Here on the CI blog we share posts from out top CI authors from across the imprints. Today is a post from Moon Books' Rachel Patterson, author of the Kitchen Witchcraft series and many other Moon Books including eight of the best-selling Pagan Portals series.
Kitchen Witch is a term that has been used in the past to describe someone that is a bit of a food expert and actually nothing to do with witchcraft at all. It is also a term used to describe a Scandinavian doll that is hung in the kitchen to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck.
Now whilst I do like to think I am a bit of a whizz in the kitchen I am also most definitely a Kitchen Witch. I follow the path of the old ways, I work with the Goddesses and the Gods and I work the Craft. So what makes me specifically a kitchen witch? I like to use whatever is at hand, I don’t need fancy schmancy tools or expensive items and I work a lot of my magic when I am cooking food or working with herbs and plants.
I do have beautiful tools to work with but I find that most of the time I prefer to use whatever nature provides, for instance I have several beautiful hand crafted wands but what I tend to use is my finger! When I am working in a circle I cast it with herbs and I use natural items such as stones and feathers to represent the elements. I do have a cauldron but you could use an old casserole dish, I don’t use a chalice as such, I use a glass from the kitchen cupboard (although you can get some really interesting and beautiful glasses from charity/thrift shops). If you want an athame then a vegetable knife or even a potato peeler work perfectly and if you want to use a wand how about a wooden spoon
The kitchen is and always has been the centre of the home probably originally because the fire was kept going to cook the food and was therefore the warmest room in the house. It is a place where I feel comfortable and ‘at home’ and that is not just because I love food…It is in my kitchen that magic happens.
You can work magic into your everyday life without too much trouble. Whilst you are hoovering visualise the vacuum picking up all the negative energies, whilst you are doing the dusting visualise the duster wiping away any negative vibes. Use incense sticks to waft around your house to bring positive and happy energies into each room. I like to put a few drops of essential oil on a cotton ball or small piece of kitchen towel and pop it into the cylinder of my vacuum so that the scent of the oil follows me around as I clean.
I work a lot with herbs in my cooking because they taste yummy but also in my magical workings. I love to create witches bottles and medicine pouches in particular but I also add herbs to my candle magic in magic powders and poppets. But you can also work that magic when you cook. If you are making a sauce or soup as you stir it deosil (clockwise) put positive energy into the pan. As you chop vegetables use that chopping action to let go and release any anger or frustration, visualisation whilst whisking and mixing can also be used to bring people together after an argument.
We all know that chicken soup heals the soul and makes people feel well when they have been poorly and it is not just a myth, use the magic of herbs to bring healing to your cooking.
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