A while back I made a few posts about kitchen deities from various countries, as well as recipes from their cultures. Since I haven't done that in a while, I thought I would make a few more posts regarding gods and goddesses of food, agriculture, and the hearth.
Below is a list of kitchen deities, courtesy of www.thepaganpath.net:
Agni - Indian fire god and god of the home and hearth
Atar - Zoroastrian god of celestial and terrestrial fire
Ayabba - African goddess of the hearth
Bast - Egyptian cat-headed goddess, goddess of the flame and fire
Brigit - Celtic fertility goddess and goddess of the fire, hearth, healing, poetry, and wisdom
Chantico - Aztec goddess of the hearth fires and volcano fires
Chiconahui - Aztec goddess of the hearth and guardian of the home
Chu Jung - Chinese god of fire
Gibil - Babylonian god of fire
Ephesus - Greek god of fire and volcanoes
Hestia - Greek goddess of the hearth, fire, and family life
Hyang Api - Indonesian god of fire
Hyang Kehen - Indonesian god of the hearth
Kagutsuchi - Japanese fire god
Kiyoshikojin Seichoji- Japanese god of the cooking stove
Loki - Norse god of the fire, hearth, and lightning. Also known as the trickster god.
Ong Tao - Asian god of the hearth, stove, and household
Pele - Hawaiian fire goddess, goddess of volcanoes
Prometheus - Greek Titan, he stole fire from the gods and presented it as a gift to humans
Sanpo Kojin - Japanese god of the hearth
Tsao Wang - Chinese god of the hearth and family
Ut - Siberian goddess of the hearth
Vesta - Roman goddess of the hearth and eternal fires (Roman version of Hestia)
Vulcan - Roman god of fire and volcanoes
Xiuhtecuhtli - Aztec fire god
Although the kitchen has traditionally been viewed as the woman's domain (you may not agree with this, but there's no denying it is a common viewpooint), you can see that there are many gods associated with the hearth. More specifically, these gods are associated with the fire in the hearth, fire being masculine, as the sun.
There are also many gods and goddesses of agriculture and the harvest - Dionysus, Bacchus, the Corn Mother, John Barleycorn, Dumuzi (Sumerian), Demeter, etc.
If you are considering putting together an altar for a kitchen god or goddess, do some research and either fine a harvest or hearth deity from the pantheon you follow, or find another kitchen deity with whom you identify.
A simple, small table or shelf in the kitchen (or just outside the kitchen if the space is small) can house your kitchen altar. Some things you can include are dried kernels of corn, seeds, dried herbs and flowers, a representation of fire or the hearth such as a dollhouse fireplace or stove, and a picture or other representation of your deity. You can make it yourself out of clay. Craft and hobby stores have a large selected of dollhouse miniatures, so you can even include food or plates. I've been working on my kitchen altar for some time and I made most of the items out of polymer clay. My only problem is living in one place long enough to set up the altar! Hopefully when I move back to the US...
Stay tuned for more information on kitchen deities, recipes, and tips on making an kitchen altar and for making your kitchen the heart and soul of your home.
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