May 2026 News
Welcome to our May 2026 Kitchen Witch newsletter
I cannot believe that we are in May already. This year has gone unbelievably fast and by the time this hits your inboxes, Beltane will be upon us. A time of rapid growth, fire and fertility. April was a bit of a strange month for us at Kitchen Witch. It has been silly busy for us all, but we did manage to go and see Rachel's husband's Rock Covers band The Mafia, one evening, with a delicious curry thrown in for good measure.
We have our Hel online ritual this month on the 9th. We will be working on transformation and asking the Norse Queen Hel to lend her energies.
We also have another Waffling Witches online chat on the 22nd. Both of these events will be streamed live to both Rachel's and the Kitchen Witch YouTube channels. If you scroll to the bottom of the newsletter, our linktree will have the links to those.
June is the start of the summer pagan festivals and we will be at the Pagan Tribal Gathering near Oxford on the Saturday. I will pop an advert in here if you fancy going to this fabulous event. We would love for you to come and say Hello.
Wishing you all a lovely Beltane if you are in the Northern Hemisphere.
Ness x
Rachel, Ness and Heather will be at this years' Pagan Tribal Gathering. This fabulous event now has a new home near Oxford and you can find us there on the Saturday. This is always a well run event by the lovely Pia and her team with lots of talks, music, stalls and plenty of other things to keep you busy for the entire weekend.
Tickets and full information can be found at -
https://lwww.pagantribalgathering.org.uk
Rune for May by Ness
An interesting rune for this month. Thurisaz - the rune of Thor and the Giants. Thurisaz speaks to us of boundaries crossed. The image depicts a wolf sitting in front of a prickly rose with a fire raging behind him. The fire is closing in and two twigs are ablaze. But the wolf might be happy with the fire and the rose with its prickly thorns - he is protected!
When Thurisaz shows up in our life, we may feel that we are trapped and in an uncomfortable space. Put your boundaries in place, protect your space and don't be afraid of saying No if something doesn't feel right.
What's Going on in Nature this Month from Ness
The month of May! Fertility, the sacred union between the God and the Goddess and an explosion of greenery and flowers. My head spins as I go on my daily walk in the hedgerows and across the fields - there is so much growth, it is wonderful to see. Bluebells are still in bloom as I type this - one of my personal favourites at this time of year. The wild garlic is in flower and I have even spotted a wild strawberry plant! The nettles are gaining height, Mugwort is green and bushy, there are masses of white dead nettle and garlic mustard has also made an appearance. The Arum's now have their spike - perfect at this time of year as this does symbolise the - ahem! male phallus. Mallow is growing well - and looking up a little bit, the hedgerows are blooming too - Hawthorn blossom, wild cherry and apple blossom. The neglected dock leaves are also making a solid appearance - i say "neglected" because it is a plant that is often overlooked. Of course, the leaves can be used crushed to alleviate a nettle sting, but they can be used magically for growth, prosperity, protection and healing.
It has been lovely to spot the buff tailed bumblebees on the flowers that are out and I have seen a honeybee or two in the past couple of days.
The days are getting warmer and we also have longer days - 14 and a half hours of it to be precise!
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 May's was 'Healer'
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.
May - Rhiannon
Another interesting month with Rhiannon appearing in my meditation.
During my meditation, she gifted me a tuft of rosemary and it is one of my go-to's whenever I work magic - be that for a spell, incense or to add to a journey pouch.
Rosemary is about protection and healing for me but also has the properties of purification, love and sleep or restfulness.
One of Rhiannon's correspondences is the herb Rosemary.
Her name is said to mean 'Great Queen' and she played a prominent part in both the First and Third branches of the Mabinogi, which is a collection of early Welsh Prose stories.
I know her to be connected very strongly with horses but she also had an affinity with songbirds and the moon. The birds were said to wake the dead, so this symbolised her connection to the Otherworld. She was very much about leadership and resilience and getting things done.
She is also able to manifest her dreams and her wishes for both her own uses and for others.
