Grimoire of a Kitchen Witch

An Essential Guide to Witchcraft

John Hunt Publishing Ltd.

Contents

CHAPTER 1

What is a Witch?

The media would have everyone believe that a witch is ahunched over old hag with green skin, gnarled fingers and awart on her nose. I have met a lot of witches and we come in allages, shapes, sizes, colours (not green as far as I know) and allgenders ... but I have yet to meet one who looks like that.

I am hoping that in my crone years I will wear kaftans andfloppy hats and be known locally as 'that mad ole witch' – notquite the Hollywood hag figure, but I am working on it.

What is a witch? Well to me a witch is someone who is in tunewith the Earth, with the changing of the seasons, someone whoconnects with the elements and works with all the energiesaround them. I respect and care for the planet and all the plantsand creatures that live on it and in it.

Witchcraft is a way of life; it is who I am, what I am and howI choose to live my life. It is a beautiful, rewarding andwonderful way of life.

It is a chosen path filled with self-discovery, learning, andgrowth as those who claim the title of witch will grow inknowledge and experiences for a lifetime and possibly more.Witchcraft is a generic term used to describe its many extensionsand sub-categories.

There are no hard rules with witchcraft; you can tailor it toyour personal beliefs, traditions and rituals.

Witchcraft is a polytheistic religion; this means there is morethan one figurehead, a Goddess who has many names and a Godwho also goes by many names. I think of deity as being like themany facets of a diamond.

Witches all know and live with the God and the Goddess.They are both entities of the great All. Each witch carries a partof the God and Goddess within them. We respect them; workwith them, live with them. However, to each of us the God andGoddess may be perceived differently.

The God is the male entity, the Sky Father, representative ofthe Sun. He goes by many names and many faces – Pan,Cernunnos, Osiris, Thor and Belenos to name a few.

The Goddess is the universal mother. She is representative ofthe Moon and the Earth. She, too, is known by many names andfaces – Gaia, Hecate, Brighid, Cailleach, Kali to name a few.

They do not rule, but they do oversee; they are present, it is allaccording to your beliefs. They work together, forming a whole.

The true explanation of deity is within each witch's own heart.We reflect them with our daily intent and deeds.

Witches practice ritual observance of lunar events and theseasons. Rituals are split into two groups, Sabbats and Esbats.There are eight Sabbats in a year representing the cycle of birthand death of the God, these being Yule/Winter Solstice, Imbolc,Ostara, Beltane, Litha/Midsummer, Lughnasadh, AutumnEquinox (Mabon) and Samhain.

Esbats are Moon rituals, celebrating the New Moons and theFull Moons.

These rituals are performed within sacred or magic circles,and are used for the purposes of asking for guidance and givingthanks to the Goddess and God, and are often used for the performanceof magic.

Some witches are members of a coven, in which there will bea High Priestess and/or High Priest. The other members will bewitches of varying degrees of initiation. There are also many,many solitary witches. There are a large number of traditionswithin the witchcraft umbrella – Wiccans, Dianic, kitchenwitchery, green witchery, hedge witchery, Alexandrian, eclectic,Faery, Gardnerian and Seax to name but a few. We at the KitchenWitch Coven are very much based in kitchen/green/hedge witchcraft,although most of us have had training in Wicca, but wehave also studied between us folk magic, hoodoo and druidry aswell.

A lot of witches conform to a moral code called the WitchesRede (or the Wiccan Rede). It simply states: 'An it harm none, dowhat thou will.' This means that as long as you do no harm toanyone or anything, including yourself, you may do anythingthat your heart desires and has the willpower to accomplish. Awitch who performs magic for the purposes of harm willultimately be harming themselves. This comes about by the'Threefold Law' that states that anything that you do will bereturned to you three times. So if you perform good it will bereturned to you threefold, likewise any evil will be returned toyou threefold – so it makes sense to only do good. But, as withmost things, this is your choice to make. You can decide to notfollow a rede of any kind, but rely on your own moral code.

Witches practice magic, especially magic involving herbs,stones, colours, the elements and the energy of nature. However,we do not perform animal sacrifices; the only sacrifices made areof a spiritual nature.

Magic is the use of a witch's will and energy to manipulateand alter the probability of things around them. The only toolnecessary to create magic is a strong will and focused intention.However, many witches will use a variety of tools as they feel theneed for them to create their desired effect. Magic works inaccordance with natural law and will not create unlikely affects,such as fireballs, bolts of lightning, or resurrect the dead. Well,not that I know of, anyway.

