Happy Thanksgiving

Day 27 of Kitchen Witchery- Jalapeno Poppers (Fried Pies)

Okay, fried pies is in parentheses because this started out as the fried pies recipe and it morphed into other things. The truth is, you can do a lot of tasty fillings in canned biscuits. My mother makes chocolate fried pies. I think she uses canned frosting as the filling. I supposed you could use cool whip and get fried cream pies. I've never tried it. But I think it could work.

This is the first time I photographed my cooking. I must say, it is rather annoying to constantly stop to take a picture. I worry that I may leave out a step. I forgot to photograph the cooking oil. Things would probably go much more smoothly if I had someone photographing me as I cook. But then we're back to heads peering into pots and hands sneaking off bits of goodies.

Jalapeno poppers require just four ingredients- canned biscuits, jalapenos, cheese, and cooking oil which I forgot to photograph.

Flatten the biscuits. I do this with my fingers. Here I'm showing you one flattened biscuit (right) and one just out of the can (upper left). Any brand of canned biscuits will do. If you want to make dough from scratch and roll it out that's fine, too. The canned biscuits are a time saver. Also, store bought pie crust and pastry crusts work too (NOT the graham cracker crusts in the pie pan. I mean the flat pie crust in the frozen food section, the kind that generally makes the top of the pie). The pie crust gives a thinner, flaky outside. Good if you prefer more filling and less bread.

When all the biscuits are flat, begin adding peppers and cheese. Don't overload on filling. Less is more. I know you think that is not enough. Don't add more. Think 'bites' not meal. The more stuffing you have, the harder it is to seal the edges.

You can use any type of cheese. I prefer to break off cheese sticks because that gives more melted goodness. I used shredded here because it was all I had.

After the filling is ready, press edges together and then press down the edges with a fork. This ensures a good seal. It has to be dough to dough edges. Not oozing out stuffing. If the edges aren't firmly closed then the biscuit will pop open in the grease.

I probably forgot to mention this- start heating the oil before you open the can of biscuits. The oil has plenty of time to heat up during prep. I use a low setting, I think I had the stove eye on 4. Fry one or two poppers at a time. Slowly ease them into the oil. Don't plop them in or hot grease will splatter everywhere. You will have to turn the poppers over so that both sides cook. When they are ready to be turned, they float to the top and the edges are brown. This only takes a few seconds.

Drain on paper towels to remove excess grease. See the really brown one? It got cooked very well as I was trying to photograph it. I serve mine with ranch dressing. I've also made pizza poppers- pepperoni, mushrooms, and cheese. If you're going to use meat, please fully cook the meat first. These do not stay in the oil long enough to completely cook the insides. The inside gets just warm enough for things to melt together.

Day 26 of Kitchen Witchery- Russian Tea

AJ's recipes!

Russian Tea
1 gallon of water
2 cups of sugar
2 sticks of cinnamon
6 whole cloves
5 tea bags
16oz can orange juice concentrate
16oz can lemonade concentrate

Boil cinnamon, cloves, sugar, and tea in water for two minutes. Remove tea bags, cinnamon, and cloves. Add juices, mix, and serve hot.

Russian Tea, Instant
2 cups of sugar
1 cup of Tang
1/2 cup of instant tea
1 small pkg sweetened Lemonade mix (about 1/2 cup)
2 Tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tsp ground cloves

Mix all ingredients and store in sealed container. To serve, dissolve 1 heaping tablespoon in a cup of boiling water.

My notes:
Alcoholic version- add Jack Daniels. I drink this in a coffee mug and I add just enough whiskey to cover the bottom of the mug.

Best Kitchen Witch use- healing. It has plenty of vitamin C

This reheats in the microwave very well, so don't worry about having too large of a batch. I haven't made this since I became diabetic, but I would use stevia instead of sugar.

Day 25 of Kitchen Witchery- Permanent Peace/Happiness/Good Energy

I just realized I am in dire need of a 'well-behaved child' spell, and it occurs to me that with the stressful holidays upon us, some of you may need it too.

This falls under the category of 'permanent spells' meaning the spell runs for as long as you wish. There is no final end result. It's not like doing a spell for a car and the spell is over when you get the title. It's not a 'building' spell either, in which you perform a series of spells to obtain a long-term goal like a spell to get in a good school, a spell to make good grades, a spell to get the classes you want, another spell for financial aid, a spell to graduate with honors, and then a spell to get a good job in your field. Permanent spell means having one condition continuously.

One of Will's children was excessively whiney. He pitched fit after fit, even throwing things while he was getting in trouble. He spent most of the day in the corner. I decided I needed some kind of spell that promoted harmony and positive energy.

I don't have pictures for you because I haven't entirely decided what elements to us. But here are a few ideas:

1. If you have a clock that chimes, charm the clock. Decide what emotions you would like- happiness, peace, security, etc. Say Each time this chime sounds, _______ fills the room. Imagine the room being filled with white light. Picture members of you household in contentment. Mentally repeat the spell whenever you hear the clock.

2. Place charged crystals in every corner of the room.

3. Write the troublesome one's name on a slip of paper. Place the paper in a small bottle or jar and fill with sugar. Any time they show negative behavior, shake the bottle to make them sweet.

4. Place crystals around a photograph of the individual. If they are behaving very badly, pour a ring of salt around the picture first. You will need to change the salt every three days until their attitude changes.

5. Cast a large circle in the room with the intent that negative emotions will be destroyed.

6. Clean up. Negative energy likes to hide under furniture and in dark corners. Get rid of clutter and trash so that it has no place to hide. Negative energy attracts more negative energy.

7. Hang pictures or art that says 'peace' to you. These might be vacation photos or posters of exotic places. Each time you walk by and see the art, remind yourself that your home is just as wonderful as that place.

8. Create a burden basket. This is an empty basket placed outside the entrance to the home. Before family enters the house, they are encouraged to leave their worries and fears outside in the basket.

9. Charm your doormat. In chalk on the back of the mat, write your spell, runes, or draw symbols for happiness. Each time the mat is stepped on, the spell is activated. This can be done on area rugs, too just make sure you use chalk! I once drew runes with permanent marker and it stained the carpet under the rug.

10. Hang prisms in the windows. Make sure the windows are clean. Wash the glass, wipe away cobwebs, and hang fresh curtains.

11. Charm an item the individual uses. This could be a toy, a game, video, or a pillow. Clearly visualize the person in a happy state of mind whenever they are near the object.

12. Bake sweets and serve. If you're not into cooking, fill a candy dish with the person's favorite treat.

13. Create a touch stone. This could be a statue or simply a large decorative crystal or stone. Each time you enter or leave the room, touch it and say 'peace' or 'happiness' or 'love'. The idea is to store up good energy so that it is always present in the house.

14. Set rules and enforce them. Clearly tell everyone in the house what is acceptable and what is not. Explain what will happen if they do not behave. And then stick to it. Every single time.

Day 24 of Kitchen Witchery- Fried Salmon Patties

Makes a bit of a mess, but worth it.

You need: drained canned salmon, egg, a little flour, cooking oil or Crisco
Optional- cornmeal and onion

I use at least two cans of salmon. I like 'Double Q', pink salmon. If you use this brand you will need to remove all the bones. Most of the time the bones can easily be scrapped off with a fork. Sometimes I use 'Chicken of the Sea' brand because it is already boneless BUT the cans are small. Sometimes I combine the two brands.

