A Kitchen Witch's Altar

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

A Kitchen Witch's Altar

by Kecia Lloyd

A few years ago, I was visiting a Hindu friend of mine for dinner. Having never been to a Hindu's house before, I was curious about the things I saw. I asked my questions and they were more than happy to provide me with answers. The one thing that stands out in my mind, more than anything else in their house, was their kitchen. In a cupboard with two doors, they have an altar dedicated to their family's patron deity. They would open the altar when they cooked, to allow their deity to guide the cooking and ensure a healthy, spiritual meal. There were other times they opened the altar, but each time, both doors to the cupboard were opened to allow a cyclic flow of Divine Energy to make it's way around the room. Now, years later, as a practicing kitchen witch, I've often wondered why I couldn't do the same?

Personally, I feel kitchen magik is overlooked, or at best given a couple of paragraphs in books, magazines, and web sites. All the information is vague, leaving most of the decisions up to my imagination. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the sources I've read have left little for guidance in a seemingly popular area for Pagans.

Kitchen magik has simple tools. All that's needed are some bowls, spoons, a mortar and pestle, and a tea kettle or cooking pot. I have found that all of them also have direct correlation to more common altar tools. Using my Hindu friend's altar as a guide, I have created a Kitchen Witch's Altar. All you need is an empty cupboard. More than likely, you already have the tools.

The first step is to choose which cupboard you will dedicate as your altar. Cupboard space is usually of short supply in most kitchens. Some re-arranging of cupboard contents may be at hand. My Hindu friends said they always used cupboards with two doors, and ones that were at eye level. This way, the Divine Presence is closer to you, and easy to access. When both doors are open, it directs the energy outward and around the room. The only don't I suggest is not to use the cupboards above the refrigerator. It makes your altar virtually inaccessible and easily forgotten.

On the back of the cupboard, you could place a picture of your deity, a pentacle, or what ever reminds you of Divine Energy. Charge the object in whatever way feels best for you. With this charged picture, statuette, or pentacle, Divine Energy will have its direct pathway into your kitchen.

The next step would be the altar cloth. To make things easier, I suggest going to a local thrift store and buying cloth napkins. You could also make your own altar clothes. However, you do it, acquire more than one of each color. This will make it easier to clean and cleanse your altar.

Now it's time to dedicate which tools you use most in your kitchen magicks. If you want, you could purchase new tools, or you could just cleanse and consecrate some that you already have. Below, I have listed a few kitchen tools and what correspondences they resemble on a regular altar.

Wooden Spoon: Wand. Remember, most wooden spoons are made of balsa wood or pine. [There are several publications that list the magickal properties of different types of wood.]

Bowl: Cauldron, Cup, or Bowl. For this, I prefer glass mixing-bowls. Glass is easy to clean, and it won't absorb any of the oils, water, or whatever you are working with. Glass also comes in many different colors. If you don't want glass, there are also several inexpensive ceramic / porcelain mixing bowls.

Tea Kettle: Cauldron. I have read that copper tea kettles are best for magik. I do not use a copper kettle, but one that is porcelain coated steel. Copper kettles can get expensive and are a high maintenance item.

Mortar and Pestle: These have been represented as the union of female and male, or the joining of Divine and Mundane Energies. They also represent the basic cup and wand. These come in all sorts of materials. Choose a set that meets both your physical and spiritual needs. For example: that dainty glass set is extremely pretty. But, will stand up to repeated use?

Cooking Pot: Cauldron. The nice thing about this correspondence is that, with a little effort, you can find full sets of cast iron cookware.

For a broom, you may want to use a small whisk broom, or basting brush. If you can wait until Halloween, you will be able to find miniature besoms for sale in the craft stores and departments of larger stores.

Cutting board: Altar tile. If you are skilled enough, or know someone who is, you could have a pentacle carved or etched into a wooden board. You could also put your creativity to work with paint and paint a pentacle on a cutting board. How creative you get is up to you.

Even though I have only listed a few, there may be other mundane tools that you use in your magickal creations. If you use a tool frequently enough in your magickal practice, find a place in the altar for it, bless it and consecrate it. The kitchen is a place of endless opportunities, and your altar, tools should reflect your path, choices, and spirituality. Be creative and invite the Divine into the heart of your home, the kitchen.