our own energy to do this work. I mean it’s not terribly difficult, but still.”
“Yeah, but I don’t see why that should be on me.”
“Not even a tip? Have you got some change in your pocket?”
“To be honest, I don’t think it’s fair to me to have to pay.”
“So you want us to work for free?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t care what it costs us to do this work for you, you just want to take the fruits of our services without regard for us?”
“Yes.”
“And we should do it because you feel it’s unfair to have to pay us for our work?”
“You got it.”
“And if others told you that you must donate your labor to give them what they want because it’s unfair to give you a wage, this would be…”
“A huge injustice. This is actually a major problem in my country right now. We are so underpaid for what is demanded of us that it really is hurting my mental health and wellbeing. You have no idea how hard it is to be exploited for someone else’s prosperity. I kind of feel like one day I might just go off grid and refuse to be a part of their system.”
The Quality of Offerings Are Relative
The fairy queen Medb was curious about the humans beyond the Greenwood, so she decided to meet them all, from the wealthiest noble to the poorest villager, and to give a gold coin to the kindest one. Before she left, she cloaked herself in a human disguise and dressed as if she were a hardworking seamstress.
First she went to the house of a rich farmer who owned herds of cattle. She knocked on the door and was greeted by the mistress of the house, Frau Hilda.
Medb said, “I am a traveler and the road has been long, may I have some water?”
Frau Hilda kindly invited Medb inside. She sat the queen down at her large, clean table in her warm and cozy kitchen. Frau Hilda went to the larder. Medb could see that her larder was overflowing enough with fine wine, cheeses, and sausages to serve an army. Frau and fetched two jugs of milk and two loaves of bread. One of the jugs of milk was thin, and the loaf of bread was dry. The second jug of milk was thick, as if it was pure cream, and the loaf of bread was hot and fresh.
“Here, have some milk and bread,” Frau Hilda said. “It is much better than water, and will restore you from your travels.” Frau Hilda poured a glass of each milk, and handed the queen the thin milk and old loaf. Frau Hilda herself drank the rich, delicious milk and ate the hot bread.
“This is much better than water, and I thank you for your kind generosity,” agreed Medb.
The two women spoke kindly and politely to each other. Medb learned about the wealth and prosperity of the farmer and his household. They spoke until Medb finished her thin milk and old bread. As she left, Medb thought to herself that the thin milk and old bread, although better than water, were the poorest things in the larder. She kept her gold coin to herself, and walked down the road.
The next day, Medb came upon the hovel of a poor woodcutter and his wife. She knocked on the door and was greeted by Frau Brunhild.
Medb said, “I am a traveler and the road has been long, may I have some water?”
Just like Frau Hilda, Frau Brunhild kindly invited Medb inside. Frau Brunhild’s kitchen was small and cramped. She went to her larder and Medb could see it was almost empty. It only held a bag of flour, a scrap of bread, and a jug of water.
Frau Brunhild brought out the water and bread. “I am sorry I don’t have any milk for you,” Frau Brunhild said. “But let us share in what little we have.”
Frau Brunhild poured Medb some water and gave her one-third of the bread. “We must save some for Mister Brunhild,” she explained.
“I thank you for your generosity,” said Medb. “You show kindness in sharing what you have.” The two women spoke kindly and politely to each other until they had eaten the bread and drank the water. As she left, Medb thought to herself that although it was only water and a little slice of bread, Frau Brunhild had truly offered the best in her larder.
Medb was so moved by this generosity that she returned to the hovel that night, and hid the gold coin in one of Frau Brunhild’s shoes, and after that the Brunhilds always had better prosperity and fortune.
No matter what you have, your best is your best. You do not need to over-spend, give away too much, or sacrifice your wellbeing to give respectful offerings to spirits. If the best you have is a glass of tap water, that is good enough.
What kinds of offerings can you give?
I’m copying this over from my neighborly protection post.
