Devoured by Flame

You’ve built an altar, you’ve given it meaning, you’ve sat at it daily and now you’re looking into giving offerings. But how do you go about giving an offering and what could we give?

An offering is a simple task but with a complex metaphysical connotation. Most of the time, the gods do not literally come down and eat the food or drink the libation though it is possible for Them to enjoy it along with you.

Why give offerings?

There seems to be a common thought that in order to give an offering you must get rid of it entirely or destroy it or use it to create a sort of meaning in your practice in order for Them to come down and be with you. It’s like waving something in the face of the Divine to convince Them to be with you. They are not vending machines and so They also will not wait until you give Them what They want so you can be with Them. That isn’t how it works. 

Instead, an offering is a source of energy for the Gods that is useful to Them to build and make bridges between here and where They come from. It is a way of making sure They have sustenance to come around and energy to give Them so They can complete tasks. Think about it as if They are using your food to give Them weight into this world. The more weight They gain, the easier it’ll be for Them to come back. This is similar to an anchor point or an object I talked about before but it is temporary and it doesn’t connect Them for a very long time. 

What an offering is not

An offering is not a bribe. You should not use it to provide bribery in order for Them to give you what you want. It is not a request nor is it something for Them to like you more. It simply is a way of making sure They can come back to the area you are inhabiting and also for Them to be a part of this world. 

Consider that the Gods are not vending machines. Making an offering is not a guarantee you’re going to get something in return. It’s also not a means of making yourself open to Them and assuring They like you. If you feel guilty about something you did, an offering isn’t going to fix what happened. It is not the Catholic Church and you’re not paying them to make your sins disappear. More on that later.

If you want to liken it to Christianity, it is more along the lines of communion – doing away with the transubstantiation and the sinful part. It is more like breaking bread with someone, enjoying a meal and being aware that you are not alone in this world. 

Tossing a bag of chips on your altar and hoping it’s all right is likely not going to go over well with Them. It’s not bad in any stretch and if it’s all you’re wanting to do, then so be it. But if you want Them to respect the offerings and respect the shrine, you have to make it a bit more of a formal affair. No, you do not need to clear the space, cast a circle, or make some sort of gesture to show you can bring the Gods down to you. You need only light a candle, say Their name, sit at your shrine, and eat with Them.

Saying Their name gets Them to listen to you, asking for Them to be there gives Them a sort of direction to where you are, and being at your shrine allows a focal point for where They can continue to share this with Them. It is not something you do out of a desire to be a good devotee or some sort of moral obligation – it is to create a bond between you and Them. 

What sorts of offerings can I give?

Offerings can be whatever you want to give. It does not have to be something the God wants. If you yourself do not like what is being given, it sours the offering for the God. For example, if you know that Loki likes fireball but you hate fireball, do not give it to Him. If you hate what you are giving, you should not present it to Them as it is just like presenting trash to someone you want to like you.

If you think of what an offering is energetically, it is a source of energy. If you weaken the tie between you and the offering by disliking it, you are also weakening the tie between you and the Divine. It makes it so that you use an offering to get something rather than for it to be useful to Them and to yourself.

If you are eating the offering, you need to like it in order for it to be eaten. Your enjoyment is what is going away and being given to Them. If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, there is no enjoyment, and it is not being offered. The point is for Them to take the purpose it serves you out of the item you are offering, and showing Them you are willing to allow Them to enjoy it in place of you. 

If you think back to before Christianity came around, an offering often was cattle, humans, bread, wine, etc. all of these things were impactful means of ensuring sustaining your livelihood throughout the winter or into the summer. Those things are a commodity now. Humans are morally unable to be sacrificed, obviously. So what have we left to give to the Gods if food is in abundance and bread is a cheap option? Our enjoyment of it. If we offer what we feel to be abundance – our joy, our wealth, our sovereignty over our own bodies to the extent that we allow Them to be more a part of our world in place of ourselves – we are giving Them something energetically loaded and therefore making the connection even stronger than ever before. 

