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Author Topic: Bringing religion and ritual into the kitchen.  (Read 7890 times)

AradiaRose

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Bringing religion and ritual into the kitchen.
« on: December 14, 2011, 02:33:11 am »
I've always had a very dynamic connection with food - many wonderful moments in my life can bring me back to a food memory and, conversely, the worst bouts of depression have always contributed to disorded eating and rapid and unhealthy weight loss from unnecessary, non-spiritual fasting.

Lately, I've found myself in a break between jobs (starting work again in late January) and I've been spending several hours a day in the kitchen experimenting with recipes. I no longer cook only for sustenance, but to provide an enhancement for my day to day life. I would like to start incorporating more "mindfulness" into my cooking ritual and I'm very interested in finding out how others have incorporated spirituality and religion into their daily food preparation - I'm always looking for inspiration.

I have looked up the term "kitchen witch" but google seemed rather cluttered those terrible blogs that only seem to exist to have ads, so I'm having trouble finding any solid info.
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Dark Midnight

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Re: Bringing religion and ritual into the kitchen.
« Reply #1 on: December 14, 2011, 03:10:56 am »
Quote from: AradiaRose;34677

I have looked up the term "kitchen witch" but google seemed rather cluttered those terrible blogs that only seem to exist to have ads, so I'm having trouble finding any solid info.

 
You will find a few kitchen witches here. I dabble in that area, but there are others here that can give you much better info than I can.
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AradiaRose

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Re: Bringing religion and ritual into the kitchen.
« Reply #2 on: December 14, 2011, 03:23:06 pm »
Quote from: Dark Midnight;34679
You will find a few kitchen witches here. I dabble in that area, but there are others here that can give you much better info than I can.


Thank you. Hopefully they'll stumble on this thread. And if you have any resources you'd like to share on the subject, I'm always looking for inspiration.
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Shadow

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Re: Bringing religion and ritual into the kitchen.
« Reply #3 on: December 14, 2011, 03:47:56 pm »
Quote from: AradiaRose;34722
Thank you. Hopefully they'll stumble on this thread. And if you have any resources you'd like to share on the subject, I'm always looking for inspiration.

 
If you are looking for a book I can recommend A Kitchen Witch's Cookbook by Patricia Telesco. I am not a kitchen witch, or really any kind of cook for that matter, but it is a good resource for bringing a bit of magic in to the kitchen.

Oaksworn

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Re: Bringing religion and ritual into the kitchen.
« Reply #4 on: December 14, 2011, 11:31:46 pm »
Quote from: AradiaRose;34677
... I'm always looking for inspiration.


You may also want to look at the book Cottage Witchery by Ellen Dugan.  It's a decent book that provides all sorts of inspiration.  Chapter three is Kitchen Cupboard Conjuring.  Both Amazon (linked) and Google Books have previews.

Another book on my shelf is The Way of the Green Witch by Arin Murphy-Hiscock.  Chapter nine is The Green Witch Working in the Kitchen.  While Dugan provides some simple recipes more focused on magic, Murphy-Hiscock seems to have more recipes and most of them actually edible including flavored sugars, soups, polenta and bread.  Again, both Amazon (linked) and Google Books have previews.
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AradiaRose

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Re: Bringing religion and ritual into the kitchen.
« Reply #5 on: December 15, 2011, 10:29:13 pm »
Quote from: Oaksworn;34791
You may also want to look at the book Cottage Witchery by Ellen Dugan.  It's a decent book that provides all sorts of inspiration.  Chapter three is Kitchen Cupboard Conjuring.  Both Amazon (linked) and Google Books have previews.

Another book on my shelf is The Way of the Green Witch by Arin Murphy-Hiscock.  Chapter nine is The Green Witch Working in the Kitchen.  While Dugan provides some simple recipes more focused on magic, Murphy-Hiscock seems to have more recipes and most of them actually edible including flavored sugars, soups, polenta and bread.  Again, both Amazon (linked) and Google Books have previews.

