What is a “Kitchen Witch”? Your complete guide to kitchen witchery

“There’s more than ONE type of witch?” That is a very valid question, and, indeed there are! Read on to learn about what a kitchen witch is, what kitchen witchery looks like, and how the “kitchen” denotation differentiates a kitchen witch from the other types. It’s about to get REAL magical up in here.

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Back in the day, the term “witch” had very negative and pejorative connotations associated with it. It was a term that was used to describe cunning folk, women specifically, who worked with dark or evil forces. It also alluded to women who had a spiritually that veered away from the Puritan and/ or Christian traditions.

In recent years, this word has taken on a playful and even respected stance, highlighting women whose earth connection is the foundation of their spirituality (pagans), and women who use the laws of metaphysics to connect with both the material planes and the spirit planes.

Many envision the modern witch as someone who does circle work or candle magic to express their magical powers. This is an accurate and legitimate practice of a “witch”, so to speak, and also this terms covers so many more elements, activities, life choices and lifestyles.

The term “witch” actually comes from a word that means “wise women”, and there is an abundance of folklore & fairy tales from the beginning of humankind, from all over the world, that speak of women who are connected to the natural world, and use their innate magical energy to heal themselves and their communities.

Their striving is to live a harmonious way of life. Many women who refer to themselves as “healers” would fit into this category. These are what we would, today, refer to by the informal term of “good witch”.

It goes without saying that everyone possesses an inherent ability to work with the energies around them and to co-create their lives. It is up to each individual person how (and if) they choose to use their life energies.

The very first kitchen witch

Originally, kitchen witch dolls began in the European culture, and were known for warding off evil, and for protecting the kitchen and the food being cooked in it. Their presence was said to prevent the burning or spoiling of food, and promote good results in all the food that was cooked in that there kitchen. People would keep these little dolls (they were fairly small in size, and hung from a string), sometimes with a note on them explaining the work that they were there to do.

This was very common and most people had them in their kitchens. Typically, the witch would be an older woman (the Crone), riding on a broomstick or even on a wooden spoon. Good luck was thought to be initiated in the lives of both the giver and the giftee when a kitchen witch gift was given to someone. The kitchen witch was also known as a “cottage witch” or “house witch”.

Why the kitchen is the heart of the home

If you’ve sat in the warmth of someone’s kitchen, or prepared a traditional meal or dish with someone, you will know that the kitchen is a place of great magic.

The connection of the witch to the kitchen, specifically, is significant because the kitchen is known to be the “heart” of the home. The kitchen is where people gather to have both fun and serious conversations.

It is in the kitchen that the family will gather to nourish their bodies with food, and their hearts with good conversations.

It is in the kitchen where festive and traditional foods will be prepared to celebrate, and also where nourishing food will be cooked to nurture the people who live there.

Most of us start our days in the kitchen, with a cup of tea or coffee and breakfast. We make lunches there, teach our children to cook there.

While our bedrooms and the bathrooms are more private, the kitchen is communal in nature and as such it is an initiator for conversation and meaningful interactions.

For most people, their relationships are the most treasured things in their lives, which explains why the kitchen- one of the places where we regularly nourish those relationships- is significant.

Food also has a strong emotional element to it. When you think of your family’s culture, inevitably one of the things that will come up will be the food of that culture.

So food represents an important aspect of our identity, and, consequently, the space where we eat and prepare food takes on an important meaning. “Food”, in a lot of ways, is akin to “home”…the place where we can settle into and affirm our identities.

So the idea of food is not significant only because we need food to survive physically, but because in our everyday life, it reconnects us with who we are. The (metaphorical and literal) kitchen altar is an important part of that process.

In modern day times, the kitchen is one of the most important parts of a home that is being sold or built.

There is an underlying understanding that the kitchen is not only an important part of the house practically, but it also is a sacred space.

Kitchen witches know about the sacredness of food

Ann Wigmore is very well known for the following quote:

“The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison.”

Ayurvedic medicine and Eastern medicine prove this point as well, offering diets that are specific to people based on their body types and compositions.

Kitchen witchery begins in nature, with a deep connection to nature and to the boundless wisdom that She carries. All life is connected and, in nature, we see that all the beings co-exist and work together to establish and maintain a harmonious balance. Everything supports everything else, and in the same way WE, as humans, are a part of nature.

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That means for us that what we need to be well is provided for us through the earth whether that be sun grown food, the sight of a new baby deer, the presence of a tall deep rooted tree, kitchen herbs, meats, fish or plant medicine. The kitchen witch knows that truth deeply, and works with the cycles of earth and nature to promote her own wellness, and to honour the Divine Mother who’s creative powers she reflects.

