Techniques of Intention: Kitchen Witchery Basics Part 5

When practicing Kitchen Witchery how exactly do I add my intention? Is it any different from other spellwork? The short answer is no. If you are confident in other parts of your practice then you can probably use what you already know. BUT Kitchen Witchery seems to be a starting point for a lot of people so I've used this series to explain a lot of witchcraft basics with a kitchen focus.

As I mentioned in Part 1 of this series, I want to look over some specific ways to add intention into your work. Keep in mind this is not an exhaustive list and if you don't see your method here I would love to hear abut it in the comments below! I'm going into detail about the methods I use. And I'm doing so with the assumption that you've read the rest of this series so if you have questions about correspondence, intuition or colour magic please check these other posts for more information.

I don't have much left to say so let's get into this list.

Stirring

Simply put, in the kitchen a spoon is like a wand. You can channel your energy through it into the things you stir. Traditionally stirring clockwise brings energies in and counter-clockwise is used to banish. This is the only one on the list that I feel needs to be used with another form because you need to let the energy know what it's being used for. Any method from below or a combination of them will work. The way I add intention is to focus on the type of energy I'm working with, I will visualize a certain colour energy or simply repeat the word or phrase over and over in my head as I stir. In addition to this I will sometimes hold my breath while repeating the word or phrase as a stir 3 times and then with the exhale I allow my energy to flow from my body through the spoon. This breath work I usually reserve for things like string my coffee or tea. With stirring I like to sometimes do a stir both ways, one to banish one type of energy and then the other to put the desired energy back in.

Breath work

Breath work comes in many forms. I used an example above. You can use different patterns of breathing like square breathing or lion's breath. You can hold your breath and let your body generate energy from that restriction and then release. You can send your energy through your hands or a tool as you do it. For instance you can slowly and calmly breath in and out with your hands over your bowl, palm down sending energy through your arms with every breath. You can mix this with visualization to send a specific colour energy. If you’re going the banishing route you can use your inhale instead and suck the unwanted energy out. Keep in mind you also traditionally have a receiving and giving hand in magic (usually dominant is giving and the other is receiving but it depends on your practice) so you can use this to your advantage as well.

Visualization 

This is like what it sounds but with a small caveat that visualization in this sense doesn’t have to only be about the sense of sight. If you feel more connected to sounds then bring a certain sound to mind or scents, tastes or textures. If you’re working on something for cleansing maybe you bring to mind the scent of lemon. Just like anything else we've come up against. Focus your energy on manifesting whatever it is that you feel associated with your intention. I find sight is my most attuned sense so usually use colour magic. I see a certain colour of light surround my ingredients and allow it to seep in as I stir or knead or even just as it rests.


Affirmations, Incantations and Words of Power

“Bibbity bobbity boo,” “Alakazam,” “Double, double, toil and trouble…”

These are examples of incantations or words of power. You can say them out loud or in your mind. It’s a way to focus your intentions without any tools or research at all. Just your words. You can use something short and specific or you can make it more elaborate like in a traditional ritual or spell.

The best tip I’ve been given about affirmations is to use the present tense. I find affirmations best for personal use rather than something your whole family will be enjoying. I use affirmations for my coffee and tea. “I am full of energy,” is a great one for those mornings you need a little quick in the pants.

Another common way to use words of power is to tell your ingredients why they’re being added. As you've seen most ingredients have quite a list of reasons to be used so focus them by saying, “Basil for good luck,” rather than just throwing basil into your pot.

End Thoughts

I hope this has been helpful to you. I think I'm coming to the end of my Kitchen Witchery Basics so if there's something you want me to go into please, please, please do not shy away from asking! You can reach me on Instagram, Facebook, the comments below or through e-mail and you can find all these links in the sidebar.

I have one idea left in mind right now and I will be moving on to a new exposition topic for these post that lack a recipe. I'm flipping back and forth between Cooking Basics and beginning Ingredient Spotlights. so if you have a preference (whether specific or of these two options) let me know; I want to give the readers what they want!

Correspondence? Association? Correlation? Yes: Kitchen Witchery Basics Part 2

Back again with a Kitchen Witchery Basics post (if you missed the first one check it out here.) This is the second part of the topic I wanted to tackle last time but I had way too much to say apparently. The main goal of magick is to manifest a goal. In order to manifest a goal most spellwork requires both intention and correspondence (although as you will see in part 3 of this topic there is some leeway here, but I’m getting ahead of myself.) So our second topic is correspondence.

