Kitchen Witch: Food, Folklore & Fairy Tale
Magic, superstition, cooking, and food rituals have been intertwined since ancient times. Kitchen Witch explores this history and culture and that of herbalists, wise women, cooks, cunning folk and the name many of them would come to bear: witch. Welcome to a place of great magic – the kitchen! Kitchen Witch is an invitation to see the magic in every corner of your kitchen. With the Kitchen Witch as our guide, we'll explore food, nature, magic, and transformation. We'll discover what the name of Kitchen Witch could mean to us in modern interpretations of ancient practices. May this book of stories and ideas show that there's magic in the mundane, witchcraft within your walls and the Goddess really is in the details. Within this book you'll find no recipes, but something cooked up just for you; you'll find stories – stories of magic, healing, and hearth, of feasts and fasts and fairy tales. Of poisoned apples, bewitching gingerbread, and seeing the future in a teacup... Discover the fantastic folklore and healing properties of everyday foods: fruits, vegetables, honey, bread and nuts. Delight in food customs and rituals from ancient Babylon, Egypt, Greece and Rome. Meet cunning folk, herbalists, ale-wives, beer goddesses and the many faces of the Kitchen Witch through the ages. Journey through food for every seasonal festival on the Wheel of the Year. Enjoy fairy and folk tales of witches and saints in Scandinavia, floating apples and snapdragon in England, potato-wolves in Germany, tatty bogles and angels who drink whisky in Scotland, and a rather surprising prevalence of pancakes... In Sarah's signature style of weaving together the magical, this exciting new book will touch on a myriad of modalities in a journey lined with folklore, fairytale and much, much food! A fascinating and beautifully crafted book following the history, myths and tales of the Kitchen Witch. Following a trail between legend and modern day working, this makes for a fabulous read. – Rachel Patterson, Kitchen Witch, author of Grimoire of a Kitchen Witch and the Kitchen Witchcraft Series