Restaurants

[*~Amora~*]

I'm going to be traveling quite a bit with my new job, but don't want this to interrupt my spiritual practice or devotions. I've read http://sponde.suneagle.info/ which is somewhat helpful, but my questions are a bit more specific.

How do you make offerings or libations (sponde in particular) in a restaurant? Or, on such occasions, do you simply burn incense as your offering when you get back (to your hotel)?

Also, do you make an offering or libation every day?

[Son of Goddess]

How do you make offerings or libations (sponde in particular) in a restaurant? Or, on such occasions, do you simply burn incense as your offering when you get back (to your hotel)?

Also, do you make an offering or libation every day?

If a restaurant gives you a small dish at the beginning of your meal, before you have anything, use this as an offertory dish. When your meal or appetizer or bread comes, just take some of it and place it on the dish. When your drink comes, if there is a straw, just use the straw to place a few drops of the liquid on the plate.

I was in NYC 2 or 3 weekends ago. We ordered in for dinner at our hotel and had SO much leftover food, that we boxed it up, threw it in plastic bags and me and my friend went out into the city and looked for a homeless person and gave it to him.

I'm sure he appreciated the meal, and what a meal it was! There was half a chesseburger, french fries, cheesecake, alfredo pasta, lemon meringe (spelling?) pie, bread, potato skins, salad, and probably other things that I forgot about.

[*~Amora~*]

That makes sense, thank you for your contribution!

While talking with the proto-demos I joined here in CA, it was suggested that a restaurant could be considered "someone else's house" and therefore, as a patron/guest, you are not responsible for making the offering. It's an interesting thought. But it leads to other problems if that route is followed - if you say order take out, or eat leftovers at home, does one make an offering then? For that matter, is an offering is made only if you prepare the food?

However, what you suggest would probably be the safest route. Even if not required, it would be good to offer the gods a portion of what you are given.

Thoughts?

[YoungSoulRebel]

If a restaurant gives you a small dish at the beginning of your meal, before you have anything, use this as an offertory dish. When your meal or appetizer or bread comes, just take some of it and place it on the dish. When your drink comes, if there is a straw, just use the straw to place a few drops of the liquid on the plate.

That's usually what I do. It gets some odd looks sometimes (I think most of the time, people either don't notice or don't care) but on the *rarest* occasion somebody has asked what I was doing, I simply say "it's religious" and it's left at that.

Now once, at a Mexican place with a large group of friends, there were so many people seated at the table that even leaving the appetizer plate was going to prove inconvenient, so i just sectioned off a small areas on the dinner plate, whispered a dedication to my lemonade, and drank from the straw (I usually don't) and so left the "top portion" of my drink for the Theoi. Yeah, kind of a round-about way of doing it, but with an already cramped table and a plate full of tortilla, leaving a small libation on the plate just wasn't going to work that well.

[YoungSoulRebel]

That makes sense, thank you for your contribution!

While talking with the proto-demos I joined here in CA, it was suggested that a restaurant could be considered "someone else's house" and therefore, as a patron/guest, you are not responsible for making the offering. It's an interesting thought. But it leads to other problems if that route is followed - if you say order take out, or eat leftovers at home, does one make an offering then? For that matter, is an offering is made only if you prepare the food?

However, what you suggest would probably be the safest route. Even if not required, it would be good to offer the gods a portion of what you are given.

Thoughts?

While I can see the "other person's house" thing for, say, a friend's place or a private club (like the weekly fish dinner at my father's old Eagles Lodge), I figure that since restaurants are generally open to the public, then making an offering and libation would probably be preferred over not. Yes, it's true that somebody else pays the rent on a restaurant, but unlike at a friend's place or certain private clubs, you're paying for the experience of eating there -- your money goes to the cost of food, the kitchen staff, restaurant upkeep, and in the $tates (and other places where tipping is customary) you're paying the waitstaff directly to serve it to you, so making an offering doesn't seem out of line, at least not in the same way that it would for having a meal at a friend's house.

[*~Amora~*]

Now once, at a Mexican place with a large group of friends, there were so many people seated at the table that even leaving the appetizer plate was going to prove inconvenient, so i just sectioned off a small areas on the dinner plate, whispered a dedication to my lemonade, and drank from the straw (I usually don't) and so left the "top portion" of my drink for the Theoi. Yeah, kind of a round-about way of doing it, but with an already cramped table and a plate full of tortilla, leaving a small libation on the plate just wasn't going to work that well.

That's really creative! I like the idea of using a straw so that you are leaving the top portion of the drink. Although, it would be preferable to make the sponde by dripping the "first drink you would take" - and for that I rather like using the straw to sort of . . pipet that sponde out onto a seperate plate.

Great ideas!

[*~Amora~*]

While I can see the "other person's house" thing for, say, a friend's place or a private club (like the weekly fish dinner at my father's old Eagles Lodge), I figure that since restaurants are generally open to the public, then making an offering and libation would probably be preferred over not. Yes, it's true that somebody else pays the rent on a restaurant, but unlike at a friend's place or certain private clubs, you're paying for the experience of eating there -- your money goes to the cost of food, the kitchen staff, restaurant upkeep, and in the $tates (and other places where tipping is customary) you're paying the waitstaff directly to serve it to you, so making an offering doesn't seem out of line, at least not in the same way that it would for having a meal at a friend's house.

Hmmmm . . that also makes a great deal of sense. I really value this contribution to the discussion as it's something I've struggled a lot with.

Thank you all for the great ideas (tho' don't let me stop you here)! I think these will help me feel comfortable and have a way to make this work in a practical way.

But another question - if you take leftovers home after making an offering at the restuarant, should you make a second offering at home because of the occasion of eating, or not because for this portion of food you have alrady offered a sample to the gods?

[YoungSoulRebel]

Hmmmm . . that also makes a great deal of sense. I really value this contribution to the discussion as it's something I've struggled a lot with.

Thank you all for the great ideas (tho' don't let me stop you here)! I think these will help me feel comfortable and have a way to make this work in a practical way.

But another question - if you take leftovers home after making an offering at the restuarant, should you make a second offering at home because of the occasion of eating, or not because for this portion of food you have alrady offered a sample to the gods?

Hrmmm.... Left-overs are usually a bit of a non-issue for me, since I usually don't take home any (either I order a smaller portion or what's left is small enough that I feel silly taking it home). I'm sure somebody lse would have a better idea than I would! LOL