Offerings

Week 29 - the letter "O"

Virtually every ritual I have written and/or performed has included an offering of some sort or another.  These offerings went to the Gods and Goddesses, to Guardians, to Ancestors, to Spirits, to the Earth, and many other beings and entities.  It has always felt right for me to give something back to honor and thank those who I ask for aid or guidance.  Perhaps that comes from being raised in Catholicism and having the sacrifice of Jesus being drilled into my head as something to which we should express extreme gratefulness. 

For my entire life thus far, I have been a stickler for giving thanks.  I've written more than my share of thank you notes and have said "thank you" or "thanks" incessantly.  I even ask people if I've thanked them for something because I really like to be certain that I'm expressing my gratitude.  It makes sense that this ties into my spirituality.

It's important to remember that offerings are not bribes or conditional gifts.  You don't give an offering with the mentality of "if you do this, I will give you that," or "I'm offering this so you grant my wish."  Offerings are an expression of thanks that have no stipulations.  You show that you honor and respect that entity and appreciate what is being done on your behalf. 

Many offerings are in the form of food or drink.  You can also offer flowers, stones, or other natural objects.  Herbs are another common gift.  But offerings aren't limited to physical objects only.  You can offer prayers, song, dance, and dedication.  Lifestyle changes are also offerings because you are giving your time and energy to something that benefits more than just yourself. 

For me, offerings need to be from your heart.  They should serve an intention in a sincere manner.  Gifts should be appropriate for the entity who is to receive it.  Think of what that entity stands for and what it all about.  Offering tobacco for your grandfather might be appropriate but offering it for another Ancestor or Spirit may be a bad idea just as offering guns to a peace deity.  Do a bit of research so you don't offend.

Since paganism is earth-based, I feel it is a good idea to consider where your offering comes from and then make selections that are eco-friendly.  Support our local communities by purchasing items from a farmer's market.  Infuse your offerings with your own energies and intentions by making the bread yourself.  Offerings should not disrupt the environment in which they are given.

The Druid's Garden addressed the thought of being mindful as to where your offering comes from:

Where does that offering come from? I think that *what* the offering consists of is usually given a lot of thought in our practices. You can Google information on offerings, or read any earth-based or pagan-focused book, and they all talk about the appropriateness of various offerings. The problem with this approach is that it often ignores the system from which that offering comes. I’d like to propose that, if we want to encourage a sustainable mindest, then druids and other earth-centered practitioners might also want to think carefully about *where* their offerings come from. If we are offering that comes out of the general polluting consumerist system, that offering will reflect polluting/consumerist energy, regardless of what intention that you put into offering it.

Take, for example, the humble bottle of wine you pick up at the supermarket for your next ritual. The supermarket bottle of ritual wine has three potential issues associated with it.  

1) The physical production and transport of the simple bottle of ritual wine has a network of various energies, resources, and pollution tied up in it. Where does the wine come from? Who produced it? How were the grapes grown and processed? How many pesticides were used? How far did it have to travel and how many fossil fuels were burnt on that trip? Chances are, that supermarket bottle of wine is part of the larger consumptive system and has damaged the planet in some way (from pesticide use to the CO2 and other chemicals emitted with its transport). Is this the offering you want to make to the spirit realm?  

2) The spiritual energies associated with the supermarket bottle of wine. How many other people handled it before you? What other energies might be present? How do those energies interfere with your intentions? Again, is this the offering you want to be making to the spirit realm?  

3) The final issue is internal to you–your intentions and energy expended in getting the offering. By doing something so effortless as grabbing a wine off the shelf, paying for it, and uncorking it for your offering, is this really an offering? What exactly is an offering? An offering should be meaningful, it should demonstrate your commitment and sincerity. The effort involved in purchasing something is quite minimal. Is this what you want to be conveying to the spirit realm?

I think that for those of us who have lived our whole lives in consumerist society, going to the store and purchasing a bottle of wine doesn’t really seem like an issue. Its something we don’t even think about–we need an offering, so we go buy one. But not thinking about these issues is exactly what has gotten us into our current unsustainable situation. Instead, I propose that we put more thought and effort into what we use as an offering.

More this...

Less this...

Am I going to condemn you for buying a loaf of sourdough at Wal-mart to use in the Beltane ritual?  Of course not.  Will I cringe when the grape juice is only 10% juice?  Nope.  I do know that I will be much more mindful from here on out as to where my offerings come from, who produced and/or created them, if they truly match my intention, and if I can offer something that isn't physical but helps out the environment and/or my community.