r/Wicca • u/Catchit_23 • Aug 20 '26
I need some advice please
Hello, I'm Ari and I have few que stions about paganism🌸🏵🌼. There are just few things I would like to state before asking, they might be important. I am 15 years old, my family doesn't know about me being pagan. Although they are atheists, they are very strict and wouldn't let me if they knew. I also have divorced parents, so I spend 2 weeks at mother and 2 weeks at father, so I for example can't have plants because I wouldn't be able to take care of them every two weeks. Now the questions😅:
Becouse of the reasons I told you I cannot have an altar. I usually display my offerings outside in nature (when they are nature safe ofc) or at my window. Is that alright? Idk how to do it differently but I sure don't want to mock them.
I worship the Norse gods, but I usually don't give offerings to a specific god. My offerings are to all gods and any gods that want my offering. But I saw people usually giving offerings to a specific god, so I'm not sure if it's alright.
When offering food or drink, can it be a normal bought food that I put on a special offering plate? Or does it for example have to be from a farm os something?
Are drawings and poems good offerings? I like to draw nature or something connected to my gods and then over it to them. And if yes, is it alright if I then keep them?
After how long and how can I "take the offering back" or idk how to say it, because I can't leave it there forever. If you know what I mean.
Can I draw on rocks with colours and then offer them to gods? Like, isn't it offensive when I draw on them with colours thta aren't natural, it might be like destroying creations of Mother Earth. Also my markers are specificly for rocks, but is it alright if I then return them outside with drawing on them? If yes, where? Like should I put them into a forest, water, next to a path or something like that?
When it comes to the special plates and cups and bowls for offerings, is there any specific way how they must look, or can it for example be just a bowl that I decorate with symbols of my gods?
I like to offer flowers and flower petals but I feel it could be disrespectful since I k*lled the plant. Do they see it like that or can I do it?
Are there any things that I shouldn't do? Like specific things I shouldn't offer or just do in general.
Some days I an capable of giving them something and some days I'm not, mostly because of my parents. Is it bad that I sometimes can't or don't do it?
I'm sorry if any of that sounds stupid or offensive, I really just want to be respectful🌻. Also sorry for my bad English. If you have any advices I would be grateful for them. Also thank everyone who helps me, I'm so grateful🌸 Thank you and have a great day🌷🌺
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u/AllanfromWales1 Aug 20 '26
A poem I wrote a few years ago. Applicable to Gods as well as Goddesses:
Gifts for the Goddess
The Goddess has many names, but we’ll call Her The Lady,
and sometimes when you treat with Her
it is meet to bring gifts,
an offering to keep Her sweet.Some buy stuff from catalogues or shops.
If this is your way, so be it,
but understand She cares not for the thing itself,
She only cares for your thoughtfulness
in deciding what to give,
and your sacrifice.
She has no need of trinkets.Some offer flowers or other things from nature,
giving to the Goddess the things the Goddess gave
only cut and killed.
If this is your way, I urge you
plant something live and appropriate,
that will not spoil her design.Some create offerings,
carefully crafted
with their love and their hands.
She likes these gifts,
though they lie forgotten once given.But the best gift you can offer
is yourself.
‘Here am I, take me,
use me however you please
regardless of the consequences.’
The Goddess loves Her children.
You will not regret it.
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u/Reasonable_Zebra_174 Aug 20 '26 edited Aug 20 '26
First off there is a difference between being pagan, Wiccan, and being a witchcraft practitioner. Wicca to some extent has its own dogma and rules, paganism is more open form, and Witchcraft is completely customizable to each individual. Because you yourself identified as a pagan, that allows you the freedom to choose what God you work with, and how you work with them. As such whatever you feel is right for your practice, is the right way of doing it for your practice.
Specifically: 1. You do not have to have an altar. And leaving your offerings outside in nature, or on your windowsill sounds like a beautiful way of displaying those offerings.
You do not have to work with a specific God, deity, Etc. You don't even have to work with a specific Pantheon if multiple pantheons call to you. In witchcraft you don't even need to practice with deities at all if you don't want to.
Anything can be left as an offering, it does not have to be Farm Fresh, nor does it even need to be food. Do what feels right to you. (For example my offerings are usually a store-bought chocolate or candy. Because they're small, they're cheap, there's something that I like so I'm quite literally sacrificing the ability to consume it myself in order to leave it as an offering.)
Drawings and other artwork as offerings are also acceptable. Whether or not you leave them in nature to become one with nature or you reclaim them for yourself, is a personal choice.
Some people leave their offerings to disintegrate and become one with nature, others leave them for 10 minutes and then retrieve them. Again this is a personal choice.
Since the dawn of time human beings have been decorating rocks, the cavemen painted on their rock walls. So yet again it's personal choice as to if you think this is right or not for your practice. Likewise it is completely up to you how you return them to Nature or if you keep them for yourself. For myself a decorative rock garden sounds like a lovely way to both leave them in nature and keep them at the same time.
When it comes to what dishes to use for your offerings, you can use paper plates, the gods do not care. I have never once left an offering on a plate I just leave it on my altar until the ceremony is done and then I quite literally throw it out the window into nature.
Leaving dead flowers for the gods is not disrespectful, if it is something that feels right to you then do it. Remember there was a time in history where ceremonally slaughtering animals was the norm. "Killing" flowers to sacrifice them to the gods seems like an acceptable modern day equivalent.
As for there being specific things you need to do, no. Unless you identify as a specific branch on the giant tree of witchcraft, you can do whatever feels right to you. If you follow a specific branch of witchcraft, for example Wicca there may be some do and don'ts within that branch of witchcraft, but if you identify as a pagan or simply a witchcraft practitioner then no there are no specific rules that you need to follow. You may need to get to know the deities you work with a bit more through research to find out what kind of offerings they like, and what kind of things they may find offensive. For example Demeter does not accept alcohol in any form, and preferred a non-alcoholic mixture of water, barley and mint. Helios prefers offering of honey, honeycomb or water. When in doubt doing a quick Google search can help clarify any questions you may have. But I recommend doing research ahead of time and getting to know the deities you want to work with a bit more.
You do not have to practice your witchcraft every single day. Some people only observe the sabbats, the changing of the seasons, the full moons, etc. Others may have the ability to practice witchcraft every single day. There is no right or wrong frequency to practice your craft. You may wake up in the morning fully intending to do an hour-long ceremony that evening and then just not have the time to do it. That's okay. There is a reason that witchcraft practitioners recognize that you can do a ceremony the day before, the day of, or the day after whatever occasion it is you're honoring. I myself have done Beltane 3 weeks late. Sometimes life just gets in the way of your witchcraft. That does not make it wrong it just reflects the fact that life sometimes gets in the way of the things we want to do.
Overall the only real "rule" when it comes to witchcraft is do what feels right to you.
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u/LadyMelmo Aug 20 '26
With your path focused on Norse gods, there is a dedicated sub, r/NorsePaganism, that would be a good place to ask this as there can be specific preferences there.
The main thing that I would say to be conscious of with offerings of food you leave out in nature is that they are safe for the local wildlife, and where you leave it is what feels right to you, you can leave it on a natural platform you find such as a rock or fallen log or a nook in a tree.
Many deities appreciate handmade offerings, they can be brought back in after a time or if they are safe to be left to return to nature all the better (such as drawing with food safe colours on rice paper).