Kitchen Witch

Today, the animals we eat are butchered with no ceremony at all; but for Neo-Pagans, slaughter is sacred. When, in Teutonic Magic, Kveldulf Gundarsson talks about the central act of a blot (the word r...

(Cynara scolymus) Planet: Mars Element: Fire Energies: Protection Lore: Greek legend states that the first artichoke was originally a beautiful woman. Some angry god (frankly, I don’t know which) was ...

The oven is another symbol of the divine. It encloses, performs a transformative process (cooking), and is warm and bright. Humans have used many types of ovens, from the mud-brick ovens of the Middle...

(Zea mays) Planet: Sun Element: Fire Energies: Protection, spirituality Lore: Corn has played a central role in North and Central American religion for thousands of years. The Quiche Mayas of Guatemal...

(Asparagus officianlis) Planet: Mars Element: Fire Energies: Sex Magical uses: As you prepare the asparagus to be cooked or steamed. Eat with power.

A Kitchen Witch is a Witch who focuses his or her magical practice on the home and hearth and uses things commonly found in the kitchen as magickal tools. Kitchen Witchery may be an expression of reli...

The Kitchen Witch’s Creed In this pot, I stir to the sun an’ follow the rule of harming none. Banishment of bane when goin’ widdershins; an’ with water and salt negativity is cleansed. Household dutie...

The spoon is a bowl with a handle. As such, it is related to the moon and to the element of water. Spoons have been used for thousands of years. Until quite recently in Japan, the shamoji, or rice-spa...

There have always been vegetarians, and there have also always been omnivores (though most earlier cultures ate far less meat than we do today). Neither way is more “correct” or “ancient” or, indeed, ...

Our ancestors worshipped food, seeing it as a gift from the hands of their deities. Food magicians don’t worship food, though we respect it as a life-sustaining substance containing the energies of th...

Planet: Mars Element: Fire Energies: Protection, fertility Lore: In the ancient world, watercress was thought to strengthen the conscious mind. The Greeks (who knew the plant as kardamon) ate watercre...

(Curcurbita spp.) Element: Fire Energies: Spirituality Lore: Squash was cultivated in the Americas as early as 4000 B.C.E. Several American Indian tribes honored this plant. One striking Hopi kachina ...

(Psium sativum) Planet: Venus Element: Water Energies: Love Lore: During the Inquisition, peas were thought to be standard food for“Witches.” They have always been sacred to the Mother Goddess. Magica...

(Phytolacca americana) Planet: Mars Element: Fire Energies: Protection Magical uses: All parts of this Native American plant are poisonous, save for the young shoots. These are cooked and eaten for pr...

(Cichorium endivia) Planet: Jupiter Element: Air Energies: Physical strength, sex Magical uses: Endive is overlooked today as a salad green. This is a shame, because it can be eaten to promote physica...

(Allium spp.) Planet: Mars Element: Fire Energies: Weight loss, protection Lore: Chives may have been first grown in what is now Siberia, near the shores of Lake Baikal, one of the deepest lakes in th...

(Brassica spp.) Planet: Moon Element: Water Energies: Protection, money Lore: Superstitious persons once placed cabbage leaves on their foreheads on the dreaded Friday the 13th to keep evil far from t...

Planet: Sun Element: Fire Energies: Protection Lore: Pretzels have a long magical history. According to legend, the winter solstice was observed with a special bread in Europe during the Middle Ages. ...

(Avena sativa) Planet: Venus Element: Earth Energies: Money Lore: In Scotland, cakes known as bannocks were baked and eaten at Beltane, the old Pagan observance of May Day. Oatcakes are still eaten du...

(Solanum tuberosum) Planet: Moon Element: Earth Energies: Protection, compassion Lore: The potato is a native of Peru, where it was first cultivated by about34000 B.C.E. It was introduced to Spain (an...

Sharing a meal with friends or those you love is a ritual in itself, there is a certain energy associated with this simple pleasure, and with the magic of food our life is sustained. The oven is one o...

