Folk Magic in the Kitchen

I plan to start discussing various superstitions and beliefs related to food and the kitchen, but first, a message about safety and healing magic in the kitchen.

Accidents happen. Most of them seem to happen in the kitchen or the bathroom, but since we’re kitchen witches here, we’ll talk about kitchen boo-boos. We’ve all cut ourselves or burned ourselves or had a block of frozen peas fall onto our bare feet, right? Well, maybe not the peas thing, but I’ve dropped plenty of things in my life, and many of those things did find their way to my poor little tootsies.

If you have children, chances are you have some sort of First-Aid kit somewhere in the house. Even if you don’t have kids, you may still have some semblance of a First-Aid kit, with bandages, Neosporin, cold packs and the like. But if you don’t have those things handy, what can you do when accidents happen? How about some American Folk Magic?

American Folk Magic, as far as I can tell, is a mixture of European folk traditions and mysticism. One of the earliest books is Pow-wows, or Long Lost Friend, by John George Hohman. It was published in 1820 for Pennsylvania Dutch spiritualists, known as “hexmeisters”. American Folk Magic survives today in hex signs painted on the sides of buildings, folk remedies, superstitions, faith healing, and stories passed down through the generations.

Herbal remedies are a popular element of folk traditions. Aloe is used to treat minor burns and abrasions. The blossoms of the calendula can be used as an anti-inflammatory, astringent, and antiseptic. For more information regarding herbs, you can visit http://www.anniesremedy.com/remedy_use76.php, or pick up a good book at your local library.

Now, I’m going to mention a name that might make some of you cringe. It might make some of you stop reading my blog, but I have to be honest when I say that the first book I ever read on American Folk Magic(k) was by…Silver Ravenwolf. Now I know many people have problems with her historical inaccuracies, the fact that she basically encourages youngsters to lie to their parents, and her blatant Christian bashing, but the book on American Folk Magick really isn’t that bad. I promise. She may even have done some research for this one!

All I know is the following chants I’m about to share with you actually work. That could just be my subconscious mind, but I have had success with these two chants, as well as another one I cannot remember. I would just open the book and type it for you, but my copy is in the United States and I am not. Please keep this in mind if you happen to have a copy of American Folk Magick and you notice that the wording to one chant is a bit off. It might be. If so, send me the correction, if you please.

To Stop Bleeding

This is a good chant to know if you (or someone around you) gets cut. It helps stop the bleeding in a timely manner. If you have a serious cut, a deep cut, please go to the emergency room. Don’t rely on a folk magic chant and then come back and haunt me when you bleed to death!

What I do is place my dominant hand (unless that’s the one that’s bleeding) over the cut and move my hand over it as I chant. I envision the flesh knitting back together and the blood clotting. The chant is as follows:

Blessed wound, blessed hour
Blessed be the day the Goddess came to power
Women’s mysteries, fine and strong,
Stop this blood through female song

Repeat at least 3 times.

For Minor Burns

Again, please seek immediate care for serious burns. Use this if you splash some hot coffee on your arm, not if you knock a deep fryer over on yourself. (This is the one that won’t be verbatim, but isn’t it really the intent that counts?)

I move my hand over the burned area and visualize myself pulling the heat from the skin. I visualize drawing the burn out and I ‘shake it off’ my fingertips.

Three women (angels?) came from the East
One brought fire and two brought frost
Out fire, in front (3 x)
The fire is out, the frost is in

I do remember the book saying practitioners of folk magic don’t like to use cold water or ice on a burn, as they believe it pushes the burn deeper into the skin. I believe cool water can be very beneficial to burns and I prefer to envision the water rinsing the burn from the skin.

Anyway, be careful out there. Make sure you use clean, dry potholders or oven mitts, wear short sleeves, and always, always, always supervise youngsters. My rule is no one under 6 or 7 can be in the kitchen when things are being fried or when the oven is being used. I was never allowed in the kitchen when the pressure canner was being used either.

Another tip is to place a damp cloth under the cutting board so it does not slip. If you are cutting something round or spherical, take a tiny slice off one side so the fruit of vegetable has a bit of a platform. That will keep it from rolling around while you are trying to cut it. Keeping your knives nice and sharp will also help prevent injuries, believe it or not. The duller the knife, the more you have to hack away at the poor vegetable or piece of meat, and the more likely you are to hack into your own finger.

Happy (and safe!) cooking.