Candlelight Spells: The Modern Witch's Book of Spellcasting, Feasting, and Healing - Gerina Dunwich 2000
Miscellaneous Witches’ Recipes
The Esbat and Miscellaneous Witch Recipes
13 BEWITCHIN’ KITCHEN TIPS
1. A quartz crystal placed on or near the stove when cooking makes food taste better.
2. A pot of basil herb grown in your kitchen keeps the area safe from evil forces and negative spirits.
3. Candles keep their shape better and burn longer when chilled thoroughly in the refrigerator.
4. A witch’s kitchen should never be without a lunar calendar or chart showing the phases of the moon and its movement through the wheel of the zodiac.
5. A full moon increases extrasensory perception and is the ideal time to prepare and use potions that increase the psychic abilities.
6. Love philtres and aphrodisiacs should always be prepared during the waxing of the moon.
7. The best time to plant an herb or vegetable garden is when the moon is in Cancer, Scorpio, Libra or Pisces.
8. Homemade magickal incenses, sachets and potpourris become more fragrant if aged several months before used.
9. Homemade incense always should be stored in tightly capped or corked jars.
10. Unlucky influences should be kept away from the kitchen when cooking or preparing magickal recipes, and this is accomplished by stirring in a clockwise direction.
11. An aloe vera plant should be kept in the kitchen, as its juices are an instant cure for minor kitchen burns.
12. Herbal preparations should never be boiled in aluminum vessels, but in only copper, earthenware or Pyrex to avoid contamination of the medicines.
13. Before casting spells or preparing potions, always keep in mind the Wiccan Rede: “Do what ye will an it harm none.”
WICCAN HANDFASTING CAKE
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
½ cup honey
5 eggs
2 cups flour
2 tablespoons grated lemon rind
2½ teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon rosewater
pinch of basil
6 fresh rose geranium leaves
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy and light. Add the honey and mix well. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add the flour and blend thoroughly with a large wooden spoon following each egg. Stir in the lemon rind, lemon juice, rose water and a pinch of basil—the herb of love. Line the bottom of a greased 9×5×3-inch loaf pan with the rose geranium leaves and then pour in the batter. Bake the cake in a preheated 350 degree oven for one hour and 15 minutes. Remove from oven when done and let it stand on a rack for 20 minutes before unmolding. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top of the handfasting cake just before serving.
YULE CAKE
3 sticks softened butter
3 tablespoons softened butter
1¼ cups and 2 tablespoons flour
¾ cup chopped candied cherries
1¼ cups raisins
1¼ cups dried currants
1½ cups sugar
7 eggs
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Using a pastry brush, coat the sides and bottom of a 9 × 3-inch springform cake pan with the three tablespoons of the softened butter. Sprinkle the two tablespoons of flour into the pan. Tip pan from side to side to spread the flour evenly, then turn it upside down and give it a whack on the bottom to remove the excess flour. Combine the cherries, raisins and currants in a bowl, add one-quarter cup of the flour and stir the fruit with a spoon, coating the pieces evenly. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream three-quarter pounds of softened butter, the sugar and two additional tablespoons of the flour together by working them against the sides of the bowl until they are light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then gradually beat in the rest of the flour, the allspice and the salt. Combine the nuts with the fruit mixture and add to the batter, one-half cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Pour the batter into the cake pan, spreading it out with a spatula. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 1½ hours or until the top of the Yule cake is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Make sure the cake is completely cool before removing it from the pan.
PASSION POTPOURRI
2 ounces violet
2 ounces orris root
1 ounce lovage
½ ounce rose leaf
½ ounce rose petal
1 ounce rosemary
1 ounce tonka bean
½ ounce lemon leaf
Cut and collect the herbs on a dry morning after the dew has dried. Tie the herbs together securely with a red string and hang them to dry in an attic or other warm, dark, airy place. Remove the string after the herbs are dry and brittle, and break them into large coarse pieces. (It is important that the herbs be completely dry, otherwise mold will develop and ruin the potpourri.) Stir the ingredients together with a large wooden spoon and then place in a large glass jar, bottle or jug and seal with a tightfitting lid. Keep the potpourri in a cool dark place for three months, removing the lid and stirring the contents with a wooden spoon at least once a week.