Food and Drink: Good offerings include things with strong tastes and smells, foods high in caloric value, milk, honey, all nuts, eggs, and seeds (things which contain the potential for life are very good offerings), all home cooked/baked foods, fresh water (an especially good offering), coffee, tea, alcohol, tobacco, and juices all make very fine offerings.
Perhaps tellingly, the finest or most necessary offering is simply a glass of fresh water (yes, it can be tap water).
Consumables: Incense and candles both make good offerings. Both should be burned. I am actually more wary of using real resins and herbal powders for spirit offerings, since the natural powers of these plants are released and may affect what I’m trying to do (or make it easier or harder for spirits to speak to me, or drive away spirits I’m trying to talk to, or draw in ones I don’t want to talk to). For these reasons I like to use stick or cone incense for offerings. It is the light and warmth from the candle which is enjoyed by spirits so it can be any type or color of candle.
Artwork, fake paper money, origami, and other burnable stuff can be dedicated (another way to think about this is to gift it to them) and then burned. The point is not destruction; the astral essence of these things is released so the spirits can possess them in their world.
Non-consumables: Coins are very common offerings. Small, delightful objects (especially shiny ones), like shells, little figurines, or toys often make good offerings. The act of devoting a ritual tool or vessel to a spirit can be an offering. Things which can be consumed (like cigars or paper art) don’t have to be burned and can be given as regular offerings also.
Energy: Your personal energy is a great offering. You don’t have to give a ton of it away. Try making an energy ball and sending it upwards and away, intending that it reach the spirit you want to give it to. I often like to pattern these gifts into an object, like an energy coin or energy apple.
How do you give physical stuff to a nonphysical being, though?
Lay out the offerings on a clean surface. It doesn’t have to be an altar or a shrine, although I suspect such consecrated places can make it easier for spirits to access and enjoy your offerings. It can be just like setting out a glass of water and half a sandwich for grandma.
Do something which indicates the offering is for the spirits or a specific being. My friend can make me a cup of tea, but if she just sets some tea down on the table and walks away, I’m not going to be sure it’s OK for me to drink it until she says, “this is your tea!”
What you do can be as simple as standing before the offering and saying or thinking, “This is for [names of spirits, or ‘the household spirits’, etc], please enjoy! I’ll come clean it up by noon, enjoy it before then.”
At a minimum I recommend leaving non-consumable offerings out for fifteen or thirty minutes. If it’s a candle or incense, they burn out when they burn out (you do not have to let large candles burn completely, but be careful of promising a candle as a gift to spirits, then going back on that promise and using it for something else). Energy offerings are given instantaneously and no waiting period is necessary.
Whenever you return to clean up the offering, it’s polite to say something like, “thank you for coming by, and I hope you enjoyed! It’s time for me to clean up now. Please return to your abodes; as you came in peace, leave as friends.” I personally like to affirm the purpose of giving an offering - that it’s because I want to be a good neighbor, I want to have solid relationships with the spirits around me, and that I hope we’re all going to be friends. I also like to affirm that although I invited them all to the offering, they should go home now - I wanted you for the BBQ but it’s like 9pm now and we’re going to bed, so you need to go home too.
I throw out food. I compost it if I can. Whether or not you can eat food already offered to spirits is a whole discussion and beliefs vary. My belief is that you shouldn’t eat it after it’s offered.
Other non-consumable objects can be buried if they’re nontoxic to the environment. They can be left on an altar or shrine, and cleared out on a regular basis (like once a full moon, or on holidays).
To Eat or Not to Eat?
I mentioned briefly above that I don’t believe you should eat offerings after they’ve been offered. This is a pretty complex topic that does merit discussion.
For example, I sometimes eat the offerings whilethey’re being offered. I have a close relationship with various spirits, and sometimes I invite them into my body to taste and experience the food and drink I eat.
The reason I don’t prefer to eat offerings after they’ve been offered is that my belief is that the metaphysical substance which supports us as living creatures has been removed and taken away from the spirits. I don’t believe the food would be harmful, but that it also wouldn’t be helpful. To me, throwing the food away isn’t a waste because it already fulfilled its purpose.
