In the following pages you will find a catalogue of offerings which are suitable for the god Hermes. These come from diverse sources because I have not felt it proper to limit myself only to material from antiquity, since tradition is a living thing which continually renews itself in the lives of worshippers daily, and the experiences of a modern person are just as valid as those of someone who lived twenty-five centuries ago. However I have tried to be clear in citing where this information comes from in each instance so that a person may weigh the material and decide for themselves what they wish to include in their practice and what they do not.

Let us begin.

The principle religious act in ancient Greece was the thusia or animal sacrifice. In fact, according to the 4^th Homeric Hymn it was Hermes himself who instituted the practice of animal sacrifice for the Twelve Gods by stealing the cattle of Apollon, butchering them, and offering an equal portion of the meat to each of the gods, giving himself the final portion and thus taking his place among the Twelve. The most expensive animal slaughtered for the gods was the cow or ox. We find cattle offered to Hermes in Hesiod (Theogony 444) and Homer (Iliad 14.491) But Hermes also received offerings of the meat of less expensive animals, such as the ram, which was often depicted being carried upon his shoulders or sitting at his side. According to Pausanias (2.3.4):

"We see a bronze image of a seated Hermes. By him stands a ram, for Hermes is the god who is thought most to care for and to increase flocks...”

The cheapest animal that was offered to the gods aside from the cock was the pig, and this animal was frequently given to Hermes, as we see in Aristophanes’ Peace and Homer’s Odyssey 14.435:

"Eumaios the swineherd of Odysseus spitted the pieces of a hog, roasted them carefully, took them all off again, then heaped them on serving-dishes. The swineherd stood up to portion them out justly, as was his way. He divided the whole into seven portions, assigning one, with the due prayer, to the Nymphai and to Hermes son of Maia, and giving the rest to the diners one by one."

While most people today do not sacrifice whole hekatombs of cattle to the gods, they often do give a portion of meat, duly consecrated, to the gods, and thus beef, mutton, and pork would be especially suited for Hermes.

But meat isn’t the only food-stuff properly given to Hermes. Pausanias (5.15.11) recounts the ancestral practices of the Eleans in connection with Hermes:

“They sacrifice in an ancient manner; for they burn on the altars incense with wheat which has been kneaded with honey, placing also on the altars twigs of olive, and using wine for a libation.”  

Honey is connected with Hermes in several other sources. For instance, according to the 4^th Homeric Hymn Apollon put the thriai under the control of Hermes, and these thriai were bee-nymphs as we discover further on in the text:

“From their home they fly now here, now there, feeding on honey-comb and bringing all things to pass. And when they are inspired through eating yellow honey, they are willing to speak truth; but if they be deprived of the gods' sweet food, then they speak falsely, as they swarm in and out together.“

So offerings of honey and honey-comb, especially if it comes from local bees, would be a most appropriate offering to Hermes.

Another sweet food connected with Hermes was strawberries, according to Pausanias (9.22.2):

"In the sanctuary of Hermes Promakhos in Tanagra is kept all that is left of the wild strawberry-tree (andrakhnos) under which they believe that Hermes was nourished."

In the Greek Magical Papyri (13.353-54) we read that cassia was given to Hermes. Cassia is a form of cinnamon (its Latin name is actually Cinnamomum aromaticum), though grown in China as opposed to “true cinnamon” which is found in Ceylon and has a more delicate flavor. Niceties aside, any type of cinnamon may be offered to Hermes, either on its own, added as a spice to a food, or burnt as an aromatic herb. Many modern practioners have found that Hermes especially seems to like cinnamon flavored candies.

Another herb which was connected to Hermes is crocus sativus or saffron. According to Ovid, Krokos was a boy loved by the god Hermes. After his accidental death the god transformed him into the saffron flower. Its red stems were desribed as his spilt blood. Many Indian foods contain saffron, and thus these would be accetable offerings to Hermes.

On Khutroi, the final day of Anthesteria, a special meal called panspermia was prepared for Hermes and the spirits of the dead.

Theopompos, in the Scholia to Aristophanes’ Acharnians 1076 describes Khutroi in the following way:

“Those who had survived the great deluge of Deukalion boiled pots of every kind of seed, and from this the festival gets its name. It is their custom to sacrifice to Hermes Khthonios. No one tastes the pot. The survivors did this in propitiation to Hermes on behalf of those who had died.”

