September 2025
Welcome to our September 2025 Kitchen Witch newsletter.
Hello again! I hope that you have all had a wonderful summer if you are in the UK and hopefully are at the end of your winter if you are in the Southern Hemisphere.
We have had some very dry weeks weather wise but this week the weather is starting to change. We have noticed a shift in energies - cooler in the mornings and evenings and it is now dark at 8pm. Thoughts turn to pumpkin spice lattes, chai tea, warm knits, boots, books and lunch dates in a warm cafe somewhere with my fellow kitchen witches Rachel and Heather.
We are still busy here at KWHQ with lots of ideas in our collective cauldron - just waiting to formulate and take shape. We haven't done a lot in the way of summer festivals this year, but have been working on a couple of online courses which will be coming your way in Spring next year. We also have our retreat next Feb (details below) which we are very excited about. There will be more magical animal hoard boxes and we have been working on something a little bit special which has been a year in the making - all will be revealed in due course!
Have a fabulous September
Ness x
What's Going on in Nature this Month from Ness
I just love this time of year! When September arrives, we think of Mother Earth slowing down getting ready for her winter slumber. But she is having a very busy time of it right now - the hedgerows and fruit trees are alive and heavy with fruit and berries. I heard last week, a term that I was not familiar with and that is a 'mast year'. It means that there is a bumper crop of acorns, fruits, nuts or berries and this year certainly seems to be a mast year. The sloes have been ripe for a couple of weeks, blackberries and elderberries have been very abundant and I had more apples on my little tree than I have ever had before. Hawthorn is heavy with berries and my neighbours plum tree is weighted down with beautiful purple fruits which is a first in all the years that I have lived here.
The fields have all been harvested now and I feel the energies of the Green Man start to wane. His slumber starts a little earlier than Mother Earth, I find.
September is for foraging but be mindful - ask the tree or shrub if you may pick some of its fruit, and please leave some for the wildlife. A thanks in the way of an offering to the birds, or a bit of litter picking will be appreciated.
Recipe for September by Heather
Courgette Curry
Harvest is in full flow now, and most growers will be trying to keep up with the abundance of produce from their gardens, balconies, patios or allotments.
This curry is tasty, full of magical energy and is a simple way to use up courgettes/zucchini, whether home grown or purchased at seasonal markets. This recipe is one I adapted a couple of years ago from https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes
I have listed the magical correspondences for each of the ingredients, so you can decide which intention is best for you as you make it. I hope you enjoy this simple, flavourful meal.
3 – 4 courgettes – abundance, fertility, creativity
2-3 tbsp oil – fertility, strength, courage, happiness, prosperity
1 onion finely sliced – passion, fertility
1-2 red chillies, finely chopped – creativity, passion, power, protection
40g ginger, peeled and finely grated – healing, love, passion, success, prosperity, protection
4 garlic cloves, finely grated – healing, protection, strength, courage
2 tsp garam masala – intuition, increased energy, abundance
1 tsp ground cumin – protection, fidelity, passion, love, abundance, success
1 tsp ground turmeric – purification, protection, peace
400g can chickpeas, drained - abundance, resilience, unity
400g can chopped tomatoes – love, passion, protection, creativity
400g can coconut milk – protection, purification
Cooked rice to serve – prosperity, fertility, protection, grounding, stability
Trim the ends of the courgettes, halve them lengthways, roughly slice the courgette halves.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and fry the sliced courgettes until golden. Remove from the pan, leaving the oil behind, then add the onion and a further tablespoon of oil if necessary and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Fry until soft and just starting to turn a light brown, tip in the chillies, ginger and garlic, and cook until starting to soften. Stir in the spices and cook for another 30 seconds.
Scatter in the chickpeas and pour in the tomatoes and coconut milk. Simmer over a medium heat for 10 mins before adding the courgettes back to the pan and cooking for about 8-10 mins. Serve with rice and any side dishes of your choice.
Goddess for September by Heather
Spider Woman
Spider Woman comes from the mythology of the Teotihuacan civilization in Mexico (100 BCE - 700 CE). She is depicted in murals found in the Tetitla compound, see picture above, often surrounded by spiders and spider webs, symbolizing Her connection to fertility and the earth. Archaeologists believe She may have also been a Goddess of the Underworld, darkness, water, war, representing death and rebirth, creation and destruction.
