Different Kinds of Offerings, What do you offer the spirits? Options

I noticed no ones touched the idea of blood as an offering? I find that a little strange, what are your opinions on its use?

Were you thinking about your own blood, or the blood of an animal? Well most people have apartments with light coloured carpets as far as the animal blood goes... Well that and certain laws, and availability of animals, along with a complete lack of knowledge of how to properly kill an animal.
As far as using your own blood, well that gives a VERY close and intimate connection with the entity. That is often not desired, depending on who you are calling. Also, if it is an entity that is not friendly to you, well talking about one storong link to you. Then there is the whole "free lunch" aspect. One would rather not have some entity hanging around thinking that you represent a nice light snack So why wasn't blood mentioned? Well most people that read these posts are newbies, and while it may seem amusing at times, we usualy don't want to see them up a creek without a paddle or boat!

Athena

I burn fresh bread for my Bandar<protective spirit> I also burn bread to my God Enki.
I keep fresh bread in my Bandars offering bowl and replace it daily with new bread.
<He eats the essence and turns the bread very hard in the space of a day>
Offerings of pine and sandalwood incense.
I keep at least one candle burining 24 hours a day for my Bandar. And often more candles to specific dietys with prayers writen on them. I am not sure if candle burning falls into the offering category but in that I am offering the candle to the diety as homeage I believe so.
Are there any other systems where fresh bread is burnt?

Offerings from me are usually herbs and artwork. Such as juniper, jasmine, lavender, and tobacco. Artwork, I don't burn or bury. I honour the dieties or beings by drawing or painting pieces dedicated to them and hang them up in my home. I've noticed that the latter is really appreciated.

Incense, candles, a splash of wine, the first cookie of a batch. I do frequent meditations on deity and offer the energy raised. The ancient celts apparently used to throw gold and silver jewelry, and other precious things into bogs, rivers and lakes as offerings. I remember doing the same in Wales when I was in my 20's travelling there. I don't leave out a bowl of milk for the brownies, but I pay my respects to the spirits of trees, plants and rocks. Maybe I don't do that often enough though. As for blood ritual offerings, its so hard to find virgins these days. I don't really want to cut myself (besides which I'm no virgin). I'm a guy so a thousand and one uses for menstrual blood isn't for me. Maybe I can dedicate all the cyber deaths of my victims when I play Never Winter Nights or Diablo 2. Hmm, that's an idea. I doubt it would rank up there with killing the fatted calf, but the graphics programs contain energy. Must ask about that monday.

I usually offer incense but tobacco sounds like something i would like to try. i have made offering of bread too.

ya burnt bread is a common offering, as well as particular insenses, and certain flowers i think. but then the good ol' goat on the altar works too (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

Anubis likes sake, too. So does Sekhmet. Actually, I've found all the Egyptian dieties, and most others, are quite partial to alcohol. The tastier, rarer, and/or more expensive ones are best. Bud Light won't fly, unless it's a REAL emergency and it's all you have.

I usually try to burn at least a cone or stick of incense on a daily basis unless my asthma's really acting up that day. The Gods understand. Candles and/or oil lamps are also a thoughtful gesture, I've found. And it sounds silly, but being the best person you can be and looking after our fellow creatures, incarnate or not, counts for a lot.

Occasionally I'll offer food, but with three cats in the house that's often a very bad idea. Instead, I say a silent invitation for them to enjoy my meal with me. It usually works.

This post has been edited by Darkmage: Oct 24 2006, 07:30 PM

I read about offering tobacco before. I never really understood where it came from. Tobacco is poisonous it is not good for trees or herbs.
I can't see how trees would enjoy poison at their roots. Still many sites claim trees love it.

Well, i can see how offerings are useful. I offered fertilizer before, when i used part of a tree to make something, but that was not really a magical offering, i just assumed the tree would enjoy some fertilizer...