The panspermia is a mixture of beans, grains, and seeds. To this some people add honey, oil and milk since these were the traditional libations to the dead, and additionally it fills the kitchen with a strong, unsettling aroma. Although you can cook this meal for Hermes on times other than the Anthesteria, it should only be given to him in connection to his underworld aspect, and you must never taste of the food yourself, since this is a meal reserved for the dead and it would be considered very bad luck to eat it. Other foods for the dead, which would be suitable as offerings to Hermes Khthonios, include eggs, onions, garlic, pomegranate seeds, and fish or pork.

In addition to these traditional foods, many people have begun offering him things such as chocolate, whipped cream (especially on strawberries or french toast with cinnamon), coffee drinks (one person said that he especially liked Caramel Macchiatos and bottled Frappacinos), any type of foreign food (he is, after all, the best-traveled of all the gods), as well as brightly-colored easter eggs to honor his mischievous side and his connections to fertility.

Along with food-stuffs the ancient Greeks poured out libations to the gods. Wine is especially appropriate for Hermes since he was the wine-pourer of the gods (Sappho fr. 51) and also saved the infant Dionysos from the wrath of Hera, thus allowing the wine-god to bring his gift to mortal man. We don’t seem to have any information on particular wines from antiquity that were connected to Hermes, but modern worshippers have uncovered certain predilections. For instance, Hermes seems to prefer sweet wines – especially the cheap blackberry one from Wild Vines, as well as ports, sherries, and other dessert wines, or any wine that has fruit mixed into it. Red wine is especially good since reds resemble blood, and Hermes is one of the gods connected with the dead. But in his aspect of Logios, god of communication and the written word, he seems to especially favor whites, the drier the better.

Mead, or any alcoholic beverage containing honey, would be good for him since he’s connected with the bee-nymphs, and modern worshippers have reported that Hermes also seems to have a thing for beer, perhaps as a result of his equation with the Egyptian Thoth. Some people have taken to adding Red Bull to his alcoholic libations, no doubt because it “gives you wings!” as the advertisement says. Gin, vodka, and absinthe (especially the illegal variety) have also been given to him with seemingly positive results.

Along with food and alcohol, the ancients burned incense during their sacrifices to the gods. There were particular varieties associated with each one of them. (With this material you can choose to use incense, either powdered or in stick or cone form, unprocessed herbs, or in their essential oil form.)

As already mentioned, the Greek Magical Papyri prescribe cassia for Hermes. Along with cassia, of course, there is cinnamon, camphor, and malabathrum, all of which belong to the same family. Frankincense or libanom was one of the commonest forms of incense burnt in Greek temples, and we find it especially prescribed for Hermes in numerous places, for instance at a school in Miletos (Syll3 577) and at a gymnasion in Makedonia (IAM 2.139-50), as well as in the Orphic hymn to Hermes. Another Orphic hymn recommends myrrh, which was the other de facto temple incense in Greece.

If one accepts modern Qabalistic correspondences, a whole realm of scents opens up for Hermes. Between Aleister Crowley’s 777 and Scott Cunningham’s Complete Guide to Incenses, Oils & Brews we find storax, mastic, white sandal, mace, moly, nettles, asafoetida, ginger, and marjolane listed for the god. Others have added to this list cloves, tobacco, musk, nag champa, poppy, lavender, and vanilla. You can also use scents connected with the realms he presides over, such as commerce, communication, magic, dreams, the underworld, etc. Tables of correspondences listing these associations can be found in pretty much any beginner’s book or website devoted to magic, but the further one strays from traditional associations the more muddled one’s results may become.

One interesting incense-related UPG that I had never considered before in connection with Hermes was the scent Dragon’s Blood. James Lock (e-mail dated February 28, 2007) explained his reasons for using it thusly:

“In my own daily devotionals, I give Hermes offerings of Dragon's Blood.  He has made me aware that He likes it.  I think it fits His sense of humor:  it isn't blood, and it doesn't come from a dragon, but it bears that name.  He seems to appreciate the humor of that.”

Really now, how can you argue with that?