 
Thank you! You have great timing with these book suggestions - I'm going to be heading home for Christmas and my hometown has an decent-sized metaphysical bookstore that sells used copies.
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Altair

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Re: Bringing religion and ritual into the kitchen.
« Reply #6 on: December 29, 2011, 08:46:01 am »
Quote from: AradiaRose;34677
I would like to start incorporating more "mindfulness" into my cooking ritual and I'm very interested in finding out how others have incorporated spirituality and religion into their daily food preparation - I'm always looking for inspiration.


I'm no kitchen witch, but I'm often mindful of my connection to the elements when I'm preparing food. I'll add a pinch of salt and see both the earth beneath my feet and the substance of my own flesh; a few drops of water for the blood in my veins and the rivers that are Her veins; I light the stove and feel my own energy and see the raging fires of the sun and the Earth's core; and then I'll blow on the ingredients, my breath and the wind that is Her breath, added to the mix.

For some reason, I esp. feel the need to do this when I make my favorite breakfast, French toast. (It doesn't change the flavor, though!)
The first song sets the wheel in motion / The second is a song of love / The third song tells of Her devotion / The fourth cries joy from the sky above
The fifth song binds our fate to silence / and bids us live each moment well / The sixth unleashes rage and violence / The seventh song has truth to tell
The last song echoes through the ages / to ask its question all night long / And close the circle on these pages / These, the metamythos songs

entwife

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Re: Bringing religion and ritual into the kitchen.
« Reply #7 on: January 06, 2012, 09:41:09 pm »
Quote from: AradiaRose;34677
I would like to start incorporating more "mindfulness" into my cooking ritual and I'm very interested in finding out how others have incorporated spirituality and religion into their daily food preparation - I'm always looking for inspiration.



Great goal, both for physical and spiritual needs! We try to buy locally and organically whenever possible, especially with our meats and produce. I do recommend making that a habit to begin with, and I'll second Shadow's recommend of Telesco's cookbook. Great resource to get you started and I like the indexes that give quick reference as to which foods are associated with what.

Everyone in our family cooks, so special meals like Thanksgiving are often well thought out affairs tailored to our current needs and temptations, but every day meals can also become feasts tailored to the families needs. I would recommend you research the foods you commonly eat looking at nutritional benefits as well as spiritual ones. For example, garlic and onions are both natural antibiotics therefore very useful when fighting off sickness. Both are also know magically for their protective abilities! Ultimately, intent and focus are most often the main ingredients though.There are a couple of interesting websites you might like as well...  
 
confessions of a kitchen witch

kitchen witch


kitchen witch maven

and sacred hearth to name a few
Wishing you laughter

corvid04

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Re: Bringing religion and ritual into the kitchen.
« Reply #8 on: January 09, 2012, 02:55:38 pm »
Quote from: entwife;37871
There are a couple of interesting websites you might like as well...  

 
Thank you for those links. I'm not sure if i could properly call my self a kitchen witch (besides the incredulous looks i get from even the pagan community because I'm male... and here I'm thinking witch is now gender unbiased... is it the kitchen part?), but i have always improvised tools and ingredients, so the wisdom of others in this is always welcome. Even if you don't claim kitchen in your path title, these practitioners give great insight in utilizing ritual and spell work in to our every day lives.

madness

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Re: Bringing religion and ritual into the kitchen.
« Reply #9 on: January 11, 2012, 01:52:34 pm »
Quote from: AradiaRose;34677
I'm very interested in finding out how others have incorporated spirituality and religion into their daily food preparation - I'm always looking for inspiration.

One thing that nailed it for me was having a shrine IN the kitchen.  It's just a constant reminder to be mindful of what you are doing there - nourishing your body and soul.  Mine is just a windowsill dedicated to the fire element.  you can choose a kitchen deity and build a shrine to draw their power/energy to your cooking.

Being mindful is very important.  Be focused on your task and what you are doing.  Put intention on your movements.

For very important meals you want to make especially magical, bless a tool (wooden spoon, etc) and use that.  Infuse it/charge it with energy and keep it only for those special occasions.