Mix together salmon, egg, and just enough flour to make a somewhat dry mixture. Sometimes I do half flour and half cornmeal just because fish battered in cornmeal is delicious. I add flour slowly. At this point you could also add diced onions, either white or green. Make patties sort of like making hamburgers, but less than half the size. Big patties tend to fall apart easy.

I generally fry my salmon patties in Crisco. The fish tends to soak up the oil and it is fair easier to add more Crisco than more oil. The pan of oil needs to be fairly hot to make a good patty. Sprinkle flour into the oil. If it sizzles the pan is ready.

Fry patties and drain on paper towels to remove excess oil. The beauty of using canned salmon is the meat is fully cooked when you buy it. Canned tuna can be used in place of salmon if you prefer.

Will doesn't like salmon, but he will eat as many salmon patties as I place before him.

Day 23 of Kitchen Witchery- Meatloaf

This is the juiciest meatloaf you'll ever eat.

Pre-heat oven to 375. In a large bowl, add ground beef, one drained can of mushrooms, and one drained can of Rotel Diced Tomatoes. Add desired seasonings. I usually use garlic salt. Mix ingredients together well. Place mixture into a loaf pan. Press down firmly. Place into oven. Check meatloaf often and pour off grease. Let cook at least 45 minutes. I let mine cook closer to an hour because Will likes very brown meatloaf. I don't normally make a topping for it, but if I did I'd apply it during the last five minutes of cooking. Otherwise the sauce cooks down into the meatloaf and eventually runs out with the grease. If you like to use ground turkey, bread crumbs, egg, or bacon, those will work well with this recipe.

Now wasn't that easy?

Day 22 of Kitchen Witchery- Computer As Divining Tool

This is my computer. I change my backgrounds and screen savers often. I get bored looking at the same thing all the time. I like for my computer to match my moods and/or the seasons. Sometimes these pictures are just for pretty and sometimes they represent magick. If I wanted more prosperity in my life, I might choose a picture that represents wealth to me, like a big gold dragon hording treasure. Today I'm going to show you how to predict the future with your computer. This is really easy. All you need are a few pictures and a little forethought.

This works the same way as asking the Universe to send you a sign. Have you ever wonder which direction to take and then suddenly something appeared? Maybe you were wondering if you should go to the park and then a puppy ran across the street. I would take that as a sign to relax and enjoy myself. Or maybe you're debating changing jobs when you notice a truck similar to one your father had. This might be a sign that a new job would allow you to provide better for your family. The Universe sends us signs all the time, and sends them faster if we ask for them. The trick is paying attention.

Here's where the forethought comes in- select pictures that have meaning to you. I chose Celtic knots for a unified theme. The knot in the first picture means security and abundance to me because it is a circle (safe place) and the colors are rich (life giving elements and wealth). I also chose a knot with horses for beauty and passion, a complicated woven knot to signify needlework (meaning I should focus on my hobbies), foxes for cunning, and a dragon knot for good luck. I think in all I have 7 knots. Some I really like but I didn't exactly decid what they mean. I'll figure this out if I see them over and over. The Universe will be trying to tell me something!

I can change the background by clicking on the screen. Then I click on 'personalize'

Choose 'desktop background'

This brings up several photos. I had to change folders to get the pictures of knots.

Click on a picture to select it. Hold down the control key to choose multiple pictures. Then go to the bottom of the screen to set the timing. This is 'Change picture every:' I selected one minute, but I could have used every 30 seconds, every 3 minutes, every hour, or every day. I wanted the pictures to change fairly often, but not so fast that I didn't notice the change and not so long that I got bored waiting for a new picture. Then I turned 'shuffle' on so my pictures would be random. It's not divining if you know what's coming. I also turned my screen saver off. This was a personal preference for me. It doesn't matter either way.

Now you go about your normal business and try not to stare at the computer. The goal is to occasionally notice the images without trying to force anything. For instance, if you get an email that causes you to wonder what to do, check your desktop background. How does that picture relate to your question? This is the knot that represents sewing and needlework (and is on the computer as I type, strangely enough) so if I saw it I might decide I should focus on what is important to me, or I might decide I need to take care of responsibilities but not stress over them. I may decide it means to pursue an idea I've had.

This kind of divining is very flexible because the meanings aren't 'set' or 'fixed' so you can have any kind of pictures to meet your needs. The problem with it is that you could be too limited so you won't get a wide range of possibilities. I think between 5 and 20 pictures is fair bet. This isn't supposed to be an all-knowing oracle, just a fun thing to do to expand your consciousness.

If you're not sure what kind of pictures to use, try scanning Tarot cards from your favorite deck. When a card appears, treat it just as if you drew the card. If you're into totems, try pictures of your favorite animals, and if numerology is your thing there are a multitude of decorative numbers on Google Images. Astrology/Zodiac signs could be very useful, too. Locations or sacred sites would be great indicators of cultures to study. Mythology can indicate which gods to work with.

You may want to keep a notepad nearby. This allows you to track success rates. It also indicates the pictures that have more than one meaning. What if you don't think this is working? Try a new set of pictures. Try adjusting the timing. Maybe one picture per day works better for you. If you decide it doesn't work at all, you haven't lost any money, just the time it took to set your computer.

Day 21 of Kitchen Witchery- Muskadine Wine

Before I get to the wine, it occurs to me I never showed you my finished cookbook cover:

I even finished before Halloween :)

Homemade Muskadine Wine

You need a five gallon container filled with crushed muskadines. We use a five gallon Scott's water cooler like construction sites have for the laborers. You need pure juice. Don't add water unless there is not enough fruit juice to fill the container. To get the juice, mash ripe muskadines. We mash ours in a meat grinder. Strain out the seeds and pulp. We placed the meat grinder over a bucket covered with cheese cloth. Warning- this looks nasty. Second warning- it takes A LOT of muskadines, like 5 or 6 five gallon buckets full to get five gallons of juice. All that mashed fruit puts off fumes and you will begin to feel drunk as you turn and turn and turn the meat grinder handle.

If the fruit isn't sweet, add enough sugar to float a raw (uncooked, still in shell) egg. Put the egg sideways in a spoon. Submerge the egg just under the liquid. Pour in sugar until the egg stands on end. The egg should rise to the surface, but not go above the surface.

Place lid on container. Don't seal the lid of the container, tape it down with duct tape. As the fruit ferments, the gas will rise. You'll know it's done when the tape breaks. This can take one week to 10 days, depending on temperature. It takes longer in cool weather.

After the tape breaks, seal the container. For us, this means screwing the lid tightly on the cooler. Your container should be nearly full with not much air above the wine. Air turns wine to vinegar. Have it as full as you can get it. When I saw the tape had broken, I wouldn't open it, I'd just screw down the lid.

Let sit for about one month, again warm weather makes the process faster. As long as bubbles are rising in the wine, it is still working.

Bottle and seal. Let sit for at least one year. The longer it sits, the better. Longer aging means smoother taste. When the wine is finished, it changes color. It will turn from a grape juice color to a brown that is similar to bourbon.

This is how my father makes wine. Nobody knows us when we are picking fruit. But we know everybody when we start handing out bottles of wine.

Should air ruin your wine, it is still fine red wine vinegar and can be used for cooking.

Do not ever use an old pickle jar as a wine bottle. I don't care how hard you scrubbed it, the wine turns to vinegar every time. It is impossible to remove all traces of vinegar from a pickle jar.