Knives were first created by flaking flint, jasper, and other cryptocrystalline quartzes into finely edged tools. The knife is ruled by Mars and the element of fire. This tool has been used both for l...

We’re all separate, distinct persons, connected with the rest of our fellow-creatures and with the universe, and yet apart. No one diet is correct for everyone, just as no single type of haircut, food...

When the harvest had been spared, our ancestors thanked their deities with offerings of food. This may have been buried, flung into the air, or tossed into afire. The portion earmarked for the deities...

(Tuber melanospermum) Planet: Venus Element: Water Energies: Love, sex Magical uses: The Romans believed that truffles were created by thunder. Add truffles to foods designed to increase your ability ...

(Ipomoea batatas) Planet: Venus Element: Water Energies: Love, sex Lore: An English cookbook of 1596 includes the preparation of a sweet potato tart intended to excite sexual desires. Those sweetened,...

(Rheum spp.) Planet: Venus Element: Earth Energies: Love, protection Magical uses: Rhubarb is native to China, where it is still used in medicinal herbalism. All parts of the plant are poisonous save ...

(Raphanus sativus) Planet: Mars Element: Fire Energies: Protection Lore: Wild radishes, eaten before breakfast, were once thought to protect the diner from being flogged and to enable one to overcome ...

Planet: Moon Element: Earth Energies: Psychic awareness Lore: Pharaohs in ancient Egypt ate mushrooms, but the common people did not. Romans believed that mushrooms provided strength to the body. Mush...

(Capsicum spp.) Planet: Mars Element: Fire Energies: Protection Lore: From archaeological evidence found in Mexican caves, chili peppers seem to have first been cultivated 9,000 years ago. The Aztecs ...

(Brassica spp.) Planet: Moon Element: Water Energies: Protection Magical uses: Broccoli is a fine addition to protective diets. Season with basil, garlic, and mustard seed for increased power

Secale spp.) Planet: Venus Element: Earth Energies: Love Magical uses: The familiar taste and smell of rye bread comes from the caraway seeds used in its creation, not from the rye. Rye, however, is a...

(Oryza sativa) Planet: Sun Element: Air Energies: Money, Sex, Fertility, Protection Lore: Rice is to Asia what corn is to the Americas. It has been laboriously cultivated and eaten in the East for tho...

Here are 13 easy to find ingredients A Kitchen Witch should always have on hand for everyday use, general use, and of course Magickal use. Sometimes knowing where to start is the hardest part. Discove...

Just stop and think about the Magickal properties of cooking…The Goddess and God energy that is in your kitchen…Well..if you haven’t given it a thought let me see if I can change your perspective abou...

Salvia Rosmarinus, commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region. Until 2017, it was ...

Beef: basil, horseradish, marjoram, mustard, thyme, savory Lamb: marjoram, mint, rosemary, savory Pork: basil, chives, elder, rosemary, sage Poultry: parsley, rosemary, sage, tarragon, thyme, savory F...

Anise* Planet: Mercury/Jupiter Element: Air Main magickal uses: Contacting other planes, divination, love, passion, preventing nightmares, protection, psychic development, psychic protection, purifica...

This ancient Celtic festival lives on in the United States and in other countries as Halloween, a degraded version of both the earlier Pagan holiday as well as the later Christian variant—All Hallow’s...

Imbolc is an old festival connected with the coming of spring and the growing warmth of the sun. In some areas of Europe, this day marked the emergence of a few brave plants from beneath the snow. As ...

Altar Cloth Amulets, Talismans, Jewelry Athame’ or sharp Knife Baskets Beads Bells (brass or glass?) Book of Shadows Bowls, Platters, Pitcher Candles and Holders Capes and/or Robes Cauldron Censor or ...

In general: Greens are linked with fairies in Scotland and Ireland. This may be one reason why green has long been thought to be an unlucky colour. Additionally, greens were once rarely found at weddi...

(Daucus carota) Planet: Mars Element: Fire Energies: Sex Magical uses: Carrots have been consumed since the days of ancient Greece to induce the desire for sexual contact. Prepared and eaten with the ...

