Product Description

Includes around 100 spells and recipes -- many revealed for the first time -- for eating, drinking and making your life merrier, along with plenty of practical advice on witchy subjects such as potions to improve your looks without ruining your bank balance! Traditionally much of the work of the Witch took place around the hearth, where, herbs, plants and other ingredients were specially blended to create medicines to mend the body and heal the spirit, and foods and wines were created to celebrate the festivals of the Wheel of the Year. Today's hearth is the kitchen, and for many Witches it is the work-centre where they make the recipes and other 'tools' of their trade. The book includes: Oils, lotions and ointments, for magical and healing purposes / Soaps and bathing distillations, to prepare for Magical undertakings. / Brews and teas, using herb lore to heal the body and mind. / Soups, stews and other foods to sustain the sick and aid healing. / Candles and incenses, for use in Rituals and Magic. / Cakes, biscuits and breads, to honour the Goddess and the God. / Sabbat foods and wines to celebrate the Wheel of the Year. / Sachets of herbs to be given to those seeking protection, healing, confidence and many other problems

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11452 in Books
• Published on: 2002-01-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Review
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About the Author
Kate West is the author of The Real Witches' Handbook and The Real Witches' Kitchen. She is Media Officer for The Children of Artemis and High Priestess of the Hearth of Hecate, which runs a popular email support and enquiry service for Witches around the world. A practising Wiccan for over 30 years, she has excellent international contacts.

Excerpted from The Real Witches' Kitchen by Kate West. Copyright © 2002. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Oils, Lotions and Potions

Goddess Oil

Wear this to honour the Goddess or apply it to a candle to invoke her assistance.
2 drops jasmine oil
2 drops myrrh oil
1 drop rose oil

God Oil

Wear this to honour the God or apply it to a candle to invite his strength.
2 drops sandalwood
2 drops orange oil
1 drop cinnamon oil

Power Oil

Use this to enhance or empower any magical working
4 drops orange oil
1 drop cinnamon oil
1 drop ginger oil
1 drop pine oil

Wealth oil

This oil will not simply bring you money - Magically speaking, that is very dangerous. It will, however, increase yur opportunities to earn money.
3 drops basil oil
2 drops ginger oil
1 drop vanilla essence or extract

Brews and Teas

Clear Thoughts Tea

This is not only useful fkor study but also for whenever you want to drive out negativity and get on with life
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp lemon balm
1/2 tsp basil
grated peel of 1/2 a lemon
equal amount of grate grapefruit

Sleep and Dream Tea 1

This tea not only promotes a good night's sleep but also brings pleasant dreams. Valerian is not to everyone's taste, but if you do find you like it then this really is the best version to try, otherwise see the next recipe.
3 rose petals
1/2 tsp va;erian root or 1 tsp valerian leaves
a few lavender roots

Customer Reviews

Real witches kitchen?
This book aims to give 'practical advice on ways of enriching and expanding your Craft experience' and includes recipes for oils, lotions, soaps, herbal remedies and ointments for healing, magical and beauty purposes; food and drink to celebrate the sabbats and instructions for making your own incense and candles.

To start with, the layout of Real Witches' Kitchen is very much like your ordinary cook book, with recipes organised under several common-sense headings, making the book itself very easy to use as a reference text. Each section is started with a little blurb explaining the chapter and its contents in terms of magic and Craftwork as well as giving some helpful tips and pointers for your own experimentations. Practical directions for use, for example how to use oils to anoint candles, are also included in the relevant sections, making the information given applicable to those with little or no Craft experience.

Kate West writes in a casual and easy to follow style somewhat reminiscent of the American writer Silver RavenWolf. Her simple instructions are littered with personal anecdotes, which gives the book a friendly feel which some readers may appreciate.

The first chapter gives some information on Witchcraft itself, which allows this book to be used comfortably by those who are not practising witches. This gives the book a more 'novice' feel, and the general tone is very simple and basic. The amount of specific information given however is beyond that which is normally found in 'beginners guides'. The book manages to avoid the common 'spells on a plate' feel by providing the information to make your tools without accompanying them with strict instructions for their use, and providing useful information for making your own concoctions.

The chapters concerned with the Wheel of the Year do not go into too much depth about the festivals themselves, although brief histories are given. The main focus here is on how to celebrate them, with a list of recipes for a whole meal including drinks and a page of ideas for 'making merry'. This is obviously aimed at people new to the Craft who are unsure about how to go about observing their newly adopted festivals.

The book is entirely non-specific when it comes to talking about religion- which it hardly mentions throughout- making it applicable to anyone interested in kitchen witchery. It contains a large amount of information covering many popular crafty topics, and would be useful for anyone starting to experiment with making their own tools and remedies.

In summary, Real Witches' Kitchen is an easy-to-read book in a pleasant enough style which contains a large amount of practical Craft ideas. It is a good beginners guide to kitchen witchcraft but perhaps lacks depth for those who already know the basics.

All the basics covered!
This is the best witchcraft book I own, and I have quite a few, it covers all the basics from simple spells to beliefs and celebrations. It gives plenty of new ideas for the seasoned witch, is simple to understand for anyone new to the craft and really is a perfect book, especially for those who also love to do more normal crafts like candle making, cooking or soap making, as it gives a witchy twist to everyday things. I cannot recommend this book enough, either for a first book or as an addition to a personal library. I wish this book had been around when I first became interested in the craft. It isn't wiccan, but it does follow the wiccan rede( harm none) It covers pagan holidays and gives everything you need to know, including ideas for food and ways to celebrate. Really brilliant!!!!

A good book but a touch condescending
This is a great book for a beginner and has some good ideas for the more experienced Witch/Pagan.
Although looking at it from the point of view of someone who has many years Craft experience it is a touch condescending.
In places it is a fantastic reference and in others it seems a little school maam ish.

However I would recommend this book to any one, the recipes for feast days and incense mixtures are great, it has sections on health and beauty the kitchen witch way and some really fantastic information on all manner of things.

A very worthwhile book to own and extremely difficult to put down once you have started reading it.