Offerings

[Mithrea]

I have a question about offerings.

I was just reading a bit about offering cakes to Ganesh when you embark on a new endeavor. It made me wonder--When you offer something to a deity, how long do you wait before you do something with it. I have offered flowers in a bowl to the goddess before. I placed the bowl on my altar and said a little prayer, etc. After about a week, they started looking bad. I felt uncomfortable leaving them their rotting, but I felt guilty taking them and throwing them away because they were no longer mine so, what to do?

I think the answer is quite obvious. You can't leave a cake lying on your altar rotting for weeks but I would just like some input. What do you do with your old offerings? If you do anything special, I'd like to know.

Thanks!

[Euphoria]

i think you answered your own question !

if its a flower ... consider yourself the goddess' gardner .... flowers have to die sometime

[Mithrea]

Originally posted by Euphoria
i think you answered your own question !


heehee. oops!:lol:

[Eeluna]

My usual offerings are flowers or food. The flowers I throw in the creek that runs through my back yard. The food I leave under a certain tree--it disappears in a few days. No doubt eaten by the creatures of Mother Earth.

[Mnemosyne]

Flowers are such beautiful nice offerings. In addition, you don't have to worry too much about them going bad like food. The answer is obvious though. Don't leave the offerings lying around forever. Your diety will understand. :)

[Sea~Chelle]

Originally posted by Eeluna
My usual offerings are flowers or food. The flowers I throw in the creek that runs through my back yard. The food I leave under a certain tree--it disappears in a few days. No doubt eaten by the creatures of Mother Earth. I have read and heard that that is what you should do. Or something along those same lines. You don't want to leave it rotting on your Altar. Return it to the Earth. Whether you leave the cakes, breads, ect out and they get eaten or you have a mulch pile. Which IMO is good way to go. You then later use to mulch for the ground when you are planting. You aren't wasting that way just in a round about way recycling.

[Lavender]

I do the same thing too. Usually I use honey for food offering. With flowers or any plant material, I would either dig a hole in my garden & bury it or put it in my compost. I think returning it to the Earth is the true offering.

[astrokaiju]

in vodou, you leave the offerings on the altar just overnight. after that time it would be pointless to leave them there any longer because the loa have already absorbed all the energy they need. then in the morning you either bury them, leave them outside or throw them in a body of water. sometimes you feed them directly to a person or other animal.

i am not a vodousante, but i like a lot of what they do, so i follow their lead on this matter. however, with this practice you're also supposed to leave one white candle burning next to each offering from the time you leave it to the time you take it off the altar. in other words, it's there all night and possibly all day, while you're away and while you're sleeping. i'm pretty sure i'd burn my house down if i did that, so i don't. i burn the candles for a couple minutes while i pray or meditate. i think the deities understand and enjoy the offerings just the same.

[astrokaiju]

by the way...i make regular offerings to Ganesh, and i know this sounds really really stupid, like something that would offend him, but i think he really does like peanuts.......

[Myst]

lol

I don't have a yard, much less a garden, so the honey and milk, cookies, etc. get thrown out. Usually I think of the spirit of whatever offering having already been taken by whoever I offered it too when the thing starts to go bad, and I think of myself just throwing out the empty husk.

[WandererInGray]

Originally posted by astrokaiju
by the way...i make regular offerings to Ganesh, and i know this sounds really really stupid, like something that would offend him, but i think he really does like peanuts.......

*chuckles* I don't know why it would offend him...he is part Elephant after all. ;)

Most Gods , I would think, follow the saying "it's the thought that counts"...(the ones I've left offerings for seem to follow this anyway) unless you do something seriously offensive, I'd think they take it in the spirit it was intended.

[Ganga]

Ganesh, Oh, he's so lovable! :-) Food (or anything) offered to the Deity becomes "prasadam" (it's a Sanskrit word meaning "mercy" - the idea being that after you've offered something, it's still there. It is now sacred.) and it is considered a special treat to eat such offerings. I keep mine about 15 minutes on the altar, and then eat them! Uncut fruits and flowers can last longer, of course.