This likely is not written in textbooks. You’re not going to find heathens or any other reconstructionist polytheists doing this sort of thing as it is not formal or reasonable to expect the Gods to do for them. This is purely a recreation of what once happened and now has a new meaning in these modern times. If you assert that the meaning of this part of religiosity has to look the same way and be the same thing for all time, then nothing can change and nothing can grow from it. 

This process is a more meaningful solution than just chucking some food on the ground, pouring mead over a stone and saying some useless words, or making yourself feel obligated because you have to build a connection with Someone to get what you want out of it. 

Regardless, offerings don’t need to be a chore. They don’t need to feel boring or feel like you’re giving something and getting nothing in return. They can be a great way of experiencing the Divine here and now and in the moment rather than it being something you do because you feel it’s necessary or “right.”

Where can you make offerings?

If you are beginning to make a relationship with a Divine being, it is recommended that you perform an offering at the place where you are creating an altar or installing a shrine. This is where the Gods often sit within your home and where They can be more apparent with you. Lighting the candle, activating the shrine, and making Them aware that you are there and wanting Their presence can ensure that the offering gets to where it’s going.

Once you have built a solid connection with a Deity, you can make offerings anywhere you go. You can give them some of your dinner while eating with people, you can allow Them to enjoy your drink at a bar, you can give your time to Them by inviting Them to be there with you while you enjoy movies or play games or something that brings you joy in your daily life.

It does not always have to be food or beverage. The Gods want what you have – not the material items – but rather, the human experience of the material items. Otherwise, there’s no point for Them to have something material if They are not material Themselves. 

The space you are in does not always have to be sacred, as it is a temporary exchange between the two worlds. If you’re watching a movie, for instance, and you think the Gods might enjoy the movie you’re watching, you don’t need to make the couch something sacred, you need only be present while watching, and enjoying the movie yourself.

Gods and Their preferences

Obviously, not all Gods feel similarly about all things. Leaving food on your altar for Them to come get later is an option if you aren’t feeling like They want to come get it right now. This is where divination is helpful and building rapport with Them to ensure that communication is possible. You can start with a pendulum and see if the offering is something They want to enjoy with you, when they want to enjoy it, or if They’re able to come down and be there with you while you’re enjoying it. 

Sometimes, the Gods are busy. They will not always be where you want Them to be all the time. There are exceptions to this rule, like all rules when it comes to the Gods, but this is more widely the case. They are not always going to be at your house, at your shrine when you call out to Them to enjoy dinner with you or drink the wine you’re wanting. If you think about it relationally, if They don’t know who you are yet, why spend time with someone They don’t know?

Offerings over time can help Them get to know you better and by offering things you enjoy, They can know your own preferences.

A good example of Their preferences changing over time is that I know that Loki doesn’t like “fake” things. I, however, prefer oatmilk in my coffee and lattes and if he wanted a coffee or latte from me, he would need to get over having oatmilk as a replacement milk. Knowing that oatmilk is “fake” milk, he would often not wish to be around that coffee and instead request for me to give something else I enjoy or for Him. This has changed as our relationship was built in a meaningful way, as He now will enjoy coffee in whatever form I make for Him because He knows that I also enjoy it and will have a better time drinking it because regular creamer or milk is not good for my stomach. Once upon a time, He didn’t know what that really meant for me, and instead would pout about it – now He does know what it means for me and is more happy to change His preferences for me to get more use out of what I am offering. 

It seems trivial, I know, for Him to change His feelings about coffee, but that is a way that we have grown our relationship over time. The Gods can change and alter some of Their feelings about things the more They know you. What I wouldn’t have done before all of this would be to offer something I know They wouldn’t want just so I can say I did it, and force it upon Them. If They don’t know why I’m offering something that isn’t really a preference of Theirs, They will likely be insulted. 

That’s like giving peanuts to someone with a peanut allergy – perhaps not as deadly but the ignorance and arrogance is still there. Assuming anyone can have peanuts while the allergy is so common is like being unaware of someone’s ability to eat something. Having no thought about Who you are talking to and why is typically very uncomfortable for Them. It’s like being invited into a stranger’s home and talking to them for an extended period of time and given food you don’t want. 