PASSION APHRODISIAC—Place a handful of the passion potpourri into a nylon stocking, muslin or cheesecloth bag and add to your bath water to increase sexual power.
PASSION SACHET—On a night of the waxing moon, place one ounce of the passion potpourri in a silk handkerchief. Fill your mind with romantic thoughts as you gather together the corners of the handkerchief and tie them securely with a piece of red velvet. Carry the sachet of passion potpourri with you at all times during the day to help guide a lover into your life. At night, place the sachet under your pillow before going to sleep.
PASSION VISION INCENSE—Burn a pinch of the passion potpourri on a hot charcoal block as a magickal incense to receive a psychic vision of your future lovemate.
FRANKINCENSE
2 tablespoons powdered frankincense
1 tablespoon powdered orris root
1 teaspoon powdered clove
1 tablespoon lemon oil
Combine and mix together the frankincense, orris root and clove. Stir the lemon oil through the mixture. Put it in a clean glass jar, seal or cork tightly and keep in a dark, cool place for two or three months before using.
Frankincense is an excellent incense to use when performing healing magick. It can also be consecrated and burned on a hot charcoal block as an altar incense to honor the Horned God and Mother Goddess.
GODDESS INCENSE
½ ounce ground rose petals
½ dram cypress oil
½ dram olive oil
½ ounce powdered white willow bark
Mix together all ingredients and burn on a hot charcoal block to honor the Goddess.
GOOD OMEN INCENSE
5 rose petals
1½ ounce myrrh
1 ounce dragon’s blood
½ ounce sassafras
½ ounce orange blossoms
½ ounce juniper
½ ounce sage
½ dram frankincense oil
Mix all ingredients together and burn on a hot charcoal block to attract good luck.
KYPHI ISIS INCENSE
½ ounce benzoin
½ ounce cinnamon
½ ounce frankincense
½ ounce galangal
1 ounce myrrh
3 drops lotus oil
3 drops honey
Using your hands, mix together the benzoin, cinnamon, frankincense, galangal and myrrh in a large nonmetallic bowl. Add the lotus oil and honey and mix thoroughly. Cover the bowl tightly with a plastic wrap and let it sit undisturbed for two weeks in a dark place.
With a mortar and pestle, grind the ingredients into a fine powder and burn on a hot charcoal block as a magickal incense or to invoke ancient Egyptian deities.
WITCHES’ FLYING OINTMENT
¼ cup lard
½ teaspoon clove oil
1 teaspoon chimney soot
¼ teaspoon cinquefoil
¼ teaspoon mugwort
¼ teaspoon thistle
¼ teaspoon vervain
½ teaspoon tincture of benzoin
In a small saucepan, heat the lard over low flame until it is melted. Add the clove oil, chimney soot, cinquefoil, mugwort, thistle and vervain to the lard base and mix together well. Add the benzoin as a natural preservative, stir and then simmer for 10—15 minutes. Strain through a cheesecloth into a small fireproof container and store in refrigerator or a cool dark place. Anoint your body with the flying ointment prior to astral projection.
OLD-FASHIONED WITCH SOAP
4 lbs. lard
13 ounces lye (1 can)
5 cups cold water
1 tablespoon lavender oil
1 tablespoon patchouli oil
1 cup fresh strawberry juice
¼ cup dried soap bark herb (optional)
In a large enamel or iron kettle, melt the lard over very low heat. (IMPORTANT—Never use aluminum pots or utensils when working with soap containing lye!) In a separate iron or enamel pot, stir together the lye and the water. Heat until small bubbles begin to appear—do not boil. Remove from the heat and slowly pour the lye solution into the lard. With a big wooden spoon, stir in the lavender and patchouli oils, the strawberry juice and soap bark herb. Simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Pour into two-inch deep greased enamel or glass pans and allow to cool overnight. Cut the soap into squares and leave in the pans for at least three days before removing. Place the soap bars on waxed paper and allow them to “age” in a draft-free area for four to six weeks before using.