Category: Kitchen Witchery

Blessed Frau Holle Day!

Posted on by runa

What January 6th Means For The Creative Crone

For many a years my family leaned into our Mediterranean heritage and celebrated La Befana and gathered round the table with some good Lasagna on Jan. 6. This date is the 12th day of Yule. But in recent years, we’ve been leaning into our Germanic kindred traditions of Frau Holle day. As I talk with my fellow Witches during this time of year, I recognize not many Western Practitioners may know much about who this figure is. I thought I’d share a little bit about that and give you all a little Kitchen Witchery to perhaps play with yourself.

Frau Holle, much like her Italian counterpart, La Befana, is a holiday Witch. In some communities throughout the Alps range, you will see her accompanying the more demonic creatures during Krampusnacht . Her origin stems from the winter goddess Mother Perchta (sometimes written Berchta). She’s also known by the names Hulda or Holle. This last one is how I was introduced to her. All the cleaning that leads up to winter celebrations (e.g. Xmas) is necessary otherwise Frau Holle will think you lazy and not bless you with her light. Lore has it that she sneaks into your home at night like a grizzled Dolores Umbridge checking your baseboards for dust and such. If you don’t pass the white glove test, well…let’s just say the coal in your stockings might just be set afire.

She was around long before Xtianity came to Northern Europe. She’s associated with nature and fertility and as she is connected with cycles of death and rebirth, she is celebrated in winter. Those in charge of hearth and home, especially where women were concerned, had the closest relationship with her. She is said to be the goddess who looks after children who have passed on. In some lore, she is the one that prompts you to create a cozy nest during the coldest time of the year. The word Hygge and Hulda sound very close when you say them as a native Northern European might.

She is venerated during Twelfth night, as well as again in the beginning of Spring (Wonnenacht/Walpurgisnacht). She’s petitioned to help us get through the winter, and then thanked profusely once we’re on the other side of it. She is at the center of the lore around Women’s Christmas, as part of celebrating her, women gifted their sisters, mothers, grandmothers, aunties, and friends little small gifts on this day. Some of you may know it from the more Irish tradition of Little Christmas, where the men take on the household duties for the day and the ladies take over the pub (my kind of celebration!).

The Grimm brothers turned this goddess into Mother Hulda in one of their fairy tales. In their story she’s a magical being who tests two stepsisters, rewarding the kind and hardworking one with gold and prosperity while punishing the lazy and cruel one.They did include some of the mythological associations long connected with Frau Holle like shaking out the featherbed, which symbolizes snowfall and her ability to control the winter weather. They also included jumping into the well and golden apples and spinning. They represent the descent into the underworld, as well as industriousness and domestic skills.

I like Frau Holle Day, because it’s like a small pick-me-up after the come down of Winter Solstice and New Year’s celebrations. In the years when things have been hectic there’s still time to celebrate. It can allow you to celebrate with anyone you haven’t been able to catch up with during the Solstice proper. Also, any place that I can connect with Divine Feminine, I’m there. This patriarchal world can be weary. The 2024 Holidaze, for yours truly, have been peppered heavily with workload and illness for me. As Frau Holle day arrives, I’m finally feeling better.

Since I live so close to the ocean, my freezer is filled with good Pacific seafood directly procured right from the fishing families of my community. I’ll be making a version of Cioppino. Yes, yes, we’re back to that American-Italian influence from my old neighborhood and my other Mediterranean ancestors, as well as the Slavic lands line the Adriatic Sea. Of course our Nordic ancestors had the food of the North Sea. Therefore, this type of dish connects and honors them as well. Cioppino, which basically means “chip in, chip in!” is some Kitchen Witchery that is near and dear to my heart. I’m all about using up what you have and creating goodness from it, especially if you can add Magic, too. Frau Holle Day Sea Stew will use up many of the things in my freezer and larder.

Frau Holle Day Sea Stew as written here will focus on the water’s bounty near me – Salmon, Halibut, Black Cod, Dungeness Crab, Spot Prawns, butter clams, and the like. Feel free to add the things to this stew that are closest to you. When I lived in Louisiana, my version of this working included crawfish and catfish (oh, how I miss catfish!), because it was available. If you’re on the east coast you likely have blue crab or cod available. If you’re somewhere in the middle, our rivers and lakes give us lots to make up a Frau Holle Day Sea Stew. If you’re reading this from far away from North America, again, I’m sure you have seafood that is germane to your area that could be used. Local food is the yummiest and freshest, as well as holding its own most powerful energies, and thereby its magical properties. My counsel is to go for that. Find a local fishmonger and let them teach you and help you. They likely have a good source of fish stock which is key to this working.

