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  • Questions About (Edible) Offerings in Celtic Traditions

    Well, I've decided to try out Celtic Polytheism (of the Irish stripe, mostly) for the next six months for various reasons. Expect to see me poking around the neighborhood as respectfully as I can. I have some questions about offerings.

    1. You don't revert food offerings made to any of the various Celtic deities, right? Reversion is when offerings placed on a deity's altar/shrine "revert" back to the worshipers for them to eat.

    From what I understand, all the "goodness" gets drained out when food is offered, so it's no good for humans to ingest.

    2. How much, exactly, do you have to offer? I'm used to offering entire meals to the Netjeru, but obviously I'll starve if you can't revert meals given to the Celtic gods. Lol.

    3. Are there any food taboos? For example, fish is verboten for a lot of Netjeru. Is there anything like that in the Celtic traditions?

    4. How do you actually offer food? Is there anything you're supposed to say or do?

    I know that's a lot of questions, but the CR FAQ and Tairis didn't quite satisfy my curiosity. Thanks to anyone who takes the time.
    Blog: http://thestarsafire.tumblr.com

    Kuchi wa wazawai no moto (the mouth is the origin of disasters)

  • #2
    Re: Questions About (Edible) Offerings in Celtic Traditions

    I'm not sure if we have any Celtic types running amok on the forum ATM...but I hope we have a lurker willing to come forth and take a stab at it, I'm interested to see the answers!
    “You have never answered but you did not need to. If I stand at the ocean I can hear you with your thousand voices. Sometimes you shout, hilarious laughter that taunts all questions. Other nights you are silent as death, a mirror in which the stars show themselves. Then I think you want to tell me something, but you never do. Of course I know I have written letters to no-one. But what if I find a trident tomorrow?" ~~Letters to Poseidon, Cees Nooteboom

    “We still carry this primal relationship to the Earth within our consciousness, even if we have long forgotten it. It is a primal recognition of the wonder, beauty, and divine nature of the Earth. It is a felt reverence for all that exists. Once we bring this foundational quality into our consciousness, we will be able to respond to our present man-made crisis from a place of balance, in which our actions will be grounded in an attitude of respect for all of life. This is the nature of real sustainability.”
    ~~Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

    "We are the offspring of history, and must establish our own paths in this most diverse and interesting of conceivable universes--one indifferent to our suffering, and therefore offering us maximal freedom to thrive, or to fail, in our own chosen way."
    ~~Stephen Jay Gould, Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History

    "Humans are not rational creatures. Now, logic and rationality are very helpful tools, but there’s also a place for embracing our subjectivity and thinking symbolically. Sometimes what our so-called higher thinking can’t or won’t see, our older, more primitive intuition will." John Beckett

    Pagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
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    • #3
      Re: Questions About (Edible) Offerings in Celtic Traditions

      Jembru worships Celtic deities if I'm not mistaken. There's a few people that follow Celtic gods but I don't think there's many
      “They moaned and squealed, and pressed their snouts to the earth. We are sorry, we are sorry.
      Sorry you were caught, I said. Sorry that you thought I was weak, but you were wrong.”
      -Madeline Miller, Circe

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      • #4
        Re: Questions About (Edible) Offerings in Celtic Traditions

        I'm no expert, by any means. I've followed Celtic traditions for a little over two years and I'm still learning. But I will offer what I believe. Do keep in mind that I could be wrong.

        Originally posted by Satu View Post
        1. You don't revert food offerings made to any of the various Celtic deities, right? Reversion is when offerings placed on a deity's altar/shrine "revert" back to the worshipers for them to eat.

        From what I understand, all the "goodness" gets drained out when food is offered, so it's no good for humans to ingest.
        This is quite right. On the occasions that my offering has been accepted, what was left behind was did not even look edible. It was lacking in color or had a very distinct look that made you not want to eat it in the first place. Also, from what I can gather, it is considered poor from to eat what the Deity leaves behind.

        2. How much, exactly, do you have to offer? I'm used to offering entire meals to the Netjeru, but obviously I'll starve if you can't revert meals given to the Celtic gods. Lol.
        No real clue at this point.

        3. Are there any food taboos? For example, fish is verboten for a lot of Netjeru. Is there anything like that in the Celtic traditions?

        4. How do you actually offer food? Is there anything you're supposed to say or do?
        To figure out what any particular Deity wants there are two ways to go about it. 1. Ask them. 2. Research.

        On the first way: it is by far the best and most reliable way. However, it can be a little tough to understand any Deity that you are not familiar with, or if you are reluctant to make that kind of contact with that Deity. Also, what you "hear" back can be easily influenced by your own preconceptions and thoughts. For example I was positive that Badb wanted a porterhouse steak--medium well, a medley of potatoes, carrots and onions slathered in garlic butter and green peas. And then She asked me to eat it for her as she was busy elsewhere that evening. Apparently I misunderstood...

        On the second way: This seems to be the path most often taken. Google the Deity by name and start reading what you find. You will come across conflicting information from time to time. One site says "Tansy cakes" others will say "Rosemary Remembrance Cookies". I start with the one that is mentioned the most. Or if they are all mentioned I lean toward my intuition. While I've found NO ONE that actually wants Tansy Cakes, it never hurts to ask.

