The House Witch: Your Complete Guide to Creating a Magical Space with Rituals and Spells for Hearth and Home - Arin Murphy-Hiscock 2018
Blessing Your Cauldron
The Magic of the Cauldron
When you acquire a cauldron, it’s best to cleanse and purify it before use for either cooking or as a spiritual symbol or tool. You can adapt the Basic Room Purification Ritual in Chapter 7 or create your own. Once the vessel has been purified, you may say a blessing over it, such as this one or another of your choosing, or you may write one of your own.
Cauldron,
Sacred symbol of rebirth,
Of transformation and wisdom,
Share with me your secrets and insight.
May my life be touched by your energy
As we work together.
Cauldron, I welcome you into my home.
Blessings upon you.
If you like, you can sprinkle a few fresh or dried herbs inside the pot that represent blessing or welcome to you. (If you don’t have any connection to herbs or sense an energy like this in any of them, check the appendix for a brief list of suggested herbs and their traditional associations.)
Recipe: Cauldron Cookies
These fun little treats are a version of thumbprint cookies. Use the well in the center as the source for whatever you empower: nuts for abundance and fertility, and so forth. Cauldron cookies can be made and empowered with whatever energy you wish to associate with them, such as wisdom, abundance, or spiritual transformation. (See Chapter 9 for more information on the spiritual aspect of cooking and using food in a spiritual context.)
This recipe uses cocoa to make a chocolate cookie, which looks more like the traditional dark cauldron. If you wish to make a vanilla cookie, leave out the cocoa and add an extra spoonful or two of flour.
Make sure you press your thumb into these cookies very deeply. If you only make a light impression the cauldron-like well is lost when the cookie bakes and rises slightly. Alternatively, you may bake them for 4 or 5 minutes, then press your thumb into the cookies (carefully as they will be hot) and bake them for the remaining time.
You will need:
✵ 1 cup butter, softened
✵ 1 cup brown sugar
✵ 2 large eggs
✵ 1/4 cup milk
✵ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
✵ 2 cups flour
✵ 2/3 cup cocoa
✵ 1 teaspoon baking powder
✵ 1/2 teaspoon salt
✵ Filling suggestions: jam, whipped cream, lightly crushed berries sprinkled with a bit of sugar (let this mixture sit at least 1 hour before filling the cookies), frosting, nut butter
1. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and blend in. Add milk and vanilla and blend carefully. Mix well.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Fold into the butter mixture carefully, then mix until well blended.
3. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until firm enough to handle.
4. Heat oven to 350°F. Roll dough into 1" balls. Place on lightly greased baking sheets. Press thumb deeply but gently in center of each ball. (Dusting your hands with icing sugar may help prevent the dough from sticking too much while rolling the balls and pressing your thumb into them.)
5. Bake 10—12 minutes or until set. Cool slightly on baking sheet, then remove from sheet to finish cooling on a wire rack. Cool completely before filling. If you want to carry the cauldron theme further, use thin strips of licorice candy as handles.
Your physical representation of the spiritual hearth or your kitchen altar or shrine is the perfect place for your ritual cauldron to rest. As the cauldron is one of the focal symbols of hearthcraft, having it within sight while you work is ideal. Glancing at it now and again can help you refocus on whatever your spiritual purpose is: nourishing, loving, protecting, or whatever may be the theme of your work.