An idea for witches and hellenic/nonhellenic polytheists/monotheists, make a sigil that represents your god/goddess/deity’s name. For non witchy mono/polytheists, use all the letters in your deity’s name to create a symbol, and draw that symbol on things you wish to dedicate to your deity.

pondering-the-kaiju:

IMO, it’s helpful to think of offerings in terms of acts of hospitality. For example, when you have a guest over, it’s customary to offer them a drink such as ice water, tea, or perhaps something stronger if you have it and they like that sort of thing.

Now of course you don’t want to be miserly with your offerings and you do want to give your deities something they actually like, but the idea that something like, say, a glass of ice water just can’t be good enough because your offerings must be this exact expensive/inaccessible thing is just spiritual gentrification.

Water might seem awfully unremarkable, but it’s one of the most basic necessities of life and that is why we offer it to guests; because they might be thirsty after their trip to your home. And sure, it’s nice to offer guests something fancier if you have it. But I think we can agree that water should be acceptable to to your guests if it’s what you have.

What constitutes hospitality could also be used to inform what else you might offer your deities. Perhaps you could offer them a chair to sit on. Perhaps you could offer them a homemade cookie or even just a mint candy. Of course there’s going to be no one-size-fits-all answer here, but thinking of offerings as a matter of hospitality can still give you some idea of what might be appropriate.

party-in-the-broom-closet:

Offerings in Nature

Being a green witch (steward of nature or otherwise) often involves practicing in the great outdoors, so here are some ideas for things that are (probably) safe to offer in and to natural spaces.

Important: “Natural spaces”includes much more than wild wilderness. The patch of grass by your bus stop is nature, the hedge along your apartment parking lot is nature, the trees growing in tiny fences surrounded by concrete are nature, and all natural spaces have different needs so be sure to do research on your specific area before anything else!

#1:Non-Physical Offerings

Offerings that literally don’t leave a trace are the best! Here are some ideas:

• Music. Play it from your phone, sing, bring an instrument, or use an app like magic piano! Your skill doesn’t matter nearly as much as your intent.
• Stories & Poems. You can read aloud or do an improv piece!
• Adoration.Your esteem is a valuable gift! Take some time just to express your admiration and appreciation.

#2: Take-Away Offerings

Something that you can present and then take away with you is another great way to make an offering without disturbing the environment or inhabitants. If appropriate, you can destroy the offering in a safe space afterward.

• Pictures and Photos can be presented, viewed awhile (stay nearby while waiting), and then removed.
• Sculptures, Crystals, and Stones can be offered in a similar way to pictures and photos, you might consider turning or moving the item to display all of its features. For instance, you could hold a crystal to the light so show off the sparkle.
• Feathers and Bones can be presented either on their own merit or as a prop for stories about the creatures from which they came.
• Water offerings such as sun or moon water or water charged with crystals can be presented in a container and then taken away afterward in cases where pouring it out or leaving it standing could cause problems for local plant, insect, or animal life.
• Other items this is a highly variable option, so see the “nope definitely not” list at the bottom of this post if you’re not sure.

#3: Standing Offerings

These are offerings that you leave at the site. They are the riskiest option and I highly recommend you consider a non-physical or take-away offering before any of the suggestions below. If you still think a standing offering is best for your purposes, make sure to thoroughly research the space, including the geology, meteorology, and inhabitants.

• Water libations. Clean water can be charged in many ways (moon water, etc.) and then poured out as a sacrificial offering. Be careful to avoid over-watering local plant life or flooding the homes of burrowing animals and insects. Leaving bowls or goblets of water standing can sometimes create environments for harmful and/or invasive bacteria and fungi, as well.
• Wood carvings might be all right to leave out if their presence is not obstructing or damaging any part of the natural environment. To avoid this, it is best to make offerings on a naturally-occurring structure such as a stone or stump rather than constructing an altar.
• Stones can be painted, polished, or presented as they are. Small stones may become a problem if they are piled up as they altar the way light and rain interact with the plant life beneath the stones, and large stones can disrupt things beneath them like insect or small animal homes or plants that were trying to grow there, so I recommend you restrict stone offerings to pebble-size, and consider making them a take-away offering after a while.
• Flower petals are safer than whole flower heads as seeds from the flower’s centre might present an invasive species risk. It might also be offensive to pick the petals from flowers growing in the area, so I recommend you look for acceptable petals that have fallen to the ground, instead.

