Silly question about offerings of food

[Saint_Caliburn]

Hello! I am just beginning to build my magical practice and I have what might be an obvious question about offerings. I understand incense, candles, and cups or bowls of water as offerings for spirits or servitors or whatever else, but I've seen some mention of leaving offerings of food.

My question is, what do you actually do with the food? I can't just leave it on my altar for obvious sanitary reasons. My first thought would be to burn it, converting it into a form the spirits can draw nourishment from more easily. But I'm a college student, and don't have easy access to a fire pit. Is it improper to eat the food yourself? I could see that making sense for an invocation, but for an evocation or servitor it seems rude. It seems important that the offering be consumed in some way, but throwing it away after the fact also seems disrespectful.

Any help you can provide would be much appreciated

 

[SkullTraill]

Here’s some existing threads that might help:

How to dispose offerings afterward?

Hi all, how do you dispose your incense ashes,alcohol or meat? I'm not sure if i should dispose it in the woods like some inches in the dirt. If this is in the wrong section then sorry and place it on the right section, thanks!

wizardforums.com

What to do with the offerings of food and drink?

What to do with the offerings of food and drink? Let the liquids evaporate and throw away the solid? Drink it and eat it myself during the ritual? I have read different opinions and I don't know which one would be the most appropriate. Thank you!

wizardforums.com

 

[Saint_Caliburn]

Thanks! I did search before asking, but I guess i wasn't thorough enough

 

[Xingtian]

Answer 1: You should eat it because it is blessed by the spirits.
Answer 2: The spirits have consumed what they want from the offering, so you can eat what's left.
Answer 3: Actually you shouldn't eat it because the spirits have taken the good stuff and you're going to get some weird residue.
Answer 4: Feed it to the birds/ foxes/ appropriate critters.
Answer 5: Let some monks/ nuns/ clergy eat it.

 

[beardedeldridge]

This question comes up all the time on every forum I’ve ever been on, each time someone gives almost every answer xing gave above. So essentially it depends on your practice, find a respectable way to do it that makes sense with what you’re doing.

I usually do my outside and leave it (nothing has ever been there the next morning) for local spirits/genius loci/etc… occasionally when I do it with certain spirits I consume it as part of the ritual.

-Eld