Another thing that the ancient Greeks gave to their gods were votive objects. These could be vessels such as bowls, cups or tripods, representations of animals or the human form, steles or tablets with a special inscription on them, etc. They could range in value from simple terracotta pieces (sometimes meant to be broken in apotropaic rites) up to ornately wrought works of art made of the most precious metals and gems. So let us consider what items would be appropriate for Hermes.

First, anything made of silver would be fitting, especially since silver has a reputation for fluidity and speed (i.e. quicksilver which is really Mercury) and for being connected to the moon. Hermes himself was a moon-god (Plutarch On Isis and Osiris 41) and therefore things made of this metal are especially fitting. But really, since Hermes is a god of commerce, any metal to which we attach special value and use for economic transactions (e.g. gold, copper, platinum, etc.) fall under his influence. Many people keep small jars of coins and foreign currency on his shrine for this reason.

The Greek Magical Papyri connect turquoise with Hermes (CX.1-12) and invocations to Hermes and the other infernal powers were often written on lead, so both of these would be proper materials as well.

A number of animals were connected with Hermes. You could set up representations of these on his shrine as a fitting offering. Here’s a listing of some of the most important animals and the reasons why they were connected with him:

"Hermes averted a pestilence from the city [of Tanagra] by carrying a ram round the walls; to commemorate this alamis made an image of Hermes carrying a ram upon his shoulders." – Pausanias 9.22.1

"Zeus himself ... commanded that glorious Hermes should be lord ... over dogs and all the herds and flocks." - Homeric Hymn 4 to Hermes 560

"There are in fact several species of Hawks … They are allotted separately to many gods .... the ocypterus is a servant of Apollon... [and] the dove-killer is said to be the darling of Hermes." - Aelian, On Animals 12.4

"The constellation Lepus (hare). Some say that it was put there by Mercurius, and that it had been given the faculty, beyond other kinds of quadrapeds, of being pregnant with new offspring when giving birth to others." - Hyginus, Astronomica 2.33

"Outside the cave of his mother Maia he found a tortoise feeding. He cleaned it out, and stretched across the shell strings made from the cattle he had sacrificed, and when he had thus devised a lyre he also invented a plectrum ... When Apollon heard the lyre, he exchanged the cattle for that. And as Hermes was tending the cattle, this time he fashioned a shepherd’s pipe which he proceeded to play. Covetous also of this, Apollon offered him the golden staff which he held when he herded cattle. But Hermes wanted both the staff and proficiency in the art of prophecy in return for the pipe. So he was taught how to prophesy by means of pebbles, and gave Apollon the pipe." - Apollodorus 3.112-115

In addition to animals, one could set up a votive herm for the god. Herms are ithyphallic pillars upon which the head of the god and his genitals were depicted, while the remainder was a crude block of stone. These herm-pillars (which may have given the god his name) are thought to have originated as boundary markers on the roadside, where travelers would pile up stones as they passed by in honor of the god. Later on they became highly stylized and people would often erect them outside their homes or in the courtyard by the door.

“They also call Hermes the ‘Wayside Leader’ to acknowledge how necessary his guidance is in business affairs. For this reason they also erect columns by the roadside to honor him.” – Scholiast on Plato Laws 11.914b  

According to the scholiast on Aristophanes’ Ploutos 1153: “‘Pivot-god’ is an epithet of Hermes in that he is placed beside doors to protect against other thieves.”

And Thucydides (6.27) writes of the herm thusly:

“These, according to local custom, are squared off and many are at the doors of private houses and in sanctuaries.”

The herm was dutifully tended and Hermes honored as one of the most important of the household deities:

“He thought fit to ask him after what manner he reverenced the gods. Clearchus answered him that he diligently sacrificed to them at proper times in every month at the new moon, crowning and adorning the statues of Hermes and Hekate, and the other sacred images which were left to us by our ancestors, and that he also honored the gods with frankincense, and sacred wafers and cakes. He likewise said, that he performed public sacrifices annually, omitting no festive day; and that in these festivals he worshipped the gods, not by slaying oxen, nor by cutting victims into fragments, but that he sacrificed whatever he might casually meet with, sedulously offering the first-fruits to the gods of all the vegetable productions of the seasons, and of all the fruits with which he was supplied. He added, that some of these he placed before the statues of the gods, but that he burnt others on their altars." - Porphyry, On Abstinence from Animal Food, 2.16.  

