Morgen

There could have been any number of reasons for the sacrifices that our Irish ancestors made; ensuring a good crop or harvest, making amends with a deity they had offended, petitioning for something desired, asking for healing, or just giving thanks for the boons they had received.

These are much the same reasons for which we still practice sacrifice today, although the material shape of the items has changed somewhat. We no longer practice animal sacrifice in a ritualized fashion and we don't often break our valuable possessions and throw them into a well. We do however make many different types of sacrifices on a daily basis. On a mundane level, we sacrifice our time and labor so that we may receive a paycheck and, in turn, we sacrifice our paycheck so that we may have food and a heated home in the winter. But perhaps more importantly, we sacrifice our time, our energy, and the fruits of our labor to our Gods to strengthen them and to perpetuate our relationship with them, as they do in exchange for us.

The Irish Gods are very real. They have always lived among their people and continue to do so. They interact with us on a very personal basis, and not as our superiors from some high or remote place. They are not in the business of performing for us so that we may in turn revel in their greatness. Ours is a working relationship. Together we accomplish the work. They sacrifice their wisdom and energy to our benefit, so that we will in turn give them life through our energy and the passing down of their stories and their knowledge. We need the strength and life we gain from them, and they need strength and life from us in return. And together, we work toward common goals.

As in any partnership, there must be an equitable contribution from each party. The type of energies received from each one may be vastly different, but they should be balanced. For example, in a business partnership, one partner may supply the financial backing to the business and another will provide the time and labor in running the business. They each contribute to the business in a different way, but each contributes according to their means and according to the agreement between them. In a friendship or marriage, both parties also put forth different energies toward the relationship. If there is an imbalance of the energies in any relationship that can not be re-adjusted, that relationship will certainly fail or become unproductive. The universe seeks balance, and will strive to make it happen. Our Gods rightfully demand that we keep the balance between us and they will keep a tally. The energy we contribute will be returned. If we put forth a great amount of energy, a great amount will be returned. If we put forth no energy, then nothing is what we will receive in return. If we ask for the energy of our Gods on credit and receive it, then we had better be prepared to pay for it when the bill comes due, lest that partnership be dissolved.

Most of us cherish this relationship we have with our Gods, and accept this type of sacrifice as a given, ceasing to give it much further thought. Understanding the need for this exchange of energy becomes so ingrained within us, that consequently the sacrifices we make to our Gods can become quite routine. Though deep inside we understand its importance, we often perform it without seeing the power within it nor giving it the reverence it is due. It can become a tit for tat sort of process, as humdrum and unimaginative as handing the cashier a dollar for a candy bar we want to purchase.

The actual word "sacrifice" comes from the Latin words "sacer" (sacred) and "facere" (to make). The meaning of the word is therefore"to make sacred." Learning this was my wake up call.

Formerly I had considered sacred objects to be items or places that were held in high esteem by a certain group. Examples would be the Shroud of Turin for the Christians, cows in India, or the stone circles for the Irish, just to name a few. All of these things and places have certainly become sacred to certain groups of people. However, somewhere I came to believe that Stonehenge was very sacred because a lot of people claimed it to be so. The small stone circle in the middle of a farmer's field was also sacred, but perhaps not as much as Stonehenge, since it was revered by fewer people. I also believed that the cows in India were more sacred than the cows in the United States. The Indians believed them to be sacred, and those were their cows. Our cows, on the other hand, were not considered sacred by very many people at all.

I found that I was confusing the egregore that had been built up around something with its level of sanctity. Everything I held as sacred was only so because other people had put that label on it. I never had a hand in making anything sacred. I didn't even feel qualified to make a big decision such as what would be sacred and what would not. I perceived my job more as Maintenance Man, continuing to build the egregores around the sacred items that were more special to me and to my spiritual path.

If the word sacrifice means, "to make sacred," then I have a personal hand in making something sacred through the sacrifices that I personally make. The sanctity of an item is determined by me and my actions. If I sacrifice it, then it is sacred. If someone else sacrifices it, it is sacred to them. I may have great respect for the sacrifice made by another, but that sacrifice is not necessarily sacred to me. Though it is possible that I may benefit from someone else's sacrifice, this is not a given. If I experience no loss and no gain, then the sacrifice and sanctity of the object is neutral to me but beneficial to the whole which serves the purposes of the Gods and their people. In this sense, I give respect to the sacrifices of others.

