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Kitchen Witch Recipes #2

Book: “Japanese Light: Heart-Friendly, Age-Defying Recipes from the World’s Healthiest Cuisine by Kimiko Barber”

Kyoto Bean Soup

👽1 tablespoon vegetable oil

👽1 red onion, finely chopped

👽4-6 pieces thick-sliced unsmoked bacon, chopped

👽1 carrot, coarsely chopped into chunks

👽4 ounces burdock root, peeled and coarsely chopped, soaked in water

👽4 cups (1 pound) Chinese cabbage, coarsely chopped

👽4 medium rutabagas, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks

👽4 ¾ cups dashi broth (recipe here)

👽4 tablespoons sake

👽3-4 tablespoons light soy sauce

👽1 cup canned cannellini beans, drained

👽2 tablespoons medium-colored miso paste

👽salt to taste

👽2 scallions, finely chopped

👽2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

🌵This is a Japanese interpretation of Tuscan bean soup. Like its Italian counterpart, this soup is wholesome and nourishing. The addition of miso paste gives a hidden depth without changing the character of the soup. I use canned cannellini beans for convenience, but you can substitute any beans of your choice. If you are using dried beans, soak them with three times their volume of water overnight and cook slowly until soft.

🌙Step 1:Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan over a moderate heat and saute the onion until softened but not browned. 

🌙Step 2: Add the bacon and cook for 5 minutes before adding the carrot, burdock, cabbage,  and rutabagas. Saute until soft. 

🌙Step 3: Pour in the dashi broth and season with sake and soy sauce. Bring to a boil, skimming off any scum that floats to the surface. Reduce the heat to low/moderate and add the beans. Let simmer for 15 minutes. 

🌙Step 4: Stir in the miso paste gently and adjust the seasoning with salt. Ladle into warmed soup bowls. Garnish with the chopped scallions and sesame seeds and serve.

Witchcraft for when depression hits 🥀

Sometimes, we may think that our magick is invalid, or that our deities don’t want to work with us anymore when we have depression. Altars get dusty, the air gets stale, and maybe you have quit working with magick all together, but still identify as a practicing witch.

Depression is an illness. If a professional runner fractured a leg, how could they continue to run while going through recovery?  Can a witch continue to do mental work if their mental health is suffering? Think about it: witches are constantly using their brain to get themselves in a highly spiritual and magickal state. You cannot expect yourself to want to work with magick if getting out of bed is difficult on its own.

Understand that your deities are forgiving and understanding beings. Your magick will not dwindle. In fact, when you are sick, your deities and spirit guides will protect you and make sure nothing bad happens to you while you are sick. Don’t feel guilty for your depression. Depression is an illness, not a lack of dedication or general carelessness. I am going to give you advice on what kinds of spiritual work you can do while in a depressive episode.

Candle magick 🕯

🔮 Light a candle of your choice that symbolizes whatever you want to manifest (i.e yellow = confidence)

Aromatherapy 🧼

🔮 Different essential oils promote all different kinds of things. Lemon is uplifting and happy, while lavender is calming and promotes sleep.

Healing crystals 💎

🔮 All you need to do is set the intention. You can keep crystals by your bed, or you can set them up in a specific way for a spell or intention.

Chanting 🗣

🔮 You don’t need to get up for this one! You can even chant in your head.

Sleep meditation 💤

🔮 Sleep meditations are wonderful because of all of the insight you can get from intense dreaming. YouTube has great sleep meditation music.

Guided meditation 🧘🏻‍♂️ 🌀 🧘🏼‍♀️

🔮 This can be done in the bed as well. There are meditations on akashic records, spirit guides, past lives, you name it.

Be safe and know that it is okay to feel depressed sometimes. Make sure to get professional help if possible to help if these depressive episodes are chronic or prolonged. Know that the world loves you. Your deities love you. I love you. We love you.

Magickal Folk Names for Herbs

Having knowledge of herbs and plants (either magically or medicinally) during the Middle Ages, often was reason enough to accuse a woman of being a “witch,” so there is no doubt some of the country folk at the time took these herbal folk names literal.  Chances are, these names were used merely as descriptors to help remember them easier.  Most plants were given names descriptive of their uses and others were given names for something they generally resembled. Spells written by witches in ancient times were often written with such descriptors, which personally i believe to be a form of secret coding.

