Kitchen Divination: Ovamancy

Oomantia, or ovamancy, is a form of divination using eggs. Eggs have a lot of symbolism behind them, some of which has been explored in earlier posts. Eggs were once used to predict things from the gender (and number!) of unborn babies, as well as the ever-popular practice of seeing one’s future husband.

In order to predict if a woman was having twins or not, an egg was rubbed on her belly for a few moments , and then it was broken in a bowl. If the egg held one yolk, one baby would be born. Two yolks meant twins.

One way of seeing your future spouse, and a rather unpleasant-sounding one at that, was to boil an egg, remove the yolk, and fill the hole with salt. The egg was then eaten before bedtime. According to the belief, the man bringing you water in your dream would be your husband.

The method that I am going to discuss is a simple scrying practice. Some reports say it was this very practice that Tituba practiced with Betty Parris and her cousin, Abigail Williams, in Salem. Scrying, as most of you know, is gazing into a substance or surface and reading the shapes that form. We’ve all seen the stereotypical gypsy woman with her crystal ball, and this is kind of a primitive crystal ball. According to reports I have read, one of the girls scrying with Tituba became upset when she saw the shape of a coffin appear.

To perform ovamancy, you need two or three things. First and foremost, you need an egg. Second, you need a tall glass of water. Now you may do one of two things. You can just break the egg into the glass and interpret the shapes of the egg whites, or you can use the third item, a pin or needle, and poke a hole into the smaller end of the egg. Allow the egg white to slither out into the glass without the yolk and interpret the symbols.

Divination in the Kitchen - Coming Soon

Stay tuned for a post (or maybe a few) on divination in the kitchen. As most of you already know, there are lots of superstitions and lots of lore associated with the kitchen and with food. I a going to explore how you can use everyday food items for divination purposes. I hope you'll join me!

This Week's Festivities

The following festival information comes from The Wicca Book of Days by Gerina Dunwich. Food suggestions are from my mind, and any recipes are from teh interwebz.

Sept. 4

At sunrise on this day, the Changing Woman Ceremony is held annually by the Native American tribe of the Apache in Arizona. The rite, which lasts four consecutive days, marks the coming of age of a pubescent girls, who ritually transforms into the spirit-goddess known as Changing Woman and blesses all who are in attendance.

Food suggestion to mark this event: I recommend making a batch of Cait Johnson's Three Sisters Harvest Stew. Squash, corn and beans are important plants to many Native American tribes.


Three Sisters Harvest Stew by Cait Johnson (Witch in the Kitchen)

2 tablspoons olive oil (TB)
1 large onion, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 lg. carrot, ch9opped into 1-in. pieces
3/4 cup butternut squash, cubed
1 can beans, drained (pintos, for example)
1 cup giant dried white corn, soaked overnight in cold water and then simmered in boiling water until tender, or 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 tsp. crumbled dried sage
sea salt
1 chipotle pepper (optional)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Water or vegetable broth, as needed

In a large stew pot, heat the olive oil. Add the chopped onion and stir to coat with the oil.

Saute until golden, then add the garlic, carrot, squash, beans, corn, sage and sea salt to taste, and the chipotle pepper, if you desire. Though the pepper is optional, the smoky taste is reminiscent of the first hearth fires of the season, perfect for autumn.

Simmer the stew, adding the water or broth as needed, until the squash is tender, then add the parsley and stir thoroughly. Serve piping hot.


Sept. 5

In ancient Rome, the Roman Games, in honor of the god Jupiter, begin annually on this date and lasted until the thirteenth day of September.

Ganesh, the elephant-headed Hindu god of good luck and prosperity, is honored on this day throughout Indian with a parade and a festival of rejoicing.

Recipe suggestion: Muttar Pulao (recipe on my other blog). This is a dish of peas and rice. Rice is a good food for prosperity, and peas are for love.


Sept. 6

An ancient Inca blood festival called Situa was held annually on this date to ward off the evil spirits of illness and disease. As part of the ceremony, parents would eat a special cake consecrated with the blood of their offspring.