I use glass. I reuse bottles and jars as long as the seal is good. I prefer canning jars. I don't use plastic but my father has had success bottling wine in Gatorade bottles.

Wine is a very long process. It takes a while to pick all the fruit and even longer to mash and strain. Waiting makes you antsy. When bottling you will spill a good bit. It makes a mess and I recommend doing as much outside as possible. We do all our wine making on the picnic table and we store it in the pump house. After all that work, we wait. We wait until we've almost forgotten it, then hooray! Wine!

I don't know what the law is in other states, but Alabama allows five gallons of homemade wine for personal use. If no sugar is added, ten gallons can be made. It cannot be sold. There is some rule about how many gallons of wine can be owned, no matter if you made it or it was given to you, so we never have more than ten gallons at a time. When we get close to the ten gallon mark, we get generous handing out bottles and everyone loves us.

Day 20 of Kitchen Witchery- Real Magick

Since I haven't been working, I've been on a really tight budget. I love candles. I like them just for ambiance; being able to use them in magick is a plus. I keep four candles burning at all times- one for the dragons, one for my ancestors, and one for the sun and one for the moon. These four candles make my three shrines. Because it is very hard to keep a live eternal flame, I use LED flameless candles. Yes, that is a lot of plastic, but they are wonderful alternatives if you can't have real candles. You'll never have to worry about a LED candle causing a fire while you sleep. Plus, the flameless candles are just as cheap as the real tea lights. I noticed there are scented LED's now so really they're just as good as the real thing.

 

But cheap as they are, because I am on a tight budget and not wasting anything, when I ran out of LED's I didn't buy more. I don't really need candles. They are very nice to have, but I can live without them.

 

I came into some extra money so I stocked up on lots of food items. And I still had plenty of money left so I bought candles. Both LED's and tea lights.

 

I dusted the shrines, then turned on the candles. I turned on the lamp and turned off the overhead light. I settled down with my sewing. I just kept admiring the flickering light. My living room looks so nice in soft light.

 

And that's when I realized, it's not really the light per se, but more that I have taken time and effort to care for and love something. In the picture above I have my sun and moon candles (in the sun and moon candle holders), my favorite drinking glass, my sewing box and latest project, and my chess set, all sitting on the trunk I use as a coffee table. I am surrounded by items I love every day. I spend my time working on hobbies I enjoy. I'm making a picture frame mat for a photograph of my great-grandparents and I'm pretty sure that's why the ancestor candle seems to shine so bright. And I'm pretty sure my dragon statues look happy because the real dragons see that I care for them.

 

I've been telling you how to cook, clean, and plan. I should have been telling you the best kind of house is the one you love.

 



Lists, Menus, & Pantries

It is much easier to cook in an organized kitchen. How frustrating is it to hunt for a lid, wash some spoons because you can't find one to stir the sauce, or after dinner is eaten you find that spice bottle which would have made your main dish perfect? This is another it's-easy-if-you-stay-on-top-of-it thing.

I am amazed by the number of people who think planning a menu is difficult. Did you start thinking about dinner before you left work? Did you decide chicken would be good? Guess what? That's a menu. Now go a step further and think about more than one meal. If planning a week's worth scares you, think two meals ahead. Maybe plan supper then decide the next day's breakfast. That's two meals, there's only one more left.

Maybe you're saying you draw a blank when deciding what to eat. No problem. You grocery list tells you what you will cook. Every time you run out of an item, write it down. Now that you know what you use in a week, you know what to cook.

Still complicated? Easiest solution yet- write down what you eat. Write down what you had for breakfast, for lunch, for dinner, for snacks. Write down whether you dinned at home, had take-out, went to a party, made hamburgers, nuked a tv dinner, ate leftovers, or your mother cooked for you. After a couple of days, you have a menu. This also tells you were your diet is deficient or where to cut back on the grocery bill. If you write down every thing you eat for a month, it will be a very long time before you have to plan anything.

Study that list again. What do you eat most often? Frozen foods? Canned soups? Sandwiches? Do you always eat breakfast but tend to skip lunch? If you need coffee to wake up, buy coffee in bulk. This is the beginning of your pantry.

A pantry doesn't have to be large. It is simply a place to store extras so you don't run to store every few days. The pantry doesn't even have to be all food items. You can stock up on paper towels, party decorations, washing powder, or batteries. The purpose is to have what you need when you need it. My pantry has chips, drinks, trash bags, cookies, toilet paper, and baking powder. These are all the things I use often and that I tend to run out of. I also store dried herbs from my garden and bottled spells. Sometimes I store candles for magick and seeds for my garden.

My pantry is the storage room. I keep food items in tins so I won't have to worry about mice. Tins can usually be purchased fairly cheap in thrift and craft stores. I also use plastic storage bins. I don't try to make things match, I try to find the right size container to store all my food. When a tin is empty, I set it upside down and place the lid on top. This lets me know at a glance what I am out of. I tend to group like with like on the shelves.

Not everybody has a whole room for storage. But I say if you really want to keep something, you'll find the space for it.

Pantry made from bookcase and shutters. This could be placed in the kitchen or the dinning room or anywhere else close by.

Entertainment center turned into pantry. They just added spice racks and baskets.

Here, a corner of the kitchen was walled off to make a walk-in pantry. Great idea if you have a huge room you are not fully using. This could also work for a closet in a spare room.

Small bookcase and pretty jars. Remember, everything does not have to match. If you don't think your storage is pretty enough you could easily hang a curtain across the bookcase and cover it up.

This pantry is just a well-organized cabinet with chalkboards on the doors.
Still lost? Think about you favorite kitchen. What did you love most? How much of that can you reproduce in your house?

Day 18 of Kitchen Witchery- Great-Grandma's Cookies

1 1/2 sticks of butter
2 cups self-rising flour
1 egg
1 1/4 cups sugar
pinch of baking soda
2 tablespoons vanilla

Pre-heat oven to 325. Mix ingredients well. Pinch off balls of dough about the size of a walnut. Pat out balls. Cook for a few minutes on ungreased cookie sheet.

This makes A LOT of cookies, about 3 dozen if memory serves correctly. There is no exact time on how long to bake and I suspect that is my mother's doing because she wants to be the best cook and she is not above misdirection so that your dish is less than ideal. I would keep a close eye on them, checking often, maybe every five minutes. The only thing that really needs to cook is the egg and eggs need neither high heat nor long times to cook. These cookies spread out more than they rise. I would say the cookies are done when the smell of warm sugar and butter fills the air.

My great-grandmother would make these cookies and put them in a cloth flour sack. She tied the sack closed with string and hung it on a nail in her kitchen. No, the cookies did not go stale; the children ate them before that could happen. I usually make these when I have a large gathering of people. There are never any leftover cookies to take home.

Day 17 of Kitchen Witchery- Casting

When I started out on the Wiccan path, I read a lot. I read Wicca 101 books, Pagan articles, and I searched the whole Internet for Pagan blogs. My friends and I did lots of rituals, that we had written ourselves because we thought that made them most powerful, and we took turns with things like calling quarters or casting spells- except for one thing. I always, and I mean always, cast the circle.

It took a while for me to gradually realize I was the sole circle caster. When I finally said something, my friends told me to just do the circle and they would take care of everything else. They split every thing else equally between them while I continued to be responsible for the circle- purifying, setting up the altar, casting, and then releasing. And I thought that was very one-sided. So I complained.

