Public - Newsletter

Welcome to our April 2026 Kitchen Witch newsletter.

Last month, Rachel, Heather and myself had a mini break in Swanage in the County of Dorset. It is a lovely seaside town with lots of cafes (a must for us Kitchen Witches), independant shops and a beautiful stretch of sandy beach. We explored the surrounding area which included a visit to The Blue Pool - a stunning nature reserve which used to be a clay pit quarry.

We try and plan a break a couple of times a year - it gives us a breather, to connect as friends and it also means we have plenty of time to get our collective brains together - although we do think that we share one - to plot and plan all things Kitchen Witch for the coming year and beyond.

This month, we have another Waffling Witches chat with Rachel, streamed live on her regular Friday morning. Date for this is 10th April at 9am.

Rachel and Heather will also be at the Wytches Market which is held in Glastonbury. This is a fantastic event so if you are in the area, do pop along and say Hello.

We have another online ritual at the beginning of May - this is honouring the Norse Queen Hel. Full details of all of our events are on our website - link at the very bottom of the newsletter.

Have a fabulous month

Ness x

Heather's Oracle Card set on the Ogam is available to order from our Emporium. This is a stunning set of cards - very tactile and you will love them if you like to work with this ancient alphabet for divination. Purchasing a set will also give you access to our very special online Herbarium.

We already have orders ready to ship out and the cards had their first outing at this years Wild Witchcraft Conference. Pictured below is Heather signing a set at this years Wild Witchcraft Conference.

This weekend, Rachel will be at the Glastonbury Wytches Market in the all new 'author's corner'. She will be taking her extensive library of books and will happily sign any that you buy. Heather will also be at the market that day, so if you are in the area, do pop along and say Hello. This is a fabulous event which is held 3 times a year, with all the stall holders showcasing their unique hand crafted items.

Herbarium Card for April by Ness

This months card is from our Kitchen Witch Herbarium Oracle. The flower is Common Fleabane and the word is 'remove'. This month as nature ramps up in growth, it is time to remove what no longer serves you. That might be physical hoarding, old thought patterns and habits - anything that is weighing you down.

Summer is approaching and we should be moving forward with a clear and tidy mind.

Common Fleabane is used magically to clear stagnant energy, burned - it's scent gives off a pungent, soap like aroma.

What's Going on in Nature this Month from Ness  

April already! I feel the energies of the Green Man, working in tandem with Mother Earth. Everywhere I look, there is growth. Everything looks fresh and vibrant and there is now warmth to the spring sunshine.

Daffodils are still flowering but most of them have already gone over this month. Cleavers are growing upwards - sticking to the hedgerows, their seeds will soon be appearing. There is lots of wild arum in the hedgerows - just the leaves at the moment - their fertile spikes will show soon. There is Blackthorn blossom and I have seen the new leaves of the Hawthorn and Elder. Alexanders are starting to flower in the wild. Dock is bushing out as well as Mallow, Cow Parsley and Nettles. Brambles have woken and are producing new leaves, intertwined with the old. Early morning and at dusk, I hear the Blackbird singing his song and my walks have extended to the fields and hedgerow footpaths that have now dried in the sunshine. Also spotted are beautiful bluebells and wild garlic.

Outside my back door are lots of dropped twigs, feathers and dried grass from the starlings which have nested in the eaves of the roof for many years. They can make a mess but it lovely to hear them on the roof with their recognisable calling.

My Goddess of the Month by Ness

Way back when I was a Kitchen Witch student, I took the Arc of the Goddess course which meant working with a particular Goddess each month for a whole year. I found this course to be very enjoyable and it allowed me to work with many Goddesses during that year that I had not worked with before. There was a title to go with each month's meditation and April's was 'Bringer of the Breeze'

I made a felt dolly to represent each of the Goddesses that I connected with and added to them, what I was gifted from them in my meditation. I found the Goddesses tucked away in a box, while I was looking for something, so have decided to show you one each month with a paragraph or three about them, how I worked with each Goddess and their correspondences.

April - Hestia

This month was an interesting one for me - the Greek Goddess Hestia came to me in the meditation. She made a welcome return as she was the first Goddess that I had worked with on my path.

Hestia was a Goddess of the Hearth and Home. She was at the centre of the home which was usually the kitchen. She was also known as a Goddess of the Sacrificial Flame which meant that she received some of every sacrifice that was made to the Gods.

Hestia's parents were Cronus and Rhea but upon being born, her father swallowed her like he did with all of her siblings. Her sisters were Hera and Demeter and her brothers were Zeus, Hades and Poseidon.

Poseidon asked for her hand in marriage but she refused, asking another brother

Zeus that she remain a virgin for eternity.

I worked with Hestia both times as someone who resided over my hearth and home. Her presence made me value my home as a sanctuary, a safe place and a place that I knew that I would stay in for many years. I enjoyed baking and cooking again - something that waned once I grew up but was determined to embrace again having a family. She was calm, gave good advice and helped instill positive energies in me. I very often gave her offerings on my kitchen altar of a portion of our meal.

In the meditation, she gifted me a matchstick - something that would connect me to igniting my passions for the kitchen and to make my house a warm home.

The kitchen is still a special place for me - although i haven't worked with Hestia for a number of years, I like to think that she is still there in the background, keeping an eye on me.

Fenrir by Heather

Fenrir, pronounced FEN-rir, the giant wolf in Norse mythology, is the son of Loki and the giantess Angrboda.