Bread, the basic product of grain, was offered to the deities. Ishtar, Shamash, and Marduk were each given thirty loaves a day in Sumer. Ra, Amon, Ptah, and Nekhbet received their share in Egypt.  Dem...

(Lens culinaris) Planet: Moon Element: Water Energies: Peace Lore: In 1085 B.C.E., Egyptians traded lentils for the prized cedars of Lebanon. During Graeco-Roman times, the Egyptians offered lentils t...

The summer solstice is an ancient time of magic. Great fires were lit on hilltops in honour of the zenith of the sun’s strength. Fresh fruits (which are increasingly available as autumn nears) are fin...

The Ritual of Eating is a simple practice. We put food into our mouths, then chew and swallow it.  Because of food’s importance, it has been linked with politics, social structures, legal systems, hea...

Planet: Various Element: Various Energies: Various Magical uses: Generally, all sprouts are fine for promoting psychic awareness. Here’s a list of some specific sprouts and their energies: Alfalfa (Ve...

Planet: Venus Seaweed salad in bowl, Japanese cuisine Element: Water Energies: Physical energy Lore: After they’d arrived in what is now known as Mexico, the Spaniards observed the Aztecs eating what ...

(Alliurn spp.) Planet: Mars Element: Fire Energies: Protection, physical strength Lore: Leeks are steeped in myth and folklore. In twelfth-century Persia they were worn over the left ear to prevent in...

Planet: Moon Element: Water Energies: Protection Lore: Legend has it that Brussel sprouts were created from wild forms of cabbage growing in Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar relied on cabbage to prevent or to ...

Humans have eaten bread for at least 8,000 years. We have made it round, oblong, square, and triangular; flat as a pancake or fat as a loaf. Bread has been twisted into a symbol of the winter solstice...

The blender and food processor of earlier times, the mortar and pestle are still used by some cooks to crush or to grind herbs and nuts. Prehistoric mortars have been found among the archaeological re...

Mabon marks the second harvest. The bounty of nature is dwindling. Earth begins to pull her fertility from the land. Humans and wild animals alike scramble to gather as much food as possible in prepar...

Ostara, the spring solstice, marks the astronomical start of spring. This was a time of joyous celebration, for the killing months of winter were over. Plants sprang from the ground in ways that seeme...

(Spinacea oleracea) Planet: Jupiter Element: Earth Energies: Money Lore: In the United States, spinach is remembered as the favorite food of a popular cartoon character, upon whom it magically bestowe...

(Lactuca sativa) Planet: Moon Element: Water Energies: Peace, money, celibacy Lore: Lettuce was sacred to the god Min in ancient Egypt. Min, whose graphic depictions as a phallic god were deemed obsce...

(Anthriscus cerefolium) Planet: Mercury Element: Air Energies: Weight Loss Lore: Folk magicians once boiled chervil with pennyroyal. The resulting brewwas thought to cause its drinker to see double. T...

(Phaseolus spp.) Planet: Mercury Element: Air Energies: Money, sex Lore: Beans were a major part of the diets of many Mesoamerican cultures,including the Maya and the Aztecs. They’re still an importan...

Plates were probably used before bowls. The first plates were flat pieces of wood or stiff leaves, which came in handy for holding and slightly cooling cooked food prior to eating. Plates are ruled by...

When preparing foods for specific magical purposes, cook with purpose and care. Keep your goal in mind. Know that the food contains the energies that you require.— Always stir clockwise. The clockwise...

Planet: Sun Element: Fire Energies: Spirituality, protection Lore: Tortillas are a standard Mexican food. They are still made in the same way as they were during Aztec times. Round, containing sacred ...

1/4 watermelon, diced into bite-sized chunks 1/2 cucumber 2 oz. feta cheese, crumbled (I like to leave the feta in rather large chunks: personal preference) 1 lime 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil (I be...

Though they are commonly found in Western tables today, forks were once used solely for noneating purposes such as spearing fish, working with hay, and digging. The first fork was probably a forked st...