Here is a small list of “witchy” herb names (most of these are already floating around the community) that you can use in your craft when you create your spells.  This list could be a great addition to any Grimoire and i hope you find them as useful as i do.

Enjoy ~~~  Cannawitch

Plants

Aaron’s Rod - Goldenrod or mullein stalk Absinthe - Wormwood Adder’s Fork - Adder’s Tongue Fern or Bistort Adder’s Tongue - Dog’s Tooth Violet (or Adder’s Tongue Fern Ague root - Unicorn root Alison - Sweet Alyssum Angel Food, Archangel - Angelica Angel’s Trumpet - Datura Ass’s Ear - colt’s foot or comfrey Ass’s Foot, Bull’s Foot - colt’s foot Auld Man’s Bells, Old man’s bells - wood hyacinth, Hyacinthoides hispanica

Bad Man’s/Devil’s Oatmeal/Porridge - hemlock Bad Man’s/Devil’s Plaything - Yarrow Bastard - false Dittany Bat flower - tacca Bat’s Wing - Holly leaf Bat’s Wool - moss (which moss?) Bear’s Foot - Lady’s Mantle Bear’s Grape Bearberry Arctostaphylos uva-ursi Bear Paw - ramsons Allium ursinum or the root of male fern Dryopteris Felix-mas Bear weed - Yerba Santa Eriodictyon californicum Beard of a Monk - Chicory Beggar’s Lice - Hound’s tongue Beggar’s Buttons - Burdock Bird’s Eye - Speedwell Veronica officinalis Bird’s Foot - Fenugreek Trigonella foenum-graecum (Also bird’s foot violet and bird’s foot trefoil) Bird’s Nest - carrot, Indian pipe Bishop’s Wort, Bishop’s Elder - Wood betony Stachys betonica Bitter Grass - Ague Root Aletris Farinosa Black Sampson - Echinacea Blazing Star - liatris Blind Eyes - Poppy Blood from a head - Lupine * Blood from a shoulder - Bear’s breech * Blood of a Goose - Sap from a mulberry * Morus nigra Blood of an Eye - Tamarisk gall * (probably the tannin extracted from) Blood of Ares - purslane * Blood of Hephaestus - wormwood * Blood of Hestia - Chamomile * Blood - sap of the elder or bloodwort Bloody butcher - Valerian Bloody Fingers - Foxglove Blue Bottle - Bachelor’s buttons Boy’s Love, Lad’s Love: Southernwood Brain Thief - Mandrake Bone of an Ibis - buckthorn * I am not sure if this is Rhamnus cathartica or sea buckthorn Hippophae spp If I can find a recipe containing this, I will know for sure by comparing its purpose to their very different qualities Bread and Cheese - Hawthorn Bride of the Meadow - meadowsweet Bull’s Blood - beet or horehound Burning bush - false dittany, also a modern name for species of Euonymus Cow’s Horn - Fenugreek Trigonella foenum-graecum Bride of the Sun - calendula Brown Dragon - wake robin Buttons - tansy

Calf’s snout - Snapdragon Candlemas Maiden - snowdrop Candlewick - mullein, the flower stalk Capon’s Tail - valerian Carpenter’s Herb - bugleweed Lycopus europaeus Carpenter’s Square - knotted figwort Carpenter’s weed - Yarrow Cat - catnip Cat’s foot - white balsam, black cohosh, ground ivy Cat’s herb - valerian Chameleon star - bromeliad Cheeses - marsh mallow Chocolate flower - wild geranium (I don’t buy it) Christ’s eye - wild clary Salvia verbenaca Christ’s ladder - centaury Christ’s spear - adder’s tongue fern Ophioglossum vulgatum Church steeple - Agrimony Clear eye - clary sage Cleavers - bedstraw Click - goosegrass Clot - great mullien Cocklebur - Agrimony Cock’s comb - amaranth Colt’s Tail - fleabane Crane’s bill - wild geranium Crow’s foot - wild geranium, or wood anemone bulbous buttercup (verified) Crowdy kit - figwort Cuckoo’s bread - common plantago Cucumber tree - magnolia Cuddy’s lungs - great mullein Crown for a king - wormwood

