Kitchen witchcraft is the practice of making and keeping a home with intention. It asks for no special tools and no extra time. It takes the things you already do, such as cooking, cleaning, and making tea, and does them on purpose.
The hearth comes first
For most of history the hearth was the center of the house: the source of warmth, food, and light, and in many cultures the home of a household spirit or goddess. Most of us now have a stove instead of an open fire, but the kitchen is still where a household is fed and gathered. That makes it a natural place to practice.
A kitchen witch works by three ideas. Ordinary acts become magick when they are done with attention. Ingredients carry meanings as well as flavors. And a well-kept home is a kind of blessing on everyone who enters it.
Everyday practices
- Stir with purpose. Stir clockwise to draw something in, such as health, peace, or good company. Stir counterclockwise to send something away. In the Southern Hemisphere, many witches reverse the two.
- Mark the food. Trace a symbol on the surface of a soup with the spoon, draw one in honey on your oatmeal, or score one into a loaf before it is baked.
- Speak to the pot. Say what you want the meal to do. "May everyone at this table feel welcome" is a complete spell.
- Keep a morning cup. As you stir your tea or coffee, name one intention for the day and drink it in.
- Clean as cleansing. When you wipe the counters and sweep the floor, picture stale feeling leaving with the dirt. See cleansing and protection.
- Keep a kitchen altar. A shelf with a candle, a jar of salt, and a pot of basil is enough.
A pantry of meanings
These are traditional associations for common ingredients. Use them to choose what goes into a dish, the way you would choose herbs for a charm.
| Ingredient | Associations |
|---|---|
| Salt | Purification, protection, grounding |
| Honey | Sweetness, kindness, drawing good things together |
| Bread and flour | Abundance, home, hospitality |
| Eggs | New beginnings, potential |
| Milk | Nurture, comfort |
| Garlic and onion | Protection, strength |
| Lemon | Cleansing, clarity, freshness |
| Apple | Love, wisdom, the harvest |
| Rice and grains | Prosperity, security |
| Olive oil | Peace, blessing, health |
| Black pepper | Protection, banishing |
| Ginger | Energy, courage, warmth |
| Cinnamon | Success, warmth, speed |
| Vanilla | Comfort, affection |
| Basil, rosemary, thyme, bay | See herbal magick |
A simple working
A simmer pot for a welcoming home
You will need
- A small saucepan of water
- The peel of an orange or a lemon
- A cinnamon stick, a few cloves, and a sprig of rosemary
What to do
- Put everything in the pan. As you add each ingredient, name what it brings: citrus for freshness, cinnamon for warmth, cloves for protection, rosemary for a clear head.
- Bring the pan to a gentle simmer.
- Stir clockwise three times and say: "May this home be warm and welcoming to all who enter in friendship."
- Let it simmer for up to an hour, and add more water as the level drops. Stay nearby, and never leave the stove unattended.
- When it has cooled, pour the water down the drain or onto the compost with thanks.
Baking with intention
Bread is the kitchen witch's great work. It has four ingredients, it needs your hands, and it cannot be hurried. While you knead, think about the people who will eat the loaf and what you wish for them. Before it goes into the oven, cut a symbol into the top: a sun for health, a spiral for growth, a simple cross for the four elements. Baking is especially fitting at Lughnasadh, the festival of the first harvest.
Cooking with the Wheel
Eating what is in season is a form of observance. Spring greens and eggs at Ostara, berries at midsummer, bread at Lughnasadh, apples at Mabon, and roots and squash at Samhain keep your table in step with the year. Each of our sabbat guides lists the foods of the season.
Guarding the home
Kitchen witchcraft has always included simple protections. A broom is kept by the door. A bundle of rosemary hangs in the kitchen. A pinch of salt goes in the corners of a new home, and is swept up the next day. A bay leaf with a wish written on it is burned carefully in a fireproof dish. None of this is dramatic, and that is the point. It is care, repeated.
Kitchen sense
Put only real food in anything that will be eaten or drunk. Ask about allergies before you feed anyone. Keep an eye on anything that is on the heat. A kitchen spell should never be the reason dinner made someone ill.