PLANT THREE ROWS OF PEAS:
1. Peace of mind
2. Peace of heart
3. Peace of soul
PLANT FOUR ROWS OF SQUASH:
1. Squash gossip
2. Squash indifference
3. Squash grumbling
4. Squash selfishness
PLANT FOUR ROWS OF LETTUCE:
1. Lettuce be faithful
2. Lettuce be kind
3. Lettuce be patient
4. Lettuce really love one another
NO GARDEN IS WITHOUT TURNIPS:
1. Turnip for meetings
2. Turnip for service
3. Turnip to help one another
TO CONCLUDE OUR GARDEN WE MUST HAVE THYME:
1. Thyme for each other
2. Thyme for family
3. Thyme for friends
WATER FREELY WITH PATIENCE AND CULTIVATE WITH LOVE.
THERE IS MUCH FRUIT IN YOUR GARDEN
BECAUSE YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW.
Author Unknown
Here is a little information on Kitchen Witchery since a lot of herbs
we work with are also used in the kitchen.
A Bewitchin' Kitchen
by Gerina Dunwich
It does not take a lot of work, time, or money to transform an ordinary
kitchen into a magical workplace. To begin with, there are many simple,
yet effective, charms (such as a rope of garlic, a sun-catcher, or
pentagram symbols) that can be placed in the kitchen for protection.
A sunny kitchen windowsill filled with pots of magical plants not only
looks good, but releases magical energies into the room. Even common
culinary herbs that are found in the cabinets or nearly every kitchen
possess strong magical properties. For instance, basil is traditionally
used for exorcism, love, protection, and purification. Parsley is used
for fertility, passion, and protection. Sage is used for healing,
protection, and prosperity; and thyme is used for clairvoyance,
courage, and love.
Hang a "kitchen Witch" doll for good luck, and add magic to your
cooking by drawing an invisible pentagram inside your pots and pans
with a wand or athame. (A wooden spoon, fork, or knife can also be
used.)
A well-stocked Witch's kitchen should contain herbs, essential oils, a
mortar and pestle (for grinding dried herbs and other magical things),
candles, incense, an up-to-date lunar calendar, and cauldron for
brewing potions.
Smudge your kitchen with a sage bundle if you sense negativity. Anoint
utensils and appliances with essential oils to bless and charge them
with powerful vibrations.
Never ingest essential oils. If you choose to anoint kitchen tools,
either anoint the parts of the tool that do not come into direct
contact with food, or make sure that there is no way that the oil will
transfer from the tool to your food.
Always stir food in a clockwise direction, and be sure to invite the
Goddess and God into your new magical workplace.
A Witch's Kitchen Blessing
Blessed be this Kitchen of Air, Fire, Water, and Earth. Be warmed by
the sacred light of the Goddess and the Horned One. May all that is
created here by means both magical and mundane bring nourishment,
healing, and sustenance, and cause harm to none. With love and peace,
with joy and magic, be now and always filled. So mote it be!
Kitchen Deities
Throughout the world many cultures have believed in and worshiped
various kitchen gods and goddesses. These deities are generally
regarded as benevolent, and their presence is said to offer protection
against kitchen accidents, fires, and food poisoning; to keep
negativity, ghosts, and evil influences out of the kitchen; and to
bless all foods that are prepared.
The Hindu god Annamurti (a form of the god Vishnu) is the patron deity
of kitchens and food. Offerings of payasa (sweetened milk and rice) are
traditionally placed before his bronze image at his shrine in southern
India.
In Japan, the god and goddess of kitchens are Oki-Tsu-Hiko-No-Kami and
his consort Oki-Tsu-Hime-No-Kami. They are the children of the harvest
god, and their main duty is to look after the cauldron in which water
is boiled. Another Japanese deity associated with the kitchen is
Hettsui No-Kami. She is the goddess of the kitchen range. Each year on
the eighth day of November she is honored in Japan with a Shinto
festival called the Fuigo Matsuri.
The Chinese god of the stove was a deity who was greatly respected, for
he possessed the power to bestow a family with good health, wealth, and
prosperity. To keep him from being offended, all family members would
take great care not to sing, swear, cry, or kiss in front of the stove.
To chop onions on or near the stove was also regarded as disrespectful
and was forbidden.
The Four Elements
In addition to the Pagan gods and goddesses of the kitchen, the spirits
of the four ancient elements are strongly connected to, and make their
presence well known in, the Witch's kitchen.
The refrigerator is an appliance dedicated to air. Air is also linked
to the steam given off by hot foods and boiling liquids. Fire (the
source of heat and symbol of transformation) dwells within stove and
hearth. Water rules over the kitchen sink as well as the liquids used
in the preparation and cooking of foods and potions. Vegetables,
fruits, nuts, herbs and spices, and even meats and poultry are all
gifts from our blessed planetary Mother. These foods that nourish and
sustain us are, of course, ruled by the earth element.
The elemental spirits of air, fire, water, and earth can be invoked at
any time in the kitchen for protection, empowerment, magical aid, and
so forth. It is through the use of these four basic elements that
kitchen magic is created.
Kitchen Omens and Superstitions
The reading of omens is an art and practice dating back to antiquity.
Omens reveal many things and are all around us, if we permit ourselves
to be aware of them. They can be quite beneficial, especially in
warning us of dangerous situations ahead of time. The trick is knowing
how to correctly interpret the omen.
The kitchen is one place in which many omens manifest. For instance, a
rainstorm is portended by the repeated boiling over of a coffeepot and
also by the accidental spilling of water on a tablecloth. Other omens
include the following:
* Money will soon come your way if any of the following things should
occur: bubbles appear in a cup of coffee, you accidentally knock over a
sugar bowl, rice forms a ring around the edge of a pot, or tea leaves
float to the top of the cup.
* Trouble is indicted by the accidental omission of spices from a
recipe or by the spilling of salt. Be prepared for an argument with
someone if you should happen to spill pepper on the kitchen table or
floor. (According to occult tradition, these bad omens can be remedied
by simply adding the spices, and by tossing a pinch of salt or pepper
over your left shoulder, respectively.) It is also said that if two
persons stir the same boiling pot or sit together on a table, they will
soon find themselves involved in a quarrel.
* If your apron comes untied by itself and falls off while you are
working in the kitchen, this is generally seen as a sign that someone
is thinking about you. Some say that it means your sweetheart is having
romantic thoughts about you at that moment.
* It is believed by many to be an omen of good news when baked apples
burst while in the oven, or when the salt and sugar are accidentally
mixed up.
* If a fork accidentally falls onto the floor, a woman will soon knock
on your door; a spoon indicates the arrival of a gentleman. (In some
parts of the world, the fork means a man, and the spoon a woman.)
Unexpected or unwelcome visitors are also presaged by the dropping of a
knife that sticks in the ground and by cracks that form on the shells
of eggs boiling in a pot of water.
* If you are engaged or wish to get married, according to an old belief
once common in England, you should take care to never sit on a kitchen
table, for this will break the engagement and also prevent you from
ever being wed.
* There are also numerous kitchen omens concerning bread. It is
considered unlucky in certain countries to wash a bread-knife on a
Sunday, cut both ends of a loaf of bread, leave a knife stuck in the
loaf, or take the last slice of bread. Accidentally dropping a slice of
bread with the buttered side down is also said to be a bad omen;
however, it is a good sign if the dropped bread lands with the buttered
side up. If you and another person reach for the same slice of bread at
the same time, an unexpected visitor will soon appear.
