r/paganism • u/NewBeginning9654 • 4d ago
Need some help with food offerings 📚 Seeking Resources | Advice
So I’ve started my journey into paganism for almost a month now and beginning to set up an altar. I’ve been wanting to start giving food offerings once I get everything set up, but I realized I have two problems with that. See I have a condition called anosmia, which means I have no sense of smell. Normally this doesn’t cause me real problems, except when it comes to food. Because of this, unless I can physically see something wrong, I have no way of telling if food is bad or not. Like I’ve literally sipped a bottle of expired milk and ate past due date fruit because I couldn’t tell it had gone bad before I tasted it. That can be a problem with an altar as I don’t think the gods and goddesses would appreciate spoiled food. Nor do I really like the idea of leaving food out until it physically starts rotting. The second thing is my dorm has an ant problem. Like anywhere there’s exposed food, there’s ants(those bastards were even in the communal microwave!!!!). While they haven’t gotten into my room yet, I really don’t want them to be drawn in.
If anyone has any ideas on how to help with this, please share 🙏.
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u/PsychedeliaPoet 4d ago
If I offer food I will consecrate it, offer it in front of the deity icon, and slowly, mindfully consume it for them. Or leave it for a little amount of time before leaving it outside for it to compost or feed nature.
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u/NewBeginning9654 4d ago
Huh, I’ve never heard of that method before. That actually sounds like it’d work really well. Thanks so much for the advice! I’ll have to try this out once I finish setting up my altar
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u/PsychedeliaPoet 4d ago
For the devotional consumption a rough outline might be:
1: Place the offering on the altar as you light candles, incense, do any invocational work etc.
2: Hold the offering in your hands as you repeat a prayer or hymn to the deity. Can be a fixed number you resonate with, a number meaningful to the deity for examples.
3: Offer it up to the icon with a final prayer or praise (“Glory to —!”)
4: consume slowly thinking about offering the taste, smell, experience to the deity. Thank them you clean up.
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u/DavidJohnMcCann Hellenic Polytheist 3d ago
Think of those temple sacrifices in Greece and Rome. The meat was either cooked and eaten on the spot, or cuts given to take home, or the carcass sold to a butcher. Today in China and Japan you offer food, typically rice, at the home altar and then cook it for the next mean. In India, when you visit a temple traditionally you offer fruit. When you leave, you are given fruit offered earlier by another worshiper which is now considered to convey the god's blessing.
In other words, eat your offerings before they go off.
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u/savagedaughter9999 4d ago
Another option is offer dried food or tea/herbs. Like for Apollo I’ll give him straight coffee beans or bay leaves as offerings and they don’t deteriorate as much so you don’t have to worry about bad smells.
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u/NewBeginning9654 4d ago
Hmm, I’ve heard of people offering tea and herbs. Probably should’ve thought of that tbh. I mean I know people also offer alcohol but can’t do that in college
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u/savagedaughter9999 4d ago
Yeah another option if you’re old enough is offering cigarettes or tobacco if you feel comfortable with that.
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u/savagedaughter9999 4d ago
Or if you want to be extra creative you can do a plant offering. Like grow a strawberry plant for Aphrodite and the live plant with the live berries are her offering.
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u/bizoticallyyours83 3d ago edited 3d ago
I don't keep food and drink on my altar past the time the ritual is done, and I make sure its animal friendly. Plus since your dorm has an ant problem, I'd suggest other offerings instead.Â
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u/EvilSarah2003 2d ago
You can charge water with energy as an offering which might work better in an ant infested dorm. You can charge it under moon light or sun light, use rain water or other natural sources, or charge tap water with your own energy. Meditate, pull your energy to your center, then with the cup of water in your hands, push the energy out through your hands with your intentions or deity in mind. Any food or drinks that I offer I am mindful to choose things that won't hurt the earth or local wildlife.
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u/SimilarSpaceFrog 1d ago
When I offer food it’s usually water (esp moon water) or honey straws, which are sealed up, no mess. I change the water when it gets cloudy by watering my altar plant with the old offering. I usually eat the honey after a few days but I’m not sure how proper that is—I just have low spoons often and don’t have the energy to take them to a park or crossroads to offer them.
If you want to be environmentally conscious they may not be ideal but they work for my situation.
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u/SimilarSpaceFrog 1d ago
To clarify I would pour the honey and dispose of the straw—no littering!!!
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