[Ganga]

A few facts about Ganesh I just found out:
-He likes round sweetballs (called "laddoo")
-He is married to a Banana Tree! Apparently, banana is a celestial fruit. Every fall, during Durga-Puja time in Bengal, the marriage of Ganesh and the Goddess of Banana Tree is festively celebrated. A tree is actually dressed up like a bride. So, I assume that bananas make a good offering for Ganesh :-)

Most of the Gods and Goddesses have their favorite things. Kali Ma likes hibiscus flowers, for example. Sarasvati likes special kind of plums that come into season in the spring. Krishna likes chiku-fruits. Sita (wife of Rama) likes custard apple. Betel-nuts are also often offered to the Deities of Indian pantheon. Honey, yogurt, milk, rosewater, butter (or ghee, clarified butter) - are all traditional.

And a word more about prasadam (food offered to the Deity): nearly every Hindu-temple serves prasadam to the guests. Sometimes you can get a huge feast, really delicious!

[WandererInGray]

*smiles* Thanks for sharing that Ganga! That was helpful.

[Bridgid Flame]

With offerings i generally throw them outside......that's where it originally started from, then they return to the earth.......

and the little animals really like the food......(well, except for the oatcake my friend made for Beltaine, it was like a rock, and i am sure there is some still laying around my gardens and back yard.....)

[Ne0Pagan]

I usually offer flowers and fruit to the Goddess on my altar.

Apples, especially, as they are seen as the fruit OF the Goddess.

When the flowers have dried, I either grind them up, and use them as offerings to plants or trees when I've removing parts of them (like leaves, or pieces of wood). If I don't do that, I just throw them out back, returning it to the Earth.

I've sort of made my own tradition with offerings.. I sit at the altar, and cut an apple in half (so that the star is in the middle). I put half of it on the altar, and I eat the other half, with my eyes closed, praying to the Goddess. I like to think of it as a way to directly connect with the Goddess. I suppose it is sort of a small ritual. Later that day, when the apple is getting brown, bury it out back. It'll add nutrience to the ground, and bless your property.

And I love apples, so it works. If I don't have any apples, I go with any other fruit or vegetable. Seeing how I primarily recognize Gaia as the face of the Goddess, it's very easy to find something to please her, as everything that grows is sacred to her. I'm sure you guys adapt things to your own needs.

[Azure]

Wine mixed with honey and spices. Sometimes beer, bread, chocolate, cookies, fruit or fruit juices. Rich foods always seem appropriate and traditional to me. Often I leave them at the base of the fox (my totem) statue in my yard, since he's my totem.

I have a million roses in my yard right now. Once the ones on my altar start to go, I leave them outside too, so the gods and genus loci get the last of the fragrance. The petals become mulch, although one perfect yellow rose naturally dried itself and remains sitting next to the fox, weeks later.

When I was at the beach last week, I tossed things directly into the ocean, including rolled up prayer requests. I do that at the river my parents live on too, always making sure what I do is environmentally friendly. At the river, I have often also left bones from freshly cooked meat. There are plenty of raccoons who will aprreciate it as well as the Gods.

[Haedis]

hahaha I've offered peanuts to Ganesh before too when i didnt have much else. I was a little worried what he'd think, especially since I'd just watched the Simpsons and Apu got pissed at Homer for the same thing (which is where i got my sig).

[Ganga]

"If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it. Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give away, and whatever austerities you perform - do that, O son of Kunti, as an offering to Me."

That's Krishna talking to Arjuna in Bhagavad Gita (9.26-27). I rather think that the key words are "with love and devotion". Peanuts may be a humble offering, but given with love, they are more readily accepted than gold-plated milksweets given without love.

[Sylvan]

Hauling an old thread back up to the surface...