Nope, definitely not

Some things are pretty much never the best idea. There’s usually a safer way to do it or a less risky alternative. I recommend that you avoid offering:

• Food.NEVER leave food as a standing offering. Even as a take-away, the scent and any residue can mess with the hunting/foraging patterns of creatures in the area. Also, you don’t want to attract any dangerous animals to your area while making an offering!
• Alcohol. Alcohol is devastating to plants and animals. Even in a container, the risk of accidental spilling is not worth it.
• Incense.The strong smell can mess with the hunting/gathering efforts of local wildlife, as well as just being overpowering for their noses, which are much more sensitive than human ones. Spilled oils (especially essential oils) can also be damaging for both plant and animal life.
• Bottles and Jars. Nobody likes a litterbug! Try to stick to non-physical, take-away, or quickly biodegradable offerings. Leaving plastic or glass containers out or burying them can be harmful to local life in a lot of ways. Paper is slightly better, but it takes longer to biodegrade than you’d think.
• Seeds. This includes things that containseeds like flowers and berries. Introducing a potentially invasive species can devastate the ecosystem, not to mention that the resulting plant might be toxic for local herbivores, which is especially troubling if you’re introducing a species that they don’t know to avoid.
• Fire. This one should be obvious, but it’s going on here just in case. Don’t burn things in nature. Just don’t.

Please feel free to add your own ideas!

dua-yinepu:

Ancient Egyptian Beer. Sorta.

I’ve been interested lately in making my own alcohol. In the past month, I’ve been I did a little digging in the topic of AE beer. I decided to make a version of my own, keeping it cheap and relatively simple. I had to change a few things to keep it easy and practical, but I’ll get into that.

Here’s the recipe I used, I’ll give some recommendations as I explain.

For a little over gallon of beer:

• 1 gallon of water
• 3 lb of honey
• A few prunes (I used a lot)
• 1 lb of Emmer (I used Farro)
• Dukkah spice mix
• 1 packet of wine-level yeast

For the Dukkah:

• Large pinch or two of cumin seeds, sesame seeds, and then coriander, and a bit of chopped/crushed pistachios (you can also add cashews, fennel seeds, dried mint, red pepper flakes, or even hazelnuts but that’s just what I used and had available) This should just take up about a teabag full (as that’s what I used to hold the ingredients) but that’s up to you.

You’ll need:

Two containers that will easily hold a gallon, and a little more. I had a container that held a gallon and quarter, and a 3 gallon container. Easily found at Walmart.

A strainer of some sort, preferably cheesecloth. Coffee filters don’t work work well and mesh filters may have too big of holes. (If you have a siphon or some sort of tube, that could be used as well.)

1. Clean water: I started with filling a metal pot with one gallon of water. Since it’s from my sink, I boiled it for 10 minutes, and left it in the fridge to cool to room temperature.

1. Once that was done, I put half a gallon in the metal pot, half a gallon in the 3 gal container. I warmed the water in the pot to about body temperature, mixed in half the farro, and the other half in the room temperature water. This was originally done with malted and unmalted Emmer, which would produce sugar when mixed to ferment into alcohol. I personally don’t have the time or attention to malt my Farro, and it can’t be found malted already. To replace that process, this is where the honey comes in to add flavor and natural sugar to ferment. Once I let the Farro rest in the two water containers for about 30 minutes, I mixed occasionally until the water was murky, like with uncooked rice in water. Once that happened, I poured the warm temperature mix into the room temperature mix, and let them cool down back to room temperature.

