Kitchen Witchery

A kitchen witch can be defined as a Wiccan who does spells using food, herbs, crafts, and kitchen utensils. This type of witch does not cast a circle while doing these spells. Kitchen witches use their own power and the power inherent in their tools, rather than call for divine power or tap the energy around them. Using the energy or power from within makes it less dangerous as the witch is not opening herself to the outside.

When mixing the ingredients together and preparing food, a witch concentrates on her own energies and the properties of the food. Using her energy and enhancing it with the food, she imprints her purpose onto the food. This spell is 'activated' when the food is eaten. As the personal energy of the witch is used, emotions are especially easy to impart. Healing and a sense of well-being can be very easy things to accomplish through kitchen witchery. Sadly, if a kitchen witch feels frustrated with a particular dish or ingredient, these feelings can be transferred to the finished product. This is why a kitchen witch, or a good cook, will never cook an unfamiliar dish for a special occasion.

The kitchen can be the most important place in a home for a kitchen witch. In the kitchen the witch will do a majority of her spells, whether it be just to give the lemonade extra refreshing power or to help heal a sick friend with a cake. Bunches of protective and helpful herbs used for those reasons will often be seen hanging from windows or the ceiling. Cookbooks, mundane and magickal, will also be fairly standard.

Fruits and vegetables have special powers, just like essential oils. There are many lists in existence which describe their powers, but tradition dictates that a witch must discover them his/herself. This discovery can be a slow process as the witch learns their uses through cooking and intuition. Each list will always be a little different anyway. For spices, their powers are similar to those in oils or incense.


There are a number of things you can do to enhance the magickal atmosphere in your kitchen. Try some or all of these to get started:
• Have a kitchen altar. The stovetop is today's equivalent of the hearth fires of old, and it's where most food preparation is done. Create a small altar with items that can be moved as needed -- add a statue of a home or hearth goddess, a cauldron, or a candle. If you like, paint a trivet with symbols of your tradition.
• Make sure your herbs are readily accessible. If you cook with them, display them in decorative jars. Make sure that they're not sitting in direct sunlight, though, or they'll lose their potency. If possible, have live plants in pots to use during the year. Keep fresh vegetables on hand as well.
• Read up on practices like Feng Shui so you can optimize your work space for maximum efficiency, both spiritual and practical.
• Keep the space clean. Much like any other sacred space, physical cleanliness maintains spiritual cleanliness. It's hard to find balance in a place that is cluttered and chaotic. Make sure countertops are wiped down after each meal, keep the sink free of dirty dishes, and organize cupboards and shelves so they are easy to use.
• Paint the walls in colors that are comforting and happy. Choose a color that makes you and your family feel good -- earth tones are soothing, yellows are happy and bright, and greens bring prosperity and abundance.
• Keep cookbooks and recipes organized where you can find them. You might even want to have a special book of magickal recipes that you keep separate from your regular Book of Shadows.

You can also incorporate magickal practices into your cooking. Consider some of these:
• When stirring a recipe, stir in a deosil or widdershins direction, depending on the goal you wish to achieve.
• If you're making a sandwich, spread condiments like mustard in a sigil for your purpose.
• When you bake bread, add herbs or spices that correspond to your magickal needs.


NOTE: The refrigerator is the appliance dedicated to air, fire dwells within the stove, water rules over the kitchen sink, and all the foods and herbs are ruled by the earth element.



SOURCES: The Hearth Witch, About.com, and PaganPages.org