Some Thoughts on Offerings



photo by Dominic Alves

Since my post on daily rituals I have had a few people email me and leave comments asking about what type of offerings I make, so I thought that I would do a small post on the subject.

In both my faith and craft offerings play a central role, and for me it is just as important to make sure it is a proper offering as it is to give it. This often means doing some research as well as experimenting.

Generally when we give gifts to loved ones, we put some thought into those gifts and making offerings is not much different. For example, I would never make an offering of alcohol to local nature spirits, as it may be seen as offensive, so instead I might give flowers or maple syrup. When making offerings for multiple recipients, you can either make individual offerings, or one that would be appreciated by all that the offering is given to; in the case of our daily offerings to our Deities, Ancestors and the Genii Loci, we often give honeyed water.

Every time I go wildcrafting I also make offerings, sometimes to each individual plant and sometimes to the small area that I am wildcrafting in. On occasions like this I think that it is especially important to make sure that whatever I am offering will not upset the local environment and is always biodegradable.

Making offerings to Ancestors might be the easiest to figure out if you knew them while they were alive. It could be their favourite food or drink, making a donation to their favourite charity, or even maintaining their gravesite.

Some of the people who contacted me are also Celtic Reconstructionists and were wondering about offerings to the Gods. Our home is dedicated to specific Deities within the Irish pantheon, so the offerings we do make to Them are tailored to each Deitiy. We also leave out offerings for the whole pantheon too, which is often good quality whiskey, mead and favoured foods. {There are a few wonderful online resources about making offerings as a Celtic Reconstructionist which I will list at the end of this post.}

Besides making sure that offerings are appropriate and thoughtful, the last important thing I like to keep in mind is quality. If the offerings are going to be something I make, then I will put my best effort into it. When it comes to ingredients and such, I will try and use local, organic, or items we have grown ourselves.

Well, I do hope that has answered some questions and if you folks have anymore, please feel free to contact me or leave a comment. Also, please do check out the links below:

Making Offerings from the Tairis website {Gaelic Polytheism}

Types of Offerings from the Tairis website {Gaelic Polytheism}

Calendar Feasts and Customs by Francine Nicholson {some good ideas for offerings on the feast days for Celtic Reconstructionists}

A Well-Intentioned Celt’s Guide to Non-Celtic Bioregions by Raven nic Rhóisín and Kathryn Price NicDhàna {great info on offerings to Genii Loci}

How to Create a Genius Loci Profile by Sarah Lawless {a great way to really understand your local nature spirits and deciding what types of offerings to make}

Sláinte!

Laurel