Aesculapius
The domain of Aesculapius is that of healing medicine. Suitable offerings likely include replicas of the part of the body healed, incense and wine. For more see Aesculapius – God of Medicine.
Antinous
The domain of Antinous is that of youthful masculine beauty and sexual allure. Suitable offerings include incense and wine, and wearing white may be optimal.
Apollo
The domain of Apollo is light, healing (and disease), music (especially stringed instruments), poetry, archery and prophecy. Suitable offerings include laurel, traditional Roman cakes / pastries (especially in nines), incense and wine. For more see Apollo – God of Healing, Music and the Sun and The Hyperboreans and Their Connection with Apollo.
Bacchus
The domain of Bacchus is wine and the vine, as well as libations, liberty, religious intoxication and madness. Suitable offerings include honey, traditional Roman cakes / pastries (especially in with honey poured on them), incense and wine. For more see Bacchus, the Liberator.
Castor & Pollux
The domain of Castor and Pollux is that of camaraderie and strong friendship, particularly the kind forged in war; commonly associated with sailors and men of the cavalry who travel far and wide, thus also patron Gods of sailing, travelling and horsemanship. Suitable offerings may include wine and incense.
Ceres
The domain of Ceres is agriculture, plant growth and crop fertility. Suitable offerings include salt, spelt, cakes / pastries, ears of wheat, wine and incense. For more see Salubrious Food.
Diana
The domain of chaste Diana is the hunt, wild animals, woodlands, and the moon. Suitable offerings include pine tree, locks of hair and incense.
Di Manes
Di Manes are friendly spirits of the dead. Suitable offerings to Di Manes include salted grain/wheat, bread/wheat soaked in wine and violets, incense and wine.
Faunus
The domain of Faunus is fertility in fields and flocks; associated with sexuality and pleasure. Suitable offerings include sweet, fragrant herbs and wine.
Flora
The domain of Flora is flowering plants; associated with spring, fertility and sexual licentiousness. Suitable offerings may include flowers. It is traditional to wear bright colours when making offerings.
Fortuna
The domain of Fortuna is increasing prosperity, good fortune, ill fortune, chance and luck. Suitable offerings include incense and perhaps the fruits of the earth.
Hercules
The domain of Hercules is heroism, strength and perseverance. Suitable offerings may include wine and incense.
Isis
In Roman polytheism Isis is mistress of all the elements and the single embodiment of all Gods and Goddesses. She is, like Sol, a monist God. Suitable offerings likely include incense, preceded by periods of fasting, abstinence from rich foods (such as pulses, animal products, garlic and wine), luxuries and sex. For more see Isis in the Roman Tradition.
Janus
The domain of Janus is the entranceway, beginnings, transitions, openings and closings. Suitable offerings include traditional cakes / pastries (strues), wine and incense. For more see Janus – Gateway God.
Juno
The domain of Juno is married women and motherhood. Suitable offerings including silver gifts, traditional cakes / pastries (especially in threes), wine and incense. For more see Juno – Queen of the Matriarchs.
Jupiter
The domain of Jupiter is the sky and weather, especially thunder, lightning, rain and storms; also associated with the swearing of oaths. Suitable offerings include gold (especially golden thunderbolt), silver, cinnamon, fruit (esp. grapes), traditional Roman cakes / pastries, incense and wine. For more see Jupiter – Lord of Heaven.
Lares
The Lares are essentially deities of place who may protect the inhabitants of their regional domain. Suitable offerings include food plates, honey, honeycomb, honey cakes/pastries, grapes, garlands, wreathes of wheat, crowns made of flowers, corn/grain (wheat, barley and/or millet), rosemary, myrtle, coins and precious personal items. For more see Interpreting the Lares.
Lemures
Lemures, also called Larvae, are malevolent spirits of the dead. Suitable offerings to propitiate Lemures (and ritually ask them to leave your residence) include black beans. See Ovid’s Fasti (9 May) for more on expelling unfriendly ghosts from a property.
