what do i do with food offerings? How long do i leave them out? Taking it away immediately feels wrong but i dont want mold
I have answered this before, but the answers are all in amongst a bunch of other questions, so I’m going to try to make this one more focused and detailed
It depends on the deity. There’s two categories when it comes to this — ouranic (heavenly, basically anyone not of the underworld) and chthonic (underworld). Additionally, food offerings to heroes would fall under the chthonic category in my opinion, since they’re dead.
When it comes to deities who have both ouranic and chthonic aspects (Hermes being the main one people think of for that, but also Persephone and Melinoë, and even Zeus) I’d say it depends on which epithet/aspect you’re offering to. If you’re offering to the deity’s chthonic side, do it the chthonic way. If not, do it ouranically. For Persephone, though, you could also do it depending on season/time of year as that dictates whether she is in the underworld or not at the time of your offering.
Now into why it actually matters.
You can eat offerings to ouranic deities. You can’t eat offerings to chthonic ones. The ‘why’ is not something I’m completely sure on, just that that’s the way it is. However my bestie did suggest this last time I mentioned not knowing why:
@under-their-light hi, I love you
With ouranic deities, I always eat it. I see it as sharing food with my deity. I pray before I do it, saying the following:
“With the first and last to Lady Hestia, and a portion to Father Zeus, <name + epithet of the deity I’m specially offering to>, this <name of food> is for you. Take your fill, and I’ll eat the rest.”
You don’t have to say it like that, but I think this nicely covers all the bases and it works for me. Let me break down the structure.
Hestia is historically first and last in (ouranic) food offerings from what I’ve heard, due to her being the first to be eaten by Cronos and the last to be set free. This would be especially important if the food you’re offering is homemade, id imagine. I’ve also heard that a portion of all food offerings goes to Zeus, which is why he is included also.
Then I say the name of the deity I’m specifically offering to, as they can hear us when we say their names, and if I’ve a specific reason for the food offering, there’s usually a specific epithet to go along with that, so that would be added here. If I’m just offering food for the sake of it, which is most of the time (if I want something in return I tend to gravitate towards non-food offerings) then I will still use an epithet purely to make it sound more refined, but I’ll use a poetic one instead of a cult one, so that I’m complimenting the deity, not calling on a specific domain.
Then I tell them what I’m offering.
The ‘take your fill and I’ll eat the rest’ also comes from my aforementioned bestie and it’s been really helpful in making me feel more confident about it as I’m informing the deity that I am sharing it with them, so it doesn’t feel like I’m just rudely eating the thing I just gave them.
All this to say, you don’t HAVE to eat the food from an ouranic deity, but I find it to be the easiest method as I don’t have to worry about how long to leave it on an altar, and I don’t have to worry about ‘wasting’ food, or feel bad when I do eventually dispose of it.
So, onto chthonic. We can’t eat food to chthonic deities. I also have a massive thing about throwing food away. I know if it’s offered to a deity it isn’t technically waste, but it still feels wasteful. So I offer food a LOT less to my heroes and chthonic deities, I must admit.
But I still do it. And that’s by offering food that I know won’t get eaten. Leftovers of a meal? Offer them to a chthonic deity or to a hero. Something will go out of date before I have the chance to eat it? They can have it. Someone didn’t finish eating something that they’d never tried before because they didn’t like it? Offer it to a deity. Ran out of time to eat a thing while on my break and I can’t take it with me? My gods can have it. There’s almost endless scenarios. It actually LESSENS any guilt about wasting food, because it’s not getting eaten anyway, so at least they can have it.
This is also the same for libations (liquid offerings) you can drink to ouranic but not to chthonic. Pour it on the floor for chthonic deities (you can do this for ouranic too, but again, I usually don’t waste it if I have the opportunity not to)
If you didn’t want to eat them for the ouranic deities, I’d say my only rule for how long to leave something on an altar is ‘don’t let it rot’. Leave it out as long as you want, as long as it remains hygienic. And when you do decide to throw it out, inform your deities that’s what you’re doing.
