We like to throw around the term Kitchen Witchery to refer to the amazing meals and dishes that we cook from scratch. I’d like to go more into detail about what it entails. Suffice to say its a little bit more than just knowing how to cook.
Kitchen Witchery could be defined as a practice that infuses magic into our every day mundane household tasks.
If we think about the kitchen both from long ago and today, it could be said that the Kitchen is the heart of the home. The kitchen is a common room, which means everyone in the household uses it. It’s where we keep and prepare our food. Often times, it is where we congregate to eat that food, connecting and sharing our days, week, and lives.
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My Multi-purposed Magical Kitchen
My kitchen is multi-purposed. First of all, it’s where we locate all of our food related activities, cooking, eating, storing food and appliances, etc. It’s also where I store my cleaning supplies.
Secondly, its where we do school. When the older kids were in brick and mortar school, they would do their homework at the kitchen table. Now the littles attend their digital classes at the same place.
Thirdly, it’s where we play games as a family, board games, card games and even dungeons and dragons. It’s where I set up my sewing machine to sew and where I do any crafts that requires a big table space.
I also plant my seedlings and I hang my herbs to dry in my kitchen.
All this gives me plenty of opportunities to use magic in my kitchen. However, for the purpose of this article, I’m going to focus in on the cooking and food prep aspects of Kitchen Witchery.
Why Practice Kitchen Witchery?
As the Village Healer in my family, Kitchen Witchery is one of my favorite practices. Food is medicine and as such, the nutritional value of the food we prepare allows our bodies to grow and repair itself.
Every edible plant has its own energy that not only heals our bodies but also our spirits.
While preparing the food we eat we can infuse it with our own intentions and add specific herbs and spices to both flavor our meals and support our magical intent.
As a personal tool, kitchen witchery, allows us the opportunity to practice mindfulness. We all have to eat, we all have chores to do. Adding a magical component while doing those mundane things makes us focus on the here and now as well as directing our energy to improve our lives.
Useful tools to have
I bet you have lots of tools and appliances in your kitchen. Some are primitive and some are top of the line, technological wonders. All of them are a connection to your inner witch.
Your oven is your hearth. Magic happens in your oven. You put food in it and the heat transforms it into delicious, edible magic.
Do you have a crock pot or instapot? A sauce pan or dutch oven? Those are your cauldrons. Add in your ingredients, turn on the heat, toss in your spices and stir in your intentions.
A wooden spoon can be your magic wand.
Some other useful tools to have.
A mortar and pestle for the purpose of crushing herbs, seeds, and spices to release their energy and aroma. I have two. One is for spell work but the other is for cooking. Both do the same things.
A good knife and cutting board are important. Measuring cups and spoons are useful (although I tend to eyeball my spices).
How to Practice Kitchen Witchery
1) Set your intentions.
Set your intentions before you even begin prepping. You will be better able to choose your ingredients if you know what your intended outcome is. Some good intentions to begin with are related to health and harmony. Everyone could use a little boost to their health. Have teenagers? A stressful job? If so, start with harmony.
2) Choose your meal.
Select foods and spices that support your intentions. I usually focus on the herbs and flavor profiles because its harder to find the magical properties of most food.
3) Cook foods that you like.
There’s no point in making foods you don’t like just because it has easily referenced magical properties. I’m not saying don’t re-try those foods in different recipes or with different spices. But if you know you don’t like spaghetti squash and you’ll never eat it, then there’s no point in cooking it because you’ll never consume the magic you put into it. The same goes if you’re cooking for a family. I can’t get The Renaissance Man to eat eggplant no matter how I cook it or what kind of magic I put into it.
4)Choose foods that support a healthy diet.
One of our goals is eating wisely. We have a responsibility to take care of our health and wellbeing. Food is medicine. Medicine can cure you but in the wrong doses it can kill you. Keep your diet well balanced.