However, tons of people believe that you should eat food and beverage offerings. This is in order to avoid waste (because after all, even if I say metaphysically the food served its purpose, I’m still throwing away totally edible food). I am advised that in Buddhism, offerings given to ancestors, buddhas, and bodhisattvas aren’t degraded at all, and you can safely eat and drink offerings afterwards (and not doing so would be wasteful). For buddhas and bodhisattvas offerings are just a sincere gesture; the ancestors do get nourishment from food offerings and they greatly benefit from it. Even so, food offered to ancestors is still perfectly wonderful to eat.
In other belief systems, some people think that eating offered food can actually make you sick, especially if it’s offered to the dead. This may be due to a metaphysical change in the food, or because the spirits don’t want to share.
Sometimes, whether or not food is eaten after being offered depends on the type of spirit or god it’s given to; chthonic entities often seem to frown upon their offerings being eaten or shared.
Some believe that food offerings shouldn’t be eaten but neither should they be trashed; they should be burned or buried.
Sometimes, dedicating a food or drink offering to a spirit is a way to bless it under their power. If I dedicate a glass of water to the Indweller of the Sun, it’s understood to be imbued with the virtues of the Sun. If I drink it, it becomes a form of equivalent exchange - I gave something to the Sun, it gave something to me, and this ritual action is completed when I consume the offering.
Given all these varieties of belief, it’s safe to say that you probably can’t go wrong. If you can’t or don’t want to waste food, or it isn’t counter-indicated by your path, eat food offerings.
If you’re especially nervous or worried about what might happen to you if you do eat them, then don’t. Or, avoid the problem altogether by just giving energy or incense offerings.
They are only two of countless entities. Because there are as many entities as there are nationalities. Some would even say there are as many of them as there are species. But since they are supernatural, they cannot be observed and documented as easily as us.
Every country has its own name for what are similar creatures. In the Philippines, we call demonsduwendeandkapre. Fairies we call diwataandanito.
ABODE
Demons and fairies are similar to amphibians in that they live in two environments: the earth and a world beyond the veil.
Both creatures live in woods, forests, rivers and swamps. When humans started building their homes in these places, the demons moved inside or under the houses, while the fairies occupied the backyards and gardens.
Demons build their shelters on the earth itself, while fairies live in plants, flowers and trees.
APPEARANCE
They both resemble humans.
Some demons are smaller than us, such as gnomes and imps. Others are taller, like giants and trolls. The less beastly or monstrous they look like, the stronger their powers are. The ones in my childhood home look like miniature elves from JRR Tolkien’s lore.
Fairies are little people. Most of them are winged, but there are some who are not. Our family grimoire and journals, as well as local sightings, report them as looking exactly like us, except that they can only grow as tall as six inches.
TEMPERAMENT
Demons have a bigger ego. But fairies are more mischievous.
The former will leave you alone, and when invoked respectfully, will help you faithfully. The latter like to hover around even when uninvited, and never quite grant a wish exactly as expected.
Think of demons as Earth signs. Reliable and stable. Fairies would be Air signs. Capricious and mercurial.
POWERS
Cinderella’s tale got it right, with the fairy godmother’s spell dwindling by midnight. A fairy’s favors never last more than 24 hours.
Demons’ can last forever, but in keeping with their Earthy personality, they are more realistic in nature.
Fairies can create wonderful illusions and dreamlike states. Anything fantastical. Demons can give you concrete, material things like dresses and jewels.
OFFERINGS
Fairies love milk, butter and mead. Demons will only accept an offering you too would be glad to eat.
Approach both courteously, almost as you would a deity. A demon compared to a fairy is less likely to disappoint you. But like humans, they can get emotionally attached and may refuse to ever leave you.
