Been mulling over this one and would be interested to hear your views.

From what I've read of peoples' posts here, there are a lot of us who make offerings to our deities in a physical form, eg, milk, mead, honey, flowers etc. I do it too - the first glass of wine from every new bottle goes in libation and I leave offerings of salt and incense too.

In ancient practises, it's well documented that offerings in the form of animal sacrifice, incense etc were made and apparently found favour with the Gods. And the ethos of the times meant that those sacrifices were made more in terms of what the sacrifice was to the person making it (ie, making a gift of food that they could have well used themselves). The offerings meant something - they really were a sacrifice in the true sense of the word that demonstrated the giver's devotion and sincerity.

I was wondering what your view was in offerings now? Are the ones we make now of more sacrifice to the plant etc they came from rather than to us? Particularly in view of something that had to be picked purely in order to offer it though and which has little impact on the donor. After all, what does it cost us to pick a flower, or a fruit, and place it in offering?

And, surely the flowers/herbs/fruit would be appreciated just as much if they had been left on the tree etc? Windfall, and a portion set aside of things harvested for food are more "natural", but could it be argued that picking a flower or fruit purely to put on an altar for an offering, is as wrong as using the fur pelt of an animal for vanity reasons only? Is it a vanity of some sorts, or do you think that the sacrifice of the flower etc is appreciated? I believe that everything, including plants etc, have a spirit, a soul, and so have as much right to life as I have - what right do I have to make a sacrifice of it for no other purpose than to make an offering which, at the end of the day, costs me nothing?

I think this is a two-part question (it started off as one and then I got side-tracked!) Do our offerings today signify any sacrifice on our part, and if we make an offering, what is ethical in Pagan terms?

I was wondering what your view was in offerings now? Are the ones we make now of more sacrifice to the plant etc they came from rather than to us? Particularly in view of something that had to be picked purely in order to offer it though and which has little impact on the donor. After all, what does it cost us to pick a flower, or a fruit, and place it in offering?

Personally I don't sacrifice to deities. I leave offerings as a thankyou to any person/thing who has worked with me. As such, I leave offerings which I think they will value. If this is an apple from the fruitbowl in the kitchen, so be it. Likewise if its a piece of bread, a glass of whisky, a bowl of milk... It isn't so much a sacrifice as an acknowledgement of gratitude. When I leave these offerings I'm not thinking so much of their value to me as their value to who I'm leaving them to. If something seems like the right thing to offer, I'll offer it.

To put it very basically, I value money more than I value slugs, but what use has a blackbird for a quid?

Another piece of reasoning behind what I offer is that it must be something which shows that I accept their presence. Inviting someone to eat with you is one of the age-old ways of showing your acceptance of them and your desire to please them, so to offer something from your own table, even something which costs you nothing to make in the physical sense, shows at the very least a desire to include them in your planning of the family/your own meal.

And, surely the flowers/herbs/fruit would be appreciated just as much if they had been left on the tree etc? Windfall, and a portion set aside of things harvested for food are more "natural", but could it be argued that picking a flower or fruit purely to put on an altar for an offering, is as wrong as using the fur pelt of an animal for vanity reasons only?

I'm not so sure - I think there is a certain amount of value in the forethought and willingness to acknowledge who you are making an offer to in the act of gathering an offering. To say 'apples on the tree mate, help yourself' might work in some cases (very well in certain cases ) but for some occasions it would be inappropriate.

As I said in the thread about leaving offerings at scared places I tend to give a couple of drops of my blood as an offering. I see it as giving of myself and I can't think of anything more important to me than my blood - none of my possessions, nothing.

As far as gathering natural things to give as an offering, I think it depends on who/what you're offering to, and why. IMO, if you've harvested a crop of anything, by giving a small part of that crop back shows an appreciation of that harvest and anyhting that helped bring it about. If it was left in the field without the effort of gathering it being put in, then I don't feel that it has the same resonance or level of thanks attached to it.

However, picking a bunch of flowers as an offering for no reason other than they look pretty is not the same thing and I don't fully see the point. I'd much rather grow a plant as a symbol of my thanks or whatever rather than damage one.

I think the most valuable offering I can make is of my time and effort. Time spent looking after my garden or dog, composing my own prose or artwork to honor the entity, spending a portion of my hard-earned wages on something for the local land or community - that sort of thing. However the idea of inviting someone to my table sounds good too.

For example, after working with my wolven spiritual guide, I might play a game with my dog and spend time grooming him. Or I might read up on wild wolves to better understand him, or I might draw him or give money or time to a canine related charity.

Spirited

Good questions, and ones I've been mulling over for a while, now. Still haven't come up with any good answers, though!

Dryad, who figures that leaving nibbles outdoors will at least feed something, and surely that would be pleasing to the Deities

Actually, that's a good point - my own path is of a more propiatory nature: more of a "payment" in return for something rather than a "thank you"...

If I offer a thing, rather than my own time or effort, then it tends to be a bit of beer.

why?

because I enjoy beer, and giving away a part of something that would otherwise have been mine to enjoy is a gesture of sorts.
and my usual gesture for when I take herbs from the garden. except last time I went out to get some rosemary the poor thing was being smothered by the lemon balm, so my gesture was a bit of beer, taking a little less of the plant than I planned, and a promise to be right back with the secateurs to deal with that bully of a neighbour.