1. During that process I decided to mix my Dukkah. I had no measuring spoons so I played it by ear. I have sorta large hands, keep that in mind, but here are some images of what I used. I emptied a teabag, put the mixture in, and tied it up after twisting the ends.

(I forgot to take a pic of the cumin, same amount as the sesame)

Once the water/Farro mixture cooled, I strained the Farro out and threw that part away, we need the water now. I put the water back in the large plastic container. I dumped 3 pounds of honey (try local!) in it, stirred it until it dissolved, emptied the yeast packet in, dropped in about 8 prunes (don’t do this for a gallon, it wildly takes over the smell and a lot of the taste, but it tastes good nonetheless).

Now that everything is in your container, we wait!!

1. Store in a cool, room temperature place, as that’s when yeast will work it’s best. I waited 36 hours, removed the prunes, and I lightly shook the container a few times to see if any of the top foam would drop to the bottom (it would). I waited until nearly 48 hours hit, and strained my beer into another container. I removed the Dukkah baggie, and placed the closed container in the fridge for a few hours.

Two nights after making, it was ready and had stopped fermenting. I let my girlfriend take the first hesitant sip despite it smelling wonderful, and she went for more before saying a word. I immediately took a sip and loved it. It turned out very sweet with a light alcohol taste, very light but delightful carbonation. Fruity with a little spice. We got her roommate to try it, he enjoyed it as well. For my first time trying this, I’m impressed.

I’d suggest 1) Less prunes 2) Stronger yeast, made more for beers than wine 3) More spice.

I’ll be making another batch this upcoming weekend, and I’ll be recording the whole process. I’ll do it very close to this batch, and then later I’ll try to experiment a little.

(A pound of Farro was about $7, the honey about $12, the spices were very cheap, I had a teabag at home, the container wasn’t expensive, prunes are fairly cheap and easy to find, and I bought the yeast online for very cheap.)

It’s perfect for cooling down on a warm day, sipping on at a night in, or great for an offering to your preferred deity)

If I could mass produce this, I promise you I would.

Offering custom film photo booth strips for $15 which includes s&h // Private message me if you want one! Only for the next week or so. ♥️♥️♥️ first strip from tonight — this one I’m keeping

hexmuscaria:

The importance of

giveandtake

in Witchcraft and

Spellwork

♡☆♡☆♡☆♡☆♡☆♡☆♡☆♡☆♡☆♡☆♡☆♡☆♡☆♡

When it comes to spellwork, energy work, manifestations, and just witchcraft in general,

Giving is a very important part of the process. In the universe, you cannot expect to receive something without giving back. When you plant a seed you give it time and care and In return it gives you harvest. You care for a cow and it gives you milk. Certain things require more work/care than others, different plants need more care than others, some cakes take more ingredients and money to make. It’s the same with magick.

Giving Energy

Energy is one of the most common gives of a beginner and even advanced witch. Whether it be from crystals, moon/sun water, the self, or a kind plant (ie. burning a bay leaf), energy can be given quickly and with low effort, making it great for spells/manifestations/etc requiring less charge to work. Although, unless you want to leave your whole body thoroughly drained, it’s not recommended to use energy alone for a bigger spell, or bigger ask.

☆Other ways to give☆

Offerings ✨♡☆

You don’t have to worship a deity to leave offerings! You can simply offer it up to the universe, mother nature, animals, or something that relates to the work you’re doing. The item should have value to you, or have taken effort and work to create. A few examples would be:

• Leave milk and honey on your altar or pour it into the soil
• Leave bird seed/food for birds
• Throw native flower seeds In sparse areas for the bees
• If you garden, offer your first and last harvest
• Lighting candles
• Throw things into fire (herbs, grains, flowers)
• Incense
• Compost
• Actions of service (healing rituals for earth, rituals for worship, etc.)
• Designating a seed/baby plant for a specific spell and caring for it long term
• Caring for yourself and stick to it, acknowledge and appreciate the gift that is your body
• Sex
• Bl**d from your monthly cycle

