Kitchen Magic for the Young Pagan (Intro)

The magic of a kitchen witch is targeted towards cultivating a prosperous home. Generally, one is working to attract positive energy and repel negativity. In order to attract positive energy, a number of spells and rituals are used. These spells and rituals are not grand ceremonies in action, but mostly involve the practitioner charging mundane, household activities and making them magical. It is a subtle magic caste over time, allowing the energies to culminate into something powerful. Baking a cake for friendship, stirring a potion for love, and cleaning a room for purity can together charge a home with positive energy. There are also more ritualized spells and blessings of thanks to draw in positive energy.

As mentioned above, a Kitchen Witch's talent lies in the attraction and cultivation of positive energies to a specific location--their home. Some pagans may look down upon Kitchen Witches because their magic tends to be informal and rarely involves a "big bang" of magic. Although kitchen magic does not involve the raising of high powers during ceremonial rituals, it probably does invoke an equal amount of power over time. Kitchen magic, while subtle in energy, is caste everyday. If you are performing any household chore, there is a potential for magic. One performs this magic by charging the activity with the desired intention, by using ingredients associated with the desired intention, and by performing simple rituals, chants, or meditations. The key to any magic is concentration on the desired outcome. When you put in your own energy and raise energies rituals and charms, the subject of concentration will hopefully manifest, adding to the prosperity of your home.

I would recommend that you modify the information you learn on this site as well as others to better reflect your own beliefs. I've tried to make this board "religion neutral", but there are certain commonalities found in many kitchen witch traditions. For example, kitchen witch prayers, blessing, and rituals will often call upon a goddess. For some practitioners, the goddess/es is a actual personified deity. For others, the goddess is not an actual deity, but the personification of certain aspects and ideals associated with home and hearth. This is also why we tend to invoke feminine powers more so than masculine, as femininity is associated with the home. If you feel more comfortable working with the Judeo-Christian G/D or a male deity of another pantheon, feel free to do so. Your personal beliefs are irrevocably entwined with your magic and should never be ignored.

Kitchen Witchery in Group Living Situation

The great thing about kitchen magic is that you can use it at any time and any where. However, for most witches, their home is their altar, their place of strength. As any magic practitioner who has had a roommate can tell you, sharing space with people who don�t know or understand what you are doing can create a great deal of tension with in the environment. This applies not only to college students, but anyone who must share their sacred space with strangers, friends, or family. So, how does one deal with this situation, especially if you�re still in the broom closet? Kitchen witch magic is probably the best suited to handle the situation.

As mentioned in the introduction, kitchen magic doesn�t require much in the way of ceremony and ritual. Therefore, it is a very advantageous magic to perform around people without a magical background, as you run little risk of upsetting anyone or making them uncomfortable.

As kitchen magic deals more with the subtle energies of the environment, the risk of violating the ethics of magic is relatively minimal. Kitchen magic can roughly be divided into two categories: 1) magic of the environment (the home or a specific room) and 2) magic of the people in the environment. With in each category, the witch is either casting some form of spell for prosperity or accumulation of a form of positive energy, or they are cleansing. You are either doing something to your environment or to a person, whether it is yourself or someone else.

Generally, unless you are casting a very specific spell upon a person, you are not in danger of violating any ethics. As long as you keep your spells general, magic to help maintain a harmonious environment or encourage camaraderie with in those members of the household is not a direct force of will upon something else. Remember, kitchen magic is not about force, it�s about cultivating the seed of positive energy that exists in most environments or minimalizing discord. You are building a means for a home to attract positive forces. You are providing an avenue for people to build prosperous relationships. You are giving them the opportunity, not making them take it.

Even if you have a particular trouble maker with in your group, there are ways to caste spells without violating the reede. Caste a spell to assist someone in seeing the conflict they are creating. You can use many spells in the ODSS spellbook, just add a line allowing the person the ability to accept or decline the spell intended for them.

With all of this in mind, remember that one witch alone cannot counter every molecule of negativity spouted by a household. Sometimes, you may be casting spells more so on yourself to be able to survive. If you find the dorm life too unbearable, look for alternative housing options. There is always the single bedroom apartment. Also, some off campus housing will have communal apartments where you have your own bedroom and bathroom.

I know parents have a tendency to view dorms as cheaper and/or safer, but I assure you, that�s not the case. I�ve been a college student a long time and have attended a few colleges. Much of college crime occurs in the dorms, and they are party central. Off campus housing isn�t much better, but you at least have your own room. A private apartment is best, but it is a bit more expensive. The best advice I can give to parents is to not overestimate safety and austerity of the college environment.

For college students or people who just have roommates, well� I�ll open up a thread for you to gripe about your situation. Maybe through shared whining, we can come up with some positive ideas.