How does one “share food” with a spirit companion? Also, can the act of eating a certain food be dedicated to a spirit companion, and can such an act serve as an offering to a spirit companion?

blackbearmagic:

thedragonslibrary:

Sharing food is an act of offering, and I see it as sort of inviting the spirit to eat with you.  Think of the Halloween tradition of having an extra plate set for spirits who might wish to stop by!

The best way I can think of to describe this is, say you cook yourself a pot of mac n’ cheese.  You spoon yourself a bowl, and as you sit down to eat you take one extra spoonful of the pasta and set it on a separate plate.  You could say, aloud or in your head, “This mac n’ cheese is for my spirit companion, [name].” There doesn’t need to be much more than that!

Some people also take a portion of what they eat/cook or a food that their spirit likes and sets it on an offering dish on their altar.  The food can then be left for an hour, for several days, whatever you wish before disposed of.  There’s no need for fancy disposal (like burying it or whatnot), you can simply wash it down the sink or throw it away.

As far as eating as a dedicated act, I don’t think I’ve heard about that being a common thing?  My spirits are kind of confused about the idea.  Shimmer’s saying, “That food is for nourishing you, so it doesn’t make sense that you’d be nourishing yourself… for me.”  Of course, in the case that you are recovering from an eating disorder or cannot spare any food because of poverty, that makes sense to him.  On the other hand, anything is possible!  If you wish to eat devotionally, I’d speak with your personal spirit and see what they have to say on the matter.  If it works for your relationship, then it works, period.

If I am dumb enough to bring any manner of berry (except for strawberries?) into my room, my black bear Daru demands to share them. He does this by making the entire room absolutely reek of bear, which is this kind of heavy-musk-mixed-with-wet-leaves-and-mud smell, which is kind of enjoyable in small doses but can be gut-wrenching and overwhelming in large ones. It’s the olfactory equivalent of him roaring “I CAN HAS???”

What do you give a black bear who had a live weight somewhere between 350-400 pounds? A lot of what he wants. Especially if you want to be able to breathe in the same room as him.

My method for “sharing” my berries with him is as follows:

1. Sit down on the floor in front of his pelt (which is draped over the back of my chair because he’s huge where else can I honestly put him goddammit Daru)
2. Pick up berry and let it settle in the palm of my hand
3. Place hand under his doofy big nose
4. Wait for him to chow down (scolding him for being such a beggar is optional but frequent)

I’ll feel something that lets me know when he’s finished with it. I generally refer to it as feeling him “spiritually lick my palm clean.” Which, in some ways, it kind of does feel like that–there’s a sort of tingle on my palm like something is touching to it, but it’s not like I actually feel the pressure or licking movements or the texture of papillae. Astral tongue meets astral hand? Who knows.

Once the burbeast has finished, I just pop the berry into my own mouth and eat it. No sense in wasting a perfectly good blackberry, especially because the only time we ever have them in the house is if I went down to the pick-your-own farm when they were in season to collect them–so like hell I’m throwing away the work of a hot summer afternoon! Daru has eaten whatever it is he wanted to eat out of the berry, and whatever is left is, in my opinion, perfectly fine to consume. I’ve never experienced any adverse symptoms–no bellyaches, sudden sickness, bad luck, excessive spiritual mischief–from eating his leftovers, but that’s just my experience.