{"id":921,"date":"2016-09-21T08:32:21","date_gmt":"2016-09-20T22:32:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/hearthwitchdownunder\/?p=921"},"modified":"2018-01-24T13:32:13","modified_gmt":"2018-01-24T03:32:13","slug":"too-poor-for-offerings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/hearthwitchdownunder\/2016\/09\/too-poor-for-offerings.html","title":{"rendered":"Too Poor For Offerings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

This is one of those topics that comes up, not a whole lot, but frequently enough for me to make a post about it.\u00a0 When someone feels like they cannot possibly give offerings to their Gods, spirits, ancestors or other beings because they cannot afford to waste the food and money on it.<\/p>\n

I should mention too, when they say \u201cwaste\u201d only some people mean it in the actual wasteful sense.\u00a0 Generally what people mean by this is, \u201cI have only so much money and my priorities lie with feeding my kids\/family\/pets etc before feeding the Gods who, being powerful as They are, can probably get along fine without my offerings.\u00a0 But my kids\/family\/pets etc probably can\u2019t get along so fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a legitimate concern, and believe me, I feel a twinge sometimes when I spend money on food for the Gods that could be spent on my children \u2013 whether food, homeschool stuff or otherwise.\u00a0 And yes there are times when I have no money left, haven\u2019t planned ahead and I look around my kitchen and I have to ask myself if I have enough apples to offer, or cheese or sweet bread or whatever \u2013 or is there only enough for the kids?<\/p>\n

Financially speaking, I don\u2019t think there is such a thing as \u201ccan\u2019t\u201d it\u2019s more a matter of compromise and ingenuity.\u00a0 This is only financially speaking and doesn\u2019t take into consideration other things that may be problematic (like access to things).\u00a0 The following suggestions are not viable for everybody, everyones situation is different.<\/p>\n

Cheap Food Isn\u2019t Always Bad<\/h2>\n

Fruits and veg are, depending on the type, pretty cheap when you buy only one, or even cheaper if you buy in bulk.\u00a0 Apples for me, depending on the type and season, between $3 and $5 for 1kg of apples, and depending on how many that happens to be, there is usually one at least that I can use that the kids don\u2019t want.<\/p>\n

Traditional offerings, such as barley, are also not so expensive \u2013 $2 for a 500g of barley grains is what I pay and, depending on how many food offerings I do in a month, it usually lasts a bit longer than the month (it\u2019s also used for cleansing, so does go faster than other food offerings).\u00a0 Olive oil, while being a little more costly, also lasts for quite a while and is a great offering.\u00a0 Sultanas and raisins, these are basically just grapes all wrinkled up and grapes are a traditional generic Hellenic offering, so don\u2019t be afraid to use those either.<\/p>\n

Make it From Scratch<\/h2>\n

Cookies are the best for this.\u00a0 Make one of those bulk cookie recipes<\/a>, freeze it in rolls and just cook up a few cookies when needed.\u00a0 If you can use barley flour, honey and or olive oil in the cookie recipes, then even better for the Theoi.<\/p>\n

Old not so good bananas are also not good for offerings, but they are good for banana bread.\u00a0 And banana bread is an offering I have never had a complaint with as an offering (UPG alert).\u00a0 You can do any type of fruity or flavoured bread or cake, even a butter cake would work.\u00a0 And they can be done in small amounts in muffin tins.<\/p>\n

Normal bread, but you don\u2019t have to go all out.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t tried it, but I do wonder how a nice basic damper<\/a> would go as an offering. \u00a0Or even\u00a0scones \u2013 is that what people in the US call biscuits?\u00a0 I think so.<\/p>\n

\"You
Just an apple turnover, yes, I do cook!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

All Natural<\/h2>\n

Fruit and veg come from the ground or from trees and bushes.\u00a0 It\u2019s not always possible to find these things easily, unless you grow a fruit or veg garden (in which case, you have no problem with offerings), but it\u2019s also not impossible.\u00a0 Keep your eyes open, you may find something if you\u2019re looking for it.<\/p>\n

Failing that, one thing you may be able to find in abundance \u2013 though less so in a city, sorry \u2013 are herbs! Rosemary and lavender may as well be weeds with the amount there is growing in my town.<\/p>\n

Libations Only<\/h2>\n

If you really cannot afford food and you can\u2019t find any free, then libations may be the only way to go for food offerings.\u00a0 Libations are drinks, poured out to the Gods as an offering.\u00a0 Simple.\u00a0 Usually, in Hellenism, it is wine.\u00a0 But olive oil is used too.\u00a0 Milk is also fairly common for some of the Gods, especially the minor Gods like the nymphs.<\/p>\n

