A Kitchen Witch is a Witch who focuses their 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 religious faith; a Kitchen Witch may focus his or her spirituality on ancestor spirits or hearth Gods or Goddesses, or it may simply be a creative outgrowth of a secular Witch’s homemaking activities – or anything in between. A Kitchen Witch may be a member of any religion or no religion at all.
How to Become a Kitchen Witch
- Become mindful, and make yourself present in the moment as you’re going about your housekeeping, cooking and chores. Become aware of the magic and energy going on in the moment.
- Begin studying magic, particularly green magic, folk magic and energy work. All magic is rooted in the same theories and works on the same principles, it just largely depends on how you wish to exercise it.
- Start cleaning up your home and garden. It doesn’t have to be a show place, but it should be someplace that makes you feel warm and comfortable, someplace you find inviting. Your home is your own little sanctuary in this big old world.
- Start planting a garden. No land? No problem—I have no land either. I keep a few dozen pots on wire shelving or hanging from hooks around the perimeter of a big screen porch with southern exposure. I grow lots of herbs, flowers, houseplants, and even a nice little salad garden of tomato, cucumber, peppers, lettuce, spinach, squashes and the like. These are mostly planted in old storage containers, coffee cans and butter tubs. Even if all you have is a sunny windowsill, there is a way to have just a few herbs.
- If you can’t have a garden, collect dry herbs or purchase them in bulk from the local farmer’s market.
- Foster an attitude of gratitude for your food. Give thanks not just at harvest festivals, but for every little meal and snack. Thank the spirit of the animals and plants that you consume and be aware of their power that you are taking into your body.
- Connect to your animals and plants on a spiritual level. Stop thinking of them as lower life forms and start celebrating them as spiritual beings in their own right. Learn to listen, to read their signs, to communicate and learn their lessons.
- Cook—cooking is a big part of Kitchen Witchery. You charges your herbs and ingredients, you imbue your food with your magical desires and then consuming.
- Begin learning some herbal remedies. I wouldn’t rush off and treat serious conditions on your own without a doctor’s care, and keep in mind that even culinary herbs in large doses can be very dangerous. But you can start with some simple things like making poultices for bruises, salves for bee stings or lotions for skin irritations.
- Start to shift to a more organic way of life. Move away from the excess, the waste, the chemicals, the poisons. Start recycling and reusing things, begin composting for your garden, use herbs to create your own all-natural cleaning supplies.
- Begin thinking magically in everything you do. When you stoke the fire or cook over the stove, when you shower and do the dishes, when you turn on the fan or dig in the garden, give praise to the spirits of the elements. When you cook, don’t just follow a recipe—turn it into a spell, and charge that food or drink with the energy of that which you want to work toward. When you do your spring cleaning, perform it with reverence as a purification of your temple. Don’t just suck up the dust bunnies under the bed with your vacuum—banish these negative entities from your life.
Before you know it, you won’t be looking at the calendar wondering when the next Esbat is, or thinking about stopping by that New Age store for some spell components or ritual tools. Everything in your life becomes part of your magical endeavors, and this can bring an abundance of blessings and joy.
HERBS AND SPICES
Cardamom — add whole pods to a charm bag or mojo hand for love and sex, dust in its powdered form on candles along with cinnamon for a sex me up spell, use whole pods along with dried rose petals, cinnamon sticks, and vanilla bean in olive oil for a love unguent.
Cinnamon — for hot herb magic action sprinkle a pinch combined with sugar outside your place of business to draw customers, use it to heat up love situations, dust a candle with cinnamon and peppermint in honor of St. Expedite.
Coffee — use it to compel people and “encourage” them to do what you want, serve a cup of coffee to someone that you need to bring over to your point of view, add a spoonful of sugar if you need them to be sweet to you and add a pinch of cinnamon if you want them to give you money. Murmur their name over the cup as you stir clockwise calling out your desire.
Bay Leaf — for victory, triumph, and success. Bay Laurel crowns were awarded to stellar poets and soldiers in Ancient Greece and Rome. They are also a key ingredient in traditionally made Archangel Michael packets and sacred to Archangel Michael.
Black Peppercorns — use in baneful workings when an enemy needs to feel the heat and vamanos! May also be used in harsher compelling workings-like when the insurance company is holding out on you-in the latter case combine with licorice root-which makes a delicious and soothing tea by the way.
