The Pagan Heart
|
May 2005 Issue
|
The Art of the Kitchen Witch
By Josh P.
I love Kitchen Witchery. It's what first brought me to actually working magic. I'd seen Like Water for Chocolate with a girlfriend and was blown away with the idea of food being so powerful and magical. Thinking about it, it made sense. I mean I went to Mom as a kid when upset, and she'd make hot cocoa, or toast and honey, and just eating and drinking made me feel better. As if I consumed her love along with the food. When I get serious about someone, the first sign is cooking for her. The ritual of gathering ingredients - just the right ones - preparing and cooking and then serving. And the act of eating. So powerful and evocative and filled with potential. So I always knew on some level, but I'd never really thought about it until that movie. Then - for like the next five years - I dabbled in food magic. Nothing serious. But when I discovered Wicca, Kitchen Magic seemed to gain a life of it's own. I began trying to incorporate the rituals and spells I learnt with my ideas on cooking. And I found that I have a talent for it. I may not make people cry or fall madly into passionate embraces through eating my food, but still...I do work wonders. I am very ritual orientated. I like to use lunar phases, to chant and invoke and everything. To me the act of casting a spell through Kitchen Magic is as important as the spell, and as such I feel a strong need to use technique. It does sometimes become a bit burdensome, but mostly it works well for me. Probably because my life is quite spartan in general. No pets, my girlfriend and I are both hermits a lot of the time - we kinda circle each other in this elaborate dance of occasional meeting which really suits us - and I have the time and freedom to be ritual and techique orientated. If we have kids, that'll probably change. Interestingly, I don't reserve my tools for magic use only. Whatever is in the kitchen is up for grabs. I thought I would when I first started Wicca witchery, and even invested in "special" stuff. But I found that I naturally use it in mundane stuff. And I found that things I used regularly seemed more powerful - as if my own energy focused within them more easily. Anyway, I'm a Kitchen Witch and proud of it!!
|
Return to the Index of articles for Kitchen Witch
