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Thursday, September 24, 2015

How do I Make Offerings to the Theoi?

Offerings are usually pretty easy to make in Hellenic polytheism. You don’t need a shrine space, though it can be convenient to have one. As a general rule of thumb, making offerings follows this (or a similar) structure in HP:
  1. Get the attention of the deity you’re making an offering to, this is typically by calling out their name, and/or some epithets. You don’t have to use epithets, it’s more formal if you do though. Epithets can also give the advantage of telling the theos your calling on, exactly what it is about them you’re about to be praising
  2. Same some nice shit. Tell them why you’re about to make an offering to them. This can be anything from, “This is my weekly offering” to “I think you’re pretty cool” or “Thanks for your help on that test last Tuesday” ect…
  3. Define the offering. This is where you usually tell them what the offering is. Juice, fruit, wine, a bit of jewelry you’re dedicating to them, a devotional act you’re planning on partaking, ect…
  4. Give them the offering. If you don’t have an altar or shrine space, this one can be a bit more difficult. But, there’s always a way to make it work. You can, for example, declare that you’re dedicating a necklace to Aphrodite, and now wear it in her honor, and then put the actual necklace on; or put it in a jewelry box for safe keeping until you do wear it.
  5. Thank them for paying attention and *hopefully* accepting your offering.

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