The Real Witches’ Kitchen: Spells, recipes, oils, lotions and potions from the Witches’ Hearth

These steps can be formal and elaborate, as in group working, or very simple and performed using visualization when working on your own.

Any Craft-related action done within the Sacred Space will have more effect and potency than the same action performed outside the Sacred Space. Having said that, in most cases things can be made outside the Circle and then taken into it and blessed or consecrated for use. Alternatively, you can Magically enhance your remedies whilst making them and empower them for use.

Magically Enhancing and Empowering your Work

To Enhance Work in Preparation

Whether you are making a healing potion or bathing in preparation for a Magical working, the first step is to clear your mind of all distractions so that you can fully focus on your intent, for it is intent and focus which make the Magic work. One of the keys to this is to carefully prepare your working area. Make sure it is clean and tidy before you start, for physical distractions lead to mental ones.

You also have to carefully define your needs and goals. Make sure that you know what you intend to do and why. Are your motives pure? Having formulated your desire, you then need to assemble all your ingredients, checking that you have everything you need and finding substitutes where necessary. Then you can commence work.

Whilst working, you need to keep your goals firmly in mind, if necessary by writing them out and keeping a copy in front of you. You should also try to summon from within yourself the elements, in terms of thinking about what you are doing (Air), empowering it with enthusiasm (Fire) and emotion (Water), by the actual work (Earth) and by focusing your intent (Spirit). If you can, dedicate the work to a particular Goddess(es) and/or God(s), as you will find that they will lend their aid not only to your Magic, but also to making the physical side of things proceed more easily.

To Magically Empower a Product

There are many ways of empowering a potion or object, from simply placing it in the light of the Full Moon overnight to a full Ritual of Consecration (see below). However, you cannot sit food on the windowsill overnight for consumption the following day! Instead you might like to dedicate it to your chosen deity or deities. To do this, create a small clear space around your chosen item or product and visualize each of the elements in turn. See them in your mind’s eye materializing over the product and then enhancing it with their energy. Then take up the item in your hands and call (either out loud, or in your mind) upon the Goddess and the God to lend their power to your intent. Visualize them reaching out and touching the item and blessing it. When you feel that this is complete, thank the Goddess and the God, and each of the elements, for their aid.

If you prefer a more formal approach, and you are creating something which does not have to be consumed immediately, then you can consecrate it ritually. This will involve setting an Altar and casting a Circle by invoking the elements of Air, Fire, Water and Earth, and inviting the Goddess and the God. After this, pass the object through the incense smoke and candle flame, then sprinkle it with water and salt whilst naming it and its purpose, and asking for their energy to enhance it. Next, you present it to the Goddess and the God and ask their blessing in the way described above. Lastly, you will need to remove the Circle and clear away your working space by thanking and banishing the elements and the Divine.

Disposing of your Spell

People often ask me how to dispose of spells, charms, sachets, and so on once they have fulfilled their purpose or the Magic is no longer required.

The first thing to do is to remember to give thanks to the Goddess and the God. It is not enough to just accept the Magic, you need to try to give back something too. Perhaps plant a useful herb in your garden or, if you have the space, a tree dedicated to the Gods. Alternatively, spend some time working on the land or clearing rubbish from your local park.

After you have given something back, then it is time to dispose of the sachet. Open it and scatter all the environmentally-friendly parts to the winds. Stones, crystals and charms should be buried or cast into the sea or a stream. The fabric of the sachet and any paper, perhaps with your intent written on, can be burned or torn into shreds and buried.

Keeping a Journal or Book of Shadows

In the Craft we often recommend that each Witch keeps their own Book of Shadows, so called because it is but a shadow of reality. In this they record their Magical workings and experiences, as well as their thoughts and feelings about the Craft. They use it to monitor their own progress and as a record for their future reference. In a Coven, the High Priestess may also ask to see this journal so that she may monitor the progress of those Witches in her care as well as help to guide their future development.

In herbal work it really is essential to keep a record of what you have done, how much of each ingredient you used, when and how you made it (including the phase of the Moon), when and how it was used, and the results. How else are you going to be able to monitor your progress and the efficacy of your products?

Whether you keep a formal Book of Shadows or a simple ‘cookery’ journal, it is important that you keep it safe from prying eyes, as even the thought that someone may be reading your thoughts is usually enough to stop you from recording them honestly (see here).

I would advise that starting such a journal is perhaps your first step on the road towards becoming a ‘Kitchen Witch’.

Guidelines for Buying, Using and Storing Herbs and Plants

‘Whenever ye have need of any thing…’

Many of the recipes in this book involve the use of herbs and plants whose uses and effects you may be unfamiliar with. So here are some guidelines to help you to use them safely and efficiently.

Buy what you need when you need it. A well-stocked herbalist’s cupboard does not have to contain everything you may want one day, it only needs to contain what you are going to use. Probably the best way to start is by buying the ingredients you need for your first recipe and then adding to the store as you move from recipe to recipe.