Tobacco is one of the traditional native american offerings. Many would offer sprinkles of tobacco whenever they took something, like an apple or branch or anything from a tree, or pretty much anything in nature. Tobacco is sacred to many native american cultures. That is where the belief came from.. I believe the fact that tobacco was used as an offering for so many centuries with the BELIEF that it was an importaint offering, that it kinda empowered tobacco as a sutible gift. Kinda like how alot of people believe stuff like crosses and various other talismans protect them from negative spirits. The belief gave those objects power. Centuries of belief gave tobacco power. I think it is more of the intent than usefulness. Yes, tobacco is poisonous, but so is pretty much anything else if misused or overused.

Anubis likes sake, too. So does Sekhmet. Actually, I've found all the Egyptian dieties, and most others, are quite partial to alcohol. The tastier, rarer, and/or more expensive ones are best. Bud Light won't fly, unless it's a REAL emergency and it's all you have.

I usually try to burn at least a cone or stick of incense on a daily basis unless my asthma's really acting up that day. The Gods understand. Candles and/or oil lamps are also a thoughtful gesture, I've found. And it sounds silly, but being the best person you can be and looking after our fellow creatures, incarnate or not, counts for a lot.

Occasionally I'll offer food, but with three cats in the house that's often a very bad idea. Instead, I say a silent invitation for them to enjoy my meal with me. It usually works.

Does anyone have a "preference list" for incense to burn/offer for entities? If such could exist... Being very fresh to all this, I wonder if "any" special incense could be best for this or for that.

I've read about people using sandalwood or pine. Are there others wich would be nice? I guess intention/will is the key point in the offering, and not much the offering itself...

Any further ideas?

Anubis likes dark chocolate, steak, and spiced rum.

The more I read about Anubis, the more it sounds like he and I also have in common. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

This post has been edited by Petrus: Nov 28 2007, 12:50 PM

And it sounds silly, but being the best person you can be and looking after our fellow creatures, incarnate or not, counts for a lot.

LOL Darkmage. People always seem to forget that one...I guess it's because booze and incense are so much easier. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/partytime.gif)

This post has been edited by Petrus: Nov 28 2007, 01:08 PM

personally i dont usually interact with "Gods" or "Godesses" or whathave you. I prefer to interact with more Spiritual things. They do not look for offerings. And quite frankly i doubt i would give them one. For I have found that if a particular entity dosnt want to tell you or give you what you want. No amount of "offerings" will please it.

Greetings!
Perhaps another way of looking at offerings would be a more utilitarian approach. That is, instead of using the 'offering' as a gift or even as payment one would use the 'offering' as a method/technique/mechanism to help facilitate the energies needed to perform the ritual. A pragmatist (such as myself) tend to view, let us say, cinnamon bark, when fumed, not as an 'offering' as a gift to Hermes/Thoth but as a material key component used to establish a mercurial vibration that is condusive to my needs in a mercurial ritual of magic. Rarely have I encountered spiritual entities that insisted upon gifts from their supplicants...especially from what I would consider to be transcendant

A minor word of caution here. Powers/entities that, generally, require material gifts from their adherents do so for specific purposes; no, not all that do so are evil or power hungery, but that is the fastest way of gaining a material hold in this world....for whatever reason. Of course the use of fresh blood has some of the strongest means of cementing a physical toehold but so can any living thing (cite Bloudwedd (my spelling of Welsh namers SUCK) the woman created from flowers by Math). Servitor makers will attest that when a component of living material is introduced into the makeup of a servitors material form it will greatly help the servitor to have some influence in the physical realms.

Ack, I've talked too much and disrailed the topic! I apologize...pray, continue! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blablabla.gif)

I see giving servitors offerings of water, and or herbs to energize it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/hmm.gif)

For my totem/animal spirit guide I leave water and or honey.

For spirits of all kinds I leave, a candle, fresh fruit, vegetables, water, sweet pastry of some sort, wine, flowers, and or herbs.

Artwork and bread are good ideas.