My practice can feel modern at times. Tarot cards delivered by FedEx. Candles from Bath & Body Works. Wine offerings from the mall. But when I see my elders get a look in their eyes… a look that says they’re ready to fight… that’s when it really hits me. We are traditional witches. And for our old souls, this modern world is just a phase.
1) Your shadow and reflection are inconsistent.
When you pass by a mirror, and your reflection’s movement is a millisecond slower than your own; or when the lighting in a room has changed drastically, yet the size of your shadow has remained the same, it means there is an entity tailing you. Benevolent creatures follow humans around too, but not that closely. When someone has good intentions, they respect your privacy.
2) Your voice is not instantly heard by others.
When you find yourself needing to repeat your words twice before anyone in a quiet room hears you; or when you notice that you need to yell before you are able to catch someone’s attention, then there is an entity trying to isolate you. By dulling your voice or shielding your presence from others — preparing to take over your physical vessel. Catholics call it the act of possession.
3) Your loved ones look at you the wrong way.
Hateful foes and malefic strangers always look at us the wrong way. Because no matter how hard they try to hide their envy, it seeps through every now and then. But when it is someone who is devoted to you who looks at you maliciously, that is because a malevolent entity is distorting their face, with the intention of making you doubtful and paranoid. The more fearful you are, the easier it would be to defeat you for the control of your body.
4) Your mannerisms have somehow changed.
When the little things that make you you are slowly disappearing, such as the idiosyncrasies in your handwriting and your subtle mannerisms, it means another power is battling your higher and shadow selves for authority over your consciousness. This is normally the most useful clue. When a witch notices this, it is time to strengthen her amulets or practice his banishing skills.
5) Your skin and flesh have turned colder.
One of the most obvious signs someone is a natural-born witch is the temperature of her body. Thermometers cannot detect her increased heat. But when a real witch touches you, and if you touch one, you will find her to be surprisingly warm. When our elders notice this warmth fading in uninitiated children, it means an opportunistic energy is trying to borrow their bodies. That is when we wage a war against malevolent entities.
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Struggling to find a witchy space you can jump into and feel included? Join our small tight-knit community!
We have tons of resources being uploaded on a regular basis. All inclusive. Safe space. Learn and share your knowledge.. or just join our community of interesting people!
Struggling to find a witchy space you can jump into and feel included? Join our small tight-knit community!
We have tons of resources being uploaded on a regular basis. All inclusive. Safe space. Learn and share your knowledge.. or just join our community of interesting people!
Struggling to find a witchy space you can jump into and feel included? Join our small tight-knit community!
We have tons of resources being uploaded on a regular basis. All inclusive. Safe space. Learn and share your knowledge.. or just join our community of interesting people!
Struggling to find a witchy space you can jump into and feel included? Join our small tight-knit community!
We have tons of resources being uploaded on a regular basis. All inclusive. Safe space. Learn and share your knowledge.. or just join our community of interesting people!
From time to time, those within the magickal community, upon hearing people speak of LHP magick and demonolatry, and also Satanism and even Luciferianism, say things such as, “why would anyone purposely choose a negative entity to work with, when there are many positive ones?” Such a question is fueled by the same type of indoctrination that spurs a similar query–“why would you do black/baneful magick, when you know it will come back to you as karma, or at least return to you 3x the crap that you sent out?”
My response to the first question (“why would anyone purposely choose a negative entity to work with…?”) is as follows:
There is no such thing as a negative entity. We work with deities, angels and demons. Imagine them to be somewhat like electricity–positive current and negative. An effective electrician works with both; one that would choose to work with either positive or negative currents alone, would be considered useless and unwise–a putz, as it were.
More people need to understand that angels work alongside demons, they are comrades. As well, not all deities are fluffy; some are extremely dark–think Angra Mainyu, Sekhmet, Pan in some contexts, and so on. This is by design; entities reflect the mechanisms of our universe, and there is no good and bad, there are only mechanisms that fulfill necessary functions.
