Andor's Tome of Stuff : )

Cottage Witchery

Sharing a meal with friends or those you love is a ritual in itself, there is a certain energy associated with this simple pleasure, and with the magic of food, our life is sustained.

The oven is one of your magic tools, an alchemy takes place whenever you put something into the oven and it is transformed. Old magic paid attention to the lore of food and the energies that are white-flower contained in the food we eat every day. It is important to make your time in the kitchen, preparing dishes for yourself and your loved ones, a pleasurable time, your energies are integrated with the energies naturally contained in food. Every time you prepare a meal you have the opportunity to create positive changes in your life, each meal can be a magic ritual with love, health, happiness, and protection within the foods you eat on a daily basis. Once you become familiar with the energies contained in food, preparing and cooking a meal will take on an entirely new meaning, you can add power and vibrance to your life. Each meal can be a celebration of magic.

Hundreds of years ago food was worshiped and seen as a gift from the gods, the energies contained within the food we eat are vital to our survival. You will find food all the more enjoyable as you approach it from a magical perspective, and every meal can be a wonderful act of alchemy that magically changes the food you prepare into a beautiful meal for you and yours to enjoy and energized by. When eating be conscious of the higher power existing in the foods, this way each meal can be a celebration, and cooking will take on an entirely new tone. All you need to do is to follow a few simple steps, before cooking be conscious of what changes you want in your life, you then choose the foods containing the energies that are compatible with your thoughts and this is the beginning of your magic.

The ancient Egyptians used food as a means of exchange and food was stocked in the tombs as a gift to the gods. Barley was used for rituals associated with marriage and fertility, it was also served at funerals. Barley actually ignites the financial energies and is an especially good magical food to use if you are having money troubles, it also relates to the sexual potency of the male. The Japanese like to eat buckwheat noodles for financial luck in the New Year, by eating buckwheat pancakes you are attracting the energy of money, while you are preparing and eating make sure that your intention is clear and your vision vivid and powerful.

Corn has been used by various tribes over the centuries and used in rituals, it is a symbol of fertility, life, eternity, and resurrection. Corn was also used for divination purposes, it was practiced by the ancient Aztecs, it was often used in elaborate healing ceremonies. Corn is still considered sacred by many tribes and is treated with great reverence, it is thought to bring blessing and heightened spiritual enlightenment. In around 1000 BC lentils were used for trading. The Germans believed that by eating millet on the first day of the year, it would bring them good luck and prosperity throughout the year. In ancient times rice was used by the Japanese as a form of payment for work done, or to buy items, it was also used to keep away evil spirits. If a child had trouble sleeping, a bowl of rice was placed next to the bed as a way to ward off the spirits that were thought to be disturbing the child. When eating a rice cake visualize money and protection, it is also thought to be useful for fertility. Rye is thought to contain the power to help a person give and receive love and caraway seeds to enhance this energy. The ancients Greeks placed crowns of wheat on the heads of brides and grooms as a symbol of fertility. Garlic bread is a powerful protection food and is enjoyed in many cultures.

The Babylonians baked and served cakes for the goddess Ishtar and they were served during fertility festivals. The Greek goddess Artemis was honored each month by the baking of round cakes upon which candles were placed. Moon cakes are baked in China in honor of the autumn moon festival. Gypsies used the power of cakes in their rituals to cure ailments of all types, and we all know the symbolism of cakes at Christmas, birthdays and Easter.