🦚 Subtle Hera Worship 🐄
Star-gazing and cloud-watching
Making flower crowns
Wearing outfits that make you feel confident
Have a candle that reminds you of her (no altar needed)
Keeping a picture of her in your wallet
Wearing jewelry that reminds you of her
Wearing perfumes with bold yet sweet scents
Have a cow, peacock, or lioness stuffed animal
Having imagery of stars or lotus flowers around
Giving yourself compliments each day; pointing out one thing you like or love about yourself
Support women's rights or domestic abuse survivor organizations
Spend time with loved ones
Be kind to children; play them if offered
If you have a partner, send them a kind message or do something romantic together
Practice standing up for yourself; speak your mind and assert your personal boundaries
Do household chores; upkeep your living space
Take care of yourself emotionally and physically
Show support for any mothers in your life, especially new ones; help out when/if you can
Keep a self-love/self-care journal
Make yourself feel pretty/handsome/attractive; wear makeup, paint your nails, style your hair, wear your favorite outfits, etc.
Take a self-care bath or shower
Learn about astronomy; learn about the different myths behind constellations
Show compassion towards others, especially those who are hurting or in need
Showing compassion towards yourself, the same as you do for others
Prioritize your own well-being
Feed the local birds with bird seeds; bird-watching
Keep framed photos of loved ones; put photos of them on your wall, etc.
Eat pomegranate seeds
Have cow print items; own peacock feathers (been told these can be really cheap, actually!)
Give a kind gesture to a loved one; buying a gift, cooking a meal, baking pastries, etc.
Collect gold-colored items; golden ram horns are also a great symbol (maybe draw or paint this, since it's pretty niche)
Buy a bouquet of white flowers, whether for yourself or a loved one
Add honey to your tea, coffee, or other drink; a good drink to try is warm milk with honey and cinnamon mixed in (better than it sounds)
Start a skin/body care routine
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I may add more down the line! For now, here's my list of discreet ways to worship Hera. Hope it helps, and take care! 🩵
Link to Subtle Worship Master list
Funniest thing about miraculous ladybug is that Marinettes problem for the episode will be something like “OMG I have to give this important presentation at school AND talk to a pretty boy WHILE fighting a super villain this is gonna be tough 😅” meanwhile adrien is just in the corner like “this morning I woke up at 6:08 instead of 6:00 and so my father withheld his monthly hug :(, hopefully my day as cat noir will go better” and then he gets like turned into like a sentient Lego brick or something
I keep getting spiraled on the motives of Gabriel writing that letter and his final moments. He obviously wrote it after the whole alliance ring shtick began, after he was hit by the cataclysm. My immediate thought is that he wrote it right before he shipped Adrien off to London, since it was inside a photo album inside a box for furniture to be moved, which implies it was when they were moving away his things.
I can only imagine that he wrote that as a "If everything goes to shit this is my back up plan' which is fair tbh. Maybe his plan wouldn't work 100% and the cataclysm would get to him before he could revive Emilie. Since he accounts for Nathalie also still being in the picture I imagine he didn't think she'd die so... Fast? Suddenly? Maybe he thought she would still be weak and frail and sick but alive to guide Adrien after he found the letter.
So far this is all well and good but now when it comes to his final scene with Maribug and him asking for her to not Adrien know the villain that he was, I'm of two minds about it. The first one is that, somewhere deep deep down in his rotten pathetic weak little heart, he really meant it and hoped Adrien wouldn't find the letter and he'd get to die and be with Emilie in the afterlife. Which is. A fair interpretation but you'd need to pay me a lot of money to believe Gabriel Agreste has any actual remorse for what he did lmao.
My second interpretation is that he wanted to have his cake and eat it too. It's not that he 100% wanted to control the narrative of how Adrien found out his misdeeds (though I think that's a valid interpretation), but in my head he just thought like-
"hey, I have an emergency plan in place with that letter right? Might as well go out faking a sacrifice and guilt trip this 14 year old girl, gaslight my son's memories and later down the line if he finds that letter, my chances of him actually bringing me back are way higher! Win win!"