Do also visit your local bakery and get some good crusty bread to go with this. You can get fancy and serve it in bread bowls. If you bake bread regularly, make a fresh loaf just for this. This recipe will serve about four people. Feel free to divide or multiple the ingredients to make more or less.

This observation is about entering into the deepest part of winter with a focus on enjoying even these harsh times. I also like to look at it as a reminder that a little bit of this and a little bit of that can make a whole meal – this isn’t just about food. Ask yourself in your own life what a little bit of (fill in the blank) and a little bit of (fill in the blank) could enhance your life? Where can you chip in a little extra to your life? What bit of talent, what bit of education, what bit of gumption can you add to the stew of your life and create something new and beautiful? Those are the thoughts to enter into while making this festive meal.

I set up a small altar to Frau Holle in the house – often on the dining room table or the kitchen windowsill – as I’m called. This often includes lighted candle(s) and incense. The candle color echoes the season for me, something white, or blue, or that wonderful PNW gray. As for the incense, it brings a lift. I opt for something that reminds me of sunnier days like lavender or tangerine, or as I’m called. Cedar is a well loved scent in this house, as is sandalwood, so over the years this Jan. 6th celebration has included those. Listen to your gut for which to choose. Understand the correspondences of each incense, and maybe what you may need as you begin 2025.

I may have a short meditation, focused on the energy that Frau Holle represents. Where can I bring in more feminine energy into my life? Where can I create a world where children thrive? Where can I make my hearth and home a sanctuary? Where can I make winter that much lighter, safer, and warmer? I allow the thoughts and any divine downloads to percolate and mull. You can journal if you want, but I tend to focus just on the energy in that moment and let that energy fill my kitchen as I get ready to create this lovely meal.

If you’re interested in the Kitchen Witchery to go with this date, please visit this link on my Patreon. You’ll note that my patrons received this Working last year. They get all my content way ahead of time. So if you love it, consider joining my Digital Covenstead. Come join the circle!

Meatless Monday & The Witch (11-6-23)

Posted on by runa

My family has been practicing Meatless Monday for as long as I can remember. My parents practiced it; their parents did; and so on. As a big history nerd I knew how it started, but over time it’s morphed into something I think the wider Witch community might revisit. 

When the United States finally entered into World War I, much of the European landscape that was once flourishing farms were battlefields, and many of its male, head-of-household farmers were either dead or serving as soldiers. Surviving elders, women, and children did what they could, but anyone can tell you that a freshly sown crop run down by military tanks isn’t going to sprout well. American soldiers were affected by the food crisis once they began arriving in Europe to fight. 

Under the direction of Herbert Hoover, the then U.S. Food Administration began its “Food Will Win The War – Produce It!” campaign. This was done in an effort to keep Americans from having to move to a ‘rations’ system as was necessary in Europe during the war as well as to support our soldiers overseas. Citizens from the Atlantic to the Pacific were asked to cut back on meat, fat, sugar, and wheat and participate in what was then termed ‘Meatless Tuesdays and Wheatless Wednesdays.” No meat on Tuesday, No wheat on Wednesday. 

In November of 1917 in New York City, the city’s hotels managed to save nearly 100 tons of meat. That November, also, more than 11 million American households signed a pledge to take part in this effort. They pledged to buy food with thought, to cook it with care, to serve just enough, to save what would keep, to eat what would spoil, and to know that home-grown is best. 

Rations eventually were necessary when it came to sugar, butter, and oils, but the country embraced eating fresh fruits and vegetables, since none of that could be shipped overseas. Liberty (and/or War) gardens, which would morph into Victory gardens, began to take hold. You could eat rye bread (no wheat, you see) with fresh tomatoes and sour cream and be helping the soldiers and citizens in Europe. 

These efforts were mimicked again during World War II quickly – the last war had not been that long before. Given the history of how producing food helped in WWI, American citizens quickly mobilized to turn every space around their homes into food production. 

Post World War II, Meatless Tuesday morphed into the more recognizable and alliterative form of Meatless Monday. At the turn of the century, it was not spurred by war, but rather by public health campaigns to embrace a more plant-based diet. For my family, it was all about the grocery budget. And even though my family was not Catholic, and outside of the season of Lent, we only ate fish on Fridays. Again, it was a budget thing (and honestly, likely helped the meal planner on the daily conundrum of ‘what’s for dinner, mom?”)

