Everything Under the Moon

I've never considered burning my offerings. Then again, most of my offerings are either food and drink or some sort of flower...
With food and drink I like to let it sit out overnight on our outdoor altar. Most of the time, the is completely gone by the time I wake up from all the little critters that take snacks from it... but if it isn't I bury it. We leave the flowers in a vase on the outdoor altar until they die, then we bury them.

On occasion I like to leave out a taste of scotch or wine and I just let that evaporate. I was once given a bottle of Macallan 15 as a gift, so on especially good days when I allow myself to have a small pour, they get a small taste too

smogie_michele wrote:On occasion I like to leave out a taste of scotch or wine and I just let that evaporate. I was once given a bottle of Macallan 15 as a gift, so on especially good days when I allow myself to have a small pour, they get a small taste too

If there is reincarnation, I want to come back as chipmunk in your back yard!

You can't eat them, they are offerings for the G*Ds.

Actually, many cultures actually did eat the offerings after "giving" them to the gods. For instance, in Greek mythology the best parts of the animal were eaten by mortals, and the inedible parts left for the gods (thanks, Prometheus!)

HopefulChild wrote:I love this thread!
Thank you.

I have always felt that burnt offerings are best. But I don't think you have to actually burn your offerings.
So I do what I always do. I kept going back. I wanted to see the root. Smoke and Ash. As stated above the smoke and ash were the root of the offering and the gods would partake of essence.

Great to see another practitioner who burn his sacrifices or offerings!

Just like native people the world over who still practice the same cultural traditions as their ancestors, I beleive smoke is the vehicle between dimensions. Smoke has always been magical.

This is really GREAT! This is my belief as well! I actually consider both the fire and the smoke on my firepot or firebowl where I burn my sacrifices (meat, herbs or flowers, woods, bread. etc.) are no ordinary fire and smoke. I believe the fire is the essence of my Deities which consumed the burnt offering while the smoke is my offerings' spiritual form.

Just like a nuclear fission or fusion that takes matter and reveals that it's all simply solidified energy -- there's a huge amount of energy or force packed into every particle of matter (hey! didn't I mentioned that before? ). The fire on my shrine or altar performed reversal creation. The fire took the physical and "melted" it -- returning the offering to a spiritual energy in the form of airborne gaseous particulates emission or smoke, which it was composed.

Whenever I'm bringing my offering, I always experience and see and feel the physical being returning to its spiritual source through the steam and smoke, when I see that our world is pure spiritual, I'm uplifted to a place where the oneness of all was felt. I'm transported to a mode in which the fragmentation I normally feel is vanished.

Mmm, some interesting thoughts.

Personally, I either burn or bury what's left; I burn it if the offering is part of something designed to help, and bury it if it's designed to harm.

evil ed wrote:

smogie_michele wrote:On occasion I like to leave out a taste of scotch or wine and I just let that evaporate. I was once given a bottle of Macallan 15 as a gift, so on especially good days when I allow myself to have a small pour, they get a small taste too

If there is reincarnation, I want to come back as chipmunk in your back yard!

Even if they do not enjoy my scotch, they seem to love the mini corn muffins I often make as offering!
My animal friends are often treated better than most humans I know.

Old topic - just adding my two penny worth.

I've only ever placed my ritual food offerings directly on the ground when it's offered. I'll eat or drink a portion & set the rest aside to be taken outside if I worked indoors. I feel as though giving it to Earth is giving it to deity as well.

For a multiple-day candle vigil the dried fruit, nuts & drink gets redone daily for the length of time im doing the vigil. A hot beverage like coffee is taken outside when it gets cold.