Dagger flower - blue flag Daphne - bay laurel Dead man’s bells foxglove Death angel - fly agaric Amanita Muscaria Death cap - fly agaric Amanita Muscaria Death flower - Yarrow Death’s Herb - Belladonna Delight of the Eye - rowan Devil Plant - basil Devil’s Apple - Mayapple or Mandrake Devil’s beard - houseleek Devil’s bit - false unicorn root Devil’s cherries Belladonna berries Devil’s plaything - yarrow Devil’s dung - asafoetida Devil’s ear - wakerobin Devil’s eye - henbane or periwinkle Devil’s flower - bachelor’s buttons Devil’s fuge - mistletoe Devil’s guts - dodder Devil’s herb - belladonna Devil’s milk - celandine Devil’s nettle - yarrow Devil’s Shoestring: Various varieties of vibernum, esp Black Haw, cramp bark, hobblebush Dew of the Sea - Rosemary Dog Berry - wild rose hips Dog’s mouth - snap dragon Dog’s tongue - hound’s tongue Dove’s foot - wild geranium Dragon - tarragon Dragon Flower - blue flag (really, wild iris? not an arum or a Antirrhinum?) Dragon wort - bistort Dragon’s blood - calamus

Eagle - ramsons Allium ursinum Earth apple - potato Earth smoke- fumitory Elf’s wort - Elecampane Enchanter’s plant - vervain Englishman’s fruit/ White man’s foot - common plantain Everlasting friendship - goosegrass Eye root - goldenseal

Fairy smoke - Indian pipe Fairy fingers - foxglove Fat from a Head - spurge * Felon herb - Mugwort Five fingers - cinquefoil Fox’s Clote - burdock Frog’s foot - bulbous buttercup From the belly - Earth-apple. * potato?? Did the writers know about potatoes? When was pgm written? From the foot - houseleek * From the loins - chamomile *

Goat’s foot - morning glory Goat’s Horn - Fenugreek Trigonella foenum-graecum God’s hair - hart’s tongue fern Golden’s star - avens Gosling’s wing - goosegrass Graveyard dust - mullein (and sometimes it’s just graveyard dust)

Hag’s taper - mullien stalk Hagthorn - hawthorn Hair of Venus - Maidenhair fern Hairs of a Hamadryas Baboon: Dill Seed * Hare’s beard - mullein Hawk’s Heart, Old Woman - Wormwood Artemisia absinthium crown or seed head * Hind’s tongue - hart’s tongue fern Holy herb - yerba santa Holy rope - hemp agrimony Eupatorium cannabinum Horse tongue - hart’s tongue fern Hundred eyes - periwinkle

Innocence - bluets

Jacob’s Staff - Great Mullein Joy of the Mountain - Marjoram Jupiter’s Staff - Great Mullein

King’s Crown: Black Haw vibernum Knight’s Milfoil - Yarrow Kronos’ Blood - sap of Cedar *

Lady’s glove - foxglove Lamb’s ears - betony but more likely lamb’s ear Stachys byzantina Lion’s Hair - The extra little roots that stick out of the turnip bulb or the base leaves Brassica rapa * Lion’s tooth - dandelion Little dragon - tarragon Love in idleness - pansy Love Lies Bleeding - amaranth (Not so ancient, a modern ornamental variant) Love Leaves - burdock Love man - goosegrass Love Parsley - lovage Love root - orris root

Maiden’s Ruin - Southernwood Man’s Bile - Turnip Juice * Man’s Health - Ginseng Master of the Woods - Woodruff May Lily - Lily of the Valley May Rose - Black Haw viburnum May - Black Haw viburnum Maypops - Passion Flower Mistress of the Night - Tuberose Mutton Chops - Goosegrass

Nose Bleed - Yarrow

Old Man’s Flannel - Great Mullein Old Man’s Pepper - Yarrow Old-Maid’s-Nightcap - Wild Geranium

Password - primrose Peter’s Staff - Great Mullein Poor Man’s Treacle - Garlic Priest’s Crown - Dandelion leaves

Queen of the Meadow Root - Gravelroot Queen of the Meadow - Meadowsweet Queen of the Night - Vanilla Cactus

Rats and Mice - Hound’s tongue Ram’s horn - valerian Ring a Bells - bluebell Robin run in the grass - goosegrass

