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5 Quick & Easy Spells Every Kitchen Witch Should Know, by Gwion Raven

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

One of the biggest advantages of being a kitchen witch is being in your magickal workshop practically every day. There's a good chance that you'll be in the kitchen at some point during each day, even if you're just doing the dishes or re-heating your coffee. Each time you find yourself stirring a pot of stew or toasting sesame seeds or reading a recipe, you have an opportunity to practice magick.

I have favorite spells I do all the time, and virtually all of them happen in the kitchen. The spells are easy, fast, and, most importantly, effective.

1. Sweep Away Your Troubles
My kitchen floor always needs sweeping. I can't tell you how many times a piece of carrot shoots off the cutting board and lands somewhere out of sight. Sweeping the kitchen happens several times a week in my house, so it's the perfect time to do a little magick.

I grab my trusty broom and start sweeping. As I do, I think about my day. What needs sweeping away? Is there a conversation I'm holding onto that I shouldn't be? Are my thoughts a little cluttered today? Sweeping gives me the opportunity to clean the kitchen and clear away anything that's bothering me.

Find a place in your kitchen to start sweeping. Move in a counter-clockwise direction. As you sweep, say, "I'm sweeping away my troubles. I'm clearing the cobwebs. I'm cleansing anything that doesn't serve me right now."

If you need to pack a bit more "oomph" into this spell, add a ¼ cup of white vinegar to a gallon of warm water and add five drops of your favourite essential oil and mop the floor. I use lavender, as it is calming. You might choose lemon for cleansing; cinnamon to warm up a cool mood; or peppermint for clarity, tranquility, and an uplifted mood.

2. Cooking with Charm Bags
Charm bags are used in many different craft and folk magick traditions. Typically they might contain combinations of herbs, stones, and charms. There's a kitchen witchery version of charm bags, too. In French cooking terminology, you might know these as bouquet garni: wrapped bundles of herbs to flavour soups, stocks, teas, and milk drinks. It's a long-held magickal belief that herbs can heal us, inspire us, and protect us. What better way to use charm bags than right in the meal you're preparing?

It's easy enough. Cut two six-inch squares of cheesecloth. Place them on top of each other to form a double layer. (You can also use a muslin bag.) Add combinations of herbs, such as thyme, parsley, and rosemary. Tie the bundle with cooking twine and store them in a cool, dry place for up to three months. I tend to make up a big batch and store it in a sealed mason jar. You can make charm bags with herbs you associate with certain conditions, like Happy Home or Love or Abundance.

Here are two versions I use all the time.

Abundance Bouquet Garni
Many of these herbs are associated with abundance magick.

• 1 tablespoon dried tarragon
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf

Love Bouquet Garni
These are some of my favorite herbs to inspire love.

• 1 tablespoon of dried basil
• 1 tablespoon dried fennel
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• Zest of one lemon

3. Prosperity Cake
I love ginger cake. I can eat it any day of the week. It's easy to prepare and even easier to imbue with a little prosperity magick. I'll give ginger cake as a gift, especially if I know someone could use a little more prosperity. Cinnamon, cloves, and ginger are often associated with prosperity.

Ingredients

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2/3 cup mild-flavored molasses
• 2/3 cup boiling water
• 1 large egg

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
2. Grease a 9x9 pan with butter then lightly dust the pan with flour.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients, except the sugar.
4. In another bowl, mix the melted butter, sugar, molasses, and hot water.
5. Whisk in the egg.
6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and give it a good whisk. You want to make sure there are no dry clumps, but it doesn't have to be silky smooth.
7. Pour mixture into your greased pan and bake for about 35 minutes. Let the cake cool for a few minutes before cutting into slices.

4. Get Outta Here
On occasion, a person comes into my life that I'd rather not have there. When more polite ways of asking them to leave have been exhausted, I head to the kitchen and make up a big batch of Get Outta Here. Hoodoo practitioners will recognise this formula as a version of Hotfoot Powder, and that's exactly what it is. I'm a big believer in using what works and, let me tell you, this little bit of magick does the trick every time.

