Disposal of Ritual Offerings

[Seraphin]

Another question guys! Sorry to bother you all.

I was wondering how long should your ritual offerings stay on the altar and what should you do with them afterwards?

I usually let them stay on the altar for 24 hours before I bury them in the backyard or throw them into the creek near in my place. Is that how you do? If not, how do you do it?

[loona wynd]

With my liquid offerings I usually let the just evaporate into the air. That to me is how the Gods and the spirits get the offering. Letting it be absorbed my evaporation back into nature. If its a food offering I actually eat it myself as part of the meal in their honor. Its blessed and I set it aside on the plate. I eat the part for myself first. Then when I am done with my portion I eat the bit that has been reserved for the Gods. Occasionally I may place the meal on the altar and have it stay there and then I'll eat it later.

[Seraphin]

Many thanks, loona wynd! I've never tried letting my drink offerings evaporate in the air. . I personally don't leave offerings on my altar (too many roaches) so I'm usually using them to water my plants .

About eating the meal offering, me and fiancee sometimes do it with only a portion of it and the rest goes to our Deities by being disposed of through burying. Thank you so much!

[creatrix]

I only eat food offerings if they are not for an underworld deity. Otherwise I bury them. Sometimes it is hard to hide them or bury them without people watching so I do it late at night.

[loona wynd]

I only eat food offerings if they are not for an underworld deity. Otherwise I bury them. Sometimes it is hard to hide them or bury them without people watching so I do it late at night.

This is a good thought. Underworld deities would have buried offerings be more appropriate.

I know that in ancient Greece they burned the meat offerings for the Olympian Gods. The smoke and ash were what the Gods ate the essence of the offering of. I think they did something different for the Cthonic gods like Gaea and Hecate.

[Seraphin]

I only eat food offerings if they are not for an underworld deity. Otherwise I bury them. Sometimes it is hard to hide them or bury them without people watching so I do it late at night.

Thank you for sharing that creatix! I'll definitely keep that in mind. Hekate is the only "Greek" Underworld Deity in my pantheon. We honored Her as the Lady of the Underworld. Last year, my fiancee and I had a truly wonderful time celebrating the feast of Hekate with some pagan friends.

[creatrix]

I only eat food offerings if they are not for an underworld deity. Otherwise I bury them. Sometimes it is hard to hide them or bury them without people watching so I do it late at night.

Thank you for sharing that creatix! I'll definitely keep that in mind. Hekate is the only Underworld Deity in my pantheon. We honored her as the lady of the Underworld. Last year, my fiance and I had a truly wonderful time celebrating the feast of Hekate with some pagan friends.

Yes she is the main one I work with too! That sounds like a great feast! What types of things do you offer her? I have given her eggs, fish, honey, garlic, tea, etc.

[Seraphin]

It was indeed a "GREAT" Feast!

We offered her eggs, bread with raisin and honey.



By the way, that's the altar we made for Hekate. I took that photograph last year.

[loona wynd]

I think that cultural roles and considerations should also be considered here. I mean every culture had different ways of presenting and giving offerings to their Gods. So I would assume that the "proper" way to dispose of those offerings would be in the way that the Gods were previously honored.

[Seraphin]

Honestly, I know very little about the Hekate nor Hellenic Paganism as a whole, but thankfully one of us was a Hellenistic reconstructionist and my fiancee is a Wiccan devotee of Hekate Ourania who both know very well about Her festivals and lore.

As far as I'm concerned, we followed the proper and traditional way of disposing the left overs. According to my Hellenistic friend, all the leftovers (including the leftovers from the meal, incensed ashes and used candles) should be deposited at the crossroads or shrine. The shrine according to her was the place where we held the ceremony. So after we're done doing the rituals, we left all of them alone, including the altar we built and never used them again as it was considered unlucky to reuse or even touch them.

[loona wynd]

Honestly, I know very little about the Hekate nor Hellenic Paganism as a whole, but thankfully one of us was a Hellenistic reconstructionist and my fiance is a Wiccan devotee of Hekate who both know very well about Her festivals and lore.

Then it would have been a great chance to learn and experience it.

As far as I'm concerned, we followed the proper and traditional way of disposing the left overs. According to my Hellenistic friend, all the leftovers (including the leftovers from the meal, incensed ashes and used candles) should be deposited at the crossroads or shrine. The shrine according to her was the place where we held the ceremony. So after we're done doing the rituals, we left all of them alone, including the altar we built and never used them again as it was considered unlucky to reuse or even touch them.

If they felt that was the right, proper, and traditional way of doing it than it probably is. I know that there are several Hellenic paganism books dedicated just to Hecate but I've never read any of them myself. Never really got that deep into the study. Not speaking Greek made the rituals harder when I tried them.

[AnaisStar]

Never thought about letting liquids evaporate. I like that.

I often throw it into the woods or bury, depending.

Especially with food (and me being mostly nature based practicing) I love the idea of leaving the food out for a small animal to come and get. Giving back in a way.

[HopefulChild]

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.

I reject the physical application of essence. Ash. It's of no use in my opinion. One more thing that was functional and helped with clean up that turned into part of the core simply because it made it easier to teach.

Who wants a dozen blooded sheep rotting in a pile in the center of the village? You can't eat them, they are offerings for the G*Ds. You can't take them out of the town unless you have a really special sacred place to do it, or they will get taken by nomads or thieves or wild animals and then the G*Ds will be insulted.

Burn them. No one will come steal your ash! So in my opinion burning was cleanup.
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.

So I just worry about the smoke. I try to make my offerings similar, but unique. Tonight I went to thank my ancestors for all the help they have provided me in my current endeavors and to wish them to continue doing well in their new existence and just to check in. I took my little offering dish which is just a sauce ramekin from my kitchen. And I use those because I serve food to my family and friends and children in those dishes, so I use them to serve offerings to my ancestors. Three components are always the same. Milk, Honey, and Whiskey. Because my ancestors from the 1700's forward have been Christians, I give them that which is promised them from their bibles, milk and honey. I add a little whiskey, because I knew some of them...and they all liked whiskey hehehe. Then I try to share some of what is actually going on in our life. Like tonight I made pan fried noodles with diced beef,onions, and peppers from my own garden. So I took a little piece of the vegetables I grew myself, then cooked myself, and put them in the dish, then I put a little chunk of banana bread my wife made 2 nights ago, and I added a little bit of cheese that was still on my daughters dinner plate that she hadn't eaten.
So, I didn't make a special meal, I included them into my life as it is right now. I feel that is right for me and for "us".

I put that little dish on my altar and I light an incense cone and wait until it is smoking pretty good, then I do the same smoke washing hand gestures I would do to cleanse myself with smoke.
Cup my hands, pull the smoke forward and down onto the offering and then let it rise up. I do that until I feel that the essence of the offering has been captured and sent on it's way.
Then I speak to my ancestors, say my bit, and then tomorrow around the same time I will go to my altar and grab the dish and throw what is inside it in the trash bin.

I don't worry that throwing it away will nullify my offering. I've sent the essence and my intent and my thanks, and now I'm just doing real world cleanup.

[Becks]

Great old thread! Good find. I too bury the offerings, or burn them (I can't always access a fire where I live), or return to the forest behind my building. For me burning is the preferred manner. Here on the territory of the Coast and Straits Salish the belief is that it sends offerings to the spirit world.

[Seraphin]

Nostalgia.

One of my earliest posts when I first joined EUTM.