In other words it wasn't a selfless sacrifice (obviously) but more so a, "I'll do this good deed so I might get something better in return later down the line" deal. Which I think fits his overall character narrative imo.
ladybug makes the observation at some point that chat noir, at the ripe age of fifteen, acts like such a dad sometimes. like he'll comment about how she should really sit up straight while theyre chilling out after patrol, and he'll start bringing a pair of binoculars so he can birdwatch from their rooftop, and he'll do that thing where after she casually mentions she's been craving strawberies lately he starts bringing industrial amounts of strawberries for her every time they meet. and she just thinks, wow, this boy must come from such a wonderful family for him to be so cute.
so when he quietly admits to her one day that he hasn't hugged his own dad in years, in fact he's not even sure if his own dad really likes him very much, her heart shatters
I honestly think that men can't handle the harsh truths of life, they have been protected and pampered for so much time that the mere discovery that women are people too gives them a mental breakdown.
Blackpill for men: women like attractive men, women have eyes, women are human beings that can choose.
Blackpill for women: most men would rape women if they could get away with it.
Guess which blackpill is a matter of discussion and pity on the mainstream
do you think adrien would be a swiftie bc i do. i actually think he has a spotify playlist named “right where you left me” that he shuffles whenever he needs to face the horrors of his childhood and wallow a bit before resuming his facade of false happiness and belonging in a world that glorifies the cause of his suffering
or maybe that’s just me
people who don't experience hyperfixation don't know what it feels like to hyperfixate so much on something that it becomes not only your subject of obsession but also your source of happiness and literally the main reason why you still keep going; literal source of strength and life.
shoutout to my favorite fictional characters, favorite people, favorite ships, favorite movies, favorite tv shows, fanfics and archive of our own
You might need some T.L.C. - Tigger Loving Care!!!
Tigger board for you sunshines :)
this is so important, take care of yourself babes
I wonder if you have tips on how to deal with depression and finding joy in life again when you struggle to feel it 🫠 💜
I will try my best to answer this but I am not super educated on this subject so keep that in mind.
Depression can often make it feel like the joy has been sucked out of life, but it's important to remember that you are not alone and that help is available.
SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP
If you are feeling depressed, it's important to reach out to a mental health professional. They can provide you with a proper diagnosis and treatment plan, which may include therapy, medication, or both. If your diagnosis includes medication it is also important to not get addicted to it, as that could lead to other thing
STAY CONNECTED
Loneliness can exacerbate feelings of depression, so try to stay connected with friends and family. Even if you don't feel like talking about your feelings, just spending time with loved ones can provide a much needed boost. But also make sure you are taking time to yourself
SELF CARE
This can mean different things for different people, but essentially, it's about taking care of your physical, emotional, and mental health. This could involve getting regular exercise, eating a healthy diet, getting enough sleep, or practicing mindfulness and relaxation techniques.
FIND JOY IN SMALL THINGS
When you're depressed, it can be hard to find joy in anything. But try to take pleasure in small, everyday things. This could be a cup of your favorite tea, a walk in the park, or an episode of a show you love.
BE PATIENT WITH YOURSELF
Recovery from depression takes time, and it's okay to have bad days. Don't beat yourself up if you're not feeling better right away.
LIMIT EXPOSURE TO NEGATIVITY
Try to limit your exposure to negative news and stressful situations. Surround yourself with positivity as much as you can.
SET PERSONAL GOALS
Having something to work towards can provide a sense of purpose, which can in turn lead to feelings of joy and fulfillment. This could be anything from learning a new skill, to completing a project, or achieving a fitness goal.
UPLIFTING ACTIVITIES
Engage in activities that make you happy. This could be reading a good book, listening to your favorite music, painting, or spending time in nature.
PRACTICE GRATITUDE
Try to focus on the positive aspects of your life. This might be difficult during a depressive episode, but acknowledging and appreciating what you have can enhance feelings of joy and satisfaction.
We will NOT be stressing over people in 2024 when we could be studying and absorbing so much knowledge, learning the piano, taking up horseback riding, upgrading our skincare routines, reading so many more books, spending so much more time off our phones, giving the love rejected by some people to others who want it and return it in kind, learning music theory, taking up a language (French for me), saving up to travel, developing financial literacy, focusing on our goals, revamping our fashion sense, getting good at photography, carrying a camera everywhere w us, expanding our music knowledge, working out more consistently, and learning so many more recipes
•Delilah Paris •Audhd •any pronouns • the greek gods 🏛️ •fandoms: HP (the marauders), miraculous lb, pjo, Sherlock Holmes
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