Spider Woman is associated with vegetation and fertility, similar to the later Aztec Goddess Xochiquetzal, the way She is depicted suggests She had a major role in nurturing and providing food for the people. She is associated with jaguars and owls, which supports Her possible ties to the underworld, highlighting the importance of agriculture and the cycles of life and death.
Spider Woman also appears in the mythology of several Native American tribes, including the Navajo, Hopi, and Keresan. In these traditions, She is seen as a creator figure who teaches survival skills, weaving, and agriculture. In Navajo mythology, She helps cast the first humans from clay and brings them to life through song.
The significance of Spider Woman Goddess today is Her message of the interconnection of life, the constant weaving of the Earth to maintain the balance between creation and destruction. Her stories emphasize the importance of nature, community, and the cycles of life.
Spider woman is a creatrix, a teacher, a weaver of dreams, work with Her to enhance your creativity, to weave your own dreams. What web of life do you want to create?
Taken from Arc of the Goddess by Rachel Patterson & Tracy Roberts
Creating an Autumnal Altar by Heather
This month brings together the energies of harvest with the beginning of the autumn slow down. Whilst some fruits and plants are at the height of their growth, others are coming into seed, preparing to hibernate for the darker time ahead.
This makes September the perfect time to think about creating an altar to celebrate all Mother Earth provides for us. You can keep this set up over the darker months, adding or moving items as the weeks pass, as you find new items on your walks.
Your altar may have the cute mini pumpkins you can often find in speciality shops, or if you have a garden, that you have grown. In fact, any fruit or vegetables you have grown would be perfect, as would samples of jams, chutneys or pickles you’ve made. But equally any fruit, seeds, nuts or vegetation you forage are great. As an offering you do not need more than a few seeds, nuts etc., so you will not be endangering next year’s growth and harvest.
Other items you may choose to place on your altar may be candles. The colours associated with Autumn are orange, red, purple, black, and brown as they correspond to the colours in nature, symbolising harvest.
A cauldron, chalice, mug or glass can symbolise life, death, transformation, rebirth and can represent the divine feminine.
Add photographs or memento of relatives or friends, not only those that have passed, but any that you wish to hold close and safe.
If you work with crystals, add any that for you, resonate with the Autumnal energy. However, a pebble from your garden or from one of your favourite places will be even more powerful.
You may also decide to include Underworld symbols, such as images or statues of dogs, owls, or maybe antlers, bones and skulls. If you wish, work with deity you associate with this month, research their stories, make a representation of them to sit on your altar.
As the cooler days and longer nights set in, make this space your sanctuary!
Rune of the month from Ness Armstrong
This months rune is Thurisaz - the thorn rune. It speaks of boundaries crossed or compromised, of protection and of self care.
. Sometimes our boundaries are pushed a little in the way of challenges and we can feel a little threatened, a little uneasy on how to proceed.
Work with the protective energies of this rune to overcome those challenges. Think of alternatives to the challenges, change your way of acting or thinking - is there another solution?
I also think of Thurisaz as a rune of self care - protecting yourself and your personal boundaries. Know when to say "no" and acknowledge when actions or words are unacceptable.
Self Care Spell by Ness
As the days start to get shorter and we retreat inwards, now is the time to think about YOU! To nourish and sustain your mental and physical health. Taking some time once a week, if you can, just for you.
This simple candle spell may be all you need to recharge, regenerate and replenish – a few minutes to sit and gaze at the flame in front of you – breathing slowly in and out, clearing your mind and focusing on your breath and the candle.
As you sit still, you may wish to meditate – what do you need to do to give yourself a bit of YOU time? Walk in nature, have a long soak in a bubbly bath, relax and read, or if life is really just too hectic, as I mentioned earlier, just a few minutes in front of a lit candle to just clear those thoughts for just a while..
A white candle is ideal for this, it promotes purity and peacefulness. Add some crystals that you like, if you have some – Rose Quartz for love, Carnelian for vitality, Jasper for stability or Tigers Eye for balance and harmony, but go with what you are drawn to..
Light the candle, sit in front of it comfortably and focus on its flame.. you might want to sit quietly or you can say..
“As I light this candle white
Let my mind and thoughts be clear
Show me what I need to take care of myself
And the love I have for Me, I hold dear..”
Remember to take this time to recharge and rest, or meditate on what you can do to give yourself the self care that you deserve..
taken from the KW blog Oct 2019
