Kitchen Witch: Artichoke

Kitchen Witch: Artichoke

(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 so jealous of her beauty that he transformed her into an artichoke. The artichoke seems to have originated in the Medi-terranean region and in the […]

Food Magick: The Oven

Food Magick: The Oven

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 East to the earthen ovens used in both North America and Polynesia. Some cultures honoured an oven goddess, such as Fornacalia […]

Solitary Kitchen Witch: Exploring the Practice of Cooking Magic Alone

Solitary Kitchen Witch: Exploring the Practice of Cooking Magic Alone

Solitary Kitchen Witchcraft is a practice that has been gaining popularity in recent years. It involves using the kitchen as a sacred space for performing rituals and spells. Unlike traditional witchcraft, which often involves working in groups, solitary kitchen witchcraft is a solitary practice that focuses on the individual’s connection with nature and the elements. […]

Kitchen Witch: Corn

Kitchen Witch: Corn

(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 Guatemala and the Navajo believed that the first humans were created from corn. The Mayas, Incans, Aztecs, and nearly every American Indian tribe ate corn […]

Kitchen Witch: Watercress

Kitchen Witch: Watercress

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 watercress to gain wit. Classical Romans munched the spicy green leaves to stimulate their brains. Magical uses: Add watercress to protective diets. The sharp taste and […]

Kitchen Witch: Squash

Kitchen Witch: Squash

(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 is depicted with a squash head, and squash-blossom necklaces are modern reminders of the original sacredness of this simple plant. Magical uses: Eat this vegetable in […]

Kitchen Witch: Pea

Kitchen Witch: Pea

(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. Magical uses: Cook peas with basil, coriander, dill, or marjoram. Cook while visualizing this simple food as a powerful love attractant. Then eat

Kitchen Witch: Endive

Kitchen Witch: Endive

(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 physical strength (and is certainly safer than steroids). Endive is another of the many foods that are thought to create sexual desire.

Kitchen Witch: Chives

Kitchen Witch: Chives

(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 the world. Chives were considered to be powerful aphrodisiacs. Magical uses: The great herbalist Gerarde stated that eating chives would surely […]

Kitchen Witch: Cabbage

Kitchen Witch: Cabbage

(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 them—and, most probably, to keep them far from everyone else. Around 621 B.C.E., officials in Greece passed a law calling for the death penalty for […]

Kitchen Witch: Pretzel

Kitchen Witch: Pretzel

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. This bread was circular, in honour of the sun, but twisted at the centre to form an equal-armed cross symbolic of the four seasons. […]

Kitchen Witch: Oat

Kitchen Witch: Oat

(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 during some contemporary Witches rituals. Magical uses: Use only whole-grain oats.  We can prepare and eat oatmeal first thing in the morning to bring […]

Kitchen Witch: Potato

Kitchen Witch: Potato

(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 (and subsequently throughoutEurope) in 1534. It was immediately claimed that the potato was a sure-firecure for impotency. At times, it was sold for the equivalent […]

Kitchen Witch: Knives

Kitchen Witch: Knives

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 life-threatening (stabbing) as well as life-affirming (cooking) purposes. It was the first implement used for eating, for it could both cut […]

Kitchen Witch: Sweet Potato

Kitchen Witch: Sweet Potato

(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, orange tubers often served at Thanksgiving are actually sweet potatoes, not yams. Yams certainly do exist and are eaten in large quantities in Africa, Central […]

Kitchen Witch: Rhubarb

Kitchen Witch: Rhubarb

(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 for the red stalks. Rhubarb is a love food. The zingy taste ensures zingy, exciting relationships if rhubarb is prepared with visualization. Rhubarb […]

Kitchen Witch: Radish

Kitchen Witch: Radish

(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 all obstacles and enemies. Magical uses: Slice thinly and eat for protection, especially in salads with onions, bell peppers, and other protective foods.

