"He (ed. Ǽrohs) interprets between Gods and men, conveying and taking across to the Gods the prayers and sacrifices of men, and to men the commands and replies of the Gods; he is the mediator who spans the chasm which divides them, and therefore in him all is bound together, and through him the arts of the prophet and the priest, their sacrifices and Mysteries and charms, and all prophecy and incantation, find their way. For God mingles not with man; but through Love all the intercourse and converse of God with man, whether awake or asleep, is carried on." [1]

"Perform libations to the Gods from the handle of the cup, to make the omen auspicious and to avoid drinking from the same part." 

 [2]  

As outlined in the introduction to this essay, offerings of any kind symbolize the radiation of Ǽrohs between Gods and the mortals who love them. They represent a type of communion with the Gods.

Libations are made in the offering section of ritual. If possible, the participant should be standing up, out-of-doors and the libation poured to the ground. Alternately, it can be made indoors into a receptacle. The general procedure is to pick up the libation bowl with the right (receptive) hand. Next we address and pray while holding up the cup with both hands, dedicating it to the God or Gods you are addressing, saying something like this:

To Phívos Apóllohn and Æléfthærefs Diónysos [3] and to all the Blessed Gods we dedicate this libation!

Next, transfer the bowl in your left (active) hand and gracefully pour out the liquid to the ground, leaving some in the bowl. The libation has been dedicated to the Gods ... it is now their property ... and some of this offering remains in your cup. And we now partake of what belongs to them, a type of communion. You may then recite this prayer:

We drink the blood of Diónysos! May the Aithír of Zefs intoxicate our souls and transform us!

Finally, drink the remaining liquid. In this, as in other types of offerings, we emulate the Titánæs (Titans; Gr. Τιτᾶνες) who partook of some of the flesh of Zagréfs (Zagreus; Gr. Ζαγρεύς) after sacrificing him, as can be seen in the Orphic Rhapsodic Theogony (See The Sixth King). We drink the Ikhóhr (Ichor; Gr. Ιχώρ), the divine blood of Diónysos (Dionysus; Gr. Διόνυσος), who is the fulfillment of the compassion and providence of his father Zefs (Zeus; Gr. Ζεύς).

To Queen Æstía!  (pour a small libation)

To the Agathós Daimohn!  (pour another small libation)

And to Zefs Sohtír I make these libations!  (pour another small libation and drink some)

"Libations to the dead were generally threefold, and usually consisted of honey, oil, and wine; or honey and milk or water, oil, and wine; but whatever the constituents of the threefold libation were, honey was always one of them. The inscription on a golden plaque, found in southern Italy, runs: 'The dead is thrice offered a drink; a mixture [honey-mixture], milk and water.' " [4]

"The choe involves the complete tipping and emptying of a larger vessel which may be held or may stand on the ground." [5]  

"Choai were usually poured at the grave, either on to the steps supporting the stêlê or possibly over the shaft. The liquid could be in either mixed or unmixed form, but whichever the case the ingredients were always the same: honey, milk, water, wine and oil. ........ Before pouring out the choai, the celebrant commended both himself and his gift to the dead, thereby issuing the latter with an invitation to attend the rite being enacted in his honour. Assistance was sought in contacting the ghost of the deceased through the mediation of Hermes, Gaia and the other Gods and Daimones. There followed a prayer to the dead which took the form of a general request that they be kindly disposed (preumeneis) towards their family and dispatch bounty (esthla or agatha) to the world above in requital for the offering being made." [6]

The mythology according to the poet Nónnos (Gr. Νόννος) relates the story of Ámbælos (Ampelos; Gr. Ἄμπελος, grapevine) a beautiful Thrakian Sátyros (Satyr; Gr. Σάτυρος) beloved of Diónysos (See chapter twelve of the Διονυσιακά). But the God's treasured companion was killed by a bull. Diónysos grieved terribly over the boy and, at last, revived him in the form of the grapevine, giving forth the wine, the Ikhóhr or blood of the God's own body.

"... some persons have thought that the nectar and ambrosia, which the poet pours into the nostrils of the dead, for the purpose of preventing putrefaction, is honey; since honey is the food of the Gods. On this account also, the same poet somewhere calls nectar golden; for such is the colour of honey (viz., it is a deep yellow)." [8] 

"Thither, prince, do thou draw nigh, as I bid thee, and dig a pit of a cubit's length this way and that, and around it pour a libation to all the dead, first with milk and honey (μελικρήτῳ), thereafter with sweet wine, and in the third place with water, and sprinkle thereon white barley meal." [9]

"But the poets have another and older legend, how once upon a time fruitful Olympian ichor fell down from heaven and produced the potion of Bacchic wine..." (Νόννος Διονυσιακά 12.292, trans. W.H.D. Rouse, 1940. We are using the 1962 edition entitled Nonnos Dionysiaca published by Harvard Univ. Press [Cambridge, MA] and William Heinemann [London], where this quotation may be found on p. 419.)

"...the pine swayed by Boreas brought her branches near the bunches of grapes, and shook her fragrant leafage soaked in the blood." (Ibid. Rouse, 12.316, p. 421.)

Spondophóros - (Spondophorus; Gr. Σπονδοφόρος, ΣΠΟΝΔΟΦΟΡΟΣ) - The Spondophóros is one who offers libation. (L&S p. 1629, right column, within the entries beginning with σπονδο-ποιέομαι) Cf. Spóndix and Spondopiós.