Some ways that a kitchen witch might utilize the incredible powers of food are:

-growing their own plant medicine (there are many a garden herb that can help to heal various ailments. To learn more about the healing properties of oregano, click HERE.)

-making her own essential oils (learn how to make oregano essential oil HERE).

-establishing food rituals for the family (things like blessing the food, or different around-the-table traditions)

-preparing natural remedies using different types of food stuffs

-making seasonal recipes to help her loved ones stay in tune with the rhythms of nature

-understanding the culture of food, and the ability of a familiar taste or sound to create a sense of belonging, welcoming and home

-acknowledging that the magical properties of food are not only held in their nutritional profile, but in their energetic structure as well

-using eating as an opportunity to connect to the earth, through the food she eats that was provided by the earth

A kitchen witch uses her energies to serve her loved ones

The original kitchen witch doll was a doll that was used to ward off negative energies.

So, the knowledge of and understanding of how to use one’s energetic fields is a special skill of the kitchen witch. She knows that courage, healing or any other energy cannot be purchased in a bottle, however it can be energetically gifted to someone by placing positive energy in their food, stirring it into their tea, or making their sandwich with feelings of love and appreciation for that person.

This can be easily done by anyone, at any time by considering the energetic gift that you would like to give to someone, and imagining that emotion or state being mixed in with their food or beverage, being applied to their folded laundry etc.

Remember that our worlds are created by our thoughts, emotions and beliefs.

Do not underestimate the power of your beautiful and loving intentions to nourish the body or heart of a family member or loved one through a simple cooked meal (magical meals, that is) made with wholesome, earth cultivated ingredients, and doused with a hearty helping of healing and wellness.

A kitchen witch recognizes the opportunities in her daily life and mundane work

It’s very easy to fall into the spirituality rut of believing that the truly spiritual acts must be done in a temple, in front of an altar, on a yoga mat etc.

The sacred is expressed THROUGH the mundane, and the mundane is an EXPRESSION of the sacred being brought down to the earth plane in material form.

A kitchen witch recognizes that the menial everyday tasks that they do bring dignity to both their own existence, and to that of their loved ones…and that matters.

We can also think of “as above, so below”, and in that way the acts of cooking, cleaning and tending to the practicalities of our lives can become opportunities for inspiration and Spirit connection…for doing important inner work.

“As I sweep the dust off this floor, so do I sweep away my insecurities.”

“As I chop the leaves off this broccoli stem, so do I chop away any beliefs about my inability to procure abundance in my life.”

“As I fold these hand towels, so do I neatly organize my thoughts so that I can organize my schedule for the week ahead.”

“As I salt and pepper this soup for my family to enjoy, so do I sprinkle creative expression for them to freely express.”

A kitchen witch is connected to the cycles of nature

Through her understanding of herself as a part of nature, the kitchen witch is someone who is connected to the cycles of nature, including the influences of the cycles of the moon, the changes of season, the variety of seasonal foods available etc. She is able to use nature as a year-round guide to intuitively know when it’s time to adjust and make space for the next season.

The nature wheel represents the movement of time through seasons, each section represented by different pagan festivals.

In this way, the kitchen witch is able to support herself and her loved ones in moving in flow with the energies of the time, and establishing balance in work and play.

For myself, growing my own food in my garden has been a profound practice in connecting to nature. Before I watched a tiny seedling grow into a robust plant that could nourish my family and I, I lacked appreciation for the time, energy, water, sunlight and family of microorganisms that are required in order for something to grow. We’ve all seen or heard about the experiments where affirming words vs. words that are not affirming are played on repeat to different plants. The plant being given affirming words always grows bigger and stronger than the other.

So gardening is one type of practical magic that a “green witch” uses to acknowledge the energetic realities around us, and to use them in their own way to bring both more love and light into the world, and also to bring much food to their tables.

“Everything is spiritual” is what one of my teachers used to tell me, and the more that I grow and learn, the more I realize how true that statement is. Your magical practice doesn’t need to be anything flashy or out of the box, unless you want it to be. Just by tapping into a little old fashion kitchen magic, you can turn what are already delicious recipes into deeply healing experiences for not only your loved ones, but for you too.

You, dear sister, are worthy of a life that makes your heart smile, and your full belly sigh in relief and contentment.

There’s already one witch in my kitchen, so I probably don’t need to make another to hang in the corner 😉

Till next time,

XX,

-Celeste

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitchen_witch