Letâs Talk About: Offerings and Altars!
Sorry Iâve been a bit inactive but Iâll be posting more from now on! Recently Iâve had several people dm me to ask about what sort of offerings I give to my main deities (Kirke, in particular), so to make my, and your lives, easier, Iâve decided to compile a list of what I give Kirke and AeĂŤtes in offering and what I put on their altars!
Note: For the most part, my offerings have historical/religious/mythological significance and associations/connotations but this is also based on my own personal experiences with them. Thus, Iâll distinguish which is traditional (keeping in mind that since they werenât really worshipped itâs not the usual description of âtraditionalâ) and which is personal.
2nd Note: I havenât been working with AeĂŤtes for a very long time (almost a month) but I have been working with Him often within that time period (Iâm talking almost daily), so His list may have some holes but Iâll do my best and will likely add some more information as time goes on.
Kirke doesnât really have any âtraditionalâ offerings as She wasnât really worshipped in ancient Hellenic practice (unless someone knows otherwise, in which case, please let me know!). Thus, the âtraditionalâ offerings that I state here are things that, through my research, are associated with Her.
Food/Plant Offerings (Traditional):
~ Barley/barley-meal/Barley seed
~ Pramnian wine/or any wine really, preferably red (hereâs a link on the specifics on Pramnian wine if youâd like:Â https://1historyofgreekfood.wordpress.com/category/pramnian-wine/)Â
~ Honey (this is also an offering that was/is commonly given to Helios)
~ Even better: Honey-sweetened (Pramnian) red wine
Previous four offerings mentioned are based off Shrewingâs translation of a part of the Odyssey Book 10:Â
âThe goddess ushered them in, gave them all seats, high or low, and blended for them a dish of cheese and of barley-meal, of yellow honey and Pramnian wine, all together; but with these good things she mingled pernicious drugs as well, to make them forget their own country utterly.âÂ
Homer, Odyssey 10. 135 - 12. 156 (trans. Shewring) (Greek epic C8th B.C.)Â https://www.theoi.com/Titan/Kirke.html
~ Any poisonous herbs/plants, I recently harvested some bittersweet nightshade for Her (PLEASE DO EXTENSIVE RESEARCH BEFORE WORKING WITH POISONOUS PLANTS! Once you think youâve done enough research, do TRIPLE that.) â This is based on Her practice of pharmakeia
~ Pork/Ham: Things associated with pigs/swine (Of course, this has to do with the myth about Kirke turning Odysseusâ men into swine; However, I can count on one hand how many times Iâve used this as an offering (aka, I almost never give this as an offering). It is a point of note and is absolutely valid as an offering despite that I donât personally use this often â we also donât usually have pork/ham in the house so that contributes.
~ Other Meats: Itâs mentioned several times in The Odyssey but one specific example is that Kirke feeds Odysseus and His men âplenteous meatâ (Shrewing, Book 10, The Odyssey, https://www.theoi.com/Titan/Kirke.html)
~ Bread: (See excerpt below)
Additional Offerings/Things Sacred to Her (Traditional):
~ Metals: particularly gold, but silver and bronze as well
  Example: Using a silver bowl for wine libations to Her (It is mentioned that She actually uses a silver bowl to keep honey-sweetened wine)
âAll this while, four handmaids of hers were busying themselves about the palace. She has them for her household tasks, and they come from springs [Naiades], they come from groves [Dryades], they come from the sacred rivers flowing seawards [Naiades]. One spread the chairs with fine crimson covers above and with linen cloths beneath; in front of the chairs, a second drew up silver tables on which she laid gold baskets for bread; a third mixed honey-sweet lovely wine in a silver bowl sand set the golden goblets out; the fourth brought water and lit a great fire under a massive cauldron. The water warmed; and when it boiled in the bright bronze vessel, the goddess made me sit in a bath and bathed me with water from the cauldron, tampering hot and cold to my mind and pouring it over my head and shoulders until she had banished from my limbs the weariness that had sapped my spirit. And having washed me and richly appointed me with oil, she dressed me in a fine cloak and tunic, led me forward and gave me a tall silver-studded chair to sit onâhandsome and cunningly madeâwith a stool beneath it for the feet. She bade me eat, but my heart was not on eating, and I sat with my thoughts elsewhere and my mind unquiet.â (Shrewing, Book 10, The Odyssey, https://www.theoi.com/Titan/Kirke.html)
(Above) This specifically talks about various color correspondences in relation to Her, including metallic colors and crimson.
Also, gold corresponds not only with the above excerpt, but the fact that Her father is Helios (the Sun, personified) and that Sheâs distinguished as having golden eyes (For all the Children of Helios were easy to recognize even from a distance, by their flashing eyes, which shot out rays of golden light. (Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 4. 662 ff, https://www.theoi.com/Titan/Kirke.html)) *Note: This was talking about Kirke recognizing Medea as Her kinswoman by their same eyes.
~ Symbols of wolves and/or mountain lions/cougars (represents the animals She kept)
~ Weaving â This can be in whatever form works for you, if you want more info of what this means, I posted about Modern Forms of Weaving!