In my little dream world that I sometimes frequent I wouldhave a big old farmhouse in the country with a huge kitchen thathoused an old oak kitchen table big enough for everyone to sitaround and have cups of tea and chat, herbs hanging to dry fromthe ceiling, a back garden big enough to host rituals and a viewacross the fields. In reality I live in a beautiful but modest 1920sterraced house on the outskirts of a city. I do have a garden andI do have a large oak table, although it is in the dining roomrather than the kitchen, but it is where everyone ends up sittingwith cups of tea and slices of cake ... there has to be cake to chat.I have lots of pots of herbs in my small garden and I have themhanging to dry in the conservatory so I don't do too badly. I havelived in a farmhouse in the middle of a field and in reality it iscold in the winter, muddy and desperately inconvenient if yourun out of teabags ...

I am lucky that within a short driving distance I have grouprituals available to me, my own Kitchen Witch Coven has Sabbatrituals in a beautiful forestry setting, the Dorset Grove I belong tohave their rituals in an ancient henge by a Saxon church and wealso get to celebrate a couple of times a year within Stonehengeso I do consider myself lucky.

But, having said all that, you don't need beautiful ancientsettings to have wonderful rituals, you can do a perfectly goodritual in your own front room – a kitchen witch's mottos are'make the most of what you have' and 'adapt what you have tosuit'.

I have always thought that sacred places are beautiful, but notalways sacred to everyone. Some places I have visited that othershave raved about have done nothing for me. Everyone isindividual and we all have different favourite spots and differentplaces that feel special to us. One of my very favourite sacredplaces is my own home. It is a place where I feel loved and a placethat I feel safe in. It also has everything I need to hand and alwayshas a good supply of cold chocolate in the fridge.

CHAPTER 2

Sacred Space

I guess the subject of sacred places leads me on to talking aboutsacred space. What is it and do you need it? Well, it is up to you,whether you are 'out of the broom closet', whether you actuallyhave the physical space for it and whether the rest of yourhousehold mind you having besoms on the wall and cauldronson the dinner table or not.

Sacred space can be created in your head and it is actually agood meditation tool to have a specific 'landscape' created inyour mind that you can escape to when you need to. At least ifthe space is in your head you can decorate it any way you like;space and budget are not considerations.

Then you could have just a shelf with bits and pieces on it, ora cupboard that holds all your witchy paraphernalia.

If you have a spare bedroom that no one minds you using, itwould be ideal to set up as a meditation/sacred room.

I don't have a spare bedroom, well not yet; it will be a fewyears before one of the children leaves home! But I do have theluxury of a very patient and understanding family who are quiteused to having a broomstick hanging on the kitchen wall andstatues of 'naked reindeer man' as my youngest calls my statueof Cernunnos on the mantelpiece.

It is as with all things about striking a balance that everyonewithin your household can live with.

CHAPTER 3

My Kitchen

Step into my kitchen for a while ...

As a kitchen witch I work with what I have to hand, as youwill see in the Magical Tools chapter where I give everydayoptions. The same goes for anything within the Craft. I havegiven in this book a broad overview of how I work with witchcraftalong with the basics of Wiccan/more formal witchcraftstructure, but go with the flow and work with what you feel isright for you.

So, back to my kitchen. This is where I spend a lot of time; Ilove to cook and I love making up medicine bags, witches bottlesand the like (see further chapters), so the kitchen is the heart ofmy home. My kitchen probably doesn't look like most kitchens.Oh, it has the basic worktops, cupboards, fridge/freezer andcooker, but it also has a broomstick hanging on one wall,Hallowe'en signs on the walls and flying witches and witchesballs suspended from the ceiling (yes I have a very toleranthusband!) along with shelves full of jars of herbs, all marked upwith their magical properties.

Now your kitchen doesn't have to look like mine, but it worksfor me, stepping into it makes me feel at home, it puts me in theright frame of mind to work and to create, whether it is for a spellor to make the family dinner.

I don't want you all worrying that I cook up eye of newt andwing of bat (which incidentally were real folk names for herbsoriginally) for the family meal, really I don't! But I do like to adda bit of magic to my cooking.

I have an altar in my kitchen, just a small one; it is a lovelyGreen Man shelf. Before I start to cook I give a blessing to thealtar, asking deity to watch over me whilst I cook and to addenergy to the ingredients.

Each and every ingredient that is used in any meal has anenergy of its own and a magical property. Cinnamon, forinstance, is an excellent ingredient as it not only adds love andpassion; it is also good for prosperity and protection.

Adding a pinch of herbs to your cooking can add the magicalproperties that come with it. Popping a bit of basil into a saladadds courage and strength, mint brings success and protectionand rosemary dispels negative energy.

When you are stirring the saucepan or casserole dish, thewooden spoon becomes your wand and the stirring deosil(clockwise) becomes your way of adding positive energy to thefood.

And don't forget the appliances too. The freezer and thefridge are good for working spells – if you need to 'freeze' somethoughts or emotions or 'cool off' a relationship, write it on a slipof paper and pop it in the freezer or the fridge until the spell isdone.