The Aesir Gods were so frightened of him, they reared Fenrir so they could keep him under control and stop him from causing mayhem throughout the Nine Worlds. However, he grew so quickly the Gods realised they had to restrict him even further. Pretending they were playing a game to test his strength, they attempted to bind him and failed twice.   In desperation, they sent a message to the dwarves, the best crafts people, to make an indestructible chain. This chain was called Gleipnir, meaning open and was made from the sound of a cat’s footsteps, the beard of a woman, the roots of mountains, the breath of a fish, and the spit of a bird, basically things which don’t exist, so it would be pointless to fight against! 

When Fenrir saw this third chain he sensed treachery, he refused to be bound until one of the Gods put their hand in his mouth as a pledge of good faith. Tyr was the only one brave enough to do this, when Fenrir found himself unable to break free of his bonds, he ripped Tyr’s hand off. The chain was then tied to a boulder, and a sword was placed in Fenrir’s jaws to hold them open. As he howled his drool flowed forming the bubbling river called Ván, meaning expectation.

In the myths Fenrir is cast as malevolent but looking at the events from his perspective, he was deceived from the moment he was born.  Even when he had proved his strength another test was presented, with an essentially non-existent chain, no wonder he wanted a guarantee against treachery.  However, he was still tricked.  Makes me wonder who was at fault, was it Fenrir, or the Gods who lied and allowed Tyr to sacrifice His hand, or both?

Symbolism of Fenrir’s energy

Fenrir embodies the cycles of life and death, represents disrupting chaos, symbolises the uncontrollable energy of nature, the inevitability of change, his energy highlights that chaos is actually part of life.

The wolf has always been regarded as a symbol of strength, ferocity, and independence. Fenrir, as a giant wolf, embodies these qualities, he exposes humanity’s fears and lack of respect for the wild. Like his father, his symbolism is complex, in that he is both a destroyer and a protector.  His imprisonment represents the struggle between freedom and control, his fight against being bound, reminding us of the natural world’s rejection of being tamed.  Fenrir acts as a powerful symbol in the fight against oppression. 

Connecting to the energy of Fenrir can enable us to appreciate the awesome power of nature, accept the inevitability of change, and learn to work with the cycles of life and death.

 Recipe for the Month by Heather

Anzac Biscuits

Anzac biscuits are traditional Australian and New Zealand oat and coconut cookies, sweetened with golden syrup, which can be chewy or crunchy depending on baking time.  

It seems each family has probably got their own slight variation for this traditional recipe, Rachel has a recipe for these in her book Practically Pagan - An Alternative Guide to Cooking.  Here I am sharing the family one given to me by a friend, with the magical correspondences added.

Ingredients

125 grams/4oz butter, chopped – peace, spirituality

2 tablespoons golden syrup or treacle – love, money, healing, binding, commitment, relationships

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) – uplifting, harmony

2 tablespoons boiling water – cleansing, healing

1 cup/90g rolled oats – passion, fertility, prosperity

1 cup/150g plain flour – prosperity, death and rebirth, cycles, abundance, wishes

1 cup/220g firmly packed brown sugar – love, protection

3/4 cup/60g desiccated coconut – protection, purification, honour, truth

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4. Grease two large oven trays; line with baking paper.

Stir butter and syrup in a medium saucepan over low heat until smooth. Stir in combined soda and the water, then remaining ingredients.

Roll level tablespoons of mixture into balls, place 5cm (2in) apart on the lined trays, then flatten slightly.

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden. Cool biscuits on trays. 

Egg Carton Flowers by Heather

Who remembers making these at school?  Now we can add a magical intention as we make these, for example, love, protection, happiness, abundance, peace, harmony, creativity.

You will need –

Cardboard egg cartons 

Scissors or knife

Paints, markers, or crayons for colouring

Hot glue or white glue

Bamboo skewers, pipe cleaners, or craft sticks for stems

Buttons, beads, or paper for flower centres 

Instructions

Use scissors to cut each cup into four rounded petals or create v shapes for more open flowers. Two cups per flower will create a fuller bloom. 

Paint or colour the cups, leave them to dry completely before assembly. 

Poke a small hole in the bottom of each cup. Slide a skewer, pipe cleaner, or stick through the hole. Stack two cups with petals offset for a layered effect and glue them together. Secure the skewer or pipe cleaner with glue. You can paint it or wrap it with green tape or paper for a more stem-like look.

Glue a button or bead in the middle of the flower for a more textured finish. 

Alexanders by Heather

When we were on our KW break, one of the places we visited, Corfe Castle, all along the path leading from the car park to the entrance, this plant was growing profusely.  Its rich, green, glossy leaves, with its delicate yellow flowers made  the path look and feel vibrant and welcoming.

Alexanders (latin name Smyrnium olusatrum) is a stocky, biennial, edible flowering plant which grows on waste ground and in hedges around the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastal regions of Europe. It used to be grown as a pot herb but is now appreciated by foragers.  

It has a solid and easily peeled green stalk, which becomes hollow with age. The leaves are glossy, blunt toothed with broad segments, they have a purple veined sheath at their base and grow in groups of three. On top of the stem sits an umbelifer or flowering dome of yellow-petalled flowers, making it easier to distinguish from other plants in this family as their flowers are typically white.

The name Alexanders is apparently in reference to Alexander the Great, and to the city of Alexandria he founded, where these plants grow abundantly.  It is often found around old religious buildings, as the plant was once regarded as a religious herb, as well as being used as a vegetable for the monks/nuns/priests’ meals.

Magical associations:  Vitality, communication, abundance, spirituality, sustenance, generosity, positive energy