Today, it serves all the purposes that you could think of from meal planning ease, health, cost, and environmental impact. As a Witch, I want all these things in my life: a softer impact on Mama Earth, extra dollars in my wallet, a focus on healthier foods (especially home produced), and knowing what direction to plan a meal. If we incorporated such a practice into the way we walk in the Craft, we could help save 133 gallons of water with each meatless meal and reduce our carbon footprint by 8 pounds each time you participate. But the opportunity to make Magic on Meatless Monday cannot be discounted. I have found it a simple way to expand my own practice as a Witch. 

Combine all of the above with a little Magic? And you have a weekly touchstone, something mindful to focus on besides capitalism on Mondays. Does it mean you have to add Magic to every meatless meal you make? As I’ve written to you multiple times now, absolutely not. But, if you set a goal to do it once a month, I’m sure you’ll recognize the powerfulness of this simple ritual. Yes, Meatless Monday can be a ritual (Or Fish Fridays, if you prefer). That’s the wonderful thing about being a Witch. Many of our paths are very ‘choose your own adventure.’ You may choose this or not. I offer it only as an option and to show you how it’s blessed my own life. 

When I craft a Meatless Monday menu, (say that five items fast), I try to keep it very plant-forward. I try to avoid only doing things like pasta – especially with cheese – because dairy can be a crutch when it comes to eating more plant-based, e.g. meatless. This is where my seasonal focus also is easily highlighted. Don’t know what to cook? Visit your local food co-op or farmer’s market and buy what’s in season. Right now it’s squash, brassicas, and mushrooms. As always you can check the correspondences of the foods you love and what you want to bring into your life, as a way to decide what to make. Whether you use seasonal or magical energies to lead the way, it’s a powerful tool. 

Over on my Patreon is a Meatless Monday working to help bring health, wealth, and the wisdom to do what we can to help this ecosystem which we are all a part of, as well as, save a little emotional energy along the way. Monday = no meat. Open up your magical kitchen! You can easily do this once a month and then work up to once a week.

Come join my Patreon and learn all kinds of magical ways to be, know and do, and meet some fellow kindred witchy souls. Saving some money, upping your veggie intake, and feeling good when Monday ends is just a bonus.  

From The Desk of The Writing Witch: Making Magic While I Write

Posted on by runa
The Vernal Equinox in The Witch’s Garden. You can get your spring jackalope garden flag too from https://www.owlkeyme.com/

If you recall back to the beginning of the calendar year, none of us were having much renewal energy. The Cosmic Weather with Mars and Mercury in Retrograde required us to slow the eff down. And things have been slow. But now they are revving up quickly and filled with full-throttle Aries energy.

Yesterday was the Spring Equinox, so this new moon lands at a season change as well. It’s auspicious. It’s powerful. Can’t waste it. Now I have less than seven months to finish this book and it’s coming along well enough. My Leo Rising wants it to be perfect and showy, but the rest of me just wants it done well and completely compelling. But as my son with the Virgo Moon & Rising has taught me: Done is perfect. But getting it done is the real work, yes? 

As I compose (there’s that word of 2023!) this book for Llewellyn, I’m also discovering new Magic, especially where my study of astrology is concerned (belated happy world astrology day, btw!). As I compose my platform to help this book launch into the world, I’m also discovering new Magic, especially where my Permie Witch duties take me. For that I’m making public two things I think will help teach and inspire those beginning or cruising along on the path of the Craft. One is some of the Magic I’ve discovered and curated (2022’s word) as I dive even deeper into Magical Mixology, the other is all about setting and following-through with intentions, especially where I create a sanctuary for myself and my fellow Witches here at Villa Westwyk.

Allow me to start with the intentions. Recognizing that today is the New Moon in Aries – a moon full of new-beginnings, courage, and self-focus energy, the start of the Witch’s and Astrologer’s New Year, my New Moon Intentions are being recorded here. I’m doing this in part because I think it’s important for Witchlings (Grand one included) to see the process that an ol’ Solitary practitioner creates and follow it along. The Full Moon in Aries is about six months from now (9/29/23 @ 0257 hrs PDT). The book needs to be in the hands of my publisher by then. And although I want this draft to be done before the eclipse later this month, all my revisions need to be done and into the publisher by the end of September. So let’s use that Aries energy to get started.  To set intentions on the new moon, I love working with the book New Moon Astrology by Jan Spiller to help form my intentions. Because as Witches we know that words are important and hold power. We want that power to work for us and not against us. Spiller breaks down the energy and focus so easily for you, that even if you’ve not studied Astrology or spell crafting, you’ll get it quickly. 