Recipe suggestion: Make thumbprint cookies with your children. Eat the cookies that have been consecrated with the thumbprint (and fingers) of your precious ones.


Sept. 7

Healer's Day. This is a special day dedicated to all women and men who posesss the Goddess-given gift of healing and who use it unselfishly to help others.

Daena, the Main Goddess of the Parsees, is honored on this date each year with a religious festival India.

Recipe suggestion: For Healer's Day, make and share chicken soup with your friends and family.

Chicken Soup (from homecooking.about.com)

* 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
* 2 medium onions, chopped
* 3 medium carrots, cut into 1/4-inch rounds
* 3 celery ribs, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
* 1 (6- to 7-pound) chicken
* 2 quarts chicken broth or canned low-sodium broth
* 1 quart cold water, or as needed
* 4 sprigs of fresh parsley
* 3 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
* 1 bay leaf
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 2 cups egg noodles
* Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish


Heat the oil in a brothpot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 10 minutes.

Cut the chicken into 8 pieces. If there are any pads of yellow fat in the tail area, do not remove them. Add the chicken to the pot and pour in the broth. Add enough cold water to cover the ingredients by 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat, skimming off the foam that rises to the surface. Add the parsley, thyme, and bay leaf.

Reduce the heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, until the chicken is very tender, about 2 hours.

Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove and discard the parsley and thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Let stand 5 minutes and degrease the soup, reserving the fat if you are making matzo balls.

Discard the chicken skin and bones and cut the meat into bite-size pieces. Add the noodles and cook until done, about 10 minutes. Stir the meat back into the soup and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot. (The soup can be prepared up to 3 days ahead, cooled, covered, and refrigerated, or frozen for up to 3 months.)

Yield: 12 to 14 servings

Simple Bean Spell

If you are facing a difficult problem or are dealing with a person who is being stubborn, try this: Take an appropriate number of dried beans and name them for the problems or the people who are not being receptive. Place the beans in a pot, cover with water, and boil until tender. As the beans cooks, visualize the problem breaking down or the person(s) softening and becoming more receptive. Keep the beans in a jar with some of the cooking water until the problem is solved, then pour everything out.

Steps to Make the Most of Your Witchin' in the Kitchen

* When you clean your kitchen, try putting an herbal infusion in your bucket of mop water. Rosemary and sage are nice all-purpose spiritual cleansers. You can also simply add salt to the water. Try rose and lavender for love, citrus for protection, and cinnamon for prosperity.

* Burn sage or rosemary.

* Get a good book on magical herbs, such as Cunningham's. Go through the book and become familiar with herbs for specific purposes. Put the ones that go best together into your dishes. For example, spices such as ginger, garlic and chili are good protective ingredients and taste good together in a curry.

* Stir clockwise. Scrub counter-clockwise if you feel the need.

* A pot of basil growing in the kitchen promotes love. Bundles of rosemary are good for protection. A dish of sesame seeds draws money.

* You can use a solution of salt water to trace protective runes onto the doors, walls and cabinets in your kitchen. Only you will know they are there!

* If you have a kitchen deity but don't have room for an altar, simply find a picture and hang it up in your kitchen. You can make offerings as you see fit.

* Light a candle as you cook. Light pink for love, green for prosperity or healing, blue or purple for psychic awareness, etc.

*Enter the kitchen with love in your heart. Try not to prepare foods when you are in a foul mood, as this energy might transfer to the food. That might sound silly to some, but I always try to think of good things when I am cooking. Maybe I've read Like Water for Chocolate too many times!

*Listen to music that calms you, energizes, you, or fills you with love and warmth as you cook. Listen to some loud rock if you're making a dish for protection and really use the sound and energy to work up some protection! Listen to soft, soothing music if you are making a recipe for love. Listen to a meditation track or trance music if you are making something to promote psychic awareness.

*Enjoy yourself. The kitchen is a place to play and to create. You are taking the gifts of the gods and combining them to create new tastes and sometimes to create magic. Have fun! Fill your work with love and people will be able to taste the care you've put into the food. Things taste better when prepared with love.