The Magic of Food

Food is magical, not just because of the amazing tastes, flavours and aromas, but also for the magical properties it holds. The magic starts with the choice of food to use and it can then be added in while you are preparing and cooking, then the magic unfolds as people enjoy your food. Dishes can be created for specific intents, moon phases, and rituals; to celebrate sabbats or just to bring the magic into your family meal. Many food ingredients can also be used very successfully in magical workings in the form of offerings, medicine pouches, witches' bottles and poppets.

When you are cooking, whether it is baking, stirring, kneading or whatever process it involves, make sure to add the magic as you go. Stir deosil (clockwise) to bring in positive energy and widdershins (anticlockwise) to banish. Think about your intent, desires and wishes as you make the dish; add your energy to it, visualise the outcome as you add the ingredients and you can even chant a blessing or a spell as you make it.

Think about how you work in the kitchen and see if you can add a magical spin to it, there are some ideas in my book Pagan Portals: Kitchen Witchcraft, so I don't want to duplicate the information, but to give you some ideas to get started with:

• Chopping – this releases frustration and emotions ... just be careful.

• Peeling fruit and vegetables – as you take off the skin release old habits and negative energy revealing the fresh, clean surface underneath and a refreshed, revitalised you.

• When you mix or shake any recipe ... dance and sing.

• Slow stirring of sauces brings peace and calm.

• Mixing and whisking brings things together; use your visualisation skills.

This book includes the more commonly used foods, herbs and spices and it also contains magical information for meat. Whether you are vegetarian, vegan or a meat eater, animal welfare should be paramount. For those of us who choose to eat meat I wholeheartedly believe that we should honour the animal that gave its life. If your joint of meat or bird has the bones make full use of them after you have eaten. Boil the bones to make stock and then dry them to use in magical workings.

If you are able to purchase your meat direct from the farm you may even be able to get hold of the skin as well to create something useful with. If you get the feathers from a bird make sure you use them as well. All life is precious and if one has been taken to be used as food then we owe it to the creature to use everything it has provided for us.

If you can afford to, I would encourage you to purchase organic or free range meat; the animal deserves the best life that it can have. If you don't have a farm shop local to you seek out your local butcher where you should be able to purchase meat that has a history. The butcher will know exactly where the meat came from and how the animal was treated. They are also really helpful in advising and suggesting cuts of meat to use and how to cook them.

Your Magical Kitchen Space

Some people love the kitchen, some hate it. I guess it depends whether you like to cook or not, but even if you just use the microwave to heat up a ready meal (gasp!) the kitchen is quite often the centre of a home. I do believe that part of cooking successfully is feeling comfortable in the space that you work in. Although I often dream of a huge farmhouse kitchen with space for a large table that everyone can gather around ... my kitchen is not that. It is a small space in a terraced house, but – and here is the important part – it is MY space. Everything I need is to hand and I know where everything is; I am very comfortable there, in some ways it is even my haven. So no matter what the size, age or state of your kitchen – make it yours. It doesn't have to be fancy or expensive, but do what you can to make it feel like your own.

I know I have said this before, but I do find that 'making like Snow White' really does help. You don't have to be a total clean freak, but keeping your kitchen clean and tidy helps the magic flow. If the kitchen is in total chaos then that is the kind of magic that you will produce. If the kitchen is dirty and unclean then the magic gets stuck in all the debris. I also find that keeping everything tidy and organised helps when you are actually cooking, with everything to hand and knowing where it all is helps with the flow. And, let's face it, if you walk into your kitchen ready to do some work and it looks like an explosion in a cake factory you won't really feel inspired to create something beautiful.

I've also said this before and it might sound completely loony, but make friends with your appliances. You don't have to buy them birthday cards or anything (that would be mad ...) but add your positive energy to them to keep them working properly and helping you in the kitchen.

Food is a source of energy, but it can also be full of magic. Try – and I say try because we can't always be sweetness and light 100% of the time – but try to cook when you are feeling happy and content. Cooking when you are cross or angry not only transfers the negative energy to the food and therefore into the people who eat it, but it also doesn't help the cooking process. If you are upset and grumpy when you cook the chances of your dish turning out a disaster are much higher. If you are feeling less than your best, take a few moments first, clear your mind, ground yourself and just breathe ...

Bless Those Pots and Pans

When you purchase or are given a new pot, pan or utensil it is a nice idea to give them a quick cleanse, after all you don't know who has picked them up in the store to look at them or what snotty child has wiped his fingers over them in passing ... ewwww! Give them a good wash in soapy water, and then I like to sprinkle mine with salt water then dry them. You can also smudge them if you like. If you feel poetic you could also say a little blessing or chant for them: 'To my little baking pot, help me cook perfectly a lot.' OK, you must be able to come up with something far more lyrical than that, but you get the idea.

Kitchen Altar

I have a small altar on the wall in my kitchen; it is actually a green man shelf. It isn't very big and just has a tiny vase on that I put a fresh flower in (it is only big enough for one flower) and has tiny representations of the elements – a pebble, a shell, a small red crystal and a tiny feather. When I start any cooking, whether is it a family meal or a witchy lotion or potion, I give the altar a nod and ask for blessings. It does not have to be a huge or ornate altar flowing with velvet and gold tassels – just the corner of a shelf would do, even just a vase with a flower in. Something that just represents deity, the divine or the universal energy that can aid you in your cookery endeavours.

Kitchen Rituals

We all have rituals that we perform throughout...