Kitchen Witchery – Magical Cookery

The kitchen is considered by many to be the heart of any home but sadly with today’s busy lifestyles many people have stopped spending as much time together there. The demands of work, school and other commitments may leave little time for preparing home-cooked meals and conflicting schedules may mean it is hard for families to regularly enjoy sitting down to eat together. For the same reason, people may lack the time or energy to devote to spiritual practices. In recent times there has been a growing awareness of the importance of eating well and taking time to slow down and take care of yourself, rather than always putting other things first. Increasing people are finding ways to fit self-care, yoga, meditation, exercise and time to cook into their days and gaining the great benefits these have to offer. Kitchen witchery is a very versatile form of witchcraft that can be incorporated into day to day cooking as well as other daily tasks such as gardening, cleaning and decorating your home.

Magical cookery can be carried out in two ways – you can prepare a meal specifically for a magical intent or you can infuse magic into your everyday cooking. You do not have to only practice one or the other and in some cases, one method may be more suitable than the other. Infusing magic into the meals you create each day is an excellent way to bring magical practice into your everyday life whereas there may be circumstances where you need to cook a meal targeting a specific intent, for example, cooking a meal for someone unwell or to boost luck before an exam, meeting or driving test. Planning your meals ahead of time is not only a useful way to save time and money but can also help you plan for times when you may wish to use magical cookery, for example in celebrating sabbats and other special events or to coincide with the full or new moon. Magic can also be used to infuse your meals with any intent or energy that you choose and some examples include:

• Protection
• Love
• Harmony
• Truth
• Success

Once you have decided on your intention it is important to have a clear idea of what you wish to achieve. Think positive and visualise your process and your wishes coming true before, during and after the actual meal preparation. You may wish to use table decorations that correspond to your intent such as candles or flowers or incorporate colour correspondences and symbols. This idea can also be extended to the table cloth, plates, glasses and cooking utensils by selecting those that are a colour, material or pattern to suit your magic. With regards to cooking utensils, ideal materials are copper, cast iron, glass, ceramic or porcelain and stainless steel. Cast iron has protective properties and cooper can increase energy, especially concerning love and luck. Glass is a neutral material that will not add its properties to the food but will openly channel your energy into it. However, do not feel that specific or multiple types of utensils are necessary for magical cookery or that not being able to afford them makes you less of a kitchen witch, as this is simply not true. Tools are a nice extra but it is your intent that is most important and this cannot be replaced or imitated no matter how expensive or fancy the tool.

The process of magical cookery starts right from the moment you are selecting your ingredients. If you have a vegetable garden (however small) this is ideal as you can also grow your fruits and vegetables with magical intent. You can also be sure of how they have been grown, fed and treated after picking. When buying your ingredients aim to buy the best quality that you can afford. You may also wish to opt for organic or locally grown food but this is not essential. Although, these are generally better for the environment or more likely to have been grown with natural methods these are not vital and as with tools do not make your practice any better or valid than someone without them. Take care to store your ingredients appropriately based on their type as this will help retain their freshness and nutrient content.

Before you begin cooking you may wish to light candles, burn incense or evoke elements or deity if these are aspects of witchcraft that you enjoy working with. When preparing the food keep in mind the results you wish to achieve and aim to keep your mind focused and only positive thoughts in mind. Ideally, you should try not to leave the kitchen to carry out other chores or activities such as watching TV as this can lead to you becoming distracted from your magic or affect your frame of mind. If you have time where you do not need to be actively tending the food as it cooks this can be used to further enhance your work, for example by clearing away equipment, washing dishes, meditating on your meal or intent (if this can be carried out safely) or to decorate and set places at the table. Of course, it is not always possible to be fully focused only on cooking, especially for meals that require long unattended cooking times, if you prepare food to be cooked later or have children and other commitments to attend to. Thankfully, magical cooking is flexible and can be adapted to fit your needs and lifestyle. Some ideas include:

• Infusing ingredients with your intentions as they are prepared and setting an intention for the meal as it begins cooking.
• Stirring food in the shape of sigils and other symbols that represent your desired outcome.
• Send your intentions into the food as you serve it. This could also be combined with infusing the ingredients with intent as they are prepared.
• Carving sigils and symbols into food such as pie crusts, bread or cake fillings. This can be done on a bottom pie crust or cake layer if you wish or need your magic to be out of sight.
• Use colour correspondences when selecting ingredients, utensils, plates and table décor. For example, if you carry out a lot of calming or healing magic it may be useful to have plates or serving dishes in a relevant colour.
• If you are able food and drink can be infused and enhanced with reiki energy.
• Burn candles or incense that support your intent during cooking.

Charge your cookware, oven and crockery with magical intent. These could also be washed with magical waters, such as herb or moon water. If doing this it is important to ensure that any herbs, crystals and other items used in the water are safe for use in water and on items intended for eating.

Once your food has finished cooking take the time to focus only on eating and enjoying it rather than watching television or rushing through it so you can get on with something else. Sitting quietly to eat and being mindful of the food and its ingredients, flavours and textures is another way to channel your magical intentions as you can think about why you included them and how they will help you. Taking time to eat is also believed to aid digestion and is a good way to have time to be still and relax amidst busy days. If it fits with your beliefs and practise you may like to thank the universe or deity for the food before you eat it. You may also like to leave a small offering of the food or other item to household gods, spirits or other entities. Take your time and enjoy every mouthful while visualising your intentions coming into being. If you are eating with other people keep conversations positive and full of good energy.

The final stage of magical cookery is in clearing away after the meal has been finished. Remember that the food is sacred and should not be wasted if at all possible. Store any leftovers safely, clean and put away your dishes and any other equipment and tidy the kitchen and table as needed.

The recipes and other instructions used by a kitchen witch do not need to be specially written or from magical recipe books and websites to be effective. As with all magic, your intent is incredibly important and will greatly influence the outcome of your workings. You can choose recipes that already contain ingredients that correspond to your needs or in many cases ingredients can be varied or added to work in many situations. For example, herbal teas are easily made at home and have a wide range of uses or bread and cakes can be baked containing relevant herbs, spices, seeds, nuts or fruits. In the same way that items such as elements, crystals, colours and plants have certain correspondences in magic, foods and individual ingredients also do and these can be invaluable in deciding what to cook.

Abundance – blackberry, buckwheat, corn, rice, bread pudding, coconut.

Banishing – carrots, chives, onions, turnips

Courage – dill, garlic, mushroom, mustard

Creativity – bay leaf, cherries

Divination – anise, bay leaf, cherries

Energy – bell pepper, cashew, cheese, onion, pears

Fertility – almonds, avocado, barley, carrots, chicken, chickpea, egg, dates

Grounding – asparagus, celery

Harmony – basil, lentils, honey

Love – almonds, apple, beets, calendula, honey, lavender, orange, brazil nuts

Luck – alfalfa, allspice, grape, bamboo shoots, oregano

Memory – rosemary

Prosperity – barley, blackberry, bok choy, cinnamon, strawberries, nutmeg, wheat, grape, pecan

Purification – anise, bay leaf, coconut, honey, lemon

Relaxation – lavender

Strength – bell pepper, broccoli, chestnut, garlic, watercress, spinach