Cooking and The Craft

Hello Arachnids!

   Cooking can be so magical, there’s a whole denomination in witchcraft based on Kitchen Witchery. We need to eat and drink every day, so it’s only natural that what we fuel our bodies with can have magical properties associated with them. We use herbs constantly in different kinds of spell work. Take bay leaf for example. This herb is common to use in prosperity magic; it’s also used to season pasta sauce.

   Kitchens can be sacred spaces to the practitioner who utilizes that space for their craft. Seeding intentions and blessings into their food can take concentration, specific preparation, and rhythm. Recipes become spells and the act of cooking becomes ritual. It reminds me of how we can never seem to replicate our parents or grandparent dishes. We can use the exact recipe, but it never seems to come out quite the same. One of the common answers to this is because it was made from love. Well, the intention of love for one’s family in the process of cooking, making the meal so good it can’t be replicated, is kind of super magically badass to me! Now, not all of our parents and grandparents are practitioners (though I don’t doubt that some definitely are in one way or another) but it makes you wonder how magical the process of cooking really is.

   I don’t consider myself a kitchen witch in particular but I do like to incorporate magical elements in my cooking, especially during ritual meals. Consumption related magic can be as easy as stirring your morning coffee clockwise to bring good things to your day; or as difficult as creating a recipe with specific ingredients for ritualistic dinners or offerings.

   If you read my last blog post, you know I own and cook at a local Chipstand. Over the years I’ve found fun little ways of incorporating kitchen style witchery there. Giving small blessing to the food I’m serving can make it such a wonderful experience. Of course, this isn’t an, every order, every time sort of deal. It would be too easy to become spiritually burnt out in this case, but when the energy is there or feeling is right, it doesn’t hurt to give that added touch to a meal. There is one food item however that always gets a solid seal of protection. Wraps. We have 3 sauces for wraps: mayo, Caesar and ranch. It is so easy to use these sauces to create a sigil on the wrap itself and then put the rest of the ingredients in. I started doing this on a whim a few years ago and now I do it for every wrap I make. It’s such a fun, easy and creative way to add a little magic to your food.

   Now I shouldn’t have to say this, but I will anyway. There is a code of ethics when it comes to feeding the public and caring about feeding the public. We never tamper with a customer’s food, no matter the interaction. This means anything harmful like spitting, dropping it on the floor, putting something gross inside it, handling it improperly and yes, even hexing. It’s just something you don’t do. I’ve had customers treat me aggressively and like actual garbage and the worst I will ever do is tell them off or complain about it to my co-workers. Do NOT tamper with food intended for the public, including magically because at the end of the day, it’s never worth it and its way more cathartic to just stand up for yourself in situations that call for it.

   Cooking can be a magical experience for everyone, not just magical practitioners. What we consume gives us life, but the experience surrounding it enriches us as well. Next time you’re cooking a meal for yourself, carefully add your ingredients with as much love for yourself as you possibly can and see how it turns out for you. It may just be the experience of creating that fuels you for the day.