Do your best to eat plants and avoid foods that come from a plant, (I.e. pizza rolls or frozen dinners). Be discerning. I understand it can get expensive to buy fresh vegetables however frozen veggies are still healthy. If you’re new to the healthy eating thing, take baby steps. Small changes over time are easier to maintain and have a longer lasting impact that great big sudden changes. Remember just because you can cook every meal from scratch doesn’t mean you should forgo the magic. Its still beneficial.
5) Visualize your intentions
While prepping, stirring, and cooking picture what you want. Feel into that vision. Perhaps you trying to cook up more harmony amongst your dinner mates. Imagine everyone sitting around talking and laughing over the meal. On the other hand, you might be making chicken soup for someone who’s sick? Picture them healthy and feeling better.
One fun thing to do is carve sigils on your bread dough or cookies before baking. Imagine the results as you carve in your symbols.
6) Bless the food
We’ve never been the “bow your head and say grace” kind of family. It feels weirdly Christian and I have a really hard time with it. I like the idea but can’t get into the practice. If that works for you, then go for it. Instead, I will silently bless the food as I transfer it to serving dishes or if its a lazy meal and I serve from the stove, I’ll bless the food as I’m dishing out plates.
7) Eat with intention
Take your time to pay attention to what you are eating. This will help you get the most out of your magically infused meal. For example, focus on the flavors and the textures. Enjoy the meal. Continue with your original intention by willing the magic to reach every cell in your body.
8) Be Patient
Real life isn’t like television. Real magic takes time therefore you may have to repeat the process a few times before you see results.
Disclaimer: For all intents and purposes, I must remind you that it’s poor witch etiquette to serve unsuspecting patrons food that’s been magically altered through your Kitchen Witchery. I’m supposed to suggest that you inform people before you cook for them. I’ll leave that up to you. I’m not the witch police.
That being said, everyone in my Village knows darn well that anything they eat in my home may or may not be infused with my magic. If they don’t like it, they can starve.
Tips and tricks:
Clean spaces
Start with a clean space, even if that means your have to tidy up before you start. Wipe the counters, empty the sink, and clear the floor in the area that you need to move around in.
Make sure you have the space to work and that its clear of unnecessary energies that could get in your way. Its also a good practice to clean as you go by wiping counter space, putting away ingredients and utensils you no longer need. Clutter and mess disrupts the flow of energy and creates a stressful environment.
Its a good practice to do a thorough cleaning of your kitchen at least once a year. Although, due to the many functions my kitchen performs, I tend to deep clean at the start of every season
Read about energetic cleaning: There’s no wrong way to smudge!
Get in a positive mood
While you’re tidying up and setting up your works space, get your head in the game. Turn on some music and lift your spirits. It’s important to be focused and clear about your intentions. Start building up the energy that you’re going to infuse into your food.
Choose locally sourced seasonal foods whenever possible.
It’s my intuitive belief that eating foods in season are actually more beneficial that eating them out of season. I’m not sure if there’s a study to prove or disprove my theory but that’s not important to me. Not only is it more economical to buy foods that are in season, it’s also healthier because those foods have recently been picked. It hasn’t had time to lose its vitality.
I also feel like there is an ancient, primitive link in our DNA from when we were more connected to the earth, the seasons, and the land. I feel like the earth is growing things for our benefit and the foods that are ripe in certain seasons have an extra ‘something’ that our bodies need to survive if we eat them when they first ripen.
I’m a witch, not a scientist. I wouldn’t even know how to design an experiment to prove this theory.
I’m also a big supporter of preserving foods for later use. I live in an area with 4 seasons. Nothing grows in winter when the ground is frozen and the sun is far away. Freezing strawberries and canning tomatoes guarantees us food for those barren months but I still plan my meals according to what is available at the farm stands. Asparagus in the early spring, strawberries in June, apples and winter squash in the fall.
Common Kitchen Herbs for your Kitchen Witchery
Read more about storing herbs and spices: Your Magical Cabinet or How to tell if your herbs are still good.
Parsley
Parsley is more than just a garnish at fancy restaurants. It’s incredibly high in iron and has a safe, mild diuretic properties. It has a light fresh flavor and is often used in soups, sauces and many Middle Eastern dishes.