Kitchen Witch: Mushroom

Kitchen Witch: Mushroom

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. Mushrooms, like all fungi, have long been regarded with suspicion. Their seemingly miraculous appearance overnight after a good rain, their mysterious ways of propagation, and their […]

Kitchen Witch: Chili

Kitchen Witch: Chili

(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 are said to have used chili peppers in rituals designed to exorcise spirits from possessed persons. Chili peppers were recently banned from one state’s prison system […]

Kitchen Witch: Rye

Kitchen Witch: Rye

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 powerful addition to diets designed to increase your ability to give and to receive love. Caraway fits in here as […]

Kitchen Witch: Rice

Kitchen Witch: Rice

(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 thousands of years. Linked with deity and served at every meal, rice was and still is a vital staple food for many […]

Rosemary

Rosemary

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 known by the scientific name Rosmarinus officinalis, now a synonym. It is a member of the sage family Lamiaceae, which includes many other medicinal and […]

Flavoring With Herbs

Flavoring With Herbs

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 Fish: basil, bay, chervil, chives, dill, fennel, parsley, sage, thyme, tansy VEGETABLES Tomatoes: basil, chives, tansy Carrots: basil, mint, parsley, thyme, savory Beets: basil, coriander, fennel Cucumbers: basil, parsley Cabbage: […]

Kitchen Herbs for Witches

Kitchen Herbs for Witches

Anise* Planet: Mercury/Jupiter Element: Air Main magickal uses: Contacting other planes, divination, love, passion, preventing nightmares, protection, psychic development, psychic protection, purification Other magickal uses: Clairvoyance, cleansing, consecration, fertility, gain, good luck, happiness, money, weddings Lore: Paul Beyerl attributes anise to Mercury and Apollo, and suggests that it be partnered with amber stones for best effect. *Basil* Planet: Mars […]

The Kitchen Witch at Samhain

The Kitchen Witch at Samhain

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 Eve. The word “eve” in the Christian name reminds us that this festival begins the night before its calendar date. Samhain marks […]

The Kitchen Witch Cupboard

The Kitchen Witch Cupboard

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 Thurible Chalice Charged, pure water Compass Crystals and Gems Crystal Ball (scrying tools) Decanter Divination Tools (tarot, runes, pendulum, etc.) Earth Feathers Felt Glass jars […]

Kitchen Witch: Carrot

Kitchen Witch: Carrot

(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 correct visualization, carrots may play a part in overcoming psychological impotency. Cook them with parsley and caraway for the best results.

Kitchen Witch: Lentils

Kitchen Witch: Lentils

(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 to Harpocrates. This wonderful food was also eaten by the Sumerians. The Roman naturalist Pliny prescribed lentil soup for creating an even temper. Magical uses: Lentil soup […]

Kitchen Witch: Sprouts

Kitchen Witch: Sprouts

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 (Venus, earth): Money, psychic awareness Bean (Mercury, air): Protection Mung (Mercury, air): Spirituality Soy (Moon, earth): Spirituality, psychic awareness, protection Sunflower (Sun, fire): Protection

Kitchen Witch: Spirulina

Kitchen Witch: Spirulina

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 was described as “green foam” or “green mud.” The custom disappeared as the lakes surrounding what is now Mexico City were drained, and the […]

Kitchen Witch: Leek

Kitchen Witch: Leek

(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 intoxication. Gerarde, who lived in sixteenth-century England, thought they produced nightmares. In his time, a leek was hidden inside a black cloth and placed under […]

Kitchen Witch: Brussels Sprouts

Kitchen Witch: Brussels Sprouts

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 cure the hangovers that usually resulted from his fabulous, excessive feasts. He was naturally disturbed that no fresh cabbage was available during the winter. […]

Kitchen Witch: Spinach

Kitchen Witch: Spinach

(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 bestowed great physical strength. This green, leafy vegetable seems to have been introduced from Persia (present-day Iran) to Europe in the fifteenth century; it was soon […]

Kitchen Witch: Lettuce

Kitchen Witch: Lettuce

(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 obscene a hundred years ago, also ruled over vegetation of all kinds. Lettuce seems to have been his favorite due to its greenness and […]

Kitchen Witch: Chervil

Kitchen Witch: Chervil

(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. The plant was named cerefolium to honour its ancient use in festivities directed to Ceres, the goddess of grain and vegetation. In earlier, rougher times, many died […]

