The Way of Exchange: The Path of Offerings

As beings we take a lot from this earth. We walk on her skin every day, everything that we wear has come from the earth, all our belongings, all our food; as we breathe each moment we are borrowing something that is not ours, but yet how much do we give back? In fact do we give anything back at all?

It has often been said of human beings that we take so much from this earth but give very little back. We tend to live disconnected from the processes that support us.

There is one arrow though that we can fire straight into the heart of our spiritual practice to redress this deep imbalance.

This arrow is the arrow of ‘offerings’. ‘Offerings’ can be extremely powerful to help to keep the energetic balance that is so important for this earth. Of course we need ‘good works’ as well, self giving efforts to make a positive difference to this earth, these offerings are essential, but ritual  'offerings' do offer a powerful principle that we can easily integrate into our overall spiritual practice.

In shamanic cultures on this earth there is often a maxim that nothing is done without giving offerings. If some seeds are planted, if a journey is undertaken, or if a ritual is performed ‘offerings’ will always be made. This is always done to maintain the balance and to acknowledge and to some extent 'feed' the spiritual forces that govern life on this earth.   

There is the clear danger for the human beings that we lose contact with the life spirit earth.  This is very clear, especially in cities where we cover the earth with a blanket of concrete. We are in some senses the dominant species but yet we don't always carry this responsibility well. Being in nature can help a great deal and as we spend more time in nature we can begin to connect with a side of life that is rich and meaningful.

In many spiritual traditions the physical earth is seen as a manifestation of non-physical reality. As above, so below.

For many shamanic cultures this world of thought and imagination is seen as the ‘real world’. In the west we have used terms like the ‘other world’ or the ‘sprit realm’ to describe this dimension. It should be clear that when we use the words ‘imagination and thought’ in this sense we are not talking about something that is not real.

When we look at the realm of nature in this way and begin to think about the spiritual dimensions that helps to support the processes of nature, we can easily see the realm of the ‘elemental beings’. In western esoteric Hermetic texts it is often described how the creator God created the world through the four elements.  

These are the elements of earth, fire, water and air. If we are looking for a spirituality that honours the earth and perhaps seeks to convince the spiritual forces that govern the physical earth to not completely lose confidence in human beings and to think of us as something more than a parasitic virus on the face of this earth then we would do well to work with the elemental spirits.

Human beings are also composed of the four elements. We have the element of earth, water, fire and air within us. The elements within us are connected to the spiritual beings that help to support these elements in nature. It is all connected so we can begin to honour that connection and work with the elemental spirits.

In theory every form of animate life has a spiritual dimension to it. We can talk of the spirit of stones, of mountains of woods, of trees. We can devise meditation practices that help us work with these forces and this will help to bring greater balance to us and to the earth as whole.

Offerings is something that is very easy to do. In our culture the word that was often used to offering was ‘sacrifice’. This word for us conjures up altars of blood (of animals and even humans) but there are other much more everyday associations of the word ‘sacrifice’ that still have a very positive meaning. For example we might say “He is sacrificing his time, he made great sacrifices for his children”. In other words we still know that in some way 'sacrifice' is about giving up something of value because we value something else as well. It is a very powerful way to erode ego-ic identity and to keep us connected and not isolated from the processes that support us.
         
A very simple practice that anyone could follow would be something like this:
Prepare an offering beforehand of perhaps some food, incense or anything of value to you.
Create a space of meditation and practice and sit down. After sitting for some time you can recite a prayer such as:

“I wish to ask each of the four classes of elemental being to come through, of earth, fire, water and air. I want to show my (our) respect to them, to help them but also to help us. I will place an offering right now for all the forces that come through.”
You can then place the offering for the elemental spirits that will come through.
“Please may I ask if the elemental beings of the light related to the earth element, the Gnomes, that have a good intention to me (us) and that want to work with me (us), may they come into this space, I will ask them to help me (us) but first I would like to thank them for the work they do in supporting the processes of nature.” 

You can then continue:
“Please could the elemental beings of the earth element, the Gnomes, please could you strengthen the earth element within me (us), help me (us) to feel more grounded and solid, and please cleanse my (our) energy body of any negative energy.”
Sit with the presences that come through for some time. Then continue the same rite for each of the other elements.

You can then continue:
 “Please may I ask if the elemental beings of the light related to the fire element, the Salamanders, that have a good intention to me and that want to work with me, may they come into this space, I will ask them to help me but first I would like to thank them for the work they do in supporting the processes of nature.” 
“Please could the elemental beings of the fire element, the Salamanders, please could you strengthen and tame the fire element within me (us) and please cleanse my (our) energy body (ies) of any negative energy.”

You can then continue:
“Please may I ask if the elemental beings of the light related to the water element, the Undines, that have a good intention to me and that want to work with me, may they come into this space, I will ask them to help me but first I would like to thank them for the work they do in supporting the processes of nature.” 
“Please could the elemental beings of the water element, the Undines, please could you strengthen the water element within me, balance the waters of my (our) emotions and please cleanse my (our) energy body (ies) of any negative energy.”

You can then continue:
“Please may I ask if the elemental beings of the light related to the air element, the Sylphs, that have a good intention to me and that want to work with me, may they come into this space, I will ask them to help me (us) but first I would like to thank them for the work they do in supporting the processes of nature.” 
“Please could the elemental beings of the air element, the Sylphs, please could you strengthen the air element within me, to cleanse my channels of communication, and please cleanse my (our) energy body (ies) of any negative energy.”

Similar practices can be developed to work with our spiritual energies, such as the Dryad’s or the spirits of mountains. When you do such practices you may find yourself deeply absorbed and in communication with the spirits that you are working with.

Some people may be fearful of working with spirits but if you use formulas such as ‘the ones that have a good intention towards me, that want to work with me’ then you will be fine. The spirits are there whether we work with them or not but it is of inestimable value to do these kinds of practices, that honour them, make offerings to them and that also ask them to help us. It isn’t a matter of being a pantheist, or worshipping nature, it is simply doing what is necessary and doing what works in our spiritual practices to bring more balance to this earth and to ourselves. As above, so below.

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