Thanking for Sustenance

We are of the Earth and embedded within it, but we are of the Animal Kingdom, and have no choice but to sustain our lives at cost to other beings. Some foods are offered by plants as their means of propagating their kind, but most of our sustenance comes by taking the lives of other beings.

Plants too have awareness, so even being Vegan doesn't get us off the hook. What we can do, and must do, is to be respectful and thankful for what we must take - it is the Pagan thing to do. Here below is a simple ritual that can be used at the dinner table or any other appropriate time. It can be voiced, or recited silently.

You should, while reciting your thanks, be visualizing the living beings that have provided the food that is before you. It is usually impossible to visualize them all during so short a ritual, but at least the major ones. This ritual is my own work, and I contribute it to the Public Domain.

If your mind wanders during the ritual, start over

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Personal I give my blessing to this food in thanks To all the living beings that have brought it to me That I may be healthy and strong. That I may heal my wounds and continue my work. Again, I give my blessing and my thanks. And hope to be worthy of blessing in turn. Group Leaders We give our blessings to this food in thanks To all the living beings that have brought it to us That we may be healthy and strong. That we may heal our wounds and continue our work. Again, We give our blessings and our thanks. And hope to be worthy of blessing in turn. Disclaimer I am a largely Non-Theist Pagan, but have recently been doing some work with Freya, who seems to be branching out from her Germanic roots - note her very India style pose and Japanese companion (Shinto I presume). It's all OK, since Vedic Hinduism originated from the same Proto Indo-European root as Germanic Paganism. Andrew Grygus