I've just been reading a Hare Krishna book, and in learning about prasadam, have found out that for Krishna, any contact that is made with an offering is the same as consuming it. Krishna can "eat" with his eyes. Meaning that once food is offered, Krishna looks upon it and it is as if he has eaten it. What is left is given to the poor or to visitors or to whoever....

I've always thoght it was a little silly to "feed" the gods.... But this does put a new perspective on it for me...

[Ganga]

Which book did you read?

Ganga

[Sylvan]

"The Journey of Self-Discovery" by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. I'm almost done with it... Interesting, but not for me. Too much having to do with the class ssystem and how much more superior a male is to a female. :rolleyes:

[Avalon]

For me, it has never been about "feeding the Gods" per se, more about Their absorbing the energy from what has been offered. I have a small bowl (a tiny galvanized washtub, hee hee) that I keep on my altar. I will fill this with whatever feels appropriate: flowers, leaves, acorns, sometimes bits of food, sometimes scraps of paper with personal notes to a God/dess on them, etc. I will leave them there for a little while, then gather them up and bury them in the yard. I do the same with the Faeries, except I will leave their offerings outside (honey most often, although they do like ginger, and apparently royal icing :lol: ). I will remove the container the next day, after the "essence" of the item has been absorbed.

Whew! Was that long-winded enough? :rolleyes:

[Shira-Chan]

I know this might be a little off topic, but doesn anybody know what Anubis likes? I leave him apples and vegetables from my garden. Does anybody know what he'd prefer?

-Shira-chan

[Ganga]

Actually, we are eventually supposed to detach ourselves from all kinds of external designations, especially class-system. As for male versus female... well, what could I say to that...Personally, I don't follow that type of Krishna consciousness. I see everyone as equal and the Highest Supreme Divinity as Radharani, who is often referred to as Krishna's consort. Deeper I've gotten into the philosophy, more I have realized the sort of hidden truth; Radharani is for many of us more important than Krishna.

The Hare Krishna movement has an interesting history when it comes to women's rights. Being a feminist, I should know this... There was a time when women didn't participate too much in the leadership of the movement, but that is all slowly (but surely) changing. As a Goddess-worshiper, it's been a joy for me to notice.

[DebLipp]

In Hindu worship, prasad (the offered food) is eaten after the ceremony is over. During the ceremony, the offering is made, and then as soon as it's over the food is passed around and everyone consumes it. The god leaves a blessing in the food after consuming its energy.

Btw, Dunkin' Donuts "donut holes" are very similar to ladoo and Ganesh LOVES them.

In Wicca and most Western Paganism, offerings are left outdoors. I used to do this even when I lived in NYC. You just find a discreet spot under a small bush or tree or in a park. Any animals that consume it are considered agents of the gods. Again, these offerings are made as soon as possible after the closing of the ritual, usually the next morning.

If you have offerings of money (usually coins placed at the feet of the statue) you put them in a charity box. If substantial offerings are made (a piece of jewelry or a large sum of money or something big) then they are kept and used in the service of the gods and dedicated 100% to the gods.

[siamesegoth2]

As of right now , the offerings on my alter are

2 tiny pumpkins
a chalice of wine
4 palepink-white chrysanthenums (sp)
a pile of walnuts
a tiny sheaf of corn
a bunch on lavender
a plate with cheese bread , sliced meat, a small orange and half an apple cut to show the star in the center .\

tonight after my little one has gone to bed , ill be placing the food stuffs in my garden , for anything that wants it basically heheh, and my wine will be sprinkled over the grass.

the rest of the things that wont rot will stay on my alter indeffinatly as symbols of the earth :)

leona

[Laurelei]

Sometimes when walking home through the woods I will pick up particuarly nice leaf from the floor and take it home to put on my altar for the God and Goddess. I often prefer my offerings to be simple prayers of thanks, or even pretty thoughts for them. It's all energy, anyway.