Offerings are Essential
ONE MUST GIVE IN ORDER TO RECEIVE
Offerings are symbolic gestures of your willingness to give in order to receive. Offerings can take many forms. In your meditations, leave yourself open to be told what should be the exchange. Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs is an excellent guide to what herbs and oils are sacred to what element, goddess, or god.
Offerings must mean something to you. They do not have to be expensive, just thought-out. Consider what is a suitable gift to whoever helps you spiritually. It could be flowers, coins, coconuts, shells, or a special piece of jewelry. If you take a seashell, leave an offering to the sea. You can choose a flower especially for the sea and throw the petals into the water. It is said that bad luck will befall anyone who removes lava from a Hawaiian island. As illustrated by the nature of lava and volcanoes, Pele is a severe, but beautiful goddess. A friend of mine told me about taking a piece of lava from a volcano crater. With great thought and respect, he left a suitable fiery offering, which meant something to him - his last cigarette. Although I think Pele will be kind to him, I do not advise anyone try this. Think about every bit of nature you take home, you might decide to leave it.
Some spirits like and are attracted to incense. The Santerian Orishas such as Chango (St. Barbara) like apples as offerings. Mercury is associated with offerings of bergamot and the Sun, with mistletoe. A suitable offering for Jupiter is nutmeg. Venus loves flowers, camphor, and a myriad of herbs. Honey is also a good offering to Venus and often used in Candle Magick.
HONEY
Tasting the honey is a symbolic offering to Venus. The history of this dates back to courtly food tasters. Their role was to taste the food before the queen, king, or dignitary did, to prevent poisoning. This offering was derived from the legend that Venus was poisoned by honey. By tasting the honey, you are offering yourself to Venus as the taster to protect her. If the honey is poisoned, you die. You are, in essence, stating that you desire this request to such a degree, you are willing, symbolically, to give your life for it.
Offerings are symbolic gestures of your willingness to give in order to receive. Offerings can take many forms. In your meditations, leave yourself open to be told what should be the exchange. Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs is an excellent guide to what herbs and oils are sacred to what element, goddess, or god.
Offerings must mean something to you. They do not have to be expensive, just thought-out. Consider what is a suitable gift to whoever helps you spiritually. It could be flowers, coins, coconuts, shells, or a special piece of jewelry. If you take a seashell, leave an offering to the sea. You can choose a flower especially for the sea and throw the petals into the water. It is said that bad luck will befall anyone who removes lava from a Hawaiian island. As illustrated by the nature of lava and volcanoes, Pele is a severe, but beautiful goddess. A friend of mine told me about taking a piece of lava from a volcano crater. With great thought and respect, he left a suitable fiery offering, which meant something to him - his last cigarette. Although I think Pele will be kind to him, I do not advise anyone try this. Think about every bit of nature you take home, you might decide to leave it.
Some spirits like and are attracted to incense. The Santerian Orishas such as Chango (St. Barbara) like apples as offerings. Mercury is associated with offerings of bergamot and the Sun, with mistletoe. A suitable offering for Jupiter is nutmeg. Venus loves flowers, camphor, and a myriad of herbs. Honey is also a good offering to Venus and often used in Candle Magick.
HONEY
Tasting the honey is a symbolic offering to Venus. The history of this dates back to courtly food tasters. Their role was to taste the food before the queen, king, or dignitary did, to prevent poisoning. This offering was derived from the legend that Venus was poisoned by honey. By tasting the honey, you are offering yourself to Venus as the taster to protect her. If the honey is poisoned, you die. You are, in essence, stating that you desire this request to such a degree, you are willing, symbolically, to give your life for it.