Scaldhead - blackberry Seed of Horus - horehound See bright - Clary sage Semen of Ammon - Houseleek * Semen of Ares - Clover * Semen of Helios - White Hellebore * Semen of Hephaistos - Fleabane * Semen of Herakles - arugula * Semen of Hermes - Dill * Seven Year’s Love Yarrow Shameface - Wild Geranium Shepherd’s Heart - Shepherd’s Purse Silver Bells - Black Haw viburnum Snake Root - black cohosh Soapwort - Comfrey or Daisy or maybe Soapwort Sorcerer’s Violet - Periwinkle Sparrow’s Tongue - Knotweed St. John’s Herb - Hemp Agrimony St. John’s Plant - Mugwort Star Flower - Borage Star of the Earth - Avens Starweed - Chickweed Sweethearts - Goosegrass Swine’s Snout - Dandelion leaves

Tail of a Pig - Leopard’s bane * Tanner’s bark - toadflax Tartar root - ginseng Tears of a Hamadryas Baboon - Dill Juice * Thousand weed - yarrow Thunder plant - houseleek Titan’s Blood - Wild Lettuce Lactuca virosa * Torches - mullein flower stalk

Unicorn’s horn - unicorn root or false unicorn root Urine - dandelion or maybe urine

Wax dolls - fumitory Weasel - rue Weasel snout - yellow archangel Winter wood - wild cinnamon Canella alba White - ox eye daisy Witch’s Asprin - white willow bark (this is ancient?) Witch’s brier - wild brier rose hips Wolf claw - club moss Wolf’s foot - bugleweed Wolf’s milk - euphorbia Woodpecker - herbLpeony Worm fern- male fern Dryopteris Felix-mas

Yerba Santa Maria - epazote

Plant Parts/Body Parts

Blood - Sap or juice Eye - The disc of a composite flower, or a seed Foot - Leaf Guts - Roots, stalks, tangly bits Hair - Very stringy roots (sometimes silk or tangly stems) Head - Flower head or seed head Tail - Stem Tongue - Petal, sometimes stigma Toes - leaf or bud Paw - sometimes bud, usually leaf Privates - Seed pod Worm - stringy roots Wool - Moss

Minerals

A Snake’s Ball of Thread - soapstone * Blood of a Snake - hematite * Crocodile Dung - Soil from Ethiopia * A Physician’s bone - sandstone *

Animal Parts

A Snake’s Head - A leech * Blood of a Hyrax - A rock badger, * small weasel-like/rodent-like (but actually neither) creature native to Africa and the Middle East Blood of a Hamadryas Baboon - Blood of a spotted gecko * Bull’s semen - the egg of a blister beetle * Lion Semen - Human semen * Kronos’ Spice - Pig Milk *

* From Ecloga ex Papyris Magicis: Liber I, V, xxvi

More Sources for verification -

Galen - De succedaneis, Claudii Galeni Opera Omnia, v 19

Paulus Aegineta, Corpus Medicorum Graecorum IX/2 vII

Dioscorides De Materia Medica

Witchipedia

Lady Raven

Tryskelion

Litha Recipes with Correspondences and Vegan Alternatives

Cinnamon Red Sun Tea

Ingredients:

- 6 cups water

- ¼ cup loose red (rooibos) tea leaves

- 2 Cinnamon Sticks

- Simple syrup or Agave to taste

Directions:

- Place water, tea leaves and cinnamon sticks in large container or pitcher. Stir. Cover with lid or plastic wrap. Let stand in sun for 3 to 5 hours.

- Strain tea, discarding tea leaves and cinnamon sticks. Serve tea over ice or refrigerate until chilled. Sweeten with Simple Syrup, if desired.

Correspondances:

- Tea ~ courage, mental powers, prosperity, restfulness, strength

- Water ~ purification

- Cinnamon ~ healing, love, luck, lust, peace, protection, psychic powers, strength, success

- Sugar ~ love

Peach Earl Grey Fritters

Ingredients:

- 1 ½ cups whole milk (almond or soy for vegan)

- 1/3 cup earl grey tea

- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (coconut oil for vegan)

- 5 cups all-purpose flour

- 1 pinch nutmeg

- 1 pinch cinnamon

- 1 teaspoon salt

- ¼ cup sugar

- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast

- 2 eggs (egg substitute for vegan)

- 6 cups Vegetable oil, for frying (use more if needed)

- 3 large peaches, diced

For Icing:

- 1 cup powdered sugar

- 3 tablespoons honey (agave or maple syrup for vegan)

-  1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

- 2-3 tablespoons milk or cream (almond or soy for vegan)

Directions:

- In a small pot, heat the milk, tea, and butter until the butter has melted and the mixture is warm. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

- Mix the flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of a mixer (or a large bowl if mixing by hand). Add the warm milk mixture and mix to combine.