Finally the truth came out. I was good at it. One of my friends said when I cast the circle it was like a curtain was being drawn around the altar. The world receded. The focal point became us and the magick. Nothing else mattered. When I opened the circle, the room became normal again. Once more it had walls and furniture. A cast circle is a point of light in vast space.

I really hadn't noticed anything unusual other than the ritual space would get hot like not enough air circulating. For me the room didn't go away, but I did tend to forget about it. I would be very focused on the altar, but I didn't ever feel like we weren't anywhere but the living room. I didn't have the sensation of between worlds. I also noticed that no matter how much light we had the outside of the circle would be very shadowy.

Most Wicca 101 books will tell you to draw a circle on the ground. Either trace it with your finger or a sword. The circle is a boundary. Some will tell you to imagine blue flames. That doesn't get it for me. I don't cast circles. I cast spheres.

If the circle is a boundary, if it really and truly keeps unwanted energy out, then it should protect from every direction. It should be large enough to contain the ritual area. Witches should be comfortable in it and able to move about freely. Some people think cats are able to cross circle lines. Bullshit. I have never had an animal of any kind cross one of my circles. Air Witch had lots of cats. None of them ever came in the circle during ritual. If your pet can cross your boundary then you didn't cast a circle, you drew some lines on the floor. If the circle didn't stop a house cat then what else can go waltzing across your working?

I also don't think circles are broken by touch. If it takes a good bit of energy to put one in place then me bumping into it shouldn't cause the circle to collapse. Circles aren't soap bubbles. I have cast permanent circles (circles left up in gardens, the woods, or ritual rooms to either protect or to contain magick for extended workings) and those stay up indefinitely despite wind, rain, nosey people, and time. They don't last forever. Circles need attention just like a houseplant needs light and water. The energies need to move, be directed, or be released. The circle needs to be cleaned and re-established. Left alone they stand for a few days. Maintained they stand for months. A permanent sacred space, like Stonehenge, will stand as long as people view it as a place of magick.

I usually cast my circle by starting at the North point and moving clockwise. Sometimes I start at East if I wanted new beginnings. South would be good for passion and West would be good for emotions. I cast with my hand. I direct energy from myself to the ground. I walk around the entire circle, drawing the energy around me. When I get back to my starting point, I visualize the circle glowing brightly, then I imagine the energy surging up in a wave, covering the entire area then flowing beneath my feet so that I am encased in a perfect sphere. My circles are always bright. They are usually gold. Sometimes they are electric blue or sparkling purple. I think if something unwanted touched my circle it would get an electrical shock. What your circle looks like depends on what you think magick is. Does magick have shadows? Does it shine? Does it pulse or hum? Is it made of elements- earth, air, fire, and water? Or are the elements magick broken down into base components?
If you don't have some answers to a few of these questions you can't cast.

That goes for all spells, not just circles. Every single ingredient in a spell represents an energy. All those separate energies should unify into one. Not being able to meld energies, or not understanding what those energies should do and thus leaving them undirected, leads to misfired spells. If your spells don't go as planned, if none of them seem to work, or if they work at the wrong time, then you need to start paying attention to details. Before you cast a spell, you should know why you are casting, what you want to happen, and you should have an idea of how life will be if you do get what you want. Sometimes we bite off more than we can chew.

Circles are easier to cast than spells. Circles are vessels. Spells are actions. Circles stay in one place. Spells go out into the world and the more things they encounter, the more they shift. Circles are easy to control. Spells need to move to work. Spells can easily get beyond your control quickly. I think Witches should learn circles before spells because circles are a great way to learn how to direct energy. You can cast circles around yourself or objects. When you learn to take up, open, or release a circle you learn how to redirect energy which is an ideal skill for dealing with difficult people. You can avoid a lot of stress of you just learn how to avoid it when you see it coming.

A circle is always taken down in the opposite manner is which it was constructed. That means the sphere retracts in the opposite direction and you walk or draw counterclockwise. It means if the energy came from you, it goes back into you. Think about this carefully- are you carrying it? Is it healing? If you were doing some banishing work, you might not want to drawn that in but rather place that energy into a poppet or some object that can be thrown away. Of course, if I were doing a banishing I would choose to keep as much of my own energy separate. I would cast my circle by drawing from Nature or from a higher power to protect myself and I would release that energy back into the source or into the spell that was the vehicle for change. In a banishing, strive to stay as separate as possible. Whereas in a love spell, a blending of energies is encouraged. Psychic spells need more opening and money spells needs to draw energy in.

Circles also are excellent for banishing. In this case, you are containing unwanted energies into a vessel that is obliterated. Do you have a stalker or a nasty person who makes your life hell? Mentally draw a circle around the person. Be firm in your belief that they are trapped. Now collapse the circle in on itself and let it wink out of existence. See it going into a black hole or see empty space where the person was. I did this to a person who repeatedly told lies about me in the workplace. I drew a circle around her every time I saw her, every time I thought of her, and every time her name was mentioned. One day, she came into work upset. She was annoyed with everybody. She got into several arguments. At lunch she left and never came back. It took about 6 weeks to remove her from my life. The more entrenched a person is, the longer it will take to remove them.

You can draw circles around your bed while you sleep. You can place them around objects to keep them from being stolen or lost. Circles around plants will help them grow. Circling money can help to draw more money, use the highest bill in you procession. A circle around your car will protect it while you drive.

A circle can be adapted for almost any use. All you have to do is get into the habit of casting them.

Day 16 of Kitchen Witchery- Laundry

For some reason, people get stressed by dirty clothes. Don't stress. It is not hard to do laundry. And don't say it piles up. You let it pile up. It didn't reproduce on its own.

All it takes to keep laundry under control is a schedule. I'm sure everybody has heard the old rhyme Wash on Monday, Iron on Tuesday Just forget that. When people washed on Monday, they had no washing machines. Women had to chop firewood, build a fire, boil water, and THEN do laundry. With soap they made themselves. Then they hung all the clothes out to dry because there weren't any dryers either. It took all damn day to do the wash. Now it takes about an hour and a half from washing machine to dryer to put away. I promise, this is simple. Don't stress.

I have laundry baskets where I get undressed, in the bathroom and the bedroom. Listen to me very carefully- dirty. clothes. DO. NOT. go. on. the. floor! Ever. Clothes on the floor get stepped on. What do we commonly step on with complete disdain? Trash. Do you want to wear trash? No? Then stop treating a vital part of your appearance as trash.

I empty the baskets into two other baskets often. I try to do this every day but sometimes it might be every two or three days. That's ok for me because I haven't accumulated a whole load of laundry in three days.

So why do I bother to empty the baskets in the bathroom and bedroom? So I can see how much laundry I do have. Why do I empty those baskets into other baskets? Because I sort it. In front of the washer I have a blue basket for colored clothes and a white basket for whites. Why don't I just have four baskets, two in each room? I used to. I don't have that much space in this house. If you can sort your laundry when you get undressed then you save yourself a lot of time and trouble. And no guys, your greasy work clothes do not need to get washed with your children's school clothes. Are you sick of your wife spending most of your money on clothes? Do laundry properly, clothes will last longer, she will spend less. Think of it as an investment.

Why don't I wash a bedroom basket when it is full? That is a mixture of colors and whites. See previous paragraph about clothes lasting longer when washed properly.

