So on the Naos Hecate list there has recently been a thread about what sort of offerings do the members make, and how, to The Golden Clad Torch Bearing Maiden.

(look it up, Hecate was pictured as a youthful Goddess until Late Antiquity… of course being a Goddess, She can look like whatever She wishes, so I don’t know if there’s all that much room for confusion or scandal on the issue…)

This fact, combined with the scent of Lavender from the incense I’ve offered to the Gods and Guardian Spirits of my home today, has me thinking of the process of Libations and Offerings to the Gods.  As is noted on my Daily Practice page, I make offerings of incense and pour libations to the Gods of the Hellenic Pantheon and to the Lord and Lady of the Craft.

These offerings are, like regular prayer, an important part of the way I practice my Witchcraft as a solitary, and my Paganism as a budding Hellenic Polytheist.  It is through regular prayers and offerings , in addition to the rituals (in my case on a calendar of…) of the Esbat’s and Sabbat’s, that build our relationships with the Divine.

It is so sad to me that so little emphasis in our literature and dialogues goes to the importance of building our relationship with the Divine, or Spirit, or The All That Is.  The title of today’s post actually comes from my own term for the mystery that is the closeness and caring and respect one can feel in ones relationship with the Gods when one remembers Them, speaks with ~ and listens to ~ Them, and shares with Them on a regular basis.

Our focus should be on Them and our relationship with Them, not solely on ourselves and our needs as so many Pagan or Witchcraft 101 books and materials might lead you to believe.

For me, as a Witch, one of the best reources is Deborah Lipp’s Element’s of Ritual, which is a detailed examination of casting the Wiccan Circle and has some great points about Libations and other offerings.  There are also a number of other useful sources from the Hellenic, the Heathen, and the Celtic Recon p.o.v. regarding libations and offerings.

Peace,

Pax