- Add the eggs, scraping the bowl well. Turn the mixer up to medium speed, and, using a dough hook, mix until the dough begins to pull away from the edges. If mixing by hand, knead until it easily pulls away from the sides of the bowl as you knead (it will still be quite sticky).

- Transfer the finished dough to a well-oiled container and cover. Allow it to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Alternatively, you can refrigerate the dough overnight so that it’s ready to make in the morning—but you may need to punch the dough down once or twice during that period to prevent it from over-fermenting.

- Roll out the doughnut dough on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about ½ inch thick. Size/precision of the rectangle isn’t important—just focus on an even thickness for the dough. 

- Use a knife, pastry scraper, or bench knife to cut the dough into long vertical strips about ½ inch wide. 

- Next, cut the strips horizontally about ½ inch wide—this should make a whole bunch of ½ inch squares. 

- Divide the dough squares into 12 even portions. 

- To shape each doughnut, take about 2/3 of one portion of dough squares and smoosh them gently together. Place about ¼ to 1/3 cup of diced peaches on top of the dough.

- Top with the remaining 1/3 of the portion of dough squares and smoosh the dough gently to adhere to the peaches and other dough. It’s best for each piece of peach to be touching dough in two places (on top and on bottom), otherwise some may fall out when you go to fry them.

- Cover the doughnuts with greased plastic wrap and let them rise for 20 to 30 minutes.

- While the doughnuts rises heat the oil. If you have one, use a deep-fry thermometer to test the oil and help regulate the temperature—around 350° F is best. If you don’t have one, throw a doughnut hole or scrap piece of dough into the oil and see if it sizzles and rises to the surface. When it does, you’re good to go.

- Working in batches, gently drop the doughnuts into the oil, frying until they’re golden brown on both sides, 2-3 minutes per side. It’s helpful to use a spider or slotted spoon to support the fritter for the first 15-30 seconds, until the dough sets.

- Drain the doughnuts on several layers of absorbent paper towels. Let cool for 5-10 minutes. 

-In a small bowl, whisk the powdered sugar, honey, cinnamon, and milk or cream to combine. Add more milk or cream as needed to make drizzly glaze. Drizzle each doughnut into the glaze, and serve immediately.

Correspondances:

- Milk ~ Goddess energy, love, nurturing, spirituality

- Tea ~ courage, mental powers, prosperity, restfulness, strength

- Butter ~ smoothing relationships, spirituality, tenacity

- Flour ~ revealing hidden matters, consistency

- Nutmeg ~ confidence, emotional openness, fidelity, healing, luck, prosperity, social interaction

- Cinnamon ~ healing, love, luck, lust, peace, protection, psychic powers, strength, success

- Salt ~ cleansing & purification, grounding, protection

- Sugar ~ love

- Yeast ~ grounding, purification

- Egg ~ fertility, lust, protection, spirituality, strength

-  Oil ~ spirituality

- Peach ~ happiness, healing, fertility, longevity, love, wisdom

- Honey ~ happiness, healing, love, lust, purification, spirituality, sweet things in life, weight loss, wisdom

- Maple Syrup ~ prosperity, love

Raspberry Banana Bread

Ingredients:

- ¾ cup fresh or frozen raspberries, thawed

- 1 ripe banana

- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

- ½ teaspoon baking soda

- ¼ teaspoon salt

- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

- 1 cup white sugar

- 2 eggs (egg substitute for vegan)

- ½ cup vegetable oil

- ½ teaspoon lemon extract

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a loaf pan.

-  Mash raspberries in a bowl with a fork. Mash banana in another bowl with a fork.

- Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg in a bowl.

- Beat sugar, eggs, raspberries, banana, and vegetable oil in a bowl with an electric mixer set on low until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes.

