Meaningful Offerings

After hearing of the various offerings people have made to their deities, I decided to voice my opinions and feelings about the matter.

The story that particularly stirred me was that of a particular elder in an organization, both of which will remain anonymous. Apparently, he promised to literally burn a $20 bill if a certain event came to pass. The event did indeed occur, and the following religious holiday found the gentleman at the bonfire with $20 bill in hand, the paper money committed to ashes as promised.

The offering seemed utterly wasteful to me, one toward which he had not put much thought. While I would not recommend to anyone that they backpedal from a promise made toward their deity - indeed, my own Asatru faith prohibits Oathbreaking as a serious crime - perhaps some forethought could have created a more positive and beneficial offering. Careful planning may make our offerings more pleasing to the gods and give us better results.

My advice in this matter is to first consider the domain and interests of the deity to whom you are planning to make the offering. For example, the Morrigan is associated with warriors, liberated women, and ravens, among other things. Odin is associated with ravens, wolves, warriors, wisdom, and poetry. The Dagda has as part of his domain the earth, treaties, and life and death. Research the deity and make a list.

The next step is deciding what form of offering to make toward this deity. The easiest, and perhaps most obvious, is to dedicate a monetary amount to the interests of the deity. Set aside that $20 for a charity related to one of the interests - for the Morrigan, perhaps it could go toward a veterans' charity. For the Dagda, maybe the Nature Conservancy or a related organization. I personally have an altar set up dedicated to Bast (yes, I know that she isn't Nordic, that's something I've dealt with and have to live with as part of my life, despite attempts to deny Her presence and be a purist!). This altar is in a small corner of my dwelling and has, among the trinkets, a pyramid shaped box in which I place the weekly monetary donation that will eventually go toward an animal shelter, an offering to help the felines of the world. This offering is given with solemn intention and love, with no expectation of a reward. I give to other charities as well, in the same spirit, but this is the one I surround with the greatest ceremony and intention.

Another type of offering is to dedicate your meal to the deity, and to the living beings whose lives were ended to serve as your meal, both plant and animal (and fungal, I suppose). Thanking these beings and offering a portion to the divine (usually by placing some outside to be consumed by the earth and its creatures) can make a simple meal a spiritual experience. This type of offering is practiced by almost all religions anyway, in some form or another, whether it is the before-meal prayer that many of us squirmed through as children at grandma's supper table, or the cakes-and-ale that is also present as communion in that monotheistic religion whose name I won't bring up! Even the act of hunting can become an offering that celebrates life, if it is done in the right frame of mind.

There are many other ways to make offerings meaningfully. Offering a birdfeeder to the feathered beings (and perhaps a corn feeder to the squirrelly ones), planting a tree and dedicating it to a deity, setting aside land to be untouched and wild, offering love to a shunned person, being there for a sad person, writing a poem or piece of prose, and giving away old clothing to charity-these are all ways to offer a part of yourself to the universe in a useful and significant fashion.

These may seem like actions that we take almost every day of our lives. What's the big deal about dropping some coins in the Salvation Army bucket, cooking a really good meal, being a good friend, or planting trees? The difference is the intention involved, and whether you are conscious of the energy created by your actions. Things done in the spirit of the divine ARE divine, even if they are also mundane. Lighting a candle for aesthetic ambience or so that you can see in the dark is quite different than lighting one to honor the fire goddess Brigid, although both can be accomplished at once with the proper mindset.

One more thing I would like to mention, although it is not necessarily about the nature of the offering itself, rather instead the spirit in which it is given: An offering given with expectation of earthly accolades is not necessarily one given with pure intention. A former member of my private group once suggested that our joint donations be signed with the group's name for the purpose of public recognition. The rest of us however prevailed with leaving the donations as anonymous so that they would not be tainted with ego and self-interest. Yes, of course requesting a receipt for tax purposes is not selfish or wrong, but making the donation for the purpose of getting your or the group's name on a list of donors so that you "look good" to the public - well that's a little fishy in my opinion. If you don't care one way or the other, great, but consider your intentions carefully (be honest with yourself!) before making the decision regarding anonymity.

So what will your next offering be? Toys for needy children? A kind word to the harried store clerk? Ten dollars to the animal shelter? What do you think your deity would prefer?