        How to offer food? I would say in the way that you feel is most appropriate. I've found no information that says "Offer three grapes placed in a triangle on top of a plain flat bread, and set this to the east of your Goddess/God candle". So I tend to make the offering as if I were serving a valued guest who is seated at the altar. As of yet I have no "ritual" or rehearsed saying that I use to present the offering. Normally I hold the offering up as if I were showing it to the seated Deity and say something like: "Please accept this (insert name of food here), I hope it is to your liking." Or if it is a special food intended for a certain purpose, I will ask something like: "Please accept this grain in order to bless my garden and bring abundance to all that grows there".

        I have offered things that I had no idea if the Deity would accept them or not. I did this to try and figure out what that Deity wanted. Some were accepted, some were rejected. And sometimes a particular item was accepted once, but rejected other times. I guess Deities can feel like eating something else for a change, just as we humans do. For me the key to offering items that I don't know if the Deity will accept is to offer them with the same respect that I would offer a known item. I offer it in a "Would you care for..." attitude. And I am never offended if the answer is "no". I believe that most Deities look at why you are offering them the item, more than they look at what the item is.

        Just a quick note on non-food items. I offered some Cosmos flowers to Nemesis. I took petals taken from some flowers that had been damaged, or had lost some petals in the fist place. I placed the petals around the Goddess candle. Then I made a small bouquet of freshly cut flowers and placed them between Her candle and Her coffee. In the morning (I usually leave my offerings on the altar overnight), the petals around Her candle were shriveled, curled up and darkened badly; yet the flowers in the bouquet were as fresh and vibrant as if they had never been cut. Although the petals had, obviously, had all the goodness taken out of them while the flowers seemed to have not been touched; I understood that She had accepted both of them. The petals had been "taken" and the flowers had been admired (for they showed no signs of having been cut the night before.

        I have had one time, when I offered a libation to a Goddess, She asked me to join her in a drink. That was different. But it felt kind of like a toast. It was a honor.

        In short, the way I make offerings is the way I would want to have offerings made to me. With respect, and all intent to please the Deity that I'm offering to. It is my belief that a well intentioned offering will be accepted even if it is not what the Deity normally wants. In a case like that, They accept the act and your intent, and politely don't eat the food.

        Ah... side note here: Should you offer something and it is not accepted, I would be reluctant to "revert" that particular item. Remember, you gave it to Them; just because They did not eat it, doesn't mean that They gave it back.

        I hope this helps you. Keep in mind I am no expert in the matter. I'm just letting you know what I have done and... so far... I've not been struck by lightning.

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        • #5
          Re: Questions About (Edible) Offerings in Celtic Traditions

          Wow, this is really helpful, Tarn! Thank you so much for the information.
          Blog: http://thestarsafire.tumblr.com

          Kuchi wa wazawai no moto (the mouth is the origin of disasters)

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          • #6
            Re: Questions About (Edible) Offerings in Celtic Traditions

            Glad to have helped. Just remember, I'm no expert at this yet. Your results may be different, but this should get you started.

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            • #7
              Re: Questions About (Edible) Offerings in Celtic Traditions

              I generally don't offer meats or whole meals. For instance, I make offerings to Brighid, it's usually some bread or portion of my actual meal. After the offering, I always felt uncomfortable with the idea of eating it, or throwing it away. I read in a book once that suggested you bury it in the earth. When I feel compelled to do this, I bury it in my garden boxes (I live in an apartment complex, so burying it in the actual ground is kind of frowned upon). Other times, if my offering was some bread, I take it down to the pond and share it with the ducks. That probably seems weird, but while I'm feeding them I use the quiet moment with nature to center myself and pray or meditate. I just felt like sharing what was left with nature was the most respectful means of disposal.

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              • #8
                Re: Questions About (Edible) Offerings in Celtic Traditions

                Keep in mind some of the specifics about the HOW of things have been lost to time. The best way to make any kind of offering is with honor, respect and the intent of it being an offering.
                Try making a little extra portion of something as an offering, make it with care and most (not all, but the finicky or annoyed deities will generally let you know.) deities will accept an offering.

                Keep in mind Irish celtic dieties tend to focus on specific talents, so food is not necessarily the best offering anyway. If you are talented at drawing, that may be a more fit offering for a deity. They respected ability and if you were good at something, they tended to appreciate it. I have found that offerings of my time and talents have often felt to me, like they pleased my deities far better than setting aside food, though sometimes food is appreciated as well (Its something I am good at, and Celtic deities were not really ones to turn down a good meal or food.)

                Generally I would agree that it is considered bad form to eat what has been offered up for a deity. My solution is usually to leave a plate with the food offering outside somewhere private and safe and let it be. That isn't always an option though, so burial is acceptable too. Again, these deities tend to respect ability, they won't expect you to compose a sonnet if it isn't something that is within the scope of your talents, and they won't expect perfect offerings if it isn't something you are able to do. A few of the more specific deities may expect certain things for specific patronage, but I have seen this vary from person to person and definitely from deity to deity.
                http://catcrowsnow.blogspot.com/

                But they were doughnuts of darkness. Evil damned doughnuts, tainted by the spawn of darkness.... Which could obviously only be redeemed by passing through the fiery inferno of my digestive tract.
                ~Jim Butcher

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