My New Moon in Aries 3/21/23 Intentions:

  1. I want to easily find myself writing the right words for this book that are a reflection of my true self.
  2. I want to easily find myself making choices that are in the best interest of finishing this book.
  3. I want all fears around my assertively blazing new beginning with my manuscript easily lifted from me.
  4. I want to easily find myself following my own constructive instincts in creating this manuscript.
  5. I want to be filled with strength and boldness in my approach to writing this book.
  6. I want to remain consistently vigilant in the matter of finishing this manuscript. 
  7. I want any survival instincts that are authorally counterproductive and easily lifted from me. 
  8. I want to easily find myself initiating action in regard to writing and finishing this book.

My plan now with these is to visit the intentions at least weekly (hello working with the moon cycles that my Patrons see consistently) to see how I am doing. I may continue to blog on it as the book’s creation progresses. But for sure, we’ll revisit it come September. I encourage you to set some intentions today as well for the next six months, what can you accomplish with the energy of the Aries new moon. 

Now for the Magic In My Cup discovery to share here. Since I’ve begun my second Saturn return, I’m sharing the craft cocktail I made in honor of this return. Although this one will not be found in my book, it gives you a sample of some of what you will find when this book is made public. You can find the link to the potent potion over on my Patreon at the end of this post. Kind of like the Monster At The End of This Book (a favorite book to read to my babies back in the day), but instead it’s a Witch handing you a Pisces In Saturn Cocktail. 

Celebrate Saturn in Pisces here:  https://www.patreon.com/posts/79701391

Happy Spring, Witches! Now go be your truest self and live your best life, Magical One!

Planning Your Witches Thanksgiving

Posted on by runa
Wishes for a Festive Mabon from my home to yours

Witches Thanksgiving is coming. Also known as Mabon (MAY-bn), or the Autumn Equinox. It is the second harvest. It’s a big one, too, for those living close to the land and growing food. Although I can harvest a little bit every day beginning about the full moon after the vernal equinox, each harvest sabbath (Lughnasah, Mabon, and Samhain) simply means new crops are coming in at each harvest. The first harvest is typically grain and berries. The second harvest is fruit and corn. And the third harvest is everything else, including squash (jack o’lantern pumpkins!), tomatoes, peppers, culling of the herds, etc. 

If you’re wanting to have a gathering of your Witch sisters and brothers, this is a wonderful time to do so. So much food is in season. And the weather, at least here in the Pacific Northwest, is still nice enough to gather around a fire circle outside. 

Most gathering of witches means potluck of some sort. There’s always the witch that will bring the wine and party favors, another who’s got the sweet treats covered, and another who brings the appetizers. If you’re hosting, the entree will fall to you, along with one or two sides or a salad, as well as making sure your space is welcoming. Maybe some post-meal concoction to sip by the fire whilst you tell stories of your year thus far. You decide how much you take on. Just don’t take on too much, please. Hosts as well as guests should be enjoying themselves. This is a celebration of our gratitude. Our connections are likely at the top of that giving-thanks list. Roast the stuffed turkey, but let everyone else do the rest. However, if you just love creating wonderful food for friends and family, do what you think you can handle without stressing. 

Other things to make your Witches Thanksgiving festive are doing things like gourd candles (maybe make enough to allow your guests to take one home), corn dollies, or having the activity of making a scarecrow for the pumpkin patch or front gate, or pressing apples and pears into cider (as might be the case here at Villa Westwyk). Maybe one of your guests would like to do some divination for everyone for the season ahead. Or maybe you watch the new Halloween flick that was just released. Take your inspiration from the landscape around you, the energy of the group, and go forth and have lots of Witchy Fun. 

Today I put together a Mabon menu to hopefully inspire, instruct, and initiate you into this upcoming season. Inspired by what’s growing here at Villa Westwyk or available nearby (e.g. sablefish), each category should have you covered no matter which part of the potluck you want to cover. As well, there’s a fire circle ritual to help you welcome in Autumn and prepare yourselves for winter. 

First you need to set the mood: and that’s certainly good fun. Decorate your space. Many of my seasonal decorations are actually wards. (More on that here on the blog soon!) Refresh your altar for autumn. If you have a fire circle where you’ll be hosting the ritual, make sure there’s enough seating and table space for everyone. Make sure there’s blankets for everyone to stay comfortable. Again, if you’re hosting, ask your guests where they may like to help. A good guest will ask, as well.  

