Offerings

[wolf_weasel]

This has probably been covered but how do you know if a God or Goddess likes your offering or prefers it to something else? I've read a few posts where people have offered something to their deity and then stated that the offering was liked by their deity. Or if they are trying to figure something else, their deity led them to what they wanted. So....how do you know? Is it a feeling you get that the deity is leading you to it?

[amidalen]

A calm washes over me and makes me feel almost giddy if Bast likes my offerings. Sometimes, She will lead me to something that She likes. So yeah, it is a feeling I get when I offer something to Her.

[The RedLion]

Usually its a subtle feeling or sign. Also, a lot of times, for me things will go right for a while. :D They 'tell you' by inspiring you to do so if that makes sense.

[wolf_weasel]

Thank you! :hahugh:

I really hope to get an altar set up soon and start getting in touch with the God and Goddess. I might take a walk tomorrow in the park and see if I can find things to use for my altar.

[patch]

Usually it's a sign or omen, sometimes it can be through divination, somtimes it's just a gut feeling.

[Fiamma]

This has probably been covered but how do you know if a God or Goddess likes your offering or prefers it to something else? I've read a few posts where people have offered something to their deity and then stated that the offering was liked by their deity. Or if they are trying to figure something else, their deity led them to what they wanted. So....how do you know? Is it a feeling you get that the deity is leading you to it?


It depends, sometimes it's just a feeling, sometimes it's something less subtle, sometimes it's something that comes up after the fact that you've done the right thing.

Here's an example of all three-

A couple of years ago when I first started worshiping Dionysus, it was a sort of sudden thing, that I needed to be doing something. This came within a day or so of me losing my wallet and having no money to buy anything. So I took into consideration everything that I had in my house at the time that I could make an offering of, and I basically said "Okay, here's what I've got- it's all I have now, but whatever of it you'd like is yours and I'll get you some wine as soon as I can." After thinking about it for a bit, rosemary incense came to mind. I lit some for him, and afterwards, just had the feeling that it was the right thing. Rosemary and rosemary incense became one of the things that I offered to Dionysus regularly.

A week or so later, when I had money again, I was grocery shopping one day and remembered my promise. Leaving the store, I walked past a liquor store that I swear was never there before- and I had been right past the location on countless occasions. I figured that I would just pick out a wine that I knew was good and it would be okay- but very quickly got the feeling that I should definitely not get a white wine (which I would have done- I like white wine, not so much on the red.) Not knowing what to get, I started just pulling bottles off the shelf and looking at them, hoping to get a feeling of something being the right one to get. Finally pulled a bottle off the shelf that I knew wasn't right, but when I tried to put it back, it got stuck (the shelves were kinda small and the bottle had just enough clearance to fit in there, assuming you didn't make the mistake of tipping it a bit.) Trying to pull it back out again, I knocked another bottle which of course, fell off the shelf- thankfully I caught it before I could get a concussion or glass-related injury. And well, it seemed that the bottle that fell off the shelf at me was the one to get.

At another time, I had felt for quite some time, for no particular reason, that I should give him some nutmeg. When I finally did, I had the feeling afterwards that it was the right thing...and then I went to work that evening. I used to work in an office that was surrounded by buildings that house various parts of the McCormick spice plant, and the air often smelled like whatever was being processed that day- anise, barbeque sauce and cinnamon were all very common, but I had never once smelled nutmeg...and that day when I go off the train, yeah, you got it- nutmeg.

[David19]

It depends, sometimes it's just a feeling, sometimes it's something less subtle, sometimes it's something that comes up after the fact that you've done the right thing.

Here's an example of all three-

A couple of years ago when I first started worshiping Dionysus, it was a sort of sudden thing, that I needed to be doing something. This came within a day or so of me losing my wallet and having no money to buy anything. So I took into consideration everything that I had in my house at the time that I could make an offering of, and I basically said "Okay, here's what I've got- it's all I have now, but whatever of it you'd like is yours and I'll get you some wine as soon as I can." After thinking about it for a bit, rosemary incense came to mind. I lit some for him, and afterwards, just had the feeling that it was the right thing. Rosemary and rosemary incense became one of the things that I offered to Dionysus regularly.

A week or so later, when I had money again, I was grocery shopping one day and remembered my promise. Leaving the store, I walked past a liquor store that I swear was never there before- and I had been right past the location on countless occasions. I figured that I would just pick out a wine that I knew was good and it would be okay- but very quickly got the feeling that I should definitely not get a white wine (which I would have done- I like white wine, not so much on the red.) Not knowing what to get, I started just pulling bottles off the shelf and looking at them, hoping to get a feeling of something being the right one to get. Finally pulled a bottle off the shelf that I knew wasn't right, but when I tried to put it back, it got stuck (the shelves were kinda small and the bottle had just enough clearance to fit in there, assuming you didn't make the mistake of tipping it a bit.) Trying to pull it back out again, I knocked another bottle which of course, fell off the shelf- thankfully I caught it before I could get a concussion or glass-related injury. And well, it seemed that the bottle that fell off the shelf at me was the one to get.

At another time, I had felt for quite some time, for no particular reason, that I should give him some nutmeg. When I finally did, I had the feeling afterwards that it was the right thing...and then I went to work that evening. I used to work in an office that was surrounded by buildings that house various parts of the McCormick spice plant, and the air often smelled like whatever was being processed that day- anise, barbeque sauce and cinnamon were all very common, but I had never once smelled nutmeg...and that day when I go off the train, yeah, you got it- nutmeg.

Just wanted to say, Fiamma, those are all some very cool experiences.