Offerings, Sacrifice, and good hospitality
Today is another New Moon. New Moon in Aquarius, actually, so Happy New Year to those of you who celebrate Lunar New Year. It’s also the night I renew certain offerings on my Altar. Since attending the Morrigan’s Call Retreat; serving as Her priest and in her Temple there, I have taken to sharing my Morning Tea with The Morrigan. In addition to pouring out the second sip of my morning cup to Her and sharing space together, my devotional has grown into my also leaving a pretty cordial glass with a serving of imported Irish Tea for Herself on my Altar which I renew monthly on the New Moon. This past October I attended Hecate’s Key and began sharing my morning cup of Cacao with Hecate in the same way, with a desire to get to know Her as well as myself and see what relationship developed in the process. I now also keep a small vessel of ground Pure Cacao Paste (which is like a block of bakers chocolate and not paste like).
A few people have questioned me about why I leave “offerings” and isn’t that just wasteful. I thought about it in terms they would understand and actually, it not only makes sense to me, it explains how I feel.
When I have guests in my home, I offer them food, drink, comfort, and companionship. This is my expectation of good hospitality and I offer it freely. I offer what I can, when I can, to create a space my guests feel welcomed and comfortable to open up to share as much as they wish and only as much as they wish, when they wish to share. I light candles around my home to create a nice atmosphere of warmth which I also get to enjoy. The tea or whatever I am making for my guests I also get to enjoy, but not that same portion. Understand? So in this line of thinking, the candles I light on my Altars while for the intention they burn for may be specific, I also get to enjoy the ambience and warmth and scent and glow of them burning. Candles are a consumable item I daily use in my magick, my devotional work, my healing practice. So is Tea and Cacao so it makes perfect sense to me that I make some sacred by sacrificing a portion monthly to the Deities that I have invited to get to know me as I get to know them on a personal level in daily space I devote to them…. aka: Devotional Space.
When we do something enough times at a regular interval and for the same reason, it becomes a ritual. It acquires the meaning we attach to the experience. Our UPG (unsubstantiated personal gnosis) develops around our personal practice as it develops with our own personal growth. Our personal experience effects our personal practice. I could continue to give whiskey or bourbon to the deities I converse with daily but I can not share with them as I am not longer able to consume those libations. I strongly believe in tasting an offering before giving it away. I taste the food I cook and the tea I brew by the potful before serving it to my guests. There is an idea that we taste our libations before sharing them with our gods to demonstrate that we believe them safe and wholesome. Much like the custom of a royal taster.
Whiskey is no longer safe for me. Some days I can tolerate a sip, most days I cannot; a long lasting consequence of my heart attack in 2017. I also cannot tolerate caffeine since my heart attack and pay extra to be able to enjoy good quality and delicious decaffeinated Irish tea. This is the tea I share with The Morrigan. It wouldn’t be a sacrifice for me to give Herself regular tea or even regular Irish tea. Someone else’s UPG might demand they offer Herself Irish Whiskey and that’s OK. I have had mornings where I have heard Her ask for that instead and I have freely and willingly given it to Her. I keep a bottle for guests. Especially my important guests. Herself is one of my very important guests. I honestly don’t know what the preferences of Hecate are with Her devotees in general. I know I was sipping my morning cup of cacao while at a retreat dedicated to Her and I poured out a small offering to Her as I silently stated my desired to open myself to Her and get to know Her better. I heard a very clear “Mmmm, I like this, let’s do this again tomorrow.” Thus my morning ritual cup of Cacao with Hecate was created.
So as you see, in my heart and mind, there is little difference between offerings, sacrifice, and good hospitality…. and yes, I am kinda a little bit of a kitchen witch at heart. The hearth/Kitchen is the center of my home irrespective of its actual location in my house and yes, it holds my family altar even though it goes unrecognized by nearly all who come into my home. Honestly, it’s for me to know and not for anyone to find out unless I tell them directly. To refer to the Four Powers of the Sphinx: To know, to will, to dare, and to keep silent. Our magic and our devotional work is not necessarily anything we need to keep secret, but it is personal and it is not necessary to always have everything on display. For those who are comfortable and do, I thank them. They help create an environment for those who can’t and don’t to see they aren’t alone. They are my inspiration for sharing my personal practice as much as I can in an attempt to give back to the vast collective of community.
Life is indeed Magickal and most certainly so are you.
Thanks for the great perspective.