The menu below is by no means the only menu for your Witches Thanksgiving. Again, take your inspiration from what is available to you and your kindred. This is just what will be on the menu at Villa Westwyk this year. Be sure you understand any food preferences and allergies from your guests before using this menu or creating your own. 

Please note to access the links of these recipes, you’re going to need a passcode. It’s easy:  Mabon2022

Villa Westwyk Mabon Menu:

Grilled Sunflower Head with Chimichurri sauce

Welcome Autumn Punch

Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup

Fall Harvest Salad

Grilled Sablefish collars with garlic confit

Elote Corn on the Cob

Herb buttered grilled Winter Squash Rings

Chocolate Zucchini Bread with Whipped Cream and Brandied Cherry sauce

The Ritual

Gratitude is at the center of Thanksgiving. So the ritual is focused on that. And it’s focused on the fire element, which is necessary to help us survive the upcoming winter season.

Here’s what you’ll need for this activity:

A spot to gather around a fire

Candles or torches that mark the four directions

Small slips of paper and pens or pencils for each guest

A small altar with Autumnal decor

Cleansing herbs (rosemary, sage, mugwort, lavender, etc. – you choose your adventure here)

If you don’t have a fire pit available to you, feel free to gather around a table with a centerpiece of lots of candles. Plan on one candle representing each guest, so 7 guests = 7 candles. And please, for Freyja’s sake, please follow candle safety. You’ll also need a fire-proof container (cauldron).

 

This is a very casual ritual and more about pulling out the recognition of all the abundance in our lives – there’s more than you think. Doing this little exercise, if you’d prefer that word over ritual, helps you and your guests ground down in gratitude around the fire. I set up the tiki torches around the fire circle to mark the four directions ahead of time. If your tradition calls for casting a circle, feel free to do that. But it’s not necessary for this. 

There’s a small altar, mostly hosting all the symbols of Autumn: squash, apples, colored leaves, anything that makes it festive for you. Perhaps offerings for the land spirits or your particular deities. For me it’s offerings to Skaði, the goddess of the Hunt (an autumn activity) and Winter and Tyr, the sky god. Appropriate because of the planetary movement of the equinox. As always, you do you, Witch. 

Remember, a table with candles and cauldron works, too!

In the center is the fire pit, which I’m sure the Viking will have made larger than necessary. Before going around the circle (sunwise, aka clockwise) some cleansing herbs are added to the fire. The host may do this, or everyone can take a little bit of the herbs and toss them into the fire. Again, candles and a cauldron around a patio table works well, too.  Our warm, rainless summers these last 5 years or so here in the PNW means fire rituals often are simply tabletop affairs as fire bans for safety are necessary. All good. This is an opportunity for the host to thank their guests and invite them to consider what they are grateful for. To help your guests get in the mindset of expressing their gratitude, you may ask them to consider three things they are thankful for at Mabon. 

Often I’ll ask them to consider their journey since last Autumn to highlight what abundance and blessings they’ve encountered, especially where their personal growth is concerned. What personal quality are you thankful for? What non-human thing are you thankful for? What other person are you thankful for? As the MC, really ask them to explore the why. Why are you grateful for your work ethic, for instance? “Well, Runa, it helped me finish X project before the equinox…” This is a conversation, to a degree. And a time of reflection. As one guest speaks to their gratitude, the others are invited to fire scry or just meditate on the flames. 

After the gratitude expressions are complete, this is when your guests will put the one thing they want to leave behind as this new season begins. Starting clockwise again, have the person approach the fire (carefully) and toss their completed release note into the flame, saying “I release what does not serve me.” They do not have to say what the thing is that they are releasing. That is between them, the fire and, if appropriate, their gods. If one of your Witch guests wants to announce what they are releasing, that is fine, too. 

End the ritual officially by offering blessings to your guests and again your gratitude for them in your life, for their contributions to the circle, etc. Close your circle here, if you so choose. 

Afterwards, it is a great time to pull out a nightcap of some sort. This can be anything like some hot tea and honey, maybe hot cocoa, or here on our covenstead, it will likely be some Cassis (black currant liqueur) or apple cider that we brewed. Then simply hangout by the fire and visit with your kindred. Make plans for a winter gathering now during this conversation, if you like. Play guitar or ukulele. Sing acapella. Laugh. Connect. 

Be sure to extinguish all flames before leaving the area. Practice good candle and fire safety. Because Samhain is coming and we want to be able to celebrate the Witches New Year together, too. Stay tuned as I’ll be offering the same kind of post for that Witches Sabbat as well. 

How do you celebrate Mabon the Witches Thanksgiving? What of the above might you adopt for your celebration?