A note:

If doing work for deity, research some common offerings or things they enjoy, as they have rather specific tastes and not everything can be an offering for them. (You could accidentally offend them)

Sacrifice‍♀️

Okay before you freak out thinking we’re gonna harm someone or something, realize that’s not the only kind of sacrifice you can make. It means giving up something you absolutely cherish and really wouldn’t casually let go.. It’s definitely great for charging up powerful spells. A few forms of sacrifice are:

• Donating your favorite clothes to a woman/mens shelter
• Giving away prized positions
• Selling important items, like beautiful crystals or jewelery
• Giving away half your food to those who need it
• Giving up technology or 1st world luxuries for a week or amount of time you choose
• Giving up bad habits
• Cutting off bad friends/sources of bad energy
• Giving away extra of anything, only Keeping what you need
• Giving up negative attitudes towards people

A few more (extreme) sacrifices that could be unhealthy to a certain extent and you should be cautious of:

• Emotions such as happiness, anger, sadness, gratitude, etc.
• Life Energy
• State of health physical or mental
• Life necessities
• Time
• Relationships
• Responsibilities
• Commitments

Things to beware of

Always always always make sure you know what you are offering or sacrificing, because sometimes you can give up something you didn’t mean to give away…

Try to make sure you aren’t giving up too much or too little, as it might have an impact in your craft. Try to weigh the value of what you wish the outcome to be, and offer something of the same value.

Have a wonderful day my love! ♡☆

If you ever have any questions, feel free to ask away in my inbox! ♡

twelfthremedy:

Artemis offerings

For large altars:

• Bows
• Arrows
• Moon shaped food (cookies, cakes, etc.)
• Animal shaped food
• Honey
• Round honey cakes
• Fruits
• Wine
• Cooked natural meat/fish
• Incense such as jasmine or lemon
• White, green, and red candles
• Animal bones*
• Tusks*
• Animal hides*
• Deer antlers*
• Moon shaped objects
• Moon water
• Pictures of wild animals
• Images or statues of Artemis
• Clothing (either your favorite garment or clothes bought specifically for Her)

For small/hidden altars:

• Almonds
• Walnuts
• Mugwort
• Wormwood
• Tarragon
• Cedar leaves or bark
• Oak leaves or bark
• Willow leaves or bark
• Fir leaves or bark
• Moonstone
• Amethyst
• Quartz
• Owl or quail feathers*
• Animal claws/nails/teeth*
• Wildflowers
• Amaranth
• Pearls
• Silver
• Art or figurines of wild animals
• Art or figurines of bows and arrows
• Your own hair (collect by getting a haircut or collect some from your hairbrush)
• Arrowheads

Actions:

• Dancing
• Herbalism
• Donating to wildlife programs in Her name
• Donating to women’s programs/shelters in Her name
• Donating girl’s and women’s clothing
• Cleaning up nature trails or parks
• Taking nature walks and enjoying the wildlife
• Giving Her offerings at midnight
• Including Her brother, Apollo, in your work and offerings
• Making arrows
• Practicing with a bow and arrow
• If you hunt, invoke Her at the start of your hunt and give thanks to Her when you finish your hunt. Never take the creature you hunted for granted and try to use the whole animal or donate what you dont use
• Having a feast in Her name that includes all her favorite food and drink

*Artemis will not accept nor like these items if they are gotten in unethical ways. Please, either buy them from a reliable source or find them yourself in nature.

Sources:

https://sacredwicca.com/goddess-artemis

https://otherworldlyoracle.com/goddess-of-the-hunt/

And the rest are what I offer Her!

windvexer:

Offerings: Why, and How?

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.

House hold & Practical offerings 
Things often found around the house, or commonly outside.

• Tea ( especially sleep or dream related )
• Cheese
• Rain Water 
• Bath Salt
• Fir Branch or needles
• Items of gold ( trinkets, necklaces, beads, coins )
• White wine or milk
• Dark Chocolate
• Moth wings ( humanely collected from the dead )

Uncommon, Impractical, & Other
Things that aren’t often found around, or have to be bought.