M used to drive me crazy because he washed one outfit each day. This drove me nuts. I thought it was the biggest waste of water and time. I don't care if you want to wear your favorite t-shirt. Do a whole goddamn load of clothes so you won't have to do laundry again tomorrow. It takes an equal amount of time to wash one t-shirt as it does to wash ten shirts. Don't tell me the cycle is shorter because the washer doesn't have to fill as long. The washing machine fills to a certain level whether you have one shirt or three pairs of socks, providing of course, you are smart enough to change the setting. Do you like doing laundry? No? Then stop creating more work for yourself.

I wash whichever basket is full first. This is usually the colored clothes because I favor dark greens, browns, purples, grays, and black. Sometimes I try to buy lighter colored shirts but I still end up with a closet of predominately black clothes. Guess it's a hold over from my days as a stage hand.

I usually load the washer before I go to bed. I dump in the washing powder, then add the clothes. I do not try to put small items in first, but I do try to evenly distribute the load. I make sure I have the knobs turn to the correct settings. And I leave it until the next day. When I get up to make coffee and walk dogs, I start the washer. At the very beginning of my day, the laundry has started.

As soon as the washer is finished, I put clothes into the dryer. I have let clothes sit in the washer all day until I come home from work. One day is okay. Two days is not. If I discovered I forgot laundry in the washer I'd wash it again. Mildew does not smell attractive on anybody. And no, the heat from the dryer isn't going to kill it, you'll just get baked in mildew. I used to have a team leader who reeked of mildew and people talked horribly about her. Don't let people call you a polecat behind your back.

As soon as the dryer is done, take the clothes out. Hang them up right then. This will virtually eliminate wrinkles. Trust me. Take the clothes out of the dryer as soon as they're done and you won't need to iron. Unless you are a quilter, you won't even need to own an iron.

The most important step, the one step you can't skip, the one you can't afford to be lazy about, is to put. the. laundry. AWAY. The dinning room table is not putting laundry away. Putting it on, rather than in, the dresser is not putting laundry away. Clean laundry does not belong in the laundry basket. Dirty clothes go in the laundry basket. Clean clothes belong in the closet or in the dresser. No clothes, neither dirty or clean, belong on the floor. It hardly takes any effort to put clothes away. If you can't do it, I'm sorry, but you are one lazy fucker. Put your clothes up.

I'm trying to retrain Will. Laundry goes from washer to clothes line, to hope it doesn't rain, to wash it again, to line, to dinning room table. Sometimes clothes go to children's beds for them to put away, but of course they don't. They knock clean clothes on the floor and in a few days that was-clean-shirt is covered with dirt from repeatedly being stepped on. So it has to be washed even though it was never worn. Do they ever sit down as a family and eat a meal together? Of course not, they can't sit at the table because all the towels are on the table. The only time Will sits down to dinner with his children is at my house. I think this is really sad. I have been nagging him about it. I think next payday we will be going to the dollar for several cheap laundry baskets and then everyone will be taught how to use them because I'm not about to spend the rest of my life struggling to keep the family in clean clothes.

It is simple as can be. When the basket is full, do laundry. That's it. No stress. Just clean clothes in the closet.

Day 15 of kitchen Witchery- Real World Updates

It was a good idea, a series of Witch posts. I just planned too many of them. October's Witches went great. I was done with that months ahead of time. November's Kitchen Witch posts stalled a bit and that's why on November 1st (as I'm writing this) I'm not done. But I am going to finish up the month. However, I won't be doing all the crafting posts I planned for December. Instead of posting something each day, I'll post a few projects, probably one per week. I keep forgetting how much I do at the end of the year. Some how, despite all my best efforts, I get roped into making things- lots and lots of things. I made a blanket for Will and he loved it. Loved it so much he wants me make more. And I'm trying to talk him out of that. I managed to get him to agree to a simpler design, now I have to work on less recipients. I love Will. He's very generous. Sometimes too generous. I don't think everybody needs a homemade blanket. He does.

Another problem I ran into was remembering what I had already written. I posted about my cookbook twice. Ooops. And while I've done recipes, I haven't actually taken pictures of the cooking process which was what I planned to do originally. I have noticed that when I start to cook, everyone piles in the kitchen, hovering around the stove, waiting for a bite. Dogs, Will, boys, relatives, friends...only when alone could I get some photos that didn't have little heads peering into pots. I'm not alone much anymore.

I'm spending a lot of time at Will's house. I've never cooked in his kitchen, mainly because I can't find anything. It's his parents' kitchen. Everybody has different ideas about how the kitchen should be organized. Will arranges the kitchen to suit his needs. Mom comes up and puts her kitchen back the way she wants it, even though she doesn't live here. Little sister finds cool stuff and takes it back to her house. Middle sister gets jealous and takes things for spite. Will knows the whet stone is in the kitchen SOMEWHERE so he dumps out all the drawers looking for it. I'm not photographing that mess.

I'm about to start spending more time over there because soon we will start remodeling. Then I will be moving. As if all that wasn't enough, I'm getting really annoyed with Google. Blogger doesn't work very well. I discovered that what I write doesn't always post as I wrote it. Pictures tend to get chopped off if they are too large (however, they look fine before publishing so I don't know until the post is public). Google insists that one account allows me to use everything connected with Google, but when I sign into one account it is damn near impossible to sign out and into a different account. No, I do not want the accounts connected. They are separate for a reason. And you know what Google? Before you went to this 'improved' bullshit I could go to anything on your various sites without any problems. You didn't fix anything, you made something simple more complex. I get so annoyed trying to blog that I am thinking hard about moving everything over to WordPress.

To top it all off, right now I'm sick and don't know why. I've been lightheaded. I can't do much of anything at the moment. It's hard to focus. I get exhausted walking across the house. I'm about to go back to bed.

I will plod on. But when all this is done, my blog could be very different.

Day 14 of Kitchen Witchery- Spells & Magick

You didn't think I'd go through the whole month without giving you some good stuff, did you? All these pictures (and many more) can be found on my Pinterest Board Magic. The link to me on Pinterest is to your right under the heading 'Stalk Me. Ya Know Ya Wanna'

One of the easiest ways to bring magick into your daily life is to draw symbols on the bottom of your shoes. Every time you take a step, the spell is activated. Be careful when drawing; chose a medium that won't easily stain carpet. I like chalk. Yes, it does come off. But that is part of the spell- you know it worked when nothing is left of your symbols.

Numerology. I seem to always look at the clock when the time is either 11:11 or 1:11. Occasionally I see 12:12, 2:22, or 3:33. I knew that meant something, I just didn't know what. When I found this picture, I started stating wishes whenever I saw 1:11 or 11:11. I would think 12:12 indicates mastery of a subject or art, 2:22 is strong feminine energies, and 3:33 is a very lucky time.

Pendulum chart. Works like a Ouija board. Let the pendulum swing freely over the board. It will spell out messages. Like anything else, it takes a little practice. When working with the Spirit world, always protect yourself. Cast a circle, burn some sage or incense, and when you are done, close portals and clean up lingering energies.

I love gargoyles. Select one carefully, like picking out a puppy. Give it a comfortable place in your home or garden, and ask it to protect you. It should be treated with respect. It will probably need to be 'fed' energy either from yourself, crystals, water, or herbs.

No silk? Cotton embroidery floss will work just as well.

