Public - Newsletter

Welcome to our January 2026 Kitchen Witch newsletter.

Another year has gone and we head into 2026 - I wonder what this year will bring for Kitchen Witch. Last year we had 4 online workshop/rituals celebrating the Equinoxes and the Solstices.  We celebrated the release of our Herbarium oracle deck after over a year in the making. We also have a contract with Moon Books for a book on practical no-nonsense witchcraft, which is very exciting but I also admit to being a bit nervous - as although I have written an essay included in a book edited by Moon Books Publisher Trevor Greenfield and had my work included in a couple of Rachel's books, this is somewhat a bit different. I can't think of two people I would much rather do this with than Heather and Rachel and we are looking forward to putting it all together.

We have our first online retreat in February and also an online workshop on Lithomancy in March. We do have another 2 part workshop in the planning stages and there will be more online rituals this year too! Rachel will continue her regular Friday morning chats which are brilliant and very informative, giving everyone an opportunity to join in. It has grown into a wonderful community - long may they continue. Heather and I will be regularly joining Rachel on a Friday morning as our longstanding Waffling Witches chat.

Our triad readings have proved very popular, and we have received good feedback from our clients, so if you would like some insight to what 2026 can bring you, then hop over to our website (link at bottom of newsletter) and click on readings.

We will continue with our newsletter each month and if there is anything that you would like us to include then please email myself or Heather at support@kitchenwitchhearth.net with your suggestions.

Wishing you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2026!

Ness x

Cover photo taken at KWHQ Yule 2025 - a day of eating Christmas lunch and cake, trial crafting, and spell casting  

Rune card for January by Ness

The rune for this month is Wunjo - the rune of Joy! January is an odd month to me. After the festivities of December, we are now in the peak of winter and January can be cold, gloomy and it seems like forever until Spring makes her appearance. But take this time to reflect, to think about the last year and what worked and what didn't. Time to wipe the slate clean and then take a breather - not rush into new plans, not putting those wheels in motion - just yet!

Feel the joy and happiness of the good stuff achieved last year and the anticipation and excitement of what you want to achieve this year.

What's Going on in Nature this Month from Ness  

Winter is here but it is a wet winter - lots of grey, rainy days interspersed with the odd sunny, cold day. Fallen leaves are soggy and brown and clumped together against the kerbsides and pathways. The signs of decay in nature are prominent and the earth is at rest for the time being. Hedgerows are just bare branches with the odd leaf clinging on and the fields are barren. I have seen the early shoots of springs daffodils poking through the soil in my wall trough but the soil is warmer there than the earth, but it will still be a few weeks before I see any substantial growth. Nettles, white dead nettles and dandelions have been growing - enjoying the damp weather. Cranesbill, ground elder, and wood sorrell are also growing well. Winter berries are a welcome sight - holly, aucuba, and I have also spotted a shrub out on my walks which has some lovely pink berries.

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 January's was 'The Guardians of the Land'.

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.

January - Artemis

In the month of January, I meditated to meet with the Goddess that I would be working with and Artemis came to me. During the meditation she came dressed in a green cloak tied with a black cord and she had her hood pulled up over her brown hair. She gifted me 3 red berries, which i took to be holly berries. Holly berries are linked to protection and I felt at that time that Artemis came to me as a protection Goddess for January. She carried strength and resilience and I felt that she didn't stand for any nonsense!

Artemis is a Greek Goddess of hunting, childbirth and protector of animals. Her twin brother Apollo was the God of healing, of music and poetry and her Roman counterpart was Diana.

She was very often depicted wearing a robe and carrying a bow and arrow. Her parents were Zeus and Leto. She was said to have assisted her mother in delivering her twin brother after she was born.

I read many stories about Artemis - many of them depicted her as ruthless and uncaring, but there was also a softness about her, a caring side. She dealt out punishments for those that she felt deserved them, but also showed devotion to the animals, to the natural world.

During the month that I worked with her, I connected with the animal protection aspect of her. I was already feeding the birds that visited my garden, but I also made sure that I was looking after our local wildlife by picking up litter down by the shore local to me. I had seen a swan nest at a canal near to me made with some remnants of litter - a plastic yoghurt pot, a crisp bag and it made me feel very sad.