• Sea Shells
• Sea Weed
• Rock sugar
• Teeth & fangs
• Keys
• Lavender cake & sweets
• Mugwort & Lavender

I know there’s a lot of wishes as a polytheist or pagan for a temple to worship at. And I have them OFTEN (like today I dreamt of a repurposed house used as a pluralist polytheist temple)

But honestly, I kinda just wish I had a small group of friends in the same religion. And be close enough to rent a campsite and do a small offering ritual and group hellenic hangout thing together. Judgement free, supportive, and out in nature but still private. Just would love to do burnt offerings over a large campfire and be able to talk about the gods openly and laugh with some people.

I dunno; with the seasons changing and wishing I could go camping right now, having that small group community would be nice.

Anyways, cheers!

-D

Crowley offers himself up for AziraFeast.

Excuse my furry ankle

So I make these anklets when I feel these urges… I dont ever have a set color when I start but as soon as I look into my container of beads something whispers to me and tells me which to pick and what pattern to do. The pearl one I made right before Ezilion ‘came back into my life’ (if you dont know Ezilion has been following me since a child and I forgot him, check out #ezilion to read the story) I’m not sure why he chose white pearls because he is black with red accents but I think it’s because they’re shiny and look like real perals, the middle one I made right before Persephone came into my life and I just finished the Red and black one… I’m not sure who that one is for but I have a pretty decent idea.

I wear them everyday and they make me feel like every step I take they’re with me. Does anyone else feel the need to do something before a deity comes to work with them? Any rituals?

Dragon Magic is a very hard topic to find resources for, and therefore, it can be extremely difficult to find specific offerings for them. However, if you know more about the kind of dragon and its potential clan or elemental classifications, you can find even more distinct and personal offerings.

Offerings are never a necessary thing, and neither is working with any kind or form of spirit. Although offerings are incredibly helpful in displaying faith and appreciation if you wish to or currently do maintain a partnership with a Dragon

Below are an assortment of concepts of offerings that most general dragons would enjoy, ranging from free to costly ideas. I truly hope this is beneficial for those who desire information on this topic. Feel free to use this for other spirits if desired.

General Dragon Offerings:

Artwork:

Dragons often appreciate any form of art from any medium, especially about them. There is no bad form of art. Examples include carvings, illustrations, painting, reading, sculpting, sewing, sketching, and writing.

Crystals:

Although dragons love any stone to gem, there are shapes they enjoy as well. Shapes such as dragons, eggs, palm stones, skulls, and spheres. Specific gems they generally enjoy (from my experience) are Apophyllite, Dragon’s Bloodstone, Labradorite, Petrified Wood, Selenite. and Quartz.

Decorative:

Artwork, crystals, dragon statues, flowers or herbs, sea shells, skull figurines, or magical instruments even can always serve as a decorative offering (especially if you use it in rituals for or with them.)

Divination:

Not only is Divination one of the only ways to communicate with Dragons, but it is one of their favored forms of spell casting. Methods range from Astral Travel, to Meditations, Osteomancy, Pendulums, Rune casting, Tarot Readings, and Tasseomancy.

Instrumental:

In my personal experiences, I've found Dragons quite enjoy the sound of classical music, cackling fires, strummed harps, Hertz frequencies, meditation music, thunderstorms, running water, and heavy winds.

Knowledge:

There are very few things Dragons appreciate more than the pursuit of knowledge and traits of intelligence. Researching alongside them, or the topic of Dragons directly, is a phenomenal offering if you desire to please them.

Spell Work:

You will often find that if you work with Dragons, they will more often then not be willing or even desire to join you in hands on magic and spell work. Dragons can immensely amplify the energies or even give suggestions if you just ask them.

Other Links:

Dragon Magic: I
Dragon Magic: Classifications I
Dragon Magic: Classifications II