Merriam-Webster defines it best for our purposes with this definition: a relation between sets in which each member of one set is associated with one or more members of the other. If we look at it using this definition the first set is our ingredients and the second set is the outcomes or manifestations we’re working toward. An example would be basil in the first set and in the second set would be peace, love, luck, money, purification, protection and stress relief.

When we talk about correspondences the wording can go in a few different ways but this is the basis of what it means. Sometimes people will refer to the item as correspondence and the things it corresponds to as associations. Sometimes the concepts are referred to as correspondences. And sometimes the word is interchangeable for both. I generally fall into the first category and to be honest I’m not sure any of these could be considered the “right” terminology.

The main point I want to get across in this post for newcomers is that correspondences are super varied. If we continue talking about these in the two sets I used as the example above and talk about it using the first way in terminology (I know I’m getting a little confusing in my wording so hopefully you can follow along and I’m doing an okay job) we can expand on the idea a little further. I’m going to label the first set (Basil in the example) as correspondence and the second set (peace, love, luck, money, purification, protection and stress relief) as associations.

With my groundwork laid down let's get into it!

Correspondences can be things like: colour, ingredient, direction, temperature, texture, density etc. it’s basically anything that you can perceive with your mundane senses. We can also look at correspondences as types of energy which is why the terminology gets a little muddled but I’ve decided to group them below for the purposes of Kitchen Witchery.

Associations are divided into two types but essentially break down to one: the goals of the manifestation, things like: success, power, passion, creativity, health, happiness, protection, banishment, etc. it's basically anything that isn't tangible and is more about energy. This of course is a little grey as something like success may be measured in a tangible way but isn't something in and of itself.

The second way we look at associations is through a larger lens. We associate things with celestial bodies, elements, yin/ yang, masculine, feminine etc. but in the end these end up breaking down into the aforementioned associations. For example cinnamon is associated with the element fire but that energy gets broken down further into things like passion or quickness. As another example tomatoes are associated with Venus which is further associated with love.

The reason I think it's important to talk about these two types of associations in relation to kitchen witchery is that the basis of our correspondences is usually ingredients (and when it’s not it’s still usually something physical (like direction or flavour) so I feel this is the easiest way to get started. Whereas other spellwork might be scheduled by celestial bodies which would then make that celestial body the correspondence I find this less common in Kitchen Witchery (but not altogether unheard of.)

The other thing to look at when we use energies as associations is it’s an easy way for you to attach your workings to your practice in general. You may or may not work with celestial bodies or elements or deities. You may feel the terminology of masculine and feminine to not quite line up with your beliefs (I have a post idea for that brewing so if that's something you're interested in let me know and also feel free to send me your ideas and maybe I'll feature readers ideas in that post) There are loads of reasons why some of those things might not work for you but at the same time because you know the sun corresponds with fire which corresponds with passion you may still find the information useful to adapt it to your own practice. And on the flip side of that if you are super into one of those things, for example astrology, you can work with them stronger knowing basil is associated Mars and Oregano with Venus.

The final point I want to make is that you don't have to use all of the things! If you want to work specifically with colour magic you can! If you’re making a recipe to promote healing maybe you just want to throw in as many green ingredients as you can despite what the internet tells you are their traditional correspondences! I think often newcomers get overwhelmed when trying to work with correspondences (I know I was!) when they see a list of 20 different things from 4 different avenues; deities and zodiac signs and elements and planets, it’s too much information sometimes. That being said I do often research what ingredients are associated with what (especially for blog posts) but you’re not writing a blog; you’re manifesting for you and your family. Your intention is a far greater tool than any correspondence ever will be. And that will be my topic for the next Kitchen Witchery Basics Post.

Let me know if you’re enjoying these more magick based posts and let me know what you want to learn about next! Also, please ask any questions you have about this post.

And to piggyback on that… Do you want me to start doing Cooking Basic posts too?! What would you be looking for from that?