Sigils can be drawn on paper, carved into candles, or traced into salt. Don't use a symbol just because it looks cool. Find out what it means before you use it.

This is a veve. They are used in Voodoo. Veves are activated by sound. Every loa has it's own veve. Research loa and veves well before working with them as loa can be easily offended. They will either help you or they won't. Offerings help, but most loa are expecting a relationship, not a favor.

Viking bind rune to help find the way home when lost in a storm, even if the way is not known. Activate before travel or each month so that the spell will work in emergency situations. Works with any kind of storm, not just the serve weather kind.

I posted this picture because that's a spell under the crystal ball. Crystal balls can manifest things onto the physical plane. No ball? No problem, crystals, gemstones, and rocks work just as well.

What would you leave for someone else?

Weather magick is a great way to attune with nature and your personal landbase. Weather magick is mostly observation.

Voodoo dolls work! They are easy to make, can be made from household items, and if they have enough detail, they can be works of art.

Prayer flags come from India and Asia. They are often made from silk and have prayers printed on them. Each time the flag moves by the wind, the prayer is carried up to Heaven. It is believed prayer flags are very beneficial to people living nearby even if those people have not read the prayers on the flags. Like Voodoo dolls, prayer flags are easy to make. These are made of cotton and have pictures, not words. Prayer flags don't require much sewing. They should be replaced when they become worn, tattered, or faded.

Bind Runes. Runes are said to work best for people who are of Germanic descent (I am). Runes can be used for divining, to write secret spells, as symbols drawn onto candles, or combined with other runes to make powerful spells (shown here). There is lots of information on the 'net about runes and I advise you to learn the system before combining as not all of them combine well.

I could have kept going, but I decided this is more than enough to explore as everything on this list is a vast subject in and of itself. You could dedicate years to just studying one thing. I tried to pick a wide variety from many systems because in my experience, most Witches mix systems. It can be hard to advance due to a lack of higher information. Most Witches try to learn magick from other cultures and incorporate that into their personal practice. I don't know of any Witch that uses only one tradition.

Day 13 of Kitchen Witchery- Pie

I think it's time to do more recipes. I have one more idea for a housekeeping post and then I have some ideas for planning menus. And I have a post about bread coming, and probably I should do some meat and veggie recipes so you get a full and balanced meal should you be cooking anything I post. But for now- PIE!

Blueberry-Banana Pie
Makes 2 pies
1 can blueberry pie filling
2 baked pie shells
1-2 bananas
Put pie filling in shells lined with banana slices.
1 large pkg Cool Whip
3 oz cream cheese
¼ cup of sugar
Whip together. Spread over pies. Refrigerate.

Did you like that one? It’s a no bake! And I think if I used stevia instead of sugar, it would be diabetic friendly. Of course, I’d use fresh blue berries. The canned stuff usually has sugar added.

French Silk Pie (no bake)
1 stick butter (not oleo)
¾ cup sugar
Cream well. Beat in 2 eggs, one at a time. Add 2 squares melted unsweetened chocolate.
Pour into graham cracker crust. Cover with whipped cream and shave chocolate on top. Chill for several hours.

I loved French Silk Pie before I became diabetic. I didn’t know it was so easy to make. Sometimes it pays to seek recipes of your favorite foods.

Now here’s one to bake. It says no cook but it does require an oven. ‘Slow oven’ means place pie in oven and THEN turn on the oven. Do not pre-heat. Placing this pie into an oven already at 350 degrees will cause it to burn.

Magic Lemon Meringue Pie
A no-cook, creamy, full-flavored lemon filling that’s as easy and quick to fix as a mix. Makes an 8-inch pie or 5 or 6 servings.
1 crumb or baked pastry 8-inch pie shell.
Filling:
1 1/3 can (15oz can) sweetened condensed milk (Eagle Brand)
2 egg yolks
½ can lemon juice (fresh, reconstituted, or frozen)
1 tsp. grated lemon peel (fresh or dried)
In a medium-sized mixing bowl blend together Eagle Brand milk, lemon juice, lemon peel, and egg yolks until thickened. Turn into pie shell. Top with meringue, if desired.
Meringue:
2 egg whites (at room temperature)
¼ tsp cream of tartar
¼ cup of sugar
In a small sized mixing bowl whip whites with cream of tartar until they hold a soft peak. Gradually whip in sugar; continue to whip just until whites hold firm peaks. Pile onto pie filling and seal to inside edge of pie shell. Bake in 325 degree (slow) oven until top is golden brown, about 15 minutes; cool.

All these recipes came from A Book of Favorite Recipes by the Women’s Department of Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Huntsville, Alabama 1975. Let’s be clear- I am a Kitchen Witch using recipes from a cookbook written by church ladies two years before I was born. Is there anything wrong with that? No, a recipe is a recipe and it’s the magick the Witch adds which makes it a spell. (Although any church ladies reading this post are probably horrified right now.) So how would I use these pies in spells? The blueberry-banana pie I’d serve on Lammas or Mabon for a harvest theme, or maybe even for Beltaine since bananas are fertility fruit. French Silk Pie is great for anything celebrating luxury, love, or desire. And the lemon pie I’d serve to sour people I wanted to become sweet such as a family gathering where I was hoping everyone would get along, or an office party where I needed to be thought of in a favorable light.

In order to make pies into spells, I would walk into my kitchen, light a candle, and state my intent. I’d gather all the ingredients and bless them. I’d trace runes matching my intent in the bottom of the pie pan and then I’d probably trace them into the crust with a toothpick for good measure. I’d probably draw my runes into the filling before I placed the topping on the pie. That would give me three times runes without showing any indication that the pie was a spell. Before I served the pie, I’d mentally say my spell. And I’d smile whenever I handed anyone a slice. If I was serving these pies in my home, I’d set the stage even more. I’d smudge the room before the guests arrived, I’d have candles burning that matched my intent (either in color or in scent or both), and my floral arrangement would probably contain herbs or flowers that matched my spell. If I really wanted to pull out all the stops, I’d use special plates.

Day 12 of Kitchen Witchery- Housekeeping

Today I'm going to talk about how I clean my house. Just like cooking, there are many ways to add in magick without anyone noticing. And I'm sorry, but whether you like to clean or not, the fact remains that EVERY SINGLE DAY there is some chore to be done. The people with houses you admire take care of those chores. The horders don't do dishes, sweep, make the beds, or throw out trash. Which house would you prefer to live in?

I have a system for cleaning and I based my system on the Fly Lady's methods (http://www.flylady.net/) I don't use her system exactly, I modified it to match my house. I also reordered the zones and rather than spend a week on one room, I only spend one day. I don't have much clutter. I might use a week per room if I was cleaning or remodeling a house in bad shape.

My weekly schedule starts on Monday and the first room to be cleaned is the bedroom. Every single Monday, I change the sheets. If I was going to pick a day to flip the mattress, replace the pillows, or put heavier blankets on the bed, I'd chose Monday. I dust the room and sometimes I mop or wash windows. I am not looking to power clean the whole room. I have no intentions of working myself to death. I just find that having a schedule helps me keep the house neat and it helps to have a day in mind for doing extra stuff like moving furniture. As for magickal workings, Monday would be when I empowered a dream catcher or worked a love spell if I intended to have sex in my bed. To me this makes sense because Monday is ruled by the moon and to me moons are sleep and emotions.