That month, I also had my bi-annual clear out and donated unwanted household items and clothes to an animal charity.

Work with her for protection - self and animals, healing, for courage and justice, making your voice heard.

Symbols 

bow and arrow

quiver

water jug

torch

deer skin cape

Animal and Plants

deer

bear

ground birds

stag

heron

Source and further reading:

https://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Artemis.html

The Snaptun Stone, Denmark, which is thought to depict Loki.

God of the month by Heather

We were at KW HQ recently, when I mentioned that I was thinking of connecting with some Gods this year, as when I ask if there is a deity who would like to connect, a Goddess usually appears.   As we were chatting, Rachel joked that knowing me Baphomet would probably show up, I agreed thinking Him or Loki.  No sooner had I said that, than I felt a presence, a laugh and ‘I’m here’!  

Loki - part giant and father of extraordinary children! A trickster God…but just giving Him that title does an injustice to this complex deity.

Until recently, the meaning of His name has been a bit of a mystery, but Eldar Heide, a language expert, may have solved this enigma, suggesting knot as the meaning to the name. In his research he noticed that when Loki is mentioned, there seems to be an association with knots.

Although Loki is recognised as a God or divine entity today, no evidence of worship to Him has been found.  This could be because He appears to flout the traditional Norse values of honour, loyalty, reputation, courage and hospitality! There is also a belief that originally He was a Spirit, some think a hearth guardian, which is why He appears in almost as many sagas as Odin.

Loki’s father was the giant Farbauti and his mother Laufey, was either a goddess or a giantess. His wife is Sigyn, with whom He had a son named Nari. However, He also had a relationship with the giantess Angrboða, their children were Hel, Goddess of the underworld, Jormungand the giant serpent who will kill Thor, and Fenrir, a giant wolf.  As a shapeshifter, Loki was the mother of Sleipnir, Odin’s eight legged horse, whom Loki gave birth to after shapeshifting into a mare to distract the stallion Svadilfari!   Loki is also father to Vali, who is only mentioned in name, their mother is unknown.

In the tales, Loki is often depicted as a scheming coward who cares only for His own pleasures and self-preservation, depending on the tale, He can be playful, malicious, and/or helpful.  He is invariably disrespectful and rebellious, helping both the gods and the giants, depending on who will be the most advantageous to His scheme at the time. During Ragnarok, when the gods and giants fight their ultimate battle, destroying the cosmos in their wake, Loki is said to join the fight on the side of the giants. In an Old Norse poem, it is He who captains the ship Naglfar, meaning Nail Ship, transporting many of the giants to Ragnarok.

However, most of the myths and tales were written after Christianity had become the main religion, so it is possible Loki was demonised as propaganda.

This is a small summary of the information I found, I will leave links below if anyone wants to do some deeper research.  

The following are my own insights and ideas that have arisen as I begin my relationship with Loki.  He is all that is described in the sagas and myths, but as I said above, He is so much more complex.

His behaviours often act as a reflection of the other Gods weaknesses, but also our own shortcomings and actions.  As Carl Jung outlined in his work on archetypes, the trickster often functions as a catalyst for growth, forcing others to confront their beliefs and assumptions.  Loki personifies the duality of both a loyal friend and a formidable foe, reflecting the vagaries of human nature.  

Often He employs deception and manipulation to steer conflicts to achieve His personal goals, but these traits are also found in His fellow divinities’ stories and in us. Psychological theories advocate that these behaviours stem from a need for acceptance and validation, thus revealing Loki’s vulnerabilities beneath his trickster facade.

Loki’s relationships with Gods, giants, and us mortals illustrate how the impact of His trickster nature can lead to significant challenges and growth.  He dares us to delve into our shadow selves, to acknowledge our differences, be the one to stand against the existing state of affairs, face those aspects that we keep hidden.   All these idiosyncrasies make us who we are!  Loki shows us that the trickster archetype is not just about disruption; it is about transformation and the potential for growth that arises from challenging the status quo.  When others are using pretence or charm to exploit and manipulate, Loki enjoys employing His powers to reveal their true intentions, preferably with as much drama as possible! 

