Sacrifice

[TheDisreputableDog]

I don't think we've had a thread on this recently, but please correct me if I'm wrong.

Someone in my circle is running a Lughnasadh ritual? celebration? observance? feast? in August. She hasn't said much about it so far except we're going to be active, shoot some arrows, and eat a lot. We're also supposed to bring a sacrifice, which she describes as something important to us that we would miss if we lost it, in order to destroy it. For example, the only copy of a poem we spent a long time on that we would then burn. The act of sacrifice is supposed to create space in ourselves in order to accept in return a gift of strength.

My specific question is, Celt/not-a-Celt discussion perhaps aside (perhaps not), I'm not a follower of Lugh, and neither are most people in my circle. Would a sacrifice from me be relevant? I'm otherwise willing to make one, but I don't want to offend any gods in the process.

In terms of general discussion, to include people of other paths, do your gods accept sacrifices from strangers? Do they accept offerings from strangers? Is there a difference, and do your gods prefer one or the other from their followers?  

[TeaDidikai]

In terms of the actual ritual itself, is it a proper celebration to Lugh- or is it a generic Lammas/Loaf-Mass holiday?

For Lugh himself- remember the whole closed culture thing.

As for my gods- well, they aren't going to accept an offering or sacrifice that is unclean.  

[Deoridhe]

What are you getting for that sacrifice. 8/

Offerings are one thing; I make offerings regularly to tie between myself and those spiritual/incorporeal beings I wish to have ties to. Those are sacrifices on a relational, social level. A sacrifice of something that will leave a hole in you to lose (i.e. something you would miss a lot if you lost it) is a very, very, VERY dangerous thing, though, imo, unless you are getting back something equal in worth.

I won't get into the closed culture thing except to say that that would make this sort of a ritual even more dangerous, since it's most likely no one would get anything back, which I would posit (I have only done this kind of thing once and while it was valuable and worth it, in retrospect I am very grateful the goddess I was attempting to reach heard) would leave you open for anyone to step in, spin your sacrifice to their advantage, and you would be - by the terms of the ritual - unable to counter that immediately.

If you are at all close to this person, I would recommend you pull her aside to revisit the dangers in how she is describing sacrifice. With a usual sacrifice - some wine, some gift, some blood (not for Tea, of course wink ) - the risk of the being you are attempting to reach not hearing is fairly slight; with the sort of sacrifice your circle-mate is describing, the risk of the being you are attempting to reach not hearing is major, especially if a whole group of people are doing it. Were I an opportunistic spirit, that would get my attention; having a circle of people in my debt, who I could use to my own ends, would be VERY attractive; your chances of attracting something opportunistic or even questionably moral seems fairly high to me.

Were I invited to that ritual and given the terms, I would likely bring an object that wouldn't even be a sacrifice and settle back to watch and guard.  

[TheDisreputableDog]

I think she's ADF. She hasn't said what we're supposed to be getting from the sacrifice, other than "strength." No details on the ritual so far (although they are supposed to be forthcoming), except a long email with an excerpt from someone's research paper on the nature of sacrifice--apparently some people are leery of it because they don't understand the general concept.

The person who is running the ritual with her is supposedly Wiccan. The email also said it was 'just like raising energy for the Universe in a Wiccan ritual' only with a different name.

At this point I'm just going "Woo for Lugh, but WTF are we doing here?"  

[Deoridhe]

Wow, that just... sounds really risky. sweatdrop

I've heard horror stories about deities being invoked casually or inappropriately and people doing horrible things as a result. I hope that doesn't happen in connection with that ritual. 8/