Okay, I’ve read through the past Q&As but I still need some advice. See I plan on offering the Triple Goddess a bar of white chocolate in honor of the Blue Moon tomorrow.
Now, should I unwrap it or not? And I know you’re either supposed to dispose of it or give it to the animals, but chocolate of any kind can be bad for animals, and I hate to waste food.
Besides, I hear my Mother’s voice going on about starving people in Ethiopia. LOL! After a day or two can I just eat it?
Usually, when I offer food products I just let them on my window until they get bad (so I don’t feel sorry then throwing it away), but it is usually related to fruits. The chocolate will take weeks to get bad and will probably melt in the sun.
My advice is to donate it to a person in need as an offer. Or give it to a child.
My advice is yes you can eat it once the offering has sat for 24 hours the deity has already consumed the energy and nutrition not that chocolate is nutritious lol but if a deity has accepted your offering after 24 hours you can eat the food offering as the spirits feed on the essence and leave us gifts, so by eating them you assimilate them. One of my favorite things to do is share a pomegranate with Hecate I leave one half for her and one for me I hold the pomegranate to the sky say my prayer thank her for her protection and as I I eat my half I imagine the juices are nurturing my mind body and soul that in her name I am consuming strength.
@Amethyst I offer food to Loki daily, he literally has dinner with us I leave his plate and drink of munchies overnight and clear it away in the morning. Food that’s safe can go for the birds outside, otherwise I throw it. Maybe it’s a Loki thing, but I never eat or drink his offerings unless he urges me to, and he only ever does that if it’s a brandy, as he knows I hate the stuff. That’s his humour coming out.
Hee! Loki sure does like to mess with you, doesn’t he? I work with the Triple Goddess and like I said I can’t help but hear my Mother saying don’t waste food. So maybe that’s encouragement to eat it? Or maybe I’ve got wishful thinking
You’ve definitely got a thought-provoking situation here, Amethyst! Like you’ve said, chocolate is one thing that probably shouldn’t be left outside or even composted- so that crosses off the usual go-to for most biodegradable food offerings.
I honestly think it’s fine to eat it (so long as you haven’t seen or been directed not to by your deity). Depending on the deity and the situation, eating the offering as an act of preservation (saving the food from going to waste) could be seen as a respectful action to take.
Another option is to “dispose” of it by transforming it into something else- making gold out of lead, so to say. You could melt it down, combine it with milk, vanilla, and whipped cream and make yourself some hot chocolate!
Whatever you choose to do with the chocolate, I’m sure your thoughtfulness and care are appreciated by the Goddess.
Ooh, I like the idea of hot chocolate or even chocolate milk. That’s a good idea. Thanks for the encouragement, y’all! As I said, this is the first time I’m offering food instead of incense.
Good for you for giving the food offerings a try! I hope it works out well (and again, I’m sure the Goddess will appreciate your thoughtfulness!)- if it ends up not feeling quite right, you can always go back to the incense offerings
Thanks for the encouragement! I may go back to incense. I’m sitting here looking at a bar of chocolate I can’t eat. The temptation is real. LOL! But that’s what makes it an offering, isn’t it?
Agreed! It was an act of both kindness and a sacrifice to offer up the chocolate. Additionally, you’re showing self-restraint every time you resist temptation.
I think giving something you want, that has value to you, is a higher level of offering than something that you don’t particularly care about. As beings who exist beyond the confines of the physical world, I’m inclined to think that the physical/monetary value of an item doesn’t matter nearly as much as the mental/emotional/spiritual value involved in the act of giving.
The chocolate is a special offering that clearly comes from your heart- you’re not only giving a physical item, but also showing your strength of devotion and willingness to share something valuable to you. I think it is a very worthy offering!
You’ve gotten some great answers already, @Amethyst – I’m just chiming in to say I’m in agreeance with everyone else here!
I don’t personally leave food offerings very often. The only exception is if I leave offerings of milk, cream, or butter for Brigid. I don’t consume dairy, so I wouldn’t eat it. Also, leaving it out for 24hrs makes it unsafe to eat afterward, so they get tossed.
I’ve heard that food offerings to chthonic deities - deities of the underworld - should never be consumed by the person giving the offering. Why, I’m not sure, but that’s what I’ve heard. If I find a source for that, I’ll be sure to leave it here for you!
It could be! I did a bit more digging and found that this rule comes from Hellenism, a Greek tradition of paganism with specific rules and traditions. I’m not sure how Norse pagans view it, but I’ll do some more digging and find out!
I didn’t find any general rules about offerings in a Norse context. This post on Patheos gives some good information for offerings to Loki! I’ll quote it here for you.
Loki easily tops the list as the most popular of the Jotnar worshiped today. (I’d argue that this was the case before the Marvel movies came out, but it’s hard to say for sure.) Though I have him listed as a jotun, as his parents were jotuns, a case could easily be made for being one of the Aesir. Want to know more about Loki? Luckily, Laine, one of my fellow bloggers on the Agora channel, posted a great, heavily detailed article about Him yesterday. (We never plan it when this happens, honest!) Among other things, we know that he is Odin’s blood brother, which should qualify Him for enrollment with the Aesir, but given his Trickster role, it’s hard to make him fit into only one category. In any event, regardless of whether you think he is Jotun or Aesir, He is unarguably very active in the modern world.
Food: Meat. Spicy foods, curries. Cupcakes and foods that have a high sugar content and come in colors not often found in nature.
Drink: It is said in the Lore that when Odin gets offered a drink, Loki should also be offered one, which I do. So, often Loki gets whatever Odin is having. Other suggested offerings are things that are hot or spicy, such as Fireball whiskey. Coffee. Full-fat drinks. A friend who’s dedicated to Loki says that he pretty much wants some of whatever anyone else is having that looks good.
Otherofferings: Disrupting the status quo, especially if the status quo has become stagnant or repressive. Calling out the emperor who’s not wearing any clothes. Also, stand-up comedy or willingly making a fool out of yourself.
haha it could be both! For me, these offerings don’t happen very often - once every few months - and it’s just a little bit at a time. Otherwise, no I don’t give food offerings for the same reason. Now, when I offer cookies or something I’ve baked - it’s game on. I don’t toss that food because there’s nothing wrong with it after giving it as an offering and leaving it out for 24 hours.
There’s also those that would argue leaving the food out as an offering is not a waste, merely a gift or sacrifice of one’s resources for the sake of devotion. I’m not sure where I stand with that, because I don’t like the idea of throwing out perfectly good food, even if its an offering. If it were actively consumed physically by the deity, that’s different. However, that’s not what happens, so…I don’t know I prefer offerings of skill or service anyway, but that’s just my personal practice
It depends on which aspect of Hecate you want to address if you focus on her darker side then chtonic offerings can’t be eaten but if you focus on her more benign aspects then ouranic offerings a shared meal with her can be luckily are dark mother has many sides Understanding Hekate- Part 4: Offerings and Sacrifices: | Where Three Roads Meet...
I leave his plate and drink of munchies overnight and clear it away in the morning. Food that’s safe can go for the birds outside, otherwise I throw it. Maybe it’s a Loki thing, but I never eat or drink his offerings unless he urges me to, and he only ever does that if it’s a brandy, as he knows I hate the stuff. That’s his humour coming out. 
I prefer offerings of skill or service anyway, but that’s just my personal practice 