It is not surprising no places of worship to Loki have been found, He reveals the true nature of those around Him, exposing traits we like to hide or ignore!  Loki lives very much in the real world, He understands the challenges life has and can offer guidance on how to navigate changes.

Associations - horse, salmon, and flies, all of which he has shapeshifted into, wolves, serpents and flames!  

Elements – Air, Fire and Water.

Colours - red, black, orange, and yellow.

Crystals – obsidian, jet, red agate, carnelian, orange calcite, yellow calcite, pyrite, sandstone, chalk.

Herbs/plants - mistletoe, Birch, Alder, mullein, dandelion, cinnamon, mugwort.

Offerings – 

Any alcohol, sweet fruit juice, strong coffee, water.

Sweets/candies, biscuits/cookies and puddings/desserts.

Incense – loose or sticks, especially smoky aromatic ones.

Candles.

Perfume.

Coins or jewellery.

Limericks/stories/jokes.

Activism, especially environmental or small/local/underfunded charitable organisations.

Sources and further reading –

https://norsemythologist.com/loki/

https://norse.mythologyworldwide.com/

https://thevikingherald.com/article/loki

https://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/the-aesir-gods-and-goddesses

https://norsepath.org/wiki/norse-gods/aesir/loki/

 Recipe for the Month by Heather

Bubble and Squeak Soup

From: Practically Pagan - An Alternative Guide to Cooking by Rachel Patterson

Bubble and squeak is a traditional dish in the UK to us up left over vegetables and potatoes, usually after a roast dinner.  It is called this because of the satisfying noises it makes as the veggies are recooked in the frying pan.   Most of us are likely to still have left over vegetables left over from Christmas and New Year, so Rachel came up with a tasty and filling alternative.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 chopped onion

500g/1 lb potatoes, diced

250g/9 oz carrots, peeled and diced

1.5 litres/3 pints vegetable or chicken stock

500g/1 lb Brussels sprouts, finely sliced, or cabbage or spring greens

2 teaspoons dried parsley

Handful grated cheese

Salt and pepper

Method

Heat the oil in a large pan and sauté the onion for about five minutes, until they are soft.  Add the potatoes and carrots, cook over a low heat for a further 10 minutes. Pour in the stock, making sure it comes about an inch above the vegetables in the pan.  Simmer for ten minutes.

Add in the Brussels sprouts, the parsley and cook for another ten minutes, until all the vegetables are tender.   Blend in a food processor or with a liquidiser.

Reheat, season with salt and pepper, dish into bowls and top with grated cheese.  Serve with warm crusty bread.

Magical Craft for the Month by Heather

 Make paper snowflakes to hang as garlands, make into a wreath, or stick on windows.

Snowflakes are not only magical to watch, they are full of magical energy.  They symbolize uniqueness – each snowflake is a one-off, purity – their white colour represents innocence and new beginnings, transformation – they remind us of the cycles of life. Snowflakes conjure joy, wonder, enchantment and magic.

Items needed –

Lightweight paper

Scissors

Try using different kinds of paper to add variety or to boost the intentions you add as you make them.  For example, metallic or glitter paper, coloured copier paper, wrapping paper, tissue paper, tracing paper, old sheet music or book pages, coffee filters, doilies.

Depending how you are going to hang your snowflakes – tape, string, thread or yarn, hole puncher, hooks.

Start with a square piece of paper. If your paper isn’t already square, fold one corner diagonally to meet the opposite edge, forming a triangle. Trim off the excess paper along the bottom, then unfold.

Fold the square in half to create a rectangle. You’ll want the edges to align perfectly, then crease the fold.

Take the folded rectangle and fold in half to a square shape and use your finger tip to mark a centre crease. Unfold your square back to the rectangle, bring both ends inward, overlapping the left corner to create a triangle with the point at the centre spot you creased. Press the fold down to create crisp creases.

Fold in half, bringing one side of the triangle over to the other, to make a smaller triangle. Press down firmly, make sharp creases all around.

Begin cutting small shapes along both edges of the folded paper, being careful not to cut too much, especially in the centre as you’ll need the creased edges to stay connected or your paper will disintegrate as you unfold.

Carefully unfold the paper to reveal your snowflake design.   Hang them around your home to bring in enchantment and joy.