Kitchen Witch: Bean

Kitchen Witch: Bean

(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 important food throughout Latin America. Plutarch states that beans were given in sacrifice to Harpocrates (the GraecoRoman deity) in the month of Mesore. Apollo was […]

Kitchen Witch: Tortilla

Kitchen Witch: Tortilla

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 corn, tortillas are an indispensable part of the Latino diet. The Huichols of Mexico also offer tortillas to their deities. Tortillas made of yellow […]

Kitchen Witch: Forks

Kitchen Witch: Forks

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 stick. Until late in the seventeenth century, most Western peoples ate with their fingers. Though the fork was introduced into Europe in […]

Kitchen Witch: Sunflower

Kitchen Witch: Sunflower

(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 reportedly worn by solar priestesses during rituals. Many Mexican gardens contain sunflowers, since their presence is thought to confer “luck.” Women still eat sunflower […]

Kitchen Witch: Seaweed

Kitchen Witch: Seaweed

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 additives (such as carrageenan). In Cornwall, pieces of a seaweed known as Lady’s Tresses were placed on small stands near the chimney to guard seaside cottages against […]

Kitchen Witch: Onion

Kitchen Witch: Onion

(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. According to ancient Egyptian incantations, onions were included in charms designed to keep potentially harmful ghosts from children. Celebrants at winter solstice festivals in […]

Kitchen Witch: Wheat

Kitchen Witch: Wheat

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 age. The Egyptians, Sumerians, Babylonians, Hittites, Greeks, and Romans all worshipped harvest deities associated with wheat. Wheat is particularly a symbol of the […]

Kitchen Witch: Millet

Kitchen Witch: Millet

(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, one hundred grains was the measurement of one foot, and so on. Magical uses: If you find it difficult to enjoy this grain, […]

The Kitchen Witch at Samhain

The Kitchen Witch at Samhain

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 Eve. The word “eve” in the Christian name reminds us that this festival begins the night before its calendar date. Samhain marks […]

Kitchen Witch: Pantry

Kitchen Witch: Pantry

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 food, it’s intimately linked with the Mother Goddess. For our purposes, your kitchen cabinets constitute a pantry. The […]

Kitchen Witch: Tomato

Kitchen Witch: Tomato

(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 century, the tomato was regarded with suspicion. It is botanically related to nightshade, which is obvious from studying the plant’s leaves, flowers, and even fruit. […]

Kitchen Witch: Olive

Kitchen Witch: Olive

(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, actually led to the downfall of Greece. Farmers began growing olives almost exclusively while ignoring food crops. This began Greece’s dependence on imported […]

Kitchen Witch: Cucumber

Kitchen Witch: Cucumber

(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 from their faint. In Africa, the Nuer sometimes consecrate a small wild cucumber and sacrifice it in place of a treasured ox during important ceremonies. Magical uses: […]

Kitchen Witch: Beet

Kitchen Witch: Beet

(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 love, was said to have used beets to maintain and increase her beauty. The redness of this food dictates its use during harvest and for […]

Kitchen Witch: Buckwheat

Kitchen Witch: Buckwheat

(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. In Japan, this grain is used to make soba—buckwheat noodles. These are eaten on the Japanese New Year for “money luck,” i.e., the ability to amass […]

The Kitchen Witch’s Cupboard

The Kitchen Witch’s Cupboard

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 Thurible Chalice Charged, pure water Compass Crystals and Gems Crystal Ball (scrying tools) Decanter Divination Tools (tarot, runes, pendulum, etc.) Earth Feathers Felt Glass jars […]

Kitchen Witch: Celery

Kitchen Witch: Celery

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 long been celebrated. Celery soup was one of Madame de Pompadour’s favourite dishes for this purpose. Curiously, heated celery seems to emit a type of pheromone, the […]

Kitchen Witch: Soy

Kitchen Witch: Soy

(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 the West as a flavouring for Chinese food, tofu is only now gaining ground as a nutritious alternative to meat. It is especially popular with […]