The ingredients are simple enough; you probably have most of them in your cupboard right now. More, shall we say, potent versions add graveyard dirt in the mix. You're welcome to gather that if you choose.

A word of caution, though, before you make this. You'll be sprinkling this powder in front of your doorway or putting it in the shoes of the person you're wanting to leave, or even dropping it carefully around the office, in the places they walk. Make sure you really want this person out of your life.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon dried mint
• 1 rusty nail (or the rusty scrapings from a nail)

Instructions
Mix everything together in a small mason jar and seal it with a lid. Write the person's name on the lid of the jar. Light a small, black chime candle or birthday cake candle. (As with any fire magick, never leave a lit candle or flame unattended.) Dribble a few drops of hot wax on the lid and stick the candle on the lid. The candle will only take a few minutes to burn all the way down. While it's burning, tell the mason jar full of Get Outta Here mix to get to work removing this person from your life. When the candle is fully burned out, let the wax cool down and set. Then sprinkle the mixture, a little at a time, as needed.

5. A Meal Shared
By far, this is my favorite kitchen witchery spell. It's deceptively simple, yet its impact can be profound.There are three parts to this working, each as important as the other.

The first step is to invite someone to share a meal with you. If you have a roommate, friends, or family that live in the same household as you, they could be easy choices. If you live by yourself, this might be an opportunity to ask a friend, neighbor, or co-worker over. Perhaps there's someone you'd want to share a meal with that lives hundreds of miles away. Online video chats totally count! However you do it, ask someone to set a time with you to share a meal.

The second step is to create the meal. Again, circumstances may dictate exactly how you do this, but see if you can make a meal together. Perhaps your shared meal includes shopping. Maybe you do the cooking and they set the table. If you're sharing a meal with someone online, do your best to prepare the meal at the same time. The key is that each person has a hand in the meal, somehow.

You get to choose how elaborate the meal is. Maybe you pull out all the stops and prepare a feast for the ages. Perhaps it's a nice cup of tea and store-bought scones.

The third step is to talk, but there's a catch to this. Try and avoid work talk or gossip. Chat about the food you've just made, ask them about a favorite meal they remember, and ask why that meal is so important to them.

There are a couple of guidelines that I suggest here.

• Ask a few basic dietary questions so that you'll know what, if any, food types should be avoided.
• Set a minimum time limit. In other words, let them know the meal will last at least sixty minutes (or thirty minutes or two hours).
• Unless it's absolutely vital, agree to limit or completely avoid interacting with a phone, tablet, or other device that gets you online. See if you can devote the entire time to sharing the meal. If you're sharing a meal online, agree that no other devices are allowed.
• If they offer to help clean up after the meal, let them.

There's a particular magick in sharing food with other people. Two mini chocolate chip cookies served with a side of conversation and generosity can leave you more satisfied than a seven-course meal served in the world's fanciest restaurants.

The Magick Of Food
My kitchen is nothing special. It's not huge. I don't have all the latest gadgets. There's a stove, a fridge, some sharp knives, wooden spoons, a few pots and pans, and a collection of treasured cookbooks. I bet it's a lot like your kitchen.

However, when I think about what I do in my kitchen, the spells I practice and the meals I make, then it transforms into a wondrous, magickal place. Kitchen witchery feeds and nourishes me and all those with whom I choose to share food. Kitchen magick connects me to the seasons and to the vibrant bounty of nature. Relationships are forged and mended and remade over cups of coffee. Covens and magickal deeds have been birthed over late night snacks, whipped up with a moment's notice.

I believe in the magick of food, because I see it working every day.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2020. All rights reserved.

I have been working on myself in regards to relationships for the past year or so. In February, I did a Chinese New Year spell for a husband, and within days, a man I know spent the weekend at my house, as he and his wife were fighting. I asked for a husband - and ended up with someone else's! I have done several more spells since then on giving and receiving love, and have even specified the type of person I want, but have not named anyone or done this to attract any one person in particular. I am very drawn to the man I mentioned. It's not just physical attraction, for we can talk for hours about anything, which is something I've not experienced with another man before. I haven't told him about my feelings, as he is still with his wife, and I am not even sure of his feelings towards me. Am I making something more of this than there is, or is this the universe's way of answering my prayers? What should I make of it, and what do you advise?
Thanks!

