The Book of Shadows of a Broom Closet Dweller *EDITING*

Kitchen Witchery

Kitchery witchery is a great practice for closeted witches because it can be as subtle as simply seasoning your food with a bit of salt and pepper. As long as something is done with magickal intention, it can be used in your craft.

Kitchen Witchcraft is based around the idea of focusing on hearth and home, while incorporating magic and enchantments. The kitchen is an integral part of the home, so this is common practice for closet witches for its accessibility. Magic is worked into the foods we make and beverages we drink, much in the same way that we might do in other spellwork and ritual practices.

Where do I start?

First, every kitchen witch needs, well... a kitchen. I'm assuming you already have one of those. Next, you need to de-clutter and clean up your workspace. Get rid of any stagnant, negative energy, and start with a clean slate. Throw out anything you don't need, organise all of your cupboards so you can find everything easily, and do a deep clean of all the surfaces and the oven.

Next you need to create your kitchen altar. Maintaining an altar will encourage you to keep it tidy and treat it with respect, which creates an ideal space for working cuisine magick. This can be done in many different ways and you don't have to follow any kind of rules. You could add a statue of a home or hearth goddess, a cauldron, or a candle. If you like, paint a trivet with symbols of your tradition. More subtly, you could use a salt shaker to represent the earth element, a wine glass for water, a kitchen knife for air, and your oven can represent the fire element.

Then you'll need to get some herbs. Consider growing a herb garden; if you don't have the space, there are plenty of herbs you can grow on the windowsill or just outside the window in a flowerbox. If you can't work with fresh herbs then dried store-bought herbs are just fine. When you're just starting out, I recommend getting up to 3 herbs at first. Any more than that and you'll get overwhelmed. A lot of common herbs are very versatile and can be used for many different purposes, so just use a few herbs until you are really comfortable with using them, and then you can buy more.

Cleanse and consecrate your ingredients and tools before use, and now you can get started. Search for recipes that use the ingredients you have gathered, and as you cook with the ingredients, think about their magickal intention.

You can bless your ingredients with an all-purpose charm:

All-purpose charm

Enchanted herbs of brown and green
Herbs for magic and power be.
Goddess bless all that I do.
For good of all, I do no harm
With herb spice, this spell is done.

What can I do other than cooking?

Enchant herbs before sprinkling them over a meal, bringing blessings to the family.

Make herbal oils and tonics, charging them by candlelight to use for healing, protection, blessing the home, cleaning, or polishing woodwork—all in a day's work.

Make a magically prepared cup of tea. A cup of tea is never just tea - it's a ritual, it's a brew, and it's been prepared with intention.

Make a poultice of mugwort or a salve of basil and honey. If someone gets a minor boo-boo, don't necessarily run to the drug store—run to the garden. As you prepare it as medicine, chant to invoke a spirit or deity to assist with healing.

Garden by the moon signs or plant crystals in the soil to help give the plants a boost.

Thank the plants for their sacrifice when harvesting from them. Leave the plants small gifts and offerings.

Add a handful of salt and a few drops of sage oil into the wash water to cleanse and purify clothing (or for use on the floor, the bathroom, or the windows).

Leave charmed bags, Witch's ladders, or symbols around the home to draw good luck and prosperity.

Add dried rosemary to the pillow stuffing to ward off nightmares and bring happy dreams.

Throw salt over your shoulder when spilled or blow a loose eyelash off your hand to make a wish.

Some tips!

Stir clockwise to manifest, anti-clockwise to banish.

Draw sigils with honey in the bottom of a cup of tea or on pancakes, etc.

Store your herbs in air-tight containers and out of direct sunlight.

Cook with local produce to reduce your food miles, look after the planet, and support local farmers.

Thank the spirit of the animals and plants that you consume. Be aware of their power and energy that you are taking into your body as you eat your delicious meals. Every plant and living creature puts effort into growing and producing, so as you consume your food, appreciate the energy that went into their existence.

A physical cleanse can also be a spiritual cleanse, so often the easiest way to drive away negativity in the kitchen is to tidy up and wipe the surfaces.

Some Common Herbs and their Magical Uses

Allspice – money and good luck
Anise – Protection and purification
Basil – wealth and good luck
Bay – protection, healing, purification and strength
Caraway – health, protection and mental powers
Cardamon – Lust and love
Chilli pepper – fidelity, hex breaking and love
Chives – protection
Cinnamon – prosperity, spirituality, healing and happiness
Cloves – protection, love, stops gossip and money
Coriander – love, health and healing
Cumin – protection, fidelity and theft protection
Dill – security, protection, love and lust
Fennel – protection, healing and purification
Garlic – protection, purification, healing and protection from theft
Ginger – power, success, love and money
Juniper – protection, love, exorcism and health
Mace – increases psychic powers
Marjoram – love, happiness, health and money
Mint – prosperity, protection, travel and money
Mustard seed – fertility and protection
Parsley – protection and purification
Peppermint – purification, sleep, healing and psychic powers
Rosemary – healing, love, purification and sleep
Sage – wisdom and longevity
Star anise – psychic powers and good luck
Thyme – health, healing, sleep, courage and love
Turmeric – purification
Vanilla – love and passion

Further Reading:

https://exemplore.com/wicca-witchcraft/Types-of-Witches-What-is-a-Kitchen-Witch-and-How-to-Be-One

https://exemplore.com/wicca-witchcraft/An-Introductio-to-Kitchen-Witchery

http://www.witchpathforward.com/kitchen-witchery.html

Kitchen Witchery Beginner's Guide by Lisa Chamberlain - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n83PEy-VcZH0l2s2t1hKLQbe9ae-OIgp/view

Supermarket Magic by Michael Furie - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gymDr0pyXv4QAi0okc7raTQBZ2HyZt-1/view