- Stir flour mixture into raspberry mixture until batter is just moistened; stir in lemon extract. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

- Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

Correspondances: 

-  Bread ~ (in general) kinship, sustenance

- Cake ~ (in general) celebrations, hospitality

- Raspberry ~ happiness, love, protection, stamina, vigor

- Banana ~ fertility, love, luck, potency, prosperity, spirituality

- Flour ~ revealing hidden matters, consistency

- Cinnamon ~ healing, love, luck, lust, peace, protection, psychic powers, strength, success

- Baking soda ~ raising energy or expectations

- Salt ~ cleansing & purification, grounding, protection

- Nutmeg ~ confidence, emotional openness, fidelity, healing, luck, prosperity, social interaction

- Sugar ~ love

- Egg ~ fertility, lust, protection, spirituality, strength

- Oil ~ spirituality

- Lemon ~ faithfulness, friendship, happiness, longevity, love, marriage

End of the Year Spell

As Yule passes and the new year is beginning, I have a spell I enjoy using this time of year as it brings good things to come whilst helping to remember and learn from the past.

1) Think of what you want to manifest in your life, and the hardships that you have endured to make it as far as you have. Be proud, you’ve made it so far and will go much further.

2) Say the following:

As the sun warms my skin,

May it heal me within.

As the dark slowly leaves,

May I remember the night’s mysteries

As the wheel turns once more,

May happiness find me evermore.

Jólakötturinn

Witchcraft for the Home: Herbs and Spices

Kitchen and Cottage witchcraft is really what I focus on and I love to do little things to encorperate little things into my every day practice and a great way to do that is in the kitchen. So I’m going to list some of my go to herbs and spices that I use. A page straight from my Book of Shadows DISCLAIMER: NOT ALL HERBS FROM YOUR LOCAL WITCH SHOP ARE FOOD GRADE. MAKE SURE TO ASK FIRST. USING HERBS THAT AREN’T FOOD GRADE TASTE AWFUL AT THE LEAST AND CAN MAKE YOU SICK AT THE WORST.

Basil- Good for Protection. A favorite for pasta dishes. Use pesto as a good way to incorporate it. It’s also really good in soups.

Bay Lead- My favorite use for Bayleaf is healing, but not really physical wellbeing. I use it motly for emotional and spiritual healing. Really great after a long, stressful day. Cooks best in slow cooker meals like soups, stews, and pulled meats

Cinnamon- Protection and passion. I always find that it always brings a sense of warmth to whatever I’m making. I use it in a lot of sweets or whenever I’m making Chai.

Clove- Brings in warmth and casts out negativity. Clove is my favorite spice so I’ll add it to just about anything that’s “spicy”

Nutmeg- Strengthens divination. Nutmeg is really good in fall flavored baking and warm flavored stews, like those with a tomato base.

Pepper- Used for protection. I like to think of it as sort of a ‘bite’ at the things you need protection from. Actively expelling instead of putting up a “wall” like cinnamon.

Poppy seeds- Prosperity. Lemon poppy seed muffins are an amazing good luck charm to use before a a big test or meetings.

Rosemary- Purification, intellectual protection. Rosemary is a sort of go all herb. It goes great in roasts and traditional English and American cooking. Use a spring of rosemary on roast veggies, chicken, or steaks.  It’s also good in homemade bread and can be used during Sabbats and Holidays as part of the feast.

Thyme- Divination and clarity. This is another sort of ‘old school’ herb. You can find it in a lot of simplistic cooking (three or four ingrediant meals) and in a lot of italian food. It pairs great with marinara, eggplants, and peppers. Roasted egg plant with olive oil and thyme is one of my favorites.

Vanilla- Love. I put a drop of vanilla in my coffee almost every morning to try and bring love into my day. It works great if you have a stressful job you need to remember to stay caring and level headed at (childcare, health care, support lines). I also like to use it in small short bread or sugar cookies and use those as offerings (particularly to Aphrodite)

Sabbat Altar and Celebration Ideas for the Solitary Witch

YULE Altar ideas: Put mistletoe and pine on your altar; put a candle up there to represent the Sun; keep your Yule log on your altar; use symbols of the Sun; decorate with red, green, white, blue, and yellow (red and green for holly, white and blue for snow and wintery colors, yellow for the Sun). Celebration ideas: Kiss a consenting person under the mistletoe for luck; give gifts; have a feast; make magickal wreaths with herbs corresponding to the spell intent (you might use lilac, lavender, and camomile for a wreath that brings peace into your home).

IMBOLC Altar ideas: Use candles to represent the return of spring; make a cute little corn dolly; put a Brigid’s cross on there to honor her; decorate with yellow and green to represent the Sun and return of spring. Celebration ideas: Clean your house; have a self-dedication ritual (to a particular path, deity, philosophy, standard of life, etc.); clean off your working altar and redo it; cleanse and charge any tools or crystals you need to.