This is why offerings are essential to building that sort of reciprocity, intimacy, and meaning between you and the Divine. You cannot start right away with assuming They want what you’re having – you have to take time and get to know Them. 

How to make offerings

So now that you know where and why and what, you now can know how. 

If you are at your altar or shrine, you would need to light the candle you have on it, place the offering in the bowl or bring a plate. Also bring a plate for yourself to eat alongside Them or use the plate as your own when They are done with it, or if you desire to eat alongside Them. 

Sit at the shrine and say Their name and request Their presence. You will typically know if They are there eventually as Their presence is hard to ignore once you’ve built up enough work over time with the shrine and altar. It’ll be easier once you recognize where They are in relation to you and how They feel once They are around. Their presence has an effect on the human body and it’ll be difficult to ignore it. 

Once you are finished, do not leave the food at the altar unless otherwise indicated. If They cannot get to you immediately, wait until They get there before removing it. But remove it promptly. Do not wait for the food to get stale, for the food or drink to have mold in it, or for the glass to get empty due to evaporation. Preferably, do it the following day if not a few hours later. If They do not come and get it by then, consider the offering not accepted and try again some other time.

Troubleshooting

If you feel your offering is not being accepted. Make sure you are spending enough time at the altar you are offering on. If you aren’t spending a ton of time there, it’ll be hard for Them to know where you are much less what you’re doing. Consider whether you enjoy the offering.

If you can’t think of why They are not there, use divination and ask Them what is going wrong so you can adjust accordingly.

Consider environmental issues at play. If you are not within a welcoming environment, conducive to your well-being, if you are with people who make you feel uncomfortable, if you are afraid of being seen, it is a lot harder for Them to be available. Your comfort is just as important if not more so than Theirs. Try to do this in a place where you can be comfortable. If it means you have to make a portable shrine, then do so. Go on a walk somewhere with an object They have been anchored to, and make the offering there. Sometimes that can be the only way for Them to get to you – and that’s fine.

The fact that you are doing this and acknowledging both what They need for it to be meaningful and what you need is more than enough for Them to recognize how much you desire this relationship. If you cannot put both needs into account all the time, then don’t do it when it’s not possible. Otherwise you’re harming yourself as well as any possibility for you to make something out of the relationship you’re wanting to build.

If you do not have food or drink to give Them.

Water and bread are still acceptable. Anything cheap that you have readily available is perfectly fine as it is still meaningful and useful to the human body as it provides nourishment. You are also nourishing the Gods by nourishing yourself. Do not think that it is any less meaningful. It is better to give something than to not give at all, and by allowing Them to be apart of your life, you are still giving Them a way to be present and around.

If your altar has to be hidden.

I have written about when to make a smaller altar in a box or shrine hidden away. If you can eat it while you have the box open or the shrine present, then you should eat it then. If not, make the food contained and put it in the box until you feel that it has been finished. Eat it whenever you get the chance if it is not old or stale or gone bad. 

In Summary

You do not have to follow any specific guidance when it comes to making an offering. If you wish to follow some specific tradition or reconstructed view, and that’s meaningful to you and you’re getting something out of it, then do so. 

Offerings are a great way of building rapport with the Gods and becoming aware of Their presence and creating meaning for yourself and for Them. If you are not actively placing yourself in relationship with Them, it will be difficult to respond to necessary changes or even why you’re having the relationship in the first place.

They can be as fun as you want it to be, and as silly and obvious as you want it to be. Games or entertainment or having a good time is just as easily met with love as much as an observance of any specific traditional ritual if not more so. 

My perspective on devotional workings typically places the Gods at the center of how I do anything. This means that everything I’ve done up to this point has led me to the conclusions I am describing to you here. This has come from years of experimentation and asking the Gods questions about what They want and how They want it. I’ve had to let go of reconstructing historical parts and allow the history to feed my context and conclusions rather it be solely what I do. 

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As always, let me know your thoughts and if you’ve tried anything different that has gotten good results. Please let me know if there are any questions you have about what I’ve said or if you’ve tried it and have gotten something out of it, as well. Any feedback is good feedback!