Ginger — powerful protective ingredient found in herb mixes, anointing oils, and baths. Combine ginger, bay leaf, and cinnamon to protect your ability to success and prosper.
Kosher Salt –Kosher salt has actually been blessed and may be sprinkled along with cumin seeds around the circumference of your home for blessings and protection. May be mixed with oils and herbs for any number of spiritual baths, may be used to cleanse a room or space when combined with holy water.
Lemongrass –an essential ingredient for cleansing herb blends and bath mixes as well as communication blends. Used in road opening work. May be mixed with peppermint, sage, and kosher salt for an on the fly spiritual cleansing bath chock full of good herb magic mojo! Also a key ingredient in Sacred Washes and Sprays.
Red Pepper — has a long history of use in herb magic and can banish unfriendly people from your life, “hot foot” unwanted visitors and in the cases of sweeter red peppers like Arbol chiles, a tiny pinch may be added to sluggish love affairs to get the object of your affection to respond/wake up!/contact you. If you are being visited by someone and you want them to leave sooner rather than later dust your broom with a bit of red pepper and sweep it out onto the path they will use to enter your home, calling their name and stating that they need to keep their visit short.
Rosemary — encourages peace in the home, hang a few sprigs above the door tied with blue ribbon to foster a sense of serenity and tranquility. Combine in food with lavender, thyme, and garlic for peace and protection, add to charm bags for peace and gentleness, also aids memory and concentration.
Sage — Used for cleansing-this is sometimes referred to as Turkey sage-its not the white sage you find in smudge sticks but it may be burned as a purification rite nonetheless. May be crushed and combined with Solomon Seal Root and Deers tongue leaf to inspire wisdom and eloquence in speech and speaking engagements.
Sugar — use to sweet people to you, combine with cinnamon for money, use to candy rose petals for love magic, create a lover come, lover stay body scrub by combining one cup sugar, half a cup olive oil (or almond oil if you have it), a handful of dried red or pink rose petals, lavender blossoms, and Cardamom pods-add one cinnamon stick to the jar and voila!
Vanilla Bean — fosters sweetness and home sweet home feelings. Stick in your sugar jar for peace and warmth in hearth and home, use in making truffles or ice cream for drawing and fostering love and romance. Another herb magic standby that I consider essential to have at all times.
OILS AND VINEGARS
Honey — though not specifically herb magic honey is a handy and common kitchen goody. Use in a honey jar to sweeten your romantic relationships, get the promotion, or make your in laws favor you.
Olive oil — may be used in place of any ritual anointing oil in a pinch, is the base for many hi altar or temple type oils, traditionally used to anoint a beloved’s foot after a foot washing ritual.
Vinegar (Red, White, Balsamic, Rice, etc) — great for baneful workings to break up people working against you-put them in a mason jar with vinegar, hot red peppers, and poppy seeds so that their conversations with each other become confused, inflammatory, and lead to break ups. Sour someone’s words, or close the mouth of a gossip by taking a petition paper and placing it in a bottle with vinegar and alum.
PANTRY, FRIDGE, AND MISC ITEMS
Crab Shell — powdered crab shell is the best on hand substance for reversing bad luck. Use it in doll babies, box spells, and candle workings-in the latter sprinkle the crab shell powder around the candle widdershins (in a direction contrary to the sun’s course, considered as unlucky; counterclockwise.) to undo damage. Work with salt, sage, bay leaf, peppermint, and/or ginger to invoke blessing and protection. You can get crab shells from your fishmonger-just ask! Typically the shells are worked with in powdered form so they need to be dried out, set them in the sun or oven-but if you put them in the oven open up the windows-they are a protein and they can get smelly.
Flour — use to make bread for offerings at the altar, combine with other ingredients to make magically inspired cakes and biscuits, combine with salt and stamp with meaningful symbols to create a powerful ward against the evil eye that may be hung in the kitchen or home. Use arrowroot powder as a base for making your own sachet powders.
Butter — roll in herbs like Thyme, Lavender, and Rosemary for home sweet home vibes and serve at a family dinner. Reduce with garlic and a sliver of ginger and a pinch of red pepper and serve to a potential enemy so that you are protected and they are banished.
Milk — set out as an offering to the faerie folk or as an offering to certain Spirits and Deities on the altar. You may also use milk as a vehicle through which personal concerns can be delivered when the milk is consumed by the target. In Conjure bathing with the milk from a black cow imbues one with special protective properties.