Your herm could either be a pile of stones or a small pillar, perhaps set up by your door, in your yard, or on his shrine if you are pressed for space. You can make this out of clay or wood, and shouldn’t let a lack of creative talent impede you. After all, the herms of antiquity tended to be very crude, the human face and genitals barely recognizeable. So your simple rendition can be seen as an archaicism and not a lack of talent!

Any squared object would be appropriate for Hermes, since the square and the number four are sacred to him. For instance, Herakleitos called the god tetragonos; PGM 5.402 says the square is his holy image; Plutarch said the number four is “particularly associated with Hermes” Q. Conviv. 9.2, and it was certainly no coincidence that the god was said to be born on the 4^th day of the month in the 4^th Homeric Hymn and the 4^th day was set aside to honor him in Hesiod’s Works and Days 365.

Other items that can be included on one’s Hermes shrine are the rhabdos or kadukeus which are always depicted in his hand, a scale, since Hermes “invented measures and weights and profits to be gained through merchandizing” (Diodorus Sicculus 5.75.2) a lyre or other musical instrument since Hermes crafted the first musical instrument (Apollodoros 3.113), dice since Hermes presides over gambling and divination by this means (4^th Homeric Hymn 550) and interesting pebbles or rocks you find during your travels. In fact, I have described a powerfully effective devotional routine that one can perform with these pebbles here.

Something else that can be kept as an offering for Hermes are books and pens. Hermes, after all, was credited with the invention of language and writing:

“This name 'Hermes' seems to me to have to do with speech; he is an interpreter (hêrmêneus) and a messenger, is wily and deceptive in speech, and is oratorical. All this activity is concerned with the power of speech. Now, as I said before, eirein denotes the use of speech; moreover, Homer often uses the word emêsato, which means 'contrive.' From these two words, then, the lawgiver imposes upon us the name of this god who contrived speech and the use of speech--eirein means 'speak'--and tells us : `Ye human beings, he who contrived speech (eirein emêsato) ought to be called Eiremes by you.' We, however, have beautified the name, as we imagine, and call him Hermes. Iris also seems to have got her name from eirein, because she is a messenger." - Plato, Cratylus 400d & 408a ff

"Hermes ... prophet of discourse ... Of various speech, whose aid in works we find, and in necessities to mortal kind. Dire weapon of the tongue, which men revere, be present, Hermes, and thy suppliant hear; assist my works, conclude my life with peace, give graceful speech, and memory’s increase." - Orphic Hymn 28 to Hermes

In Egypt Hermes was equated with Thoth, the scribe of the gods, and together they were honored as Hermes Trismegestos, the first philosopher and the author of numerous sacred texts.

“These things being so, Sanchuniathon, who was a man of much learning and great curiosity, and desirous of knowing the earliest history of all nations from the creation of the world, searched out with great care the history of Taautus, knowing that of all men under the sun Taautus was the first who thought of the invention of letters, and began the writing of records: and he laid the foundation, as it were, of his history, by beginning with him, whom the Egyptians called Thoyth, and the Alexandrians Thoth, translated by the Greeks into Hermes.” - Philo Byblius, 31 d 8 - 42 b 2.

"Hermes, the patron of literature, was rightly considered of old to be a god common to all the priests and the one presiding over the genuine learning relating to the gods, one and the same among all. Hence our predecessors were wont to ascribe to him their discoveries in wisdom and to name all their respective works Books of Hermes." - Iamblichus, On the Mysteries 2:1

So keeping a library in his honor, or devoting one’s writing to him can be a strong devotional act. We find in the Greek Anthology (6.68.5-6) another way to honor Hermes Logios:

"Accept, O Hermes, with the reed pens also the ink bottle by which eternity guards for those who will come the voice of those who have gone before." - Julian the Egyptian

Like the ancient Egyptian scribes, one can pour out a libation of ink before one starts to write, in the hope that Hermes will lend his prowess with words to one’s undertaking.

These are, of course, simply suggestions of things one may offer to Hermes. By no means should this be considered the totality of what is appropriate for the god. As your relationship with him develops, you may discover your own symbols and associations, things that have personal meaning to you because of incidents in your life with him. You may also discover that he wants certain things from you that he might not ask of others, and that should take top priority, regardless if it’s found in the ancient literature.