Food offerings (especially for practitioners in England)

[treekisser]

So I'm going to bake something as an offering to any local spirits. I've not offered food before, so I'm open to any suggestions as to how I should do it (leave it out? near a particular place? bury it? etc).

Since there's a river near me I'm also thinking of feeding it to the ducks and geese - good/bad idea?

And if there's anything I should know about English spirits or a particular spirit here in the southeast...before I make a fool of myself or worse...would welcome tips!

[Chatelaine]

So I'm going to bake something as an offering to any local spirits. I've not offered food before, so I'm open to any suggestions as to how I should do it (leave it out? near a particular place? bury it? etc).

Since there's a river near me I'm also thinking of feeding it to the ducks and geese - good/bad idea?

And if there's anything I should know about English spirits or a particular spirit here in the southeast...before I make a fool of myself or worse...would welcome tips!

Leaving it out for the animals is your best bet. The ducks and geese are good recipients. You can also crumble it finer and put it in bird feeders, if there are any hanging about the neighbourhood, or leave chunks on tree branches. You might want to observe green areas around you, to see what kind of beasties gather where. Avoid leaving it in your back garden, as there it would be more likely to be snaffled by neighbouring pets on the loose, not wildlife.

[Mata]

So I'm going to bake something as an offering to any local spirits. I've not offered food before, so I'm open to any suggestions as to how I should do it (leave it out? near a particular place? bury it? etc).

Since there's a river near me I'm also thinking of feeding it to the ducks and geese - good/bad idea?

And if there's anything I should know about English spirits or a particular spirit here in the southeast...before I make a fool of myself or worse...would welcome tips!

 
Baking something would be a great offering, in my opinion. Baked goods are a traditional offering to land-spirits.

I think feeding it to the birds is a good course of action, and/or burying part of it as well, and you can leave it at the base of a old, large tree, or a peculiar, unique looking rock, since a lot of the time wights seem to be strongly attached to either old, or special parts of the landscape.

Just be sure to not use too many processed ingredients in the food item; because it can make it take longer for it to decompose or not be the best for the wildlife. And since you're baking - be sure to not use any cocoa or chocolate, since it's poisonous to quite a few animals.

Good luck with your offering. :

[DomesticWitch]

So I'm going to bake something as an offering to any local spirits. I've not offered food before, so I'm open to any suggestions as to how I should do it (leave it out? near a particular place? bury it? etc).

Since there's a river near me I'm also thinking of feeding it to the ducks and geese - good/bad idea?

And if there's anything I should know about English spirits or a particular spirit here in the southeast...before I make a fool of myself or worse...would welcome tips!

If you end up wanting to feed it to the ducks and geese (or any bird) why not look into making some fat balls and that for them? You get to do the creative side of making it still but its then particularly designed for the animals which would prevent the inclusion of ingredients they shouldn't have. I'm sure the RSBP has some recipes on their website

[treekisser]

...

Update:

DomesticWitch, I went ahead with baking because I wanted to try making scones anyway. But your post did make me check whether baked stuff is good for ducks and apparently it's not, so I won't be feeding it to them directly.

Mata and Chatelaine - since I have nine scones to leave out I'll be using both your ideas (crumbling them and leaving a few at the base of particular natural features). Thanks for the responses everyone!

[rocquelaire]

And if there's anything I should know about English spirits or a particular spirit here in the southeast...before I make a fool of myself or worse...would welcome tips!

Where in the southeast are you? My family live in Essex and I visit there a lot so I know a bit about that area.

I tend to make offerings of bird seed and things like that because I know it's safe for them to eat. At home I leave it in woodlands near the river and in Essex I've left offerings in the bluebell woods

[addy]

So I'm going to bake something as an offering to any local spirits. I've not offered food before, so I'm open to any suggestions as to how I should do it (leave it out? near a particular place? bury it? etc).

Since there's a river near me I'm also thinking of feeding it to the ducks and geese - good/bad idea?

And if there's anything I should know about English spirits or a particular spirit here in the southeast...before I make a fool of myself or worse...would welcome tips!

 
This seems like a great idea. I am sure the spirits and the animals will love it. I also heard on samhain some people leave out a pomegranate for the wandering spirits on that night. Anywho, I hope you enjoy it and that every thing works out

[treekisser]

Where in the southeast are you? My family live in Essex and I visit there a lot so I know a bit about that area.

 
I'm hanging around Oxford at the moment so will be leaving stuff around the Isis and Cherwell.

*makes note of bird seed for the future*

[treekisser]

This seems like a great idea. I am sure the spirits and the animals will love it. I also heard on samhain some people leave out a pomegranate for the wandering spirits on that night. Anywho, I hope you enjoy it and that every thing works out

Thanks for the good wishes! I'd love to leave fruit out actually - seems the safest thing for everyone - but I feel it'd have to be something I made the effort to grow rather than just grabbed from the supermarket.