Offerings for Deities

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Offerings for Deities
By: / Beginner
Post # 1
Marry Meet everyone.
I have a question, I'm trying to give more offerings to the Deities I work with. I'm not quite sure what to give. Usually I give Flowers or scatter herbs. Is there any other offerings that would work better?
These are the dieties I work with the most:
Cerridwen
The Green Man
Merlin
Lugh
Morrgan
Bast
Isis
Ea
Apollo
Cernunnos
Osiris
Bastet

Thank you.
Blessed be x
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Re: Offerings for Deities
By:
Post # 2
Im not sure exactly of your chosen path so i will try and broaden this out a bit. A lot of people disagree with me on this subject so i understand if you choose not to take what i say and practice it. I only speak from experience. I will go into a bit of background to explain why i think this way.

First off i would like to point out that some of the names you mentioned ive never heard of...not saying they dont exist..just saying i havent heard the names. Secondly i would like to point out that Merlin is not a deity. Merlin(in myth) is just a famous wizard in the legend of camelot(and a few other stories) and their is no actual record that i know of of him ever existing.

Now to answer your question. It is my experience that man created gods and goddesses(not saying that something out their didnt start us off). When you worship something you are giving off your natural energy which has to go somewhere, and it is normally directed to a image or idea in the worshipers mind. Christians for example. A large group of people all worshiping the same(most of the time anyway lol) figure. The energy they give off goes out and forms a thoughtform of sorts and powers this being. That is why faith healers of almost every faith can help the sick. They call on the name of the deity(using a form of magick whether they want to admit it or not) and borrow some of the energy that has been givin to the "deity". In short...every god that has been worshiped by a extreamly large group of people has existed at least astrally and truly thinks that they are a god. When people fall away these gods dont have the "fuel" to keep going and eventually fade away.

That was the why to the answer im about to give you. The deities that you worship require no offerings. Its all symbolic and does nothing but further the psychodrama in your own head(which can be helpful during spell casting). I wouldnt waist your time trying to give offerings to gods that are most likely not watching over you in any way. I know its not what you wanted to here but its what ive come to know as truth.

Like i said before...alot of people disagree with me on this subject. I respect all others opinions...this is just my view on it.
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Re: Offerings for Deities
By: / Knowledgeable
Post # 3
I agree yet disagree with night.

I do agree that faith of certain deities have magickally fabricated certain ones. But I also believe that many were powerful spirits that people mistook as gods and then worshipped, lending them that energy and power which you speak of. Therefore some are soulless energy forms and others are very much alive.

Most archetypes cross over each other. For instance Astarte (sumerian) = Aphrodite (greek) = Venus (roman) = Mari (basque) = Isis (egyptian) = the Virgin Mary (christianity). I also have a hunch that this string is connected to Morrigan but I have yet to find a strong enough link to say it is so. This, however, is obviously a real being (godlike or not) because it repeats itself consistently without losing any fuel.

I put a lot of study into this because my theory is that all religions are merely different perspectives (almost always twisted by human ignorance) of the very same powers of nature. Some split personalities into many beings, while others conceive it as one being with many facets.

To not be rude by starting in on a friendly debate, I will attempt to answer Chaos' question.

Every deity is an archetype of a particular part of nature, be it the world itself or the internal workings of the mind and heart.

Everyone of them has various correspondences. For instance, an apple if sliced horizontally shows the star which is the original planetary symbol of venus. Now because of this, the apple is seen as a love symbol and would be best used for goddesses of fertility or emotional love.

If you look into the myths and followings of specific deities you can find what the culture gave. Or understand fully based off of the "personality" what would suit them best.

I would definitely scratch Merlin off, as he is not a deity. And if I were you, I would narrow that list down, because you have many conflicting archetypes there. You wouldn't want them all in the same room at once...

For me, I like Zeus and Odin as "Lord" archetypes but I like the way both cultures distinguish him. I feel they are the same being, different perspectives. And perspectives I can imagine the alpha male to have. My "Lady" is mother earth alone, no doubt about that.

I have attractions to other archetypes, as anyone would, but I see them more like allies/friends then someone to worship.

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Re: Offerings for Deities
By:
Post # 4
well White, Odin and Zeus is just one. Zues(Greek)=Odin(Norse)
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Re: Offerings for Deities
By: / Knowledgeable
Post # 5
Exactly! =)
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Re: Offerings for Deities
By:
Post # 6
Sacrificing oranges or exotic spices to the gods will show your reverence. The orange symbolizes gold, the sun and royalty.
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Re: Offerings for Deities
By: Moderator / Adept
Post # 7
You might want to start out by researching what offerings were made to specific Deities in the mythologies about those Gods and Goddesses.

For instance, wine or water are appropriate sacrifices for any of the Egyptian Deities. Or if you wish to burn incense as an offering to them you might want to stick to some of the incenses familiar to the Egyptians such as Frankincese, Myrrh, Cedar, or Sandalwood.

Greek Deities traditionally received burnt offerings..often those of animals. For instance, goats were a typical sacrifice for Apollo. Of course that's not particularly feasible today, so you might want to look at some alternatives. For Apollo you might want to make offerings of thyme and bay leaves. Wine would likewise be acceptable.

For Lugh typical offerings would include grains and beer. The Morrighan is fond of a few drops of blood in her honor. But for any of the Irish Celtic Deities I think a bit of beer or ale would be acceptable.

Still, it wouldn't hurt to do your own research in the mythologies and then talk to the Gods in question about what they might find an appropriate sacrifice.
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Re: Offerings for Deities
By:
Post # 8

Completely agree with Lark!

For example, if a deity has a certain flower it is associated with, offer the flower. However, if after some research you are still unsure, apples are always a good bet.

Apples are known as the 'Fruit of the Gods' and are appreciated nevertheless. Im sure if you have a good connection to the particular deity they will realise your good intent, and realise that you mean it as a offering.

You do have quite a range of deities though, each mostly from different countries. On this case, I would certainly research before you offer for the best result.

For example, due to research I know that Isis has many symbols, one of them being the Sycamore Tree. So in this case, perhaps you could offer Sycamore seeds, leaves, bark, etc. Wikipedia, all though not all of the info is true on there, has some good results. If you type in one of the deities, it has a little profile for that deity on the right hand side of the page, and symbols is under it, so you could use that to guide you.

Hope this helps!

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Re: Offerings for Deities
By: / Beginner
Post # 9
Thank you so much for all the help guys.
I'm still pretty new with witchcraft so I could use all the help I can get.
Thanks again everyone, you all left very helpful posts.
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Re: Offerings for Deities
By:
Post # 10

Welcome, anytime. :)

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