In society, we have long been groomed and managed like sheep. This began long ago, and mainstream faiths were carefully prepared to make sure we held certain beliefs, which many adopted. This made it easier to keep us toeing the line. When people adopt new beliefs, many do not let go of all of the ones that provide the basis for unfounded and irrational beliefs–beliefs that make us fear to act in our own best interests. When we work with deities and demons (daemons) both light and dark, we empower ourselves to grow, to access wisdom, to reach out and discover other planes of existence through their guidance, and to have them advise and empower us in life and in magick.
We were taught that we have to be good, kind, compassionate, and even ‘all love and light.’ However, the groups that teach us this do not demonstrate that, and this paradox alone should tell us we’ve been misled. All love and light is a lie. One cannot be all love and light and be authentic within themselves. Just as you cannot have dark without light, you cannot have light without dark. When one shines a flashlight into a lighten room, nothing at all happens. Light and dark are simply manifestations of differing degrees of light. No-thing in this universe, is without relativity to dichotomy; ergo there is no such thing as a negative entity–they are the other half of an energy-type dichotomy, plain and simple. Hence one ideally needs to work with both light and dark energy beings to keep balance (as above, so below; as within, so without, etc).
I don’t believe in the same type of God that some others believe in. Oh, sure there is a higher consciousness, but I’d be reluctant to define the ineffable. Infinite wisdom, infinite intelligence, infinite creation, for starters… beyond that, there is no saying. But for the believers in God as an entity: Does anyone believe that there is such a thing as an all-good God? really? if so, go read the bible again. I am sooo not into the bible, but it does illustrate the arguments that those who believe in it, toss my way; strangely enough it also offers good counter in as many instances. Many demons were first mentioned in the bible. Imagine that–the bible bore us sh*tloads of demons; then those who profess from it, tell us not to commune with them. Hmmmph… Why? because demons provide us with EMPOWERMENT, that’s why.
The biblical God has a harsh, judgmental side, and that’s the office of Satan (for those who do not know, ‘office’ is the term used to refer to the job description of a demon or deity); hence Satan is half of the biblical God, even though the bible does not make this claim (it should be clear to anyone with a brain though). Speaking of ‘devils,’ those who have worked with Satan and Lucifer, know that they are not limited by common perceptions of them. They are each beautiful beings, when accepted as they truly are; however, now is not the time to delve far into discussing them.
It should be said though, that you could meet a guy whose job it is to electrocute prisoners. Meeting them in the local laundromat you’d probably never know they had it in them, because their executioner persona is not the entirety of who they are. I say this to assist those attempting to understand how this works, in opening their mind. I have never experienced the harsh side of either Satan or Lucifer directed towards me. However, I do not deny that those aspects of them are solid tools in magick, just as their benefic qualities are.
I get it–there is a point that makes the truth in this, hard to see. The idea of ascension… some will think–“are we not working to ascend, and to ascend, do we not need to become more loving, more peaceful, and so on? how does accepting darkness as a means of balance, fit in? how does working with dark entities fit in?" Well, from my own understanding, what we need to do above all, is be authentic; yet unfortunately we seem to have forgotten what authenticity is. There is a measure by which we can feel our way though…
Ascension is an art; on one hand service to others is a part of that, on the other, service to self is also. The ratio of energies expended between the two via one’s actions, determines whether or not we ascend, the ratio must fall somewhat in favour of service to others. Service to others is not the only way to ascend though. One can also ascend in service to self, but it is a path of precision and one that is usually taught by a master, as otherwise it is difficult to ascend by.
My response to the second query (“why would you do black magick, when you know it will come back to you as karma…?”):
I have a very short and sweet answer: If you intend to engage in magick with such self limiting beliefs as that, then go back to from whence you came. You cannot learn to do magick without limitations, if your thoughts get the better of you right at the get-go. Then, once you have established some proficiency in magick, ensure that if you catch yourself engaging in a self limiting belief pattern or adopting one that someone tries to pass off on you, that you nip it in the bud, period.
