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Author Topic: Do I honor my Gods properly?  (Read 2787 times)

PrincessBurrito

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Do I honor my Gods properly?
« on: August 02, 2012, 09:19:19 am »
I'm still in the middle of finding my path within the Norse pantheon, but I've already established somewhat of a comfort zone.
To me, Odin the Allfather sees all, my Gods can see every move I make and every thought I think.
I was thinking, if I were a God (or Goddess in this case :P) a pleasant thought about me would be more honorable than some purely symbolic offering.

My life is too busy for offerings, I'm always in and out of the house and my offering to the Trickster God Loki has been sitting there for a while. I have no idea how to appropriately dispose it.

To me, living my life to the full potential, being courageous and learning how to live with some issues I know are permanent, whilst keeping the Gods in my mind is all I need to win me a good spot in the afterlife.

The Gods are my drive to keep me going, whether they are real or just a coping strategy, they keep me sane and for some reason, offering food and lighting a candle doesn't really cut it for me. It feels like it's doing something worldly to achieve some sort of otherworldly connection.

Tell me, am I misunderstanding something? None of the rituals I read about on here agree with me. How do I know if what I'm doing isn't enough for the Gods? :confused:

Nachtigall

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Re: Do I honor my Gods properly?
« Reply #1 on: August 02, 2012, 09:54:15 am »
Quote from: Draconia;67088
I'm still in the middle of finding my path within the Norse pantheon, but I've already established somewhat of a comfort zone.
To me, Odin the Allfather sees all, my Gods can see every move I make and every thought I think.
I was thinking, if I were a God (or Goddess in this case :P) a pleasant thought about me would be more honorable than some purely symbolic offering.

My life is too busy for offerings, I'm always in and out of the house and my offering to the Trickster God Loki has been sitting there for a while. I have no idea how to appropriately dispose it.

To me, living my life to the full potential, being courageous and learning how to live with some issues I know are permanent, whilst keeping the Gods in my mind is all I need to win me a good spot in the afterlife.

The Gods are my drive to keep me going, whether they are real or just a coping strategy, they keep me sane and for some reason, offering food and lighting a candle doesn't really cut it for me. It feels like it's doing something worldly to achieve some sort of otherworldly connection.

Tell me, am I misunderstanding something? None of the rituals I read about on here agree with me. How do I know if what I'm doing isn't enough for the Gods? :confused:

 
What are your main goals in practicing your religion? A good spot in Afterlife (AFAIK, not a very important issue in many of the ancient religions), or is it something else?

PrincessBurrito

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Re: Do I honor my Gods properly?
« Reply #2 on: August 02, 2012, 10:01:27 am »
Quote from: Nachtigall;67091
What are your main goals in practicing your religion? A good spot in Afterlife (AFAIK, not a very important issue in many of the ancient religions), or is it something else?

 
Well a good place in the afterlife would be a plus.... but my main goal right now is to make some sort of connection with them that I'm comfortable with.
I've loved the Norse Gods since I was a kid, so they almost feel like distant family to me, I just want to make it less distant and more a part of my life.
I hope that made sense...

Faemon

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Re: Do I honor my Gods properly?
« Reply #3 on: August 02, 2012, 10:43:13 am »
Quote from: Draconia;67088
My life is too busy for offerings, I'm always in and out of the house and my offering to the Trickster God Loki has been sitting there for a while. I have no idea how to appropriately dispose it.
That reminds me of a practice that I heard about, with shepherds, where they were buried with a tuft of wool in their hands so that they could prove to Whoever met them on the other side of death that they were shepherds and just never had the time to go to holy places to pray, or set out offerings.

Quote
How do I know if what I'm doing isn't enough for the Gods? :confused:
If you're particularly intuitive, perhaps you can just ask them.

If you're not, well, then, I would just shrug off the very very few strict ceremonial Reconstructionists who would give the stinkeye... and carry on.

Personally, when I think that they gods only parts of my psyche, then I think that thinking about them is enough, too-- in that paradigm, that's the only thing keeping them alive, after all. But when I swing towards theism, (which I suppose happens often enough, that they've never fallen into a grump and tried to set me straight about it so that I stop using that connection without offering anything,) I'm moved to do something more for them than communicate.

Songs, and sigils that would vamp energy (just a pinprick!) from anyone else who sees it and send it over to them, or one bite of food that I was eating anyway with just the flavor sent over through a prayer-- or a whiff of something sweet-smelling, sent the same way-- that's what I use to honor them. And I haven't been struck by lightning or turned into a spider, yet, for any of those. So those might fit in better with your lifestyle or angle on the faith? Hope it helps.
« Last Edit: August 02, 2012, 10:48:49 am by Faemon »
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Re: Do I honor my Gods properly?
« Reply #4 on: August 02, 2012, 06:01:07 pm »
Quote from: Draconia;67088
A pleasant thought about me would be more honorable than some purely symbolic offering.