Lisa

Dreamchaser:

Love spells are supposed to be for the good of all. How can you being in love with a married man be a good thing for any of you? This sort of situation usually causes pain for all concerned.

Free will is a big issue here. Before doing spells, we have to make sure that we are not interfering with another person's free will. Any spell you cast will come back on you at least three times over. Would you like someone to work a spell on you where you felt compelled to love them when it was against your will? Spells should be carefully thought out before they are put out.

You also will get what you accept in love. If this married man is all you are going to accept, then he is all you will get. You have to believe in the spell that you work, or else you'll tie the hands of the Universe.

If you accept this man who cannot be all you desire at this time, do you really believe in your own spell work? If you believed in what you were asking for, you would continue to move past him because you would KNOW that the husband you asked for would come to you.

It could be that the Universe does not think that you should have a husband right now. Have you asked the Universe what your highest path may be? If you did this, you could assure yourself that you were acting for the greater good for ALL.

Many of the higher spiritual beings on this planet are finding themselves "alone." It appears that some of us can do the most good in the world by focusing solely on our spiritual journeys. When people are in relationships, they tend to get single-minded, and fail to look outside of the relationship or beyond the other person. In doing so, they end up ignoring their own spiritual paths.

If you really believe this is the man for you, you need to tell him how you feel and ask him what his feelings and intentions are. Both of you need to have a clear understanding of the other person's needs and wants. He has to understand that you cast a love spell, he came, and now you are questioning whether he is the husband you asked for. He has to have full disclosure from you, and you have to have the same from him. As things now stand, you do not even know why you are in his life.

I would also strongly advise you to not enter into a physical relationship with him. As most of the readers and clients of Psychic Chat who are the "other woman" or "other man" know, relationships with someone who is married usually leave everyone involved feeling hurt, lonely, confused and a mess.

If you really want to know the truth, go inside. Ask.

I wish you the wisdom to face the truth.

*****

Astrea:

I took my "spell" down from Psychic Chat when I learned what was going on with a lot of internet spellwork. It seems people are buying spells from strangers that involve trying to force other people to do their will. Unless someone knows exactly what to do with spellwork, things can go very WRONG, very FAST!

While spell casting isn't on par with brain surgery, it takes years of practice before you should ever cast a love spell, and you should NEVER do it for yourself. Like prayers, spells are powerful. When spells are in inexperienced hands, they are in the WRONG hands.

This is a perfect example of why people shouldn't work "magic" unless they know what they are doing. Obviously, you did the spell incorrectly, and you wound up with someone else's husband. Now you'll have to pay someone who knows what she is doing to clear this mess up.

Girl, you are now STUCK with this guy with the Glue of the Universe. With this careless spell, you've also blocked yourself from meeting ANYONE truly available and right for you. This is just TERRIBLE!

You see, subconsciously you named HIM when you did these spells because he symbolically represented what you want. The Universe didn't really send him to you, but what happened IS ironic. You got what you deserved for doing that spell, and now you won't be able to get a real husband for yourself until this situation is completely cleared up.

Here's the crux of your problem: the spell didn't work on him, it worked on YOU! Of course, he wouldn't be "talking for hours about anything" with you if he didn't WANT to be there. The idea that a spell can force someone to do something against his will is foolish and DANGEROUS to the spell caster.

The spell you did bound YOU, not him. Now you want him. He's just there because he's flattered - you're stroking his ego. You don't have to worry about him knowing how you feel, for he knows EXACTLY how you feel about him, and is taking advantage of it as much as he possibly can. He can't believe his luck. He's tickled that a sweet young thing like you will let him dump all his phony marital problems at her feet! Oh, he's having a BIG TIME!

I advise you to find someone experienced and competent, and pay that person to take your spell away. This will most likely involve a big expense, since they have to undo all the mess you've made. It is CERTAIN to involve drinking something nasty and bathing in one of those STINKO "yberia" formulas. I hope the entire experience is awful enough for you to learn your lesson. (That goes for anyone else to whom this applies - you know who you are!)

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.