CHAPTER 4

Energy

I think one of the first things that anyone needs to learn about ifthey are starting to walk the path of a witch is to learn how towork with energy.

Energy is used when we send healing, when we cast a spell,when we are in ritual and when we charge candles and herbswith intent.

Every living thing has its own energy, whether it is a flower, acrystal, a person or a pebble. All of the ingredients you mightgather together for a spell will have their own individualenergies and characteristics. If you use a wand, that has its ownenergy too, but the real energy comes from YOU.

Working with energy is really a combination. You can drawenergy up from the Earth or from an item such as a crystal andyou channel it through yourself, but you also add a bit of energyfrom your inner self as you do so. When you are in ritual youmight also call upon the God and Goddess to lend their energy toyour workings and you can raise energy from other sources aswell. The elements can provide us with energy too – earth, air,fire and water all provide sources of energy that we can tap into.

But generally you are also the conduit, you summon theenergy, you gather it, you add to it and you direct it.

Everyone has energy within them, everyone has the power toaccess it, to tap into it and use it. Unfortunately most people haveno idea how to do so, and boy are they missing out!

The energy created by our bodies and by the spirit within ourbodies is generally referred to as the aura. The energy that flowsaround and through our bodies is usually referred to as chi.

Part of being a witch is to be connected to the Earth, her plantsand her creatures; to be aware of the energies around us so thatwe can connect and interact with them.

My favourite way of explaining energy is to ask people to rubtheir hands together briskly for a few seconds, then slowly pullthem apart – you should be able to 'feel' the energy betweenthem. Sometimes it takes a bit of practice, but when you do feelit – this is the energy you need to be working with. Once you canfeel the energy, try to make it into energy 'balls', stretch it,squash it, experiment with it! (No throwing energy balls atpeople though, because that's not nice ...)

Energy can be raised in many ways, it can be drawn up fromthe Earth, it can be taken from the universe, and it can be raisedby drumming, singing, chanting or dancing.

The energy can then be directed. This can be done by sendingit to the person you are healing, sending it out to the universe tobe used where necessary, or when in ritual it is usually shapedinto a cone of power. In a cone of power the energy is raised bythose present and forms a spiralling cone in the centre of thecircle to be released by the High Priestess and directed to itstarget.

On a smaller scale we raise and direct energy when we worka spell, for instance a candle spell. We would take the energyfrom the Earth, channel it through our body and out through ourhands and into a candle, this will charge the candle with energy.We add our intent and any other 'ingredients' such as herbs andoils. Once the candle is burning it releases the energy we filled itwith, that energy then goes on its merry way to fulfil the intentthat it was meant for.

CHAPTER 5

Our Minds

How many minds do you have? There is the old saying, 'I am intwo minds', but in actual fact we have three. Understanding howour three minds work helps us to work with magic.

Your conscious mind, your middle self

The first mind I want to talk about is the conscious mind, the onewe are probably most familiar with. This is where you will findyour personality and your ego. This is the mind that deals witheveryday life when we are awake.

The conscious mind houses our reason, our logic, and ourability to analyse and stay alert. It deals with life as a series ofevents in a timeline, one after another. It sees life as sorted intocompartments – past, present and future. The conscious mind isactually pretty good at remembering past events, dealing withthe present and working out what it wants for the future, all atthe same time.

It is your conscious mind that works out what you want foryourself and for your magic. It is limited though in that it doessee things as linear, which doesn't allow us to work through largeamounts of energy or information.

The psychic mind, your lower self, your younger self

The second mind I want to talk about is the psychic mind. This iswhere you will find the key to your magical abilities. It has nolimitations. It works with intuition. Intuition leads us into ourpsychic abilities. Have you ever known who was at the doorbefore you opened it, or known who was on the telephone beforeanswering it? That is your psychic mind at work.

This mind is called the lower self because it comes from ourunconscious and our subconscious. As we relax our logicalconscious mind we move into our subconscious, which allows usto see things with greater insight.

Much as it might be a nice idea to always live in the subconscious,we need the balance of the conscious mind and thepsychic mind to be able to function properly.

The minds work together in harmony.

The divine mind, the higher self, the older self

The psychic mind works as a connection between the consciousmind and the divine mind, which is the third mind or the higherself.

The divine mind is our spirit; it is what connects us to thewhole. You can call this mind the Goddess, the God, the DivineSpirit. This level is a super consciousness, a higher self, an olderself. It can see things from a higher perspective spiritually andmentally. It is not bound by linear time or logic. It is aware of allthings, on all levels, at all times. The divine self knows what theconscious mind can handle so it drip feeds information so as notto overwhelm it.
(Continues...)Excerpted from Grimoire of a Kitchen Witch by Rachel Patterson. Copyright © 2012 Rachel Patterson. Excerpted by permission of John Hunt Publishing Ltd..
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