How To Offer To The Theoi- A Guide

How to Offer to the Theoi- a guide

The Kylix of Apollo, where the god is depicted pouring libations from a phiale onto the ground. (A kylix is a type of phiale, so this is a particularly meta piece) Delphi, Greece, 460BC

The most historical offering to any of the Theoi are θυμιάειν thymiaein (smoke), σπονδή sponde (libations of alcohol) and νηφάλια nefalia “calm” libations meaning non-alcoholic (such as milk, honey, water, etc).

How do I do smoke offerings?

There’s three ways, generally speaking. The gods take the smoke of any offering, so this could be:

A actual burnt offering, such as a piece of paper you wrote a poem on, burnt herbs (which this is where we get the English word THYME from because this was a popular herb to burn for incense), or food as it was cooking, because the smell of the cooking fire rises. It’s not mandatory today that you do burnt offerings because our houses are not built like the ancient’s were; fully ventilated.

The smoke of incense Historically this would have been done in a special incense burner called a thymiateria which are still used today in the Greek Orthodox church, but today any incense burner will do!

The steam from your food. The gods allow us to eat the physical food, and they take the non-physical aromas and steams, which is why aromatic spices are so important in ritual.

It’s important to wash your hands before offering; this is the god’s food, don’t make it germy please.

How do I do sponde and nefalia?

As before, you should have clean hands before you come to worship.

Pour your liquid out of its original container into a bowl. The container was historically called an oenokheo οἰνοχόη “I pour wine”, and what you would pour it into was called a fiale or phiale φιάλη which we still have today in the archaic word for a vial, a phial.

Either before or after you pour, say a prayer, poem, hymn, or just greet your deity. Here’s a short example I’ll do now for Artemis Tykhe: Khaire oh great Tykhe! I pour this water for you, oh goddess of luck and fortune. Watch over us at this rite.

If you like, you can pour a cup of drink for yourself, but pour the one for the god(s) first. If you are worshipping multiple gods at the same time for the ritual, you only need one phiale.

When your ritual is done, you can say something to conclude; I use γένοιτό Genoito (pronounced Yen-ee-tu) meaning “may it be” or “it is so”, but conclude however you like. If I’m leading a rite in English I will say something like, “and this rite is ended.”

You may now drink from your cup if you poured yourself one, and dispose of the offerings in the phiale as you see fit. Its up to you and your god(s) whether you drink their share or not; some worshippers do, some don’t. A lot of people, including me, do sponde at the dinner table before they eat.

What’s the difference between sponde and nefalia? What’s the purpose?

Sponde is alcoholic usually, while nefalia never is! Nefalia is conducted the exact same way, but certain festivals and gods strictly forbid wine at their ceremony; Demeter’s mysteries is probably the best known example, but there’s many others.

Some historical options for Nefalia are water, honey, and milk, but if you can pour it, you can offer it!

What do I do for a Khthonic god?

Because Kthnonic (literally “of/below the earth”) gods are below ground, incense is useless to them. Smoke rises, and doesn’t reach them below the earth. Physical Kthonic offerings should be buried in a hole called a bothros βόθρος (literally “pit”), or they should be burnt to cinders and the ash spread on the soil. I’ve seen some worshippers compost Kthonic offerings, which I think is a really cool idea.

If you offer food or drinks to the Khthonic gods, they don’t share! They get the entire sum of whatever you offer. Zeus will share a glass of wine with you, Pluton wants the entire glass.

Kthonic gods and heroes get a special type of libation called χεῦμα Khoe, “that which is poured.” Unlike sponde and nefalia, you absolutely do NOT drink this. It’s poured on the ground. Khoe is usually milk, honey, water, or sometimes very dark red wine.

a bothros to Demeter at the Temple to Demeter in the Valle dei Templi near Agrigento, off the coast of Italy

How do I know which gods are Ouranic or Kthonic?

Generally speaking if they’re not agricultural, related to death and disease, sleep, blood, or the soil itself, they’re seen as Ouranic or “heavenly”.

This distinction isn’t always black and white; because there are many among the Theoi that straddle the line and have aspects of both; Apollo for example is related to every criterion for a Khthonic god, but the majority of his worship is Ouranic. In cases like this, it comes down to the epithet (aspect or title) of the god that you’re worshipping. Apollo Soranus, a Roman underworld god, is Khthonic, but Paean Apollo the healer is Ouranic. You’ll have to do research on your own for what to do because there are thousands of epithets. Also note that Pluton (H@des) is often referred to with epithets like Zeus Below, Zeus Euboleus etc because it’s unlucky to speak his name outloud, so special care should be taken for research for either Zeus or Pluton. With time you’ll have a pretty good sense of what to do, but to avoid overwhelming yourself, pick one or two gods and do research on one or two epithets and how they were worshipped.

it got a bit long but I think this about covers it, holler at me if you have questions, happy worshipping!

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Spend time out in nature (e.g. go on a hike, take a walk outside, visit a nature preserve, etc.)

Dancing, especially at night and to music that makes you feel wild and free

Playing an instrument (although this is more for Apollo, I believe it also works as a form of Artemis worship)

Wearing jewelry that reminds you of her

Having imagery of deer, horses, or dogs around

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Creating art of your favorite flower, plant, or animal

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Learning about self-defense (I feel dedicating a pocket knife, if legal, to her is a great idea)

Learning archery

Befriending neighborhood animals, such as cats, birds, or dogs; leaving food out for them

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Star-gazing and moon-gazing

Showing compassion to others, such as through volunteer work or holding doors

Taking a warm bath at night

Having a candle that reminds you of her (no altar needed)

Wearing animal-inspired outfits or doing animal-inspired makeup

Visiting a local zoo, aquarium, or butterfly pavilion; taking the time to learn about new creatures

Watching nature documentaries or movies about animals (it can be movies/shows starring anthropomorphic animals)

Being curious about local fauna and flora

Learning how to safely forage for food, such as picking berries or mushrooms

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Learning to prioritize your own well-being; taking care of yourself first and foremost

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Link to Subtle Worship Master list

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🌷. I want you to take 1 hours or 30 min of your day and vaunt dramatically about how you always enter void,but no one believes you,be so dramatic that it start feeling real.( I used to vaunt without knowing when I wanted to skip class and no one believed that I had fever,which I never had then actually endup getting fever the next day🥲)

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