Always store ingredients in clearly-labelled containers and take note of ‘use by’ dates. Many herbs quickly lose their potency; some can even become really quite unpleasant to taste as well. Almost every non-living ingredient will benefit from being kept in a cool dark place.

Plants should be kept in locations suitable to their needs, for example in or out of direct sunlight, and tended regularly. Many plants benefit from regular trimming, and if you don’t intend to use them immediately you can dry and store the trimmings (labelled and dated) for future use. If you plant out herbs or other plants, keep a note of where they are, as many things die back over winter and it can be difficult to remember what and where they are after the resting season.

It is best not to take plants from the wild. You need to be absolutely certain that they are what you think they are, and nature often makes copies, which may be either harmful or useless for your purpose. You also have to be certain that plants are not endangered or protected; just because they are plentiful in your area does not mean that they are plentiful everywhere else. You need to be sure that they are not contaminated by ‘fall-out’ from car exhaust fumes, local chemicals or passing dogs! This may mean that you end up cultivating some unlikely species, such as dandelion, in your garden, but better that than using something which is not entirely safe.

Try to make things for immediate use, as this is when they are at their most potent. If you are making something to store for later, make sure you label it correctly and put a date on it. Even the best memory can fail from time to time.

Never eat or drink anything which is not designed for consumption unless you are 100 per cent certain what it is and are familiar with its possible effects. These days it is possible to buy most herbs from the supermarket or healthstore in packaging which makes it obvious whether you can ingest them or not. If you are buying by mail order, then check that your supplier is both knowledgeable and reputable, and don’t be afraid to ask for their qualifications or for references. If you are buying living plants, get them from a reputable source which labels them carefully. In all cases try to obtain herbs which have been grown organically rather than those exposed to chemical fertilizers or pesticides.

Never give anything to anyone else without telling them what it contains. There will always be someone for whom it is inadvisable to take the most innocuous-sounding ingredient.

Do not give anything to pregnant women, babies or young children unless it is designed for their use. If you wish to give camomile to a baby to aid digestion, for example, look for a camomile drink designed for infants of the appropriate age. If in doubt, consult a doctor or pharmacist. Do not use aromatherapy oils, other than lavender, on pregnant women, nursing mothers, babies or children under 12 without consulting an experienced aromatherapist.

Any home-made lotions, soaps and creams should be tested on a small area of skin before use. You don’t want to discover an allergy after you’ve covered your face with something! Quite often it is the base which can cause a reaction, so it is wise to test that before you put the effort into making a remedy. Do not expect home-made items to last anywhere near as long as their manufactured counterparts, as you will be neither filling them with preservatives nor boiling the life out of them. It is worth noting that many shop-bought preparations will have the scent of herbs rather than their active ingredients.

Experiment carefully and use your senses – smell and taste things cautiously. If something smells disgusting, it will probably taste pretty bad too. If it has green fur on it, it has probably gone off! If something seems to be disagreeing with you, stop using it. Herbal medicine should not have unpleasant side-effects.

In the case of illness, always seek conventional help as well. If it is something major, get a professional diagnosis and tell your practitioner what you intend to do to supplement their treatment. Some herbal remedies can conflict with modern medicines, especially the contraceptive pill. If you are sure your illness is minor, say, indigestion caused by overindulgence, by all means try a herbal remedy first, but if the symptoms persist, call on the professionals in case there is a more serious underlying complaint.

If using essential oils, make sure that they really are 100 per cent essential oils, not perfumed oils or blended oils. There are many cheap, and not so cheap, fakes on the market, so it is worth taking the extra time and effort to track down the real thing and pay the proper price for it. Perfume oils usually contain chemical scents and will not have the same effects as essential oils and some cheap ones can be positively damaging. Blended oils may contain almost anything in addition to what they own up to on the bottle, and in any case, once an oil has been blended, it will start to deteriorate much faster.

Always keep everything spotlessly clean – your hands, your preparation area, any bottles, pans or jars. However, try not to use large quantities of chemicals to clean and sterilize, particularly bleach, as this is quite toxic and will kill off the very properties of the plants you seek to use. Surfaces can be rubbed down with a salt and water paste then rinsed and dried carefully. Hands can be washed with ordinary soap and water, then dried. In both cases it is essential to make sure that the drying cloth is clean, as many of the germs in the kitchen are found on the tea towel! Containers should be of glass, not plastic, and after being thoroughly cleaned can be sterilized by completely immersing them in lightly-salted water and boiling them for ten minutes. As soon as they are cool enough to handle, allow them to dry naturally by standing them on their necks on a clean cloth. Do not eat, drink or smoke whilst making your preparations; the action of raising things to your mouth may contaminate your hands with germs.

Although the above instructions may look quite daunting at first glance, they are in fact the day-to-day practical precautions which we should take with anything we are going to consume or use on our bodies.

