Offerings

[Lady_Eva]

I’m going to copy something I posted elsewhere here about the four types of offering that seem most common, there might be others I missed out:

• ones given to an entity which must never be taken back, for example, offerings made to the dead which will bring misfortune if they’re stolen by the living, things that are destroyed by the offering process, whether by burning, breaking (swords and knives are often found in that state by archeologists, that seem to have been destroyed when brand new and thrown into water courses), or other destructive methods;

• offerings meant to be consecrated by the the being to whom they’re offered and which are then redistributed for the benefit of humans, e.g., prasad in Hinduism, or the practice of wearing blessed talismans - and, along those lines, I know some Hindus will dress images of Lakshmi and other gods in their own best jewellery during Diwali, and then remove the items and wear them as normal afterwards, which is similar to lending a guest your bedroom while they stay because it’s the finest in the house;

• offerings that remain entirely unaltered and which humans can also enjoy, which includes any temple or church, and the images of the gods etc., which humans are encouraged to use as focal points for devotion or offerings;

• offerings that exist entirely in the mind, such as renouncing certain types of food, or fasting completely; devoting one’s entire life to some being, and offerings of time and attention through prayer, celibacy, and so on.

Each has different meanings, the recipient spirit knows this, and there’s a lot of custom and folklore to back it up, so knowing what type of offering you want to give, for how long etc., is paramount.

@Rcs4215

Make the offering of food, blood, beer, whichever, and do what with it?[/quote]

Attractive cup, plate, goblet or bowl on their standing altar or a temporary altar for the work, left at least overnight, usually, unless I’m doing the ritual outdoors in which case the same but disposed of before leaving the area.

I cast out negative energies (like the people who’ve handled it while clockwatching resentfully at their jobs or whatever) using this kind of hand movement - sometimes, I will also do that before removing ot for dispersal to release (not “cast out”) any remaining energies of the spirit.

[quote]Then how do you dispose of it.

If the spirit has an elemental connection (earth, fire, etc.) you could dispose of the offering into that element, by burying it, or pouring it onto the earth or into a watercourse, burning it, or for air, pouring it into your hand then casting it through the air (like farmers do with seeds).

Obviously that might not always be appropriate but it’s one to consider, with the final statement of “I commit this offering to your element, (Spirit’s name), of air/fire/water/earth.”

Do some divination on whether that’s appropriate of course, but it honours the spirit whilst disposing of it in a suitable way.

If they don’t have an elemental attribution, bury it, or maybe leave it out if it’s edible - but please don’t leave out anything with raisins, sultanas, current, or grapes, they’re highly toxic to a lot of animals.