I've never liked the standard lists of food correspondences.  I like to make my own.  It's a fun project to sit down with 4 or 5 herbs and do a meditation of sorts to clear your mind and smell/taste each one.  Write down your thoughts.  Those are YOUR correspondences.  And then when you need a mood lifting meal, you know to make snickerdoodles as cinnamon is your mood enhancer (well, cookies also always help!).  I try to stick to just a few herbs/foods at a time for this, otherwise your palate and mind get overwhelmed and blend them together.

Oaksworn mentioned Arin Murphy-Hiscock.  She has a newish book out called The Way of the Hedge Witch.  In my opinion, it should have been titled The Way of the Kitchen Witch as she uses Hedge witch to refer to a hearth/home witch.  It has even more recipes, rituals, spells for specific use around hearth, home and kitchen.
« Last Edit: January 11, 2012, 01:54:09 pm by madness »

Leanan Sidhe

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Re: Bringing religion and ritual into the kitchen.
« Reply #10 on: January 13, 2012, 12:08:44 am »
Quote from: AradiaRose;34677
I would like to start incorporating more "mindfulness" into my cooking ritual and I'm very interested in finding out how others have incorporated spirituality and religion into their daily food preparation - I'm always looking for inspiration.



A kitchen witch, I most definitely am not. I am, however an herbalist. I also usually make my own cleaning supplies (although I haven't lately -- need to get back to that). When I do cook, I try to make sure that I do it as an act of love. I often ask Brighid to bless my remedies and/or add to their healing qualities. I try to practice mindfulness when I am preparing things and to focus on the end result of what I desire: nourishment for my loved ones/myself, healing an ailment, or natural cleansing. We use organic ingredients whenever possible. When I eat I thank divinity and the spirits of the plants I am ingesting for providing me with nourishment.

Quote from: corvid04;38232
I'm not sure if i could properly call my self a kitchen witch (besides the incredulous looks i get from even the pagan community because I'm male... and here I'm thinking witch is now gender unbiased... is it the kitchen part?)


 
I know what you mean. My husband and my lover do most of the cooking in our household. Neither one identifies as a kitchen witch (to my knowledge), but they do get strange looks for being men and doing housework. Witchcraft has come a long way towards being unbiased, but sometimes it's difficult. Like finding a circle or study group for Cernunnos that isn't exclusively male, or one for the Morrighan that isn't exclusively female. I'm trying to avoid thread drift, but just wanted to let you know you're not alone.
"Modesty is an illusion" -- de Sade
"The call of death is a call of love. Death can be sweet if we answer it in the affirmative, if we accept it as one of the great eternal forms of life and transformation." -- Herman Hesse

Asch

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Re: Bringing religion and ritual into the kitchen.
« Reply #11 on: January 15, 2012, 01:09:11 pm »
Quote from: Leanan Sidhe;38601
A kitchen witch, I most definitely am not. I am, however an herbalist. I also usually make my own cleaning supplies (although I haven't lately -- need to get back to that). When I do cook, I try to make sure that I do it as an act of love. I often ask Brighid to bless my remedies and/or add to their healing qualities. I try to practice mindfulness when I am preparing things and to focus on the end result of what I desire: nourishment for my loved ones/myself, healing an ailment, or natural cleansing. We use organic ingredients whenever possible. When I eat I thank divinity and the spirits of the plants I am ingesting for providing me with nourishment.


 
I know what you mean. My husband and my lover do most of the cooking in our household. Neither one identifies as a kitchen witch (to my knowledge), but they do get strange looks for being men and doing housework. Witchcraft has come a long way towards being unbiased, but sometimes it's difficult. Like finding a circle or study group for Cernunnos that isn't exclusively male, or one for the Morrighan that isn't exclusively female. I'm trying to avoid thread drift, but just wanted to let you know you're not alone.

 
I make my own cleaning supplies as well. I also make a few ointments and things via beeswax. I started out of a desire to save $$ but it's so satisfying and inexpensive to whip up a window cleaner or clean a bathroom with nothing more than baking soda, vinegar, alcohol, and water (maybe an essential oil or two) that I've kept it up.

I made an ointment for sore muscles/joints using a recipe I cribbed  then modified from the web and a friend of mine raves about it, even though I didn't have any cinnamon EO at the time so the recipe was a bit off.

I just really enjoy helping my friends and family on the cheap.

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