Cunningham - Cunninghams Encyclopedia of Wicca in the Kitchen

About the Author

Scott Cunningham practiced elemental magic for more than twenty years. He was the author of more than thirty books, both fiction and nonfiction. Cunninghams books reflect a broad range of interests within the New Age sphere, where he was highly regarded. He passed from this life on March 28, 1993, after a long illness.

Llewellyn Publications

Woodbury, Minnesota

Copyright Information

Cunninghams Encyclopedia of Wicca in the Kitchen 1990 by Scott Cunningham and 1996 and 2003 by the Scott Cunningham estate.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any matter whatsoever, including Internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Publications, except in the form of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

As the purchaser of this e-book, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. The text may not be otherwise reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, or recorded on any other storage device in any form or by any means.

Any unauthorized usage of the text without express written permission of the publisher is a violation of the authors copyright and is illegal and punishable by law.

First e-book edition 2012

E-book ISBN: 9780738717111

Book design and editing by Kimberly Nightingale

Cover design by Kevin R. Brown

Cover illustration 2003 by Jennifer Hewitson FR

Llewellyn Publications is an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

Llewellyn Publications does not participate in, endorse, or have any authority or responsibility concerning private business arrangements between our authors and the public.

Any Internet references contained in this work are current at publication time, but the publisher cannot guarantee that a specific reference will continue or be maintained. Please refer to the publishers website for links to current author websites.

The old-fashioned remedies in this book are historical references used for teaching purposes only. The recipes are not for commercial use or profit. The contents are not meant to diagnose, treat, prescribe, or substitute consultation with a licensed healthcare professional.

Llewellyn Publications

Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

2143 Wooddale Drive

Woodbury, MN 55125

www.llewellyn.com

Manufactured in the United States of America

Acknowledgments

Many people have been of assistance during the seventeen years that it has taken to complete this book. In no particular order, some of them are:

Jeanne Rose, herbalist extraordinaire, for her inspiration, friendship, and also for supplying mail-order sources.

Morgan of Hawaii, for allowing me to publish her Fruit Salad Spell.

Barda of Nevada, for her early encouragement and sharing of food lore and recipes.

Vinnie Gaglione, of Spellbound in Bloomfield, New Jersey, for supplying me with Italian food lore.

Laurie Cabot of Salem, for sharing her notes with me while we were working on similar projects.

Virginia Thompson of Arizona, for information about Central American food magic and ritual uses.

Robert and Virginia Thompson, for Japanese food lore.

Ray T. Malbrough of Houma, Louisiana, for many long phone calls and for providing a copy of his paper concerning Louisiana plant magic.

deTraci Regula, for Chinese food magic.

Morgan, my first teacher, who introduced me to the idea that food could be magical.

Lou and Myrna of Las Vegas, for finding all those out-of-the-way print books.

And finally, to my mother, who rarely minded my licking the spoon for all those long years.

Table of Contents

: the magic in your kitchen

Food Power!

Magic

The Tools of Food Magic & Magical Cooking

The Ritual of Eating

Vegetarianism

The Practice of Food Magic

Festival Foods

: the magic of food

Bread & Grains

Cakes, Sweetened Breads, Cookies, & Pies

Vegetables

Fruit

Spices & Herbs

Honey, Sugar, Chocolate, Carob, & Maple Syrup

Nuts & Alleged Nuts

Salt, Vinegar, Soup, & Noodles

Food from Sea & River

Beer, Wine, & Alcoholic Beverages

Tea & Coffee

The Mystic Egg

From the Dairy

: magical food diets

Love

Protection

Health & Healing

Money

Sex

Spirituality

Psychic Awareness

Peace & Happiness

Purification

Weight Loss

Other Magical Food Diets

: scotts favorite recipes

Introduction to scotts favorite recipes

Appetizers

Beverages

Desserts

Main Dishes

Salads

Soups

Vegetables & Side Dishes

: supplemental material

Preface

F ood is essential to our lives. For many of us, the art of cooking and eating is a chore. For others, it is a great delight. And for some, the culinary arts and their products are indulgences. Food is substituted for love. Food is an excuse. Food is a god.

Youre about to embark on a journey into a familiar yet exciting realm. This book is a guide to choosing, ritually preparing, and eating foods to manifest necessary changes in our lives. The only tools that are necessary to practice this ancient branch of magic are food, common kitchen implements, and yourself. Food magic is a natural art, in which we unite our own energies with those that exist in food.

Part one of this book consists of introductory material: the processes of magic and cooking; foods associated with ancient festivals; vegetarianism; and a step-by-step guide to the practice of food magic.

Part two is an encyclopedia of magical foods. Concise articles explore the spiritual backgrounds and magical uses of hundreds of foods, including bread, fruits, vegetables, ice cream, tofu, sugar, chocolate, seafood, spices and herbs, nuts, coffee, tea, and alcoholic beverages. Many common and exotic foods are discussed. Why is birds-nest soup so prized by some Asians? What magical energies lie within apple pie, sprouts, oatmeal, and chocolate bars?

Part three could be called The Magical Diet Book. Eleven chapters describe fifteen diets, each designed to create a different change within the diners life: protection, love, money, psychic awareness, health, magical weight loss, and much more.

In part five Ive collated some of the information contained within part two into tables for easy reference. A list of foods ruled by the signs of the zodiac and a table of the magical properties of fast food complete this section.

Finally, two appendices discuss magical symbols and mail-order sources of unusual foods, herbs, and spices.

This isnt a book of gourmet cooking; nor is it a cookbook. It is a guide to transforming our lives with the foods that we eat. Its a practical introduction to an ancient subject.

A Note on Notes

Ive chosen to use this method rather than standard footnoting with good reason: it doesnt burden the pages of the text with lengthy footnotes, yet it allows the reader to easily check the sources of any information.

Some statements arent followed by a number. Ive lost the source for a few of them. Others are part of the knowledge that Ive accumulated over years of study. Still others stem from oral sources or from the results of my own experience. In any case, a published work is unavailable for these few statements.

Numbers following a statement in this book refer to a specific entry in the bibliography. To find the source of the information contained within the statement, see the number list of books in the bibliography.