-
WitchCrafting: Crafts for Witches
Ostara Cards Merry meet. I don’t always manage to get Yule cards out on time, but it occurred to me: why send cards only for the winter holidays? Why not for spring? Here is a suggestion for an Ostara card that can be modified for any of the other sabbats. I bought packets of seeds that were magickal and, hopefully, easy to grow – organic and heirloom when possible. Then I wrote a verse for the inside of the card that can serve as a spell, which you are free to use: “As the wheel turns and we move into the light, May…
-
The Kitchen Witch
The Humble Boxty Many years ago, I went out with a guy named Tim. We were just kids; I was a little older than he was, but we were still kids, basically. I was twenty and he was eighteen. At that time, the drinking age was eighteen years old in New York State. We went to a lot of concerts and to clubs that featured live music. Tim was a major Deadhead and I loved anything I could dance to. But like so many young people, we drifted apart. I didn’t hear from Tim for many years – not until I reconnected with him on Facebook around 2007 or so.…
-
5 Yule Simmer Pots: Recipes to Make Your Home Smell Like Winter
The season of scented candles, freshly cut trees, warm cookies, and chestnuts roasting on an open fire has begun! While crushed candy cane and vanilla bean frosting scents might sound scrumptious and inviting, nothing beats the scents of ingredients like cinnamon sticks, apple peels, orange rinds, cloves, anise, vanilla, and nutmeg boiling together in your kitchen pot and having that aroma spread and fill your household. How to Create a Simmer Pot: Fill a small saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add the ingredients from your favorite recipe, continue to boil for a few minutes, then turn the heat down to simmer. Add water as needed,…
-
The Kitchen Witch
Air-fryer Chicken Wings I am just about the last person I know to get an air-fryer. My sister has had one for several years now. At the last family gathering – which was before COVID – there was a spirited conversation about air fryers, which brands cooked better, the trading of recipes. Recently, I was on a bus and I heard some people behind me talking about air fryers and what they cooked in them. I thought, I have got to get one of these things! But I wasn’t in a real big hurry to purchase one – I’m never in a hurry for anything. The day I went out…
-
WitchCrafting: Crafts for Witches
Yule Decor Merry meet. You know magic is everywhere when you can find a good idea for Yule in a YouTube video from The Home Depot. I live on a bus and use mason jars for everything from drinking glasses and vases to making kombucha and storing herbs. “Fuss-Free Holiday Decorations & Prep Techniques” now has me using them to make berry luminaries. It’s simple: put pieces of evergreen in any-sized mason jar, fill with water, add some cranberries, and float a tea light candle (removed from its holder) on top. Mine will be on my altar, but these would go well on a…
-
Oud: The Magickal Benefits of the Middle Eastern Incense
Known as the “wood of the Gods” and the “black gold”, Oud is one of the most mysterious and precious raw substance used in the majority of Middle-Eastern Homes. From having its incense placed in every corner of our houses, to using its oil on our bodies and its fragrance on our bed sheets, this powerful and magickal scent is part of our culture and of our daily lives. The history of Oud goes back to ancient times, where it was known in civilizations such as the Chinese, Pharaonic and Assyrian before it reached the Arab civilization through the silk road. The earliest recorded information was found in 1400 B.C.E.…
-
WitchCrafting: Crafts for Witches
A Wheel of the Year Merry meet. Samhain and the end of the pagan year is a good time to create a Solar Wheel using Indian corn, a common seasonal decoration. Gather eight ears of corn that are the same length and have husks. To represent the quarters, pick four that are similar in color, and select another color for the cross-quarters. Using all one color, or a random selection can also represent the eight sabbats. A wire wreath form, bent metal hanger, grapevine wreath, or circle of sturdy cardboard can serve as a base. You’ll also need a small cardboard circle. Attach two ears of corn opposite…
-
Samhain Recipe: Phoenician Wheat Porridge
Samhain Recipe: Phoenician Wheat Porridge This Phoenician wheat porridge is served in Lebanon on happy occasions, such as to celebrate baby’s first tooth, when it is distributed to all friends, relatives and neighbors. It was also served for the New Year as wheat symbolizes prosperity and happiness, as well as for Samhain, at which people wear a disguise and go door to door. They are welcomed with a dish of wheat berries in a sweet anise-scented broth covered with a multitude of nuts. This dish was customary in any celebration; in my ancestor’s time, families would send the High Priest or High Priestess two large platters of this dish that…
-
WitchCrafting: Crafts for Witches
Magickal Eye Pillow Merry meet. I have used eye pillows filled with rice, sand, microbeads, beans, or flaxseeds for decades. Its gentle pressure signals the brain to relax, while also blocking out sleep-disturbing light. They have been found to ease stress and anxiety, promote better sleep, and provide relief from tension headaches and migraines. It wasn’t until recently I thought to make it magickal. When a corner of my favorite eye pillow opened, I took it as a sign I didn’t have to start from scratch and use the fabric I had cut out and put somewhere months earlier. Pouring out the contents, I washed the cover. Then I…
-
The Kitchen Witch
Blueberry Pie Nothing says summer more than blueberry pie! Whether you’re using fresh blueberries picked from your own patch or from a blueberry farm or blueberries bought at a farmer’s market or blueberries frozen from an earlier picking session, this is probably one of the quintessential pies of summertime. Perfect with vanilla ice cream, it’s a treat that everyone loves. I have made blueberry pie several times in my life. Usually I just make my standard pie crust – the simple one I have memorized and have made hundreds of times – and simply mix fresh blueberries with sugar and flour and then bake until the crust is a…