Some people like to pour tea or coffee in libation, or an alcohol that isn\u2019t wine.\u00a0 If these are all expensive, then consider if you have some herbs you can make a tea from those.\u00a0 And there isn\u2019t anything at all that says you cannot pour water in libation \u2013 indeed sometimes that is the best bet really, especially if you are offering in a public place.<\/p>\n

No Food at All<\/h2>\n

And of course, there are always non-food offerings \u2013 which are not actually a replacement for food offerings, but are a different type of offering themselves.\u00a0 People seem to think these must in some way be expensive \u2013 like statues are rather pricey, but those are aren\u2019t your typical offering either.\u00a0 Offerings of a more permanent nature need not be pricey at all, indeed free is perfect.<\/p>\n

Feathers, stones, leaves, flowers, twigs, actual living plants \u2013 these can all be free (plants from cuttings, or seeds aren\u2019t necessarily expensive).<\/p>\n

For the paid stuff, don\u2019t be afraid of thrift stores (or as we call them Opp shops), jewellery or art that speaks to you is certainly fine.\u00a0 Give it a cleansing first of course, get rid of any negative energy and miasma that may be attached to it, and you\u2019re all good.<\/p>\n

\"A
A viable option for a permanent offering. Public domain, pixabay.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Do It Yourself<\/h2>\n

Make some art, get crafty, colour in a pre-drawn picture even.\u00a0 These are typical devotional offerings and are something that is usually done in thanks of something They have given, or as part of a promise made to Them.\u00a0 But, this doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t give such offerings for no other reason than you want to.<\/p>\n

You can also write, art isn\u2019t the only way.\u00a0 Poetry, stories, devotionals, hymns, or just informational pieces in dedication to a deity.\u00a0 These are all good offerings.<\/p>\n

Service<\/h2>\n

Like devotional offerings, performing services in the name of the Gods is not a replacement for a food offering, and is usually done as part of a promise or thanks.\u00a0 This is charity or other volunteer work, cleaning up rubbish at the playground, or something more specific and personal, like giving away hand written copies of a deity\u2019s myths or even just completely reorganising your house (you never know what Hestia or Hekate may ask of you).<\/p>\n

You could try singing in public for peoples entertainment, for free though I suppose busking might count. \u00a0You could offer to do artwork for people. \u00a0Anything you can do for others can also be done as devotional offerings for the Gods \u2013 but it is dependent on what the individual deity is okay with.<\/p>\n

Not All Rituals Call For It<\/h2>\n

But this is the important part.\u00a0 When you look at something like the Hellenic calendar, you might see something called the Men Kata Theion, the Sacred Month which is a list of the days in the lunar month and who those days are sacred to.\u00a0 We are meant to do a ritual for those deities and beings on those days, every month.<\/p>\n

It looks a bit daunting, but other than the Deipnon for Hekate on the dark moon, none of those days actually require any food or permanent offering.\u00a0 Incense, libation and hymn are really all that is needed for those days \u2013 and even there, the libation may not always be necessary either.<\/p>\n

And if you have read of people doing their daily rituals or daily offerings, again this is not necessarily food offerings.\u00a0 Incense, libations and hymns ARE offerings in and of themselves.<\/p>\n

Food offerings are generally only for the bigger rituals, for thanks rituals, for big festivals and for unique ones that may be personal to you.\u00a0 This is truly up to the individual to figure out.\u00a0 There are months when the only offering of food I make is for the Deipnon \u2013 because I do not follow the traditional Attic calendar here in Australia and haven\u2019t created my own calendar in full yet.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Well, hopefully that\u2019s helped a bit. \u00a0Just remember \u2013 not all rituals call for an offering, and if they do, sometimes giving what you can is all that is needed, and if water for a libation is all you can afford to give, then that is what you can offer. \u00a0And there is nothing wrong with that.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Financially speaking, I don’t think there is such a thing as “can’t” it’s more a matter of compromise and ingenuity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2764,"featured_media":923,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,13,61,62],"tags":[22,33,9,94,32,29,25,23],"class_list":["post-921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hellenism","category-paganism101","category-practice","category-ritual","tag-deities","tag-festivals","tag-hellenismos","tag-offerings","tag-paganism","tag-polytheism","tag-religion","tag-rituals"],"yoast_head":"\nToo Poor For Offerings<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Financially speaking, I don't think there is such a thing as "can't" it's more a matter of compromise and ingenuity.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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