Spring Mysteries is a time of dedication, communion, and spiritual offerings to the Gods and Goddesses of Eleusis. There is a talent show, great food, warm showers, deep spiritual growth, brother and sisterhood with your fellow pilgrims, enriching workshops, and fantastic shopping. But first and foremost, SMF is about your personal connection with the deities you find there.

Many of us have deep connections with a number of the Gods present this weekend, and have ways that we show our appreciation, devotion, pride, and thanks for their presence in our daily lives. It is for this reason that Spring Mysteries Festival makes time on multiple occasions throughout the weekend to give offerings - three times to be exact: twice to Demeter, once during the rich times of plenty, and once again when things have begun to run fallow. Giving offerings at these two events allows for different energies to find their way back to you. One to say thank you for our daily abundance, and one more to say that we honor the hard work of the Goddess; that she may bring back fullness into our worlds.

The third time you are able to give offerings is during Shrine Row. This is the time that the Gods and Goddesses of the Mysteries are available within their Temples. Each deity brings with them specific messages. Many of our own personal, daily, patrons/essess can be found here in the Temples of Eleusis. Zeus, Hera, Demeter and The Kore, Apollo, Artemis, Hades, Poseidon, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Ares, Hestia, Hermes, and Pan are all present and available for you to visit, honor, and receive blessings from.

You have the chance to give a gift to the Gods and Goddesses of your choice in honor of the work they do in your lives. Do you HAVE to give an offering? No. Absolutely not. The Gods love you for who you are and what you do, not what you give them. The reason to give offerings is the Law of Giving and Receiving. Deepak Chopra says that the Law of Giving and Receiving is "based on the fact that everything in the universe operates through dynamic exchange. Every relationship is one of give and take because giving and receiving are different aspects of the flow of energy in the universe. [...] If you want love, learn to give love, if you want attention and appreciation, learn to give attention and appreciation, if you want material affluence, help others to become materially affluent. If you want to be blessed with all the good things in life, learn to silently bless everyone with all the good things in life. The more you give, the more you will receive."

When we give gifts to the Gods, it programs the Universe how to interact with us. In our daily lives we have few chances to give gifts directly to the Gods' Temples. We may have our own altars and shrines, but very few of us have access to a public temple with access to priests and priestesses of the deities we are looking to connect with.

When you give to the Temples in Eleusis, all of your donations are kept within that Temples sacred items. This means that you have the chance to see your gifts year in and year out. Your donations become holy relics of that deity. Some of us also have friends and loved ones who are embodying rolls within the Mysteries, themselves, and we wish to bring them gifts for their hard work. This is okay as well, and should be done outside of Shrine times. This makes sure that any gifts given to the Gods themselves are kept within their temples.

The act of giving is the act of receiving, and vice versa. The Gods want you to be happy. They want you to feel touched and connected to the Mysteries and Deities around you. Three times. That is the number of moments that you will have to be able to give of yourself to these Mysteries. That is until you have been three times. At that point you can join the cast and crew that produce these sacred rights. Then you can offer of you time and spirit, and worship as you walk within the Gods themselves.