When you offer anything at all up in sacrifice, you make it sacred. If you sacrifice a part of your harvested crop in thanksgiving for the bounty you have received, that portion of your crop quite literally becomes sacred. If you sacrifice your time and energy to teach others, that time and energy you spend becomes sacred. If you sacrifice a favorite necklace to seal an oath you make, that necklace becomes sacred. Whatever we give up becomes sacred, no matter what it is or how insignificant it may seem to an outsider looking in. It is transformed by our actions from something mundane into something spiritual. That given, it should also be stressed that our attitude and sincerity also play a great role. It just wouldn't be right to grab an expired coupon out of last week's newspaper, label it as sacred, burn it in the name of the Gods, and then feel pretty good about the great sacrifice we have made. Sacrifice involves loss. Knowing that the destiny of our sacrifices is to become sacred gives us the responsibility to make sure they are worthy of sanctity. There must be some inherent value, monetary or emotional, involved. There must be a hole created to make room for the growth we expect to achieve.

I spoke earlier of the energy we sacrifice to the Gods. That energy is sacred. The Gods give energy to us. As they are under no obligation to interact with us, this is also a sacrifice on their behalf, which we consider to be sacred as well. The flow of energy between our Gods and us is continuous and forms a never-ending spiral of interconnectedness. The more energy that is exchanged between us, the faster the spiral turns. The faster it spins, the more indistinguishable the boundaries seem to be between our Gods and us. This is one of the things that separates us from non-spiritual beings. The more we commune with them and exchange this energy with the Gods, the more we become one with them. We become no longer separate from them. We are of the Gods, and we are the Gods. Sacrifice to our Gods is a path toward becoming one.

That we are no longer separate entities from our Gods is a difficult concept to grasp until that spiral spins fast enough that you can actually feel the connection. Once the connection is made, then some of the other ways in which we commune with and make sacrifices to our Gods become more obvious and more meaningful to us. One example would be the ritual sharing of the cakes and wine in our rituals. We bring these items to the grove, and when our work is done, they are blessed and offered as a sacrifice, and thus made sacred. This meal is then shared with the Gods. This is not a type of "This Do In Remembrance Of Me" ceremony. This is more of a "This Do With Me" sort of thing. And by doing this, both we and our Gods take into ourselves the sanctity of the sacrifice.

In the Fall, it is a custom in our tradition to sacrifice a portion of the fruits of our harvest. In the days of ancient Ireland, actual parts of the harvest were used. As most of us are not farmers, the fruits of our labor are quite different and don't always have a physical form. But, to simplify, we still generally represent our returns by seasonally harvested foods, and it is this representation which is offered as our sacrifice. By extension, all of the fruits of our labor, expressed by the one object, are all sacred. This prompts us to take a closer examination of our labor. Are they worthy of sacrifice or worthy of being called sacred? Did we make good use of the energy that was given to us? If not, how can we restore the balance?

This theme of harvest food sacrifices can be carried further. We, as our ancestors, believe that all land is sacred. It is, after all, that which sustains us. Food sacrifices are made in thanksgiving for a bountiful harvest as well as to ensure a good crop the following year. Even today, just as was done in older times, when we make a food sacrifice, the remains of the sacrifice are given back to the source from whence it came or, in other words, it is given back to the land. In doing so, we are returning energy to the land, not only through the natural fertilization process, but also by sacrificing something made sacred. By returning the sacrifice to the land, we fertilize it on both an internal and external level. Land is sacred not only because of events we do not control, but also because we, by our actions, help cause it to be.

Another point to consider is our oaths. Along our path, from time to time we choose to take oaths. These often take the form of oaths made before others during some type of ceremony, but can also be one made privately between the Gods and ourselves. An oath is essentially a promise that you will make the necessary sacrifices to ensure that something will be done. We have often heard these oaths coined as a "sacred duty," but how often do we hear these words without understanding their implications. The oath is made to those who give us our strength and life. Failure to live up to that oath can have dire consequences. By breaking an oath you relieve the other party from their responsibilities in the deal. It would be far safer to make an insincere oath to someone who does not supply you with your strength and life, than to underestimate the magnitude of an oath you have made to the Gods. Is this an oath you are ready and able to keep? Also from time to time take a moment to reflect upon the oaths taken in the past. How are you doing on keeping them?

There are many layers of meaning in sacrifice and discovering them opens doors. The next time you make plans to offer something up in sacrifice, remember the original meaning of the word; to make sacred. Think about why you are doing it and look at the significance of your actions. You will undoubtedly find that much greater energy will go into the acquisition, preparation and execution of the sacrifice. You returns will also undoubtedly be larger than expected. It is also conceivable that you will find that making a sacrifice in certain situations is inappropriate. And considering the possible consequences, that is a more mindful action.