Many witches are strict vegetarians. They shun meat, poultry, and fish; some even avoid eggs and milk products. They often believe that spiritual advancement and magical ability can only be obtained w...

(Helianthus annuus) Planet: Sun Element: Fire Energies: Protection, success Lore: Sunflowers were viewed as symbols of the sun by the ancient Incas of Peru. Gold crowns inspired by this flower were re...

Planet: Moon Element: Water Energies: Weight loss Lore: Seaweed (more correctly, sea vegetables) are surprisingly nutritious foods that are rarely found in Western diets, except as processed food addi...

(Allium cepa) Planet: Mars Element: Fire Energies: Protection, weight loss Lore: The great city of Chicago was named for the local Indians’ word for the wild onions growing in the area—chicago. Accord...

Brassica spp.) Planet: Moon Element: Water Energies: Protection Magical uses: Eat fresh or cooked cauliflower as part of a protection diet. To increase its effectiveness, cook cauliflower with dill, m...

Planet: Venus Element: Earth Lore: Wheat has long played a part in the human diet. After rice, it’s the second-most commonly used grain for human food, and was first cultivated during the Neolithic ag...

(Pucium miliacaeum) Planet: Jupiter Element: Earth Energies: Money Lore: In ancient China, grains of millet were used as a unit of measure: ten millet grains placed end to end constituted one inch, on...

This ancient Celtic festival lives on in the United States and in other countries as Halloween, a degraded version of both the earlier Pagan holiday as well as the later Christian variant—All Hallow’s...

Pantries were once common to every home. Today, most of us fill cupboards with staples and canned foods. The pantry is ruled by the element of earth and the moon; because it is a container that houses...

Another rationale for vegetarianism seems to be that meat is a poison. It’s true that much of the meat eaten today in the United States is injected with growth hormones and is too fatty for sustaining...

Lughnasadh is the first harvest—the promise of spring’s planting realized. Sometimes known as the Feast of Bread, Lughnasadh is a time for kneading, baking, slicing, and eating this basic food. Lughna...

(Lycopersicon spp.) Element: Water Energies: Health, money, love, protection Lore: Known as zictomatl by the Aztecs,the tomato is an ancient food. When it was introduced into Europe in the sixteenth c...

(Olea europaea) Planet: Sun Element: Air Energies: Spirituality, health, peace, sex Lore: The olive was sacred to Aten in ancient Egypt. Olive oil, which was in great demand in the ancient world, actu...

(Cucumus sativus) Planet: Moon Element: Water Energies: Peace, healing Lore: Fresh cucumbers were once placed under swooning women’s noses (remember swooning?). The odor was supposed to rouse them fro...

(Beta vulgaris) Planet: Saturn Element: Earth Energies: Love, beauty Lore: Beets have been eaten for centuries by persons wishing to lengthen their life spans. Aphrodite, the ancient Greek goddess of ...

(Fagopyrum esculentum) Planet: Jupiter Element: Earth Energies: Money Lore: Buckwheat pancakes are common enough in the United States, but few seem to know the magical history behind buckwheat itself....

Altar Cloth Amulets, Talismans, Jewelry Athame’ or sharp Knife Baskets Beads Bells (brass or glass?) Book of Shadows Bowls, Platters, Pitcher Candles and Holders Capes and/or Robes Cauldron Censor or ...

Many cultures celebrate the New Year, but not always on the same date. Japanese and Chinese New Year festivals, for example, fall on different days each year (according to our calendar). The pre-Chris...

About prayer: if you don’t subscribe to any particular religion, and haven’t been in the habit of praying before meals, there’s no reason for you to begin to do so. Prior to eating, simply attune with...

Planet: Mercury Element: Fire Energies: Sex, peace, psychic awareness, weight loss Lore: Roman women ate celery to increase their sexual appetites. Magical uses: This plant’s aphrodisiac powers have l...

(Glycine max) Planet: Moon Element: Earth Energies: Protections, psychic awareness, spirituality Lore: We know soy in two forms: soy sauce and tofu. While soy sauce has always enjoyed popularity in th...