Day 10: Offerings

 

Traditional offerings or those a devotee chooses via intuition and “personal gnosis”–that’s our devotional topic for today. Others are blogging on this topic, of course, and Kyaza’s blog for Day 10 presents an array of modern choices beyond the usual cinnamon-flavored goodies that I and others offer to Loki. Ky mentions “intangibles” too, such as community service, which are as legit as donuts and not so likely to attract ants.

The Lokean Welcoming Committee also has great, heaping gobs of information regarding offerings and a lot of other stuff beside. I love them.

As far as days of yore, no one knows if Loki was given offerings. However, people may have toasted him with mead…so…there’s that.

Why Offerings?

I’m a fan of the series, Sense8. And though I have many favorite scenes, I have a special fondness for the ones of Kala Dandekar talking to Ganesh while offering really tasty plates of food. These scenes epitomize a loving and personal relationship between a devotee and a deity.

But why make offerings in the first place? Doesn’t it just mean a bunch of food is going to waste? Well… offerings are a way of cultivating and deepening relationships, of course. And they don’t have to be edible.

Here’s what some of my favorite magic authors have to say:

Aidan Wachter writes that “much like bringing your guy chocolates, we bring the Spirits and Powers offerings with the intention to make them happy, and with luck, to have them look more favorably upon us” (Six Ways–Approaches & Entries for Practical Magic, p. 79).

In The Elements of Spellcrafting–21 Keys to Successful Sorcery, Jason Miller talks about simple offerings as “gumball magic”–put something in, get something out (p. 81). He goes into greater depth with regard to researching  folklore and history to understand which traditional offerings are appropriate for a particular spirit or deity. You don’t want to offer something inappropriate, no matter how heartfelt! He also says it’s good to make it a habit to make regular offerings, just ’cause. Again, this enables you to cultivate a relationship. Disposing of offerings also requires some care and thought. I recommend the chapter in his book which addresses these topics (pp. 81-91).

And for those who are new to the process of developing relationships with deities and spirits, I highly recommend Misha Magdalene’s Outside the Charmed Circle–Exploring Gender and Sexuality in Magical Practice, especially the chapter “On Negotiating Consent With the Gods. The book won’t be out until January 2020, but I was privileged to read an online copy, courtesy of the author. It’s SO GOOD! Preorder it!

The Five Love Languages of Loki

Just for fun, I’m gonna categorize some of my own offerings based on The Five Love Languages, by Gary Chapman!

1) Quality Time:

Inviting Loki to stand in as “Rando Cardrissian” in Cards Against Humanity.

• Inviting him to “come along” to a good restaurant, or when something fun is happening. Whether he’s “there” or not, the gesture of invitation is an offering.

I’ve offered “twisted humor” in the past and will do so in the future.

2) Physical Touch:

• It’s tough to “touch” a spirit other than energetically, so I dedicate orgasmic energy to Loki. It’s a sex magic kinda thing.

3) Acts of Service:

• Creating and dedicating Lokabrenna Tiny Temple.

• Blogging about Loki and Lokean matters.

• Co-moderating a Lokean Facebook group (service to the community).

• Doing the layout for Loki’s Torch anthology.

• Organizing LokiFestCA online.

5) Giving and Receiving Gifts:

• Physical offerings of food, incense, candles, beverages, toys, etc.

6) Words of Affirmation:

• Prayers, verbal endearments, affectionate kennings, or just letting Loki know that he’s appreciated in so many ways.

• Including him as a character in my second fantasy novel.

• Loki limericks.

• Co-signing last fall’s protest letter against “that Karl guy’s” anti-Loki article in The Wild Hunt.

Finally, I think trying to live in accordance with whatever one perceives as honoring Loki is also an offering–an important one. I’d be interested in hearing how people do this. Do comment!

####