What Are Your Intentions?!: Kitchen Witchery Basics Part 1

I thought I’d try something a little different this week. There won't be a recipe because I thought I'd cater a little more to those trying to learn about kitchen witchery and the metaphysical. I’m going to make this a series focusing on a specific concept with each post. Keeping this in mind if you have something you want me to cover please let me know. You can do this in the comments, on Instagram, on Facebook or in any of the private messages available through those.

I’d like to begin with a basic concept in all witchcraft: intention. It’s one of the terms I've been using and I realized that I have a lot of beginners reading and they may not fully grasp what I mean when I use the word. And with that even those that have an idea about what it means might not really get how it works. I know this because I was a little frustrated with it when I was starting out. I want you to keep in mind that this is from my own experiences and just because I don't talk about the way you do things doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong. Witchcraft of any sort is a very personal thing and you have to find what works for you; I’m just hoping to give you a place to start if you are feeling lost. I think it’s a hard concept to explain but I’m going to try my best.

What is it?

Intention-- Merriam-Webster defines it in two ways and they both serve as a good definition in the sense of witchcraft:
what one intends(a purpose or goal) to do or bring about
OR
the object for which a prayer, mass, or pious act is offered

Basically magickal intentions are the same as mundane ones. Intention is the energy you raise to bring about the outcome you are trying to manifest. I love that Merriam-Webster brings it up in the religious sense because a lot of people would argue that praying is a type of spellwork despite the fact that some Christians would absolutely hate to see that sentence. There are many Christian witches about though, so don't be fooled!

What the heck does “putting intention into it” mean?!

So, this was the confusing part for me. I understood the word itself but I didn’t really understand the act associated with intention. It seemed vague and none of the resources I was using did a particularly good job explaining it (through no fault of their own and I'm not sure I will do much better.) It's a hard thing to try to explain. Especially since it's not something I can watch you do and tell you if you're doing it right or wrong. It reminds me a bit of when yoga instructors tell you to breathe into your calves or some other body part that is not where your lungs are. And in a weird way it’s kind of the same thing.

At its core putting intention into something is focusing your energy. You focus your energy and channel it into an act or thought. There are many ways to do this and I’d like to look into some specifics in the next post. Think about how you focus your energy in a mundane sense and try to carry it over to your practice.

Okay, But How Do I Do it?

You can think about this is a super mundane way to begin. Any time you take a deep breath to calm your nerves. Any time you look in a mirror to psych yourself up. If you’re an athlete think about what you do before a game or before a specific action like a free throw or volleyball service. Do you bounce the ball three times? Do you say something to yourself? These are all acts of intention.

Quickly, let's circle back to that idea of yoga breath (hopefully this will resonate with at least some of you.) You can’t actually breathe into your calves but you can think about breathing into your calves. You can intend for this breath to reach your calves. It's the same with magickal intention. You can't actually breathe in white light, but you can intend to breathe it in, you can visualize it, you can feel its warmth and you can let it fill you and absorb your negative feelings. That breath you sent to your calves, did you feel it? Did your stretch suddenly get deeper? Did you just manifest a deeper stretch with a breath of intention? Maybe? Maybe that line between magick and mundane is blurrier than we think sometimes.

Here’s an example that more people will relate to: You’re about to walk into a big job interview. You’re waiting in the lobby of an office. You’re nervous. What do you do? You close your eyes and take a deep breath. You’re breathing to let go of the nerves. That focusing breath is a breath of intention. Nervousness isn't a physical thing we can rid ourselves of but it is an energy we can learn to manipulate; that’s what magick and intention are all about. To make this act more magick (although you can totally just do this as well talk about down the line) when you breathe in picture yourself breathing in a calming blue smoke and when you breath out picture a grey smoke leaving and taking your nervousness with it. Breath in the good; breath out the bad.

Okay but how do we do this in the kitchen? That’s a topic for another time but to get your creative juices flowing: stirring, breath work, visualization, affirmations, incantations and correspondences are all ways to add your intention.

And that’s where I will stop for today. I went a little crazy with how much I wrote and I didn’t want to overwhelm anyone so stay tuned for future installments. The next few are going to help me build to what I was planning on the main idea being for this one but there was just TOO MUCH information I wanted to give you! After that though I would love to hear about what you are interested in learning so please, please, please let me know! Manifestation? Intuition? Divination? The world is our oyster!

PS when the following posts are created I will link them! :)