Magically, Parsley is used in spells for love, lust, fertility, protection, purification, spirit communication and other spells related to the dead. Therefore, it would be a good addition to Samhain meals to honor the ancestors or dearly departed.
Sage
Kitchen or culinary sage is a little different than the white sage used in smudging. It aids in the digestion of fatty meats, lowers cholesteral levels in the blood and has antiseptic properties to help fight off colds and upper respiratory infections.
Most commonly, it’s used in traditional Thanksgiving dinner recipes to flavor the turkey as well as the stuffing. Sage can also be used to flavor other meats such as pork and lamb. It has a strong flavor so a little goes a long way. I’ve also used it as a cold remedy but chopping fresh sage and covering it in honey and let it sit until you feel a cold coming on. Add a spoonful of the herbed honey to a cup of boiling water to make a tea.
Magically Sage is used for wisdom, good luck, prosperity and longevity
Rosemary
Rosemary is an evergreen shrub that grows well in the Meditteranian region. The needles have a distinct flavor that is used in Mediterrainian dishes to flavor meats and vegtables alike. Rosemary stimulates the brain as well as relieveing respitory congestion.
Magically, rosemary is used in spells for strength, protection, memory and invigoration
Thyme
Thyme is another perennial shrub from southern Europe. Its tiny leaves are used in sauces, soups and as braises for meats. It is believed to stimulate the thymus gland and aids in building the immune system.
In spell work, thyme is used for beauty, courage, happiness, good health, and protection
Basil
Sweet basil is used in Italian and Mediterranean dishes. It makes an amazing pesto and is the main flavor in a caprese salad. Basil is believed to be a tonic for melancholy, (which is an antiquated word that refers to a low energy sadness that’s not quite depression). It is also used to relieve headaches and calm stress related anxiety.
In magic, basil is used for love, prosperity, peace, protection and happiness.
Hey Mom! I’m guessing that basil causes happiness because you put it in spaghetti sauce. Spaghetti makes me happy.
~The Padawan
Oregano
Oregano is used primarily in tomato centered dishes but also goes well with lemon to flavor meats. You’ll find it a lot of Italian and Greek dishes. Medicinally it’s used to relieve tension and anxiety.
Magically, oregano is used in spells for courage, happiness, love, luck and protection
Fennel seeds
The seeds are the most common part of the plant used in cooking. The flavor is strong and licorice-like although the wispy leaves are commonly used in fish dishes. The seeds are used to flavor sausage in marinara sauce and sweet breads.
Fennel is used medicinally to help with stomach problems related to eating rich foods and excess gas. Fennel seeds can be crushed and steeped in hot water to make a tea that will help colic in infants. I’ve also used the tea to treat chest congestion, the fennel helps break up congestion, making a dry cough more productive.
Magically, Fennel seeds are used in spells for memory, clarity, health and home protection.
Chives
Chives are a perennial plant that have a mild onion flavor and all the benefits of garlic. They are most commonly used as a garnish on baked potatoes but work well in soups and sauces. Like garlic, chives help digest fatty foods, boosts the immune system, and protects the respiratory system.
Magically chives are used for spells on weight loss and protection.
Kitchen witchery isn’t limited to these few herbs or even just to cooking. This is only the start, there are many ways to add some magic to your mundane life!
Fun fact: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme….
You sang that didn’t you? I’ve been singing it all week! You’re welcome!
The 14th century English folk song made popular by Simon and Garfunkle in the 1960’s is believed to refer to a love potion. The song itself talks about a young couple insisting each other do impossible tasks to prove their love to each other.
In plant symbolism of the time is as follows,
Parsley refers to ‘comfort’ and possibly means “Let’s start a family”
Sage symbolized strength and could have meant to say, “I’m dependable”
Rosemary was all about love and of course memory so it seems to say, “Remember me”
Thyme was used for courage and says simply, “I’m yours”
(Information found here and here!)
Most of the information on the medicinal properties of plants were sourced from “Rosemary Gladstar’s Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health”
I own this book (both physical and digital copies) and use it all the time!