Tuesdays I clean my sewing room. Tuesday is ruled by Mars. This is creative fire and drive. I tidy up, work on designing, make plans, and toss old paperwork. Tuesday is when I think about bills just because my desk is in the sewing room. If I had something to mail, be it a bill, a present, or a quilt, I'd mail it on a Tuesday. After I pay bills, I like to banish them because nothing is more annoying than a late fee or having to prove a payment was made.

Wednesday is the bathroom. I do a lot of scrubbing. More cleaning occurs on Wednesday than any other day. I scrub the tub, toilet, and sink. I put out fresh towels. I scrub the mirrors. Magick in this room revolves around cleansing the aura, chakras, health, and beauty.

Thursday is the living room. I dust the bookshelves and flip the cushions. My altar is in the living room and I clean it. I replace candles and light incense. I try to make the room as harmonious as possible. Spells for this room involve peace and security.

Friday is the kitchen. I cook on the weekends and I don't like to cook in a dirty kitchen. This would be the second biggest cleaning day. I scrub counters, wash dishes, clean the microwave, mop, and write my grocery list. If I was going to clean out cabinets, clean the fridge, or plan a party, Friday would be my day.

Saturday is the day I clean porches. Most people are surprised I take special effort with the porch but this is the first thing people see when entering the house and it doesn't matter how clean the inside is, if they walked across a cobwebbed and muddy porch then they think the whole house is filthy. I move everything off the porch and sweep. Sometimes I wipe down the door. I water my plants. If I wanted to repot a plant, buy new plants, or hang a wreath on my door, I'd do it on Saturday. Porch spells include weather magick, banishing negative energy, working with totems, garden magick, and protection spells.

Sunday is the day I clean my store room. The store room is a combination pantry and garden shed. I store extra food, garden tools, the lawn mower, and dog food in the store room. Spells for gardening and abundance are performed here. This room seems to get dirty faster than any other area of the house because a.) it's outside and people are not as concerned about tracking in dirt and b.) despite having things well organized people tend to dump stuff here. Currently I have a desk that needs to move into the house, a sideboard that needs to leave the property, and several cans of paint I really don't want to store but my landlord doesn't want it at his house. On Sunday I try to put things in their proper place and I dust. Sometimes I mop. You can laugh at me for mopping an outdoor room, but if I don't mop then the room seems dirty no matter how clean the shelves are, the room starts to smell, and the bugs start taking over. I've been told I'm a little too clean but I'd much rather be too clean than have roaches.

Day 11 of Kitchen Witchery- Key Magick

Hecate is a Goddess I work with often. She is often shown with 3 keys. I assume those keys represent past, present, and future as She is a Goddess of time, limits, cycles, and restrictions. When I work with Hecate, I almost always have keys on hand.

I collect keys. Not just old, antique skeleton keys, but house keys and car keys too. Keys have their own special magick and they so common place that their magick is often overlooked.

Just about every person on the planet has keys. Everybody carries them around every day. If you wanted to secretly carry a spell, keys would be the way to go. Nobody ever questions keys. Keys are so common place we even let babies play with them. My mother still has a set of primary colored plastic teething ring keys. She said I loved them very much.

Keys are great spell components if you wish to 'unlock' or know a secret. Keys can be power objects- people of importance have the keys to unlock restricted doors. Think of how many phases use the word 'key'- key players, key elements, keys to success, key to learning. Keys are sometimes symbols of clues, as in what is needed to have the answer.

Keys are also protective- they lock out the unwanted. Keys make us feel safe and secure and to give someone a key to show trust. Keys are also a rite of passage- 'big kids' get house keys and everybody wants their own set of car keys when they turn 16.

Keys represent mystery. Whenever we find a key we immediately wonder what it goes to. What's behind the locked door? What's in the safe deposit box or the bus locker? What's hidden in the trunk?

Keys have become works of art. You can now buy keys with images printed directly on the key. The key in this picture might be excellent for working with fairies or gaining entrance to other worlds. Any desire you have, you can find a key to match it.

And if the keys themselves weren't magickal enough, there are key rings. Here's one for opening the realm of the dead.

This one could be used to bring order to chaos or to find the answer to a perplexing problem.

Or maybe you could use a fictional character's attributes to protect yourself. This one immediately made me think protection from psychic vampires.

Here are some ways to use keys in spells:
To achieve a goal, gather as many keys as you have steps in obtaining your desire. Carry the keys with you. Each time you complete a step, move the key to safe place. When the goal has been met, empower all the keys as a good luck charm.

Gather a key for each door and window in your home. Use the keys to 'lock' your home with white light. Hang the keys in a secure location to prevent thieves and trespassers.

Keys gather personal energy. You can establish a psychic connection to a person by holding their keys and absorbing their energy.

When working with keys, don't forget about locks. Locks can be charged as well. A small padlock left open on your altar can assist in removing blocks of all kinds.

Keys make great pendulums and be used for divination and dowsing.

Carry a key that represents a subject you wish to master.

Sleep with a key under your pillow to learn the meaning of dreams.

If you wish to obtain a new home, obtain a door key. Clearly state what kind of home you want. Carry the key with you until you move then keep the key above the door as a house protection charm. This also works with cars and office promotions.

If you're faced with several options and don't know which to chose, use a different key to represent each choice and place them in a bag. Randomly draw a key. This will tell you what direction to take or how to focus your energies.

If you are unsure of how to summon and release energies during ritual, place a key in each of the four directions of your circle. Turn the key clockwise to summon and counterclockwise to release.

If you have trouble contacting a person, place a key under the phone so that the communication path is unlocked and open to allow your message through.

Mundane tip- don't forget to label your spare keys!

Day 10 of Kitchen Witchery- The Powders

Yesterday, I mentioned potions and powders. Here are all my home-made powder recipes. All of them are my own inventions. I created these recipes via a pendulum. I went through Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs and made lists based on what was available in the spice section of my local grocery store. I then used the pendulum to determine which herbs should go together. I used numerology to figure out how many times to chant. Usually, thought not always, the number of the ingredients is a multiple of number of times to chant. For example, 9 ingredients, chant 3 times.

Powders can be sprinkled around the home, in doorways, across a person's path, or around photographs or personal objects. Candles can be rolled in powders, but be careful, this sometimes causes sparking or it adds fuel to the flame.

When you make powders, you need a signature ingredient. This is one thing that is added to all your powders and its sole purpose is to bind your magick and energy to the spell. A signature ingredient can be almost anything- flower petals, sugar, a spice, salt, or even a crystal. I use dragon's blood resin. A little bit is all you need. Because powders are generally not consumed, I don't worry about my signature ingredient being inedible. BUT if I thought my powder would be consumed for any reason, I would use all food safe ingredients.

Love Powder
1 tsp each of a signature ingredient, dill weed, allspice, nutmeg, poppy seed, cinnamon, rosemary, and sage
1 drop each rose oil, gardena oil
Grind together very well. Store without a lid until mixture is completely dry.
Make on a Monday, Thursday, or Friday during a new or full moon.
Burn a white, red, pink, or green candle and chant 3 times:
Midnight blooms with passion's embrace,
lust encircles the lovers' haste.
Hearts beat as one, pulsing with fire,
rising strong, fulfilling desire.
Enchantment brings throbbing delight.
Magick's afoot as our bodies unite.

Good Health Powder
5 tsp each- signature ingredient, garlic, sage, thyme, black pepper, allspice
Make on any day, any moon phase, but in the hour of the moon.
Chant once:
By the powers of the moon,
grant me this healing boon.