OSTARA Altar ideas: Use fake eggs, rabbits, and other symbols of fertility or spring; put some potted plants on the altar; place some packets of seeds you might be planning on growing; decorate with purple, yellow, green, white, and other spring, pastel colors. Celebration ideas: Paint and blow eggs (take proper precautions when handling raw eggs, obviously, especially if you’re putting your mouth on them); if you have a greenhouse, want a potted plant, or it’s warm enough where you live to plant outside, plant some seeds; buy a potted plant; organize your herb shelf.

BELTAINE Altar ideas: Make a mini Maypole for your centerpiece; smack some candles up in there, especially beeswax, if that’s in your budget; put some faery symbols, like little statues or bells or something like that; a jar of honey or some beeswax is always dope; if you’re comfortable with it, some people like to put representations of genatalia on their altar. Celebration ideas: Light an awesome bonfire (also be very cautious with this because fire can quickly turn dangerous); leave offerings to the faeries; have a dance outside; this is a good time to plan to have a handfasting ceremony or wedding; cast any love workings you’ve been meaning to do; if you’re an adult and have a person/people who consent to it, you could choose to have sex during this time (but do be safe!); many people try to conceive children during Beltaine.

LITHA Altar ideas: Symbols of the Sun and the Moon, feminine and masculine symbols if that’s a thing in your tradition; decorate with black and white to symbolize the night and day. Celebration ideas: Get up before the Sun rises and go to sleep after it sets, so you can experience the day and night; have a bonfire (again, safety is important); have a picnic; just spend a lot of time outside.

LUGHNASADH Altar ideas: Put bread and grain on the altar; maybe some apples and other autumn fruits; pinecones and leaves are fall symbols; decorate with red, orange, yellow, brown, and other colors of the season. Celebration ideas: Bake (especially make the cute little bread men); give an offering to the Earth; go to an apple orchard and pick some apples; share a feast with the family or your friends.

MABON Altar ideas: Wine, or grape juice if alcohol is unavailable for any reason; leaves and pinecones; apples; a money jar (see first celebration suggestion below). Celebration ideas: For a week or two before Mabon, put money you can afford to give up in a jar, and donate it to charity or a cause you support on Mabon; have another apple harvest; have another feast; do a ritual to honor the Earth.

SAMHAIN Altar ideas: Pop a few gourds in there, more apples if you want; pictures of the deceased; tools for divination and spirit contact; decorate with black, white, and orange. Celebration ideas: Divination, spirit communication (obviously only if you know what you’re doing); hold a seance or a dumb supper if that’s more comfortable for you; light a candle in the window for spirits (use a fake one if you want it lit all night); leave some milk and honey for the Fair Folk; give offerings to the dead; put up wards and shields if you’re one of the people who would prefer to avoid spirit activity.

🍝 Cooking Magick 🍝

Since I often don't have the energy to do full spells and rituals, I've been trying to incorporate magick into the mundane things in my life, and something I tried tonight was adding a little magick to my cooking

Since I've been having a lot of negative energy within myself, I decided to make my dinner into a little protective spell

It was a little last second so its not very intricate, but it was just enough for me and made me feel super witchy (my boyfriend even called me a little kitchen witch!)

We deemed this little "spell" Magick Spaghetti

Disclaimer: this isn't an actual spell!! Its just a fun way to include your craft in something simple and essential and I really enjoyed doing it so I thought it would be nice to share! Its not to be taken extremely seriously, not all witchcraft has to be totally serious, just have fun! ❤ and remember that even the smallest things can be made magical and meaningful

🍝 Wolf's Magick Spaghetti 🍝

To start, if you add salt to your water when you boil it, something I do, you can tie a correspondence or intention to that

Stirring the spaghetti counterclockwise to banish, repeat something like "I am banishing this negativity and the things that have been hurting me inside"

Stirring the spaghetti clockwise for intention, repeat something like "I am protected from negativity" and/or "I am protected from these negative energies inside me"

Add some sauce! Sauces are full of herbs and veggies that have correspondences, use this to your advantage! My sauce of choice had onion, garlic, and tomato, all of which have protective properties

While eating your Magick Spaghetti, think something like "this is clearing the negativity inside me"

☽ Enjoy! ⛤ Blessed Be ☾