Offerings

Appropriate Worship

Appropriate worship comes into play with my idea of offerings really strongly.  Essentially, appropriate worship is a system that encourages you to give offerings to deities and beings in a way appropriate to their energy, archetype, and demesne.

How do you know what to give a specific deity as an offering?  Well, that depends on the deity.  What does their culture say about them?  What are their myths?  Their history?  How were they traditionally worshiped, and what were traditional offerings?  Are they associated with any specific herbs, trees, plants foods - what are their symbols?  And most importantly, what powers do they have, and how do they use them?  This has a lot to do with the deity's general energy and personality.

Let's have an example.  Aphrodite is the goddess of love; she's feminine, connected to the sea and sea shells, had a former lover named Adonis, and is considered very beautiful.  You might seek Aphrodite when you're working on self-esteem issues, self-acceptance, self-love, or just becoming comfortable with yourself, or your sexuality.  She can also help you with finding a lover or a soulmate, can be a good ally for glamour magic, and for helping out relationship troubles.

As a feminine woman who is associated with the sea and matters of the heart, it would be appropriate to make offerings of sea shells, floral scents, make-up, and self-care products.  If you're looking to spice things up, try more dedicating more risque things like a special lubricant, condoms, or lingerie to her - even a toy would work.

You know what you wouldn't offer to Aphrodite?  A sword, bow and arrow, cleaning supplies, or masculine herbs.  These go against her general vibe.

Making An Offering

I haven't really changed the way I make an offering since I started looking into Hellenism, so I'm not a hundred percent sure if it's accurate for Hellenic Reconstructionists.  For the most part, I select an offering (usually incense), hold it up, with my eyes closed (sometimes my head is bowed), facing the lit deity candle.  For a moment, I'll pour my own energy - my intention - into the incense stick.  Then I'll say something like:

O Blessed/Great [Deity], I, your humble servant, ask you to accept this offering of [item].  May it please you and serve you well.

I'll light it from the deity candle, waft the smoke around the altar a bit (sometimes in a specific shape or symbol associated with the deity), and put it in the incense holder.  I'll then take a moment to close my eyes and meditate on the deity.

My offerings are generally short, not because of my attention span so much as my cat having a morbid fascination with fire.  I just don't get the same kind of satisfaction and connection when I use battery-operated candles, so I do prefer to use actual wax candles and incense; but if I get too deep in a meditation, I won't notice my cat sneaking onto the altar, batting at the candle/incense and knocking it over.  That, of course, is a major fire hazard.

Disposing Offerings

Not all offerings need disposing, obviously.  Objects that are crafted or bought for this specific deity should be on the shrine at all times; when the shrine is not up, or there is no more room to display specific objects, they should be stored away safely.

Offerings of liquids and food should be disposed of daily.  These can be burned in a ritual fire, poured out onto the ground, left for wild animals, or buried.

Ash from incense should be disposed of immediately, or as soon as possible after burning.  This is mostly to prevent knocking over, spilling or otherwise scattering the ashes all over the shrine if the incense is knocked over or nudged.  Physical cleanliness of space is as important as the energetic cleanliness of a space; treat the shrine with the same respect you treat the deity.