Working sensibly with herbs and plants is very rewarding, not only because of the cures that can be effected, but also because of the knowledge that we are in a position to help ourselves and those we care for. In addition, it is great fun.

Soaps and Bathing Preparations

‘A proper person, properly prepared…’

An important part of any ritual is preparation, whether that be a Magical ritual or a daily one. For most people, a night out is preceded by a ritual of washing the body and hair, and often applying scents to set the mood. Whilst doing so they think about where they are going, what they will be doing and what they hope will happen. It is no different in the Craft; wherever possible we wash our bodies, or at least our hands, to remove not only the dirt of the day, but also the negative thoughts and feelings of day-to-day life. At the same time we also prepare our minds by thinking through what we are about to do and what we wish to achieve. Of course, this can be done with plain soaps and bathing products, but it can be greatly enhanced by the use of products which we have created, altered and Magically empowered. Here I am going to take a look at ways of creating or, more often, changing existing products to Magically enhance them.

Whilst it is possible to make soaps, bath foams, shampoos and anointing oils from first principles, it is not really practical for everyone. As a result I am going to talk mainly about how we can take existing products and change them for our purposes.

The use of such enhanced products does not have to be limited to preparation for ritual. Keeping a bar of healing or refreshing soap in the bathroom can help us through daily life. Preparing a bath foam to help encourage sleep can be invaluable for the parent of a young child who refuses to ‘go down’ at night. So, many of the following will not be set aside for Craft work, but will have a place in daily life.

Abbreviations

lb

pound

oz

ounce

fl oz

fluid ounce

tbsp

tablespoonful

(note this is not the same as a serving spoon), should be around 15 fl oz tsp teaspoonful, around 1/4 fl oz

Soaps

The basic ingredients for soap are in fact quite caustic, so it is not only easier but also more user-friendly to rework ready-made soap. The best kind to choose is a pure, unscented castille soap, although you can use this method with other kinds of unscented soaps.

First cut up (or grate) about 4 oz (1 cup) of the soap and place in a heatproof non-metallic container.

Add about 1/4 cup (2 fl oz) of hot water and 1 tbsp of almond or apricot oil.

Leave until cool enough to handle and then mix in with your hands. If the soap is floating on the water you will need to add more soap.

Leave for about ten minutes, mixing occasionally, by which time the soap should be soft and mushy. If it is not, place the bowl into a saucepan of boiling water and heat gently.

When the soap, water and oil are completely blended, add any dry ingredients.

When the mixture is cool, add any essential oils. It is important that the mixture be cool as essential oils evaporate quickly in heat. Note that essential oils should be added until they overcome the original odour of the soap, so how much will depend on the type of soap and oil you use.

Blend really thoroughly and divide the mixture into four to six pieces, depending on the size of the soaps you finally require.

Now squeeze these soaps, removing as much excess water as possible, into the shape you require – balls, ovals or whatever – and tie in cheesecloth.

Hang in a warm dry place until completely hard.

The soaps can then be used or wrapped in cheesecloth and kept or given away. As an aside, ordinary soap will always last longer if you take it out of its wrapper and keep it in a warm dry place to get completely hard before use.

All the following recipes are based on the above quantity of soap. As people relate to different scents in different ways, these can be adjusted according to your own preferences. Additionally, you can adapt any of the following to a plain unscented liquid soap, but do be aware that liquid soaps are usually detergent-based and hence not really very good for the skin. Where it says ‘oil’ in the following recipes I refer to essential oil, except in the case of the coconut oil in the dry skin recipe. When using herbs or other dried ingredients, make sure that you remove the really hard woody bits to make the soap pleasant to use. If you do not like textured or ‘gritty’ soap, then substitute drops of the appropriate oils.

It is worth noting that when using soap you should always lather it in your hands and then wash the rest of yourself with the lather. It is not a good idea to rub any soap directly onto other areas of the skin as it can be too harsh and drying.

Mental and Physical Cleansing

This is excellent for use before any ritual, or indeed any time when you need to mark the division between one part of your day and another, for example the transition from your work self to your home self.

1 tbsp lavender flowers

6 drops frankincense oil

6 drops sandalwood oil

4 drops jasmine oil

Esbat Soap

This takes the cleansing recipe a step further in that it is designed to prepare you for the working element of ritual and Magic, when you will need the additional ability to focus and control.

1 tbsp rosemary leaves

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

6 drops frankincense oil

6 drops sandalwood oil

4 drops jasmine oil

4 drops oil of orange

(you can literally scrape the oil from the outside of an orange using a blunt knife)

Sabbat Soap

The Sabbats are less a time of working and more a time of celebration, hence a different blend. Of course you could make different soaps for different Sabbats, altering the ingredients to match the key points of the festival and the season, in which case you might wish to make a smaller quantity of soap and use it on a daily basis for the seven days prior to the Sabbat, in preparation for it.

1 tbsp rosemary leaves

1/2 tbsp jasmine flowers

6 drops sandalwood oil

6 drops frankincense oil

3 drops cinnamon oil