Magna Mater
Magna Mater (Cybele) is the great earth mother of the Gods and all beings. Suitable offerings include violets, coins, herbs, white cheese (and probably other dairy foods) and incense.
Mars
The domain of Mars is violence, war, valour and virility. Suitable offerings include spelt / wheat, meat and wine. For more see Mars – the Virile God.
Mercury
The domain of Mercury is financial gain, trade, travel, writing, language, communication, cunning and psychopomp. Suitable offerings include incense and probably wine as well. For more see The Nature of Mercury and Prayer to Mercury.
Minerva
The domain of Minerva is skilled thought leading to skilled action, workmanship and strategy. Suitable offerings include olives, silver gifts, skilled needlework and almost certainly any work of art made by means of skilled workmanship. It is probably safe to assume that incense is also an acceptable offering, if not milk as well. For more see Minerva – Goddess of Skilled Thought and Action.
Muses
The domain of the Muses is artistic and musical inspiration; in their most ancient guise they were nature spirits associated with sacred wells and springs. Water and milk may be suitable offerings.
Neptune
The domain of Neptune is water, the sea and horses. Suitable offerings include white wine (poured into water), blood, silver and dark blue items.
Pales
The domain of Pales is shepherds, flocks and livestock. Suitable offerings include rosemary, pine, laurel, millet cake/bread and milk.
Pax
The domain of Pax is peace. Incense is known to be a suitable offering. For more see Pax and the Roman Understanding of Peace.
Penates
The Penates are the spirits or Gods of the penus (household provisions / food stores / pantry) and are prominent amongst the household Gods. Suitable offerings may include food offerings, cakes, honey, wine and incense.
Pluto
The domain of Dis Pater (also known as Pluto or Hades) is death, the underworld and mineral wealth. His consort is Proserpina, who is associated with spring and the life, death, rebirth cycle. Suitable offerings to them likely include wine and black items. For more see Dis Pater and Proserpina.
Salus
The domain of Salus is good health and well-being. Suitable offerings likely include incense and milk. For more see Salus – Goddess of Health and Well Being.
Saturn
The domain of Saturn is agricultural abundance. He is associated with the golden age of man. Suitable offerings may include samples of crops, wheat, wine and gingerbread men. For more see Io Saturnalia!
Sol
Sol is the deity that is the sun, often identified with Apollo. In the 3rd and 4th centuries CE many Neoplatonic Romans regarded Sol as the supreme God, of whom all the others are aspects. Incense is almost certainly a suitable offering. For more see The Invincible Sun – Sol Invictus and Prayer to Sol.
Terminus
The domain of Terminus is that of property boundaries. Suitable offerings include garlands, cakes, corn (eg, wheat and barley), honeycombs and wine.
Trivia
The domain of Trivia (also known by her Hellenic title, Hekate / Hecate) is the crossroads (usually three-way), ghosts and the undead. Suitable offerings likely include items associated with, or resembling, dogs, as well as (possibly) garlic, hemlock, mandrake, rue, if not red wine, milk, incense and black items. Offerings should be made at night. For more see Hecate in the Roman Tradition – Trivia of the Crossroads.
Venus
The domain of Venus is love, sexual relationships, passion, pleasure, beauty, charm and fertility. Suitable offerings include incense, wine, mint, myrtle, roses and garlands of flowers. For more see Venus – Goddess of Love and Life and In Praise of Venus.
Vesta
The domain of Vesta is ritual fire, hearth-fire and home; associated with purity and virginity. Suitable offerings include small plates of food, and likely incense and milk as well. For more see Vesta – Fire Goddess and Prayer to Vesta.
Victoria
The domain of Victoria is victory, especially military victory. Suitable offerings likely include incense and perhaps milk, wine and laurel wreaths.
Vulcan
The domain of Vulcan is that of potent (and destructive) fire, the forge and blacksmithing. Suitable offerings include incense and boughs. For more see Vulcan – Fire God.
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| Roman fresco from the 1st century BCE |
Note: the list above is largely drawn from my other website, which recently became defunct due to sign-in problems.
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