Well, maybe. But think about it this way; think of sitting down at the altar, bringing offerings as going to someone's house.  You come, you take time to visit, you might bring a muffin or a book to give.  That's the 'offering' bit.  If you go by the house and leave them a note (i.e. "a pleasant thought"), that still isn't the same as seeing them "face to face" as it were. This is MY point of view, of course.

Quote from: Draconia;67088

My life is too busy for offerings, I'm always in and out of the house and my offering to the Trickster God Loki has been sitting there for a while. I have no idea how to appropriately dispose it.

A-- even lighting a candle for a moment in the morning and picking something worldy and making you live your life full of potential as a promise could be an offering in and of itself as opposed to just lighting a candle..

B-- what did you leave on the altar? My gods are not yours, but I got in real trouble with my deities for leaving things on the altar too long. Granted, mine were edibles... yours might not be... but still.  

Dunno, just my thoughts.
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Juniperberry

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Re: Do I honor my Gods properly?
« Reply #5 on: August 02, 2012, 08:59:22 pm »
Quote from: Draconia;67088
I was thinking, if I were a God (or Goddess in this case :P) a pleasant thought about me would be more honorable than some purely symbolic offering.


Germanic gods are all about a gift for a gift. If you pray for something, will you be happy with them just thinking a pleasant thought about it rather than actually offering it? If yes, then I'd say you're doing fine.
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Re: Do I honor my Gods properly?
« Reply #6 on: August 02, 2012, 10:42:22 pm »
Quote from: Draconia;67088

My life is too busy for offerings, I'm always in and out of the house and my offering to the Trickster God Loki has been sitting there for a while. I have no idea how to appropriately dispose it.


I believe the usual practice was to leave items in some wild holy place. Frequently sacrifices and offerings like weapons were thrown into sacred pools; other suggestions would be to bury items, or leave them in certain trees, perhaps whatever is appropriately associated with the specific God. (Make sure they are environmentally friendly, of course.)

Also I agree with Juniperberry; the Norse Gods are very much about action, practicality, and physical results. They want to see you mean it. The weapon offerings were not broken pieces or cast-offs, they were well-made items, and the animal sacrifices were not sickly and old, they were the best.

I strongly suggest that you take the time to read the Eddas and what we know about the history of Nordic practices. Even if you don't want to get into hard reconstructionism, it really does help when dealing with the Norse Gods. They respond to it well. You'll know it's right because it feels right, and you will feel warmth and pride. (At least, I do.)

hlewagastir

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Re: Do I honor my Gods properly?
« Reply #7 on: August 05, 2012, 04:05:11 pm »
Quote from: wadjet;67147
I believe the usual practice was to leave items in some wild holy place. Frequently sacrifices and offerings like weapons were thrown into sacred pools; other suggestions would be to bury items, or leave them in certain trees, perhaps whatever is appropriately associated with the specific God. (Make sure they are environmentally friendly, of course.)

 
Throwing weapons into pools was all the rage in the Ironage and early Vikingage, however, we also have examples of sacrifices made directly to idols, sacrificial animals eaten by the community, items put into poleholes, burnt offerings and so on...

SueAgent

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Re: Do I honor my Gods properly?
« Reply #8 on: August 07, 2012, 10:44:22 pm »
Quote from: Draconia;67088
I'm still in the middle of finding my path within the Norse pantheon, but I've already established somewhat of a comfort zone.
To me, Odin the Allfather sees all, my Gods can see every move I make and every thought I think.
I was thinking, if I were a God (or Goddess in this case :P) a pleasant thought about me would be more honorable than some purely symbolic offering.

My life is too busy for offerings, I'm always in and out of the house and my offering to the Trickster God Loki has been sitting there for a while. I have no idea how to appropriately dispose it.

To me, living my life to the full potential, being courageous and learning how to live with some issues I know are permanent, whilst keeping the Gods in my mind is all I need to win me a good spot in the afterlife.

The Gods are my drive to keep me going, whether they are real or just a coping strategy, they keep me sane and for some reason, offering food and lighting a candle doesn't really cut it for me. It feels like it's doing something worldly to achieve some sort of otherworldly connection.

Tell me, am I misunderstanding something? None of the rituals I read about on here agree with me. How do I know if what I'm doing isn't enough for the Gods? :confused:

 
Personally, I have taken to using my altar as a spot on which my plants can sit :o- coincidentally I had previously chosen a wonderful spot two feet away from a sunny SW facing window, so it was probably only a matter of time.

Most times I feel that it's important to keep the world going- to be a hard worker, to be a good friend and a helping hand when people need it. I suppose this is my defense for not doing many rituals, or perhaps to help me feel less guilty for short-duration meditation (eyes open: is it time to flip my laundry?). There are still times that I devote to study, meditation, and sometimes ritual. However, I can totally understand the feeling of wondering if it's enough for the divine.

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