~ Hawk/falcon symbols, feathers especially (reference to Her name meaning (in certain translations) Hawk/Falcon)
Personal Offerings/Sacred Things to Her:
Incense: Jasmine (in particular) and Lavender
Stones: Amethyst (mostly amethyst, Her favorite for me is a lovely heart-shaped one She chose out), sunstone, citrine and fluorite â Also, She loves any unique stones, something that has an interesting quality (I personally make Her plant-based resin stones with plants/feathers/flowers/etc. related to Her)
Colors: Purple (alongside the others I mentioned), this is the color of Her father Heliosâ robes, and I see it as a royal and powerful but also a very magical and psychic color
Food: Green Tea, Berries and Mangoes
Essential Oils: Lavender and citrus mainly, though She seems to also really like my witch hazel spray
Candles: Her candle on my altar for Her is purple
Plants: She really likes wildflowers in my experience!
Other: Literally anything you make for Her, or even for yourself and offer to Her, She loves! Sheâs a weaving goddess: A goddess of creation, so create! I personally tend to use knot (literal knots and knitting) and kitchen magic with Her. I write Her love letters and poetry â I also have started really getting into binding my hair for Her as both a devotion to Her (one of Her most well-known epithets is âof the braided tressesâ, after all) and for my own self-empowerment.
Sources for more info on Kirke:
One of my favourite resources on information on Kirke is Theoi.com:Â https://www.theoi.com/Titan/Kirke.html
Also, of course, Book 10 of The Odyssey as well as Apollonius of Rhodesâ Argonautica (particularly Book 4) has a lot of details on Her. Other mentions of Her can be found in Ovidâs Metamorphosis and Hesiodâs Theogony, amongst others.
Similar to His sister Kirke, AeĂŤtes is not a deity that was traditionally worshipped, so again, this is based on my research and findings and is in no way extensive.
Food/Plant Offerings (Traditional):
~Â âDaintyâ foods (if that makes any sense, Iâm not quite sure how to describe it): Cakes, breads, berries, tender meats
~ Wine, again, preferably Pramnian or red â I personally use it as a libation
These two are based off of a lovely excerpt from Book VI of The Life and Death of Jason, The Palace of AeĂŤtes Translated by William Morris (Line 81-84):
âWhither the wondering seafarers [Jason and the Argonauts] were led,
And there with meat and drink full delicate
Were feasted, and strange dainty things they ate,
Of unused savor, and drank godlike wine;â
Iâll post the entirety of The Palace of AeĂŤtes at some point soon; I really love it, itâs beautifully written, detailed and extraordinarily poetic.
~ Oak: This is a reference to the sacred grove of oaks in which the Golden Fleece resides â I personally have a golden oak wand I use as a method of channelling His energy (yes, I have several wands and an ironwood (hornbeam) staff)
~ Rams/bulls/cows â This relates to not only the Golden Fleece itself, but also to the flame-breathing Bronze Bulls (Tauroi Khalkeoi) of AeĂŤtes gifted to Him by Hephaestus (He had done so as a âthank-offeringâ to Helios). As a trial for the Golden Fleece, AeĂŤtes had Jason yoke them in order to plow the field with Ismenian Dragonâs teeth (the sacred dragon of Ares slaughtered by Cadmus. Athena split the teeth between AeĂŤtes and Cadmus.).
Additional Offerings/Things Sacred to Him (Traditional):
~ DRAGONS! - Any representation of dragons is phenomenal when working with AeĂŤtes: Not only does it relate to the ever-watchful Kolkhian Dragon (Drakon Kholkikos) who guarded the Golden Fleece in the sacred grove of Ares, but it also refers to the Ismenian Dragonâs teeth that Jason sowed per request by AeĂŤtes. I have a (fake, obviously) dragon skull that He has begun extremely attached to.
~ The colors gold and crimson/red: The gold is in reference to Helios, His eyes, the Fleece and the red relates to a mention in The Palace of AeĂŤtes and his association with Ares and fire.
~ Eagles - This is due to His name meaning âeagleâ (similar to Kirke with hawks/falcons) ~ Golden eagles resonate particularly
Personal Offerings/Sacred Things to Him:
~Â Incense: Iâm not entirely sure what it is but every time I work with Him I smell this sweet, almost fruity but slightly bitter
~ Stones: Big fan of black tourmaline and onyx, He also seems to really love my mayan jade heart
~ Colors: Gold, bronze, black and brown
~Â Food: Blackberries, blackberries and more blackberries (also He really likes oranges and loves tea, earl gray and green especially: Iâve been doing a LOT of tassomancy with Him. Kirke likes Her green tea but in no way is She as excited about it as AeĂŤtes)
~Â Essential Oils: Citrus, eucalyptus and witch hazel
~Â Candles: His altar candle is this rustic-looking brown candle
~Â Other: He seems to like orchids a lot (I have purple and white orchid petals); Also, He seems to really like bones â I donât necessarily mean ACTUAL bones (unless youâre comfortable with that and itâs ethically sourced), but as I mentioned, He loves His dragon skull and Iâll likely be getting Him some other bones in the near future (Iâm assuming His attraction to them has to do with Him being practiced in necromancy). Resin works well with Him too: His skull is made of plant-based resin and Iâve given Him as few other pieces of resin art.
Sources to find more info on AeĂŤtes: Honestly, the Argonautica (Apollonius of Rhodes) is probably your best bet, but this: http://www.maicar.com/GML/Aeetes.html is a rather detailed and extensive view of AeĂŤtes.Â
If you have any questions, please donât hesitate to contact me directly; Iâll be happy to help!
Lots of love and good intentions,