Psychic Powder
4 tsp each signature ingredient, thyme, mace, cinnamon, parsley, white glitter
Make on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday on a new moon.
Candle- white, blue, or purple
Chant twice:
By the powers of night,
grant me second sight.

Money Cleansing Powder (to remove negative feelings about money)
This one I either sprinkle in my wallet or I 'bury' my money in it when I have money woes.
Day to make- Saturday
1/8 tsp each signature ingredient, chamomile, ginger, mint, dragon's blood
1 crystal.

Money Powder (to help attract money)
1 tsp each signature ingredient, ginger, dill weed, basil, allspice, nutmeg
any moon phase
make on Wednesday or Thursday
Chant once:
Trinka 5, Trinka 5
ancient spirits come alive.
Money grow and money thrive,
spirits of the Trinka 5.

God Protection Powder
1 quartz placed in jar
1/2 tsp each of signature ingredient, red glitter, garlic, sage, thyme
Grind ingredients together
Make on a Sunday, at noon, or in the hour of the sun
Chant twice:
Father Sun, of strength and might,
aid this spell in taking flight
to its target, now please guide-
increase its power as it flies.

Banishing Creeps Powder (sprinkle it where he lurks or anyplace you want to be safe)
1/4 each signature ingredient, garlic salt, sage, cinnamon
Make on a Saturday, during the dark of the moon, or in the hour of Saturn
Chant once-
Be gone, be gone, be gone!
Move away, move on!
I separate you from me.
From this day on I am free!
Be gone, be gone, be gone!

Day 9 of Kitchen Witchery- Oven Canning for Dry Goods

This is something I found on Pinterest and I was a little doubtful. I tested the method on dried mint. It worked wonderfully. The emphasis is on dry. You can use this method on dry, uncooked pasta. You can use it for dried herbs. It works for storing dry cereal. It works on most nuts if the nuts don't have a high oil/fat content (no walnuts!) and it will work on dried fruit, but not jellies, jams, or raw fruit. Dry, dry, dry! This is the method to use when you stocked up on 8 boxes of oatmeal but you're concerned about bugs getting in the boxes before you use it all.

Place filled jars without lids on a cookie sheet and bake at 200 for 1 hour. I placed the jars in the oven and THEN turned on the heat because I didn't want anything to crack or shatter. Please buy new canning jars. Please don't reuse old jars that were gathering dust in the shed. You want a clean jar that can take heat. Left over food bits from old jars will cause spoilage.

After one hour, wipe jar rims with a damp towel, then screw lids on tight. Jars are hot! Protect your hands. I used a damp dish rag and wore oven mitts.

Jar is sealed if the button stays down when pushed in. When I tried this, the lid gave a loud 'pop' when I pressed it. I left the jar sitting on the counter over night to cool. In the morning, I wrote the contents and date on the lid, then put the jar in my pantry. The mint looks exactly the same as when I canned it. I realize dried mint will keep just fine on its own, but I just wanted to experiment without worry of food going bad. Anyway, there's something really cool about jars of herbs lined on the shelves, and if it still has its aroma three years later, that's even better.

Added note- how I label jars for magickal purposes:

I don't like to write the uses of potions and herbs where anyone can see it because that leads to ideas. "You have a love spell? Will it work on my crush?" Next thing you know, jars are missing. I like planning ahead and stocking up. Astrological correspondences are NEVER aligned in an emergency. I look ahead, find times conductive to love, health, prosperity, etc. and that's when I make my potions and powders rather than scrambling about when I need a spell. After I make the spell and seal the jar, I tie a ribbon or cord around the jar neck. Black is banishing, white is cleansing or healing, red is love, green is money. Sometimes I use charms- a moon for the Goddess or a paw for animal magick. You could also use colored bottles or you could put a dab of nail polish on the cap. Then you'll be the only one who knows what's in the blue bottle with the silver ribbon.

Day 8 of Kitchen Witchery- 100 Year Old Cake

This recipe I got from AJ, she got it from her in-laws. It is so named because the recipe is thought to be at least 100 years old. This cake is magic all by itself.

2 1/4 cup of flour
2 eggs, unbeaten
2 cup sugar
1 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup hot water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Mix dry ingredients in mixing bowl; make well in center. Add liquid ingredients in well. Mix lightly. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Day 7 of Kitchen Witchery- My Cookbook

As I keep mentioning, I am writing in advance. Right now as I write it is August. I have lots of ideas but my time is limited. Which was the whole point of starting a series of Fall posts early in the year. Sometimes I get a whole post written when I sit down at the computer, but most of the time I get pictures taken, some notes ready, and then whenever I have more non-existent spare time, I actually write. Occasionally, I forget to go back to a post. I took lots of pictures of my cookbook and I thought I was done. I just realized I never wrote anything to go with the pictures. Oops. So here we go, a real Kitchen Witch's cookbook:

Front cover. I intend to have needlepoint Witch on the front one day. For now I've got some wolves who appear to be searching for food, appropriate for a cookbook, I think, and a star sampler. I know most people wouldn't mix needle arts and cooking but I wanted my cook to reflect me and I'd rather sew than cook.

Spine. See how big the binder is? I need lots of room. This needlepoint is actually intended for a kitchen, it's a Joan Elliot pattern and is meant to go on a hand towel. I altered things a bit. I rarely follow patterns to the letter.

On the end of the spine decoration, I have a little dragon charm. I use dragon motifs often in my work. I like to put dragon is hidden places.

Back cover. This is another star sampler. I started off making the fiery star in the top left corner, and when I couldn't figure out what to do with it, I decided to fill up the rest of the canvas with stars. I worked on it for a long time and it was both fun because I didn't follow rules and frustrating because I didn't have a plan. That's a turkey feather on the side. A bird that almost exclusively represents the major food holiday in America has to be good luck for a cookbook.

The inside of the binder is decorated with whatever I think is pretty.

Bookmark I made several years ago when I was just discovering Celtic knots. I photocopied a design to color. These were the borders of the page. I didn't want them with my colored page, but I thought they were too pretty to throw out.

Bookmark back with more left over bits.

Cookbook sections. Besides the regular meat, vegetable, bread, desserts, etc. I also have sections on magick, a section for useful or nifty things like facial scrubs and home made flea repellent, and I have a garden section where I journal about my own garden and plants.

I really like Taste of Home recipes. I save the cards and if I like the recipe I tape it into the cookbook. If it flopped, I throw the card out. Sometimes I realize the card didn't have good directions so I rewrite the recipe. These are recipes I haven't cooked yet.

All recipes AJ gave me. She was very detailed and organized when it came to cooking.

To save space, I layer recipe cards. They are taped on one side so I can easily flip them over.

I don't really like the old fashioned recipe box because cards are never the same size.

More art.

More art and recipes.

I have more dessert recipes than anything else.

Everybody loves pie.

Great-grandmother's cookies written by my mother.

I gather recipes all the time. I place them into the folders until I decide to cook them, compare with others, or rewrite into something more legible.

The magick section. These are all recipes I invented for magickal powders.

I had a creep problem. He's gone now.

The garden section. I used to keep a separate garden journal but I decided it made more sense to have it in the cookbook since I was growing both food and herbs for spells.

When not in use, the cookbook resides in my altar. My cookbook will never be complete. It will always be a work in progress just like my life is always in progress.