The stories about her are long and very detailed and looking at her correspondences, I was drawn to the otherworld side of her. The message I received was that I could manifest my own dreams and wishes, if I put my mind to it. Patience also played a key part in this, not to expect things immediately, all good things came to those who waited and also put the work in.
She was an interesting Goddess to work with. I haven't work with her since, but I was grateful for the message that I received and it something that I still think about and strive for today.
Loki and Odin - Blood Brothers by Heather
A depiction of Lokasenna (1895) by Danish artist Lorenz Frølich
Although not blood brothers in a familial sense, Loki and Odin did apparently make a pact and became blood brothers, which suggests a mutual respect and close a close bond between Them. We have no information on when this pact occurred, or what was involved, this blood brotherhood probably indicates respect and shared obligations from an earlier time in of Norse mythology, which didn’t make it into the written records we have today.
Knowing the emphasis the Norse placed on obligations and oaths, the idea of Loki and Odin undertaking such a binding pact seemed strange, until I listed Their similarities! Both Loki and Odin can be cunning, wise and have a fondness for mischief and trickery! They are also both shapeshifters, use magic and are resourceful, being the two that the other Gods turn to for help.
How do we know that They made a blood oath? From the small reference in the Poetic Edda poem Lokasenna, which describes how Loki instigated an exchange of insults with several of the Gods. I will link the poem below, but this is the specific reference -
“Loki spake:
9. "Remember, Othin, in olden days
That we both our blood have mixed;
Then didst thou promise no ale to pour,
Unless it were brought for us both."
It does make me wonder what happened originally for Them to make this pact. Did They make a cut on the palm of a hand, hold them together and state Their intention, the way the Owen’s sisters in Practical Magic? Or did the Old Norse have a blood binding ritual?
So many possibilities, what are your thoughts.
https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe10.htm
Recipe for the Month by Heather
Sticky Ginger and Honey Cake
As is is Beltaine the month, it seemed fitting to choose a recipe which can be shared with loved ones, from intimate dates to family picnics. The magical correspondences have been added so you can perform the making and baking as a ritual, adding your intentions to the mix.
Ingredients
75 g / 3 oz soft brown sugar – love, protection
100 g/ 4floz/ ½ cup runny honey – happiness, healing, love, prosperity, passion, spirituality, farie
150 g/ 5 oz plain (all purpose) flour – grounding, prosperity, community, joy
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder – uplifting, expanding
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda – cleansing, clearing
1 teaspoon ground ginger – healing, power, love, passion, success, prosperity, protection
zest of an orange – love, happiness, uplifting, generosity, purification, clarity, energy, fidelity
75 ml/ 2 1/2 fl oz olive oil (or a flavourless vegetable oil) – smoothing, luxury, communication
2 eggs – fertility, creation, creativity, life, new beginnings, divination
125 ml/ 4 ½ floz milk – feminine power, goddess energy, moon magic, nurturing, offerings, love, spirituality, faerie
½ teaspoon vanilla extract – love, spirituality, sex magic, passion, creativity
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4. Line a 1.2kg (2lb) loaf tin with greaseproof paper.
Put the sugar and honey into a small saucepan and heat on low, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved. Do not let the mixture to boil. Remove from the heat once the sugar is all dissolved.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger, and orange zest.
Separately, whisk together the oil, eggs, milk, and vanilla. Then whisk this mixture into the sugar/honey.
Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk well to give a smooth, runny batter. Pour into the lined tin and bake for 40-50 minutes, until a dark golden in colour, and a skewer comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for a few minutes. Remove and leave on a wire rack until cold.
To decorate the cake
40 g (⅓ cup) icing sugar
1 teaspoon runny honey
1 teaspoon milk
Strands of orange zest
Carefully combine the icing ingredients to until you have thick, runny icing. Drizzle over the cake. Sprinkle the orange zest over the top.
Adapted from a Delia Smith recipe.
Beltane Incense by Heather
Make an incense blend with ingredients which symbolise the season for you. Even if you can’t burn incense indoors, maybe you could outside, or use the blend as an offering on your altar.
Here are my suggestions –
Rose – love, psychic powers, healing, luck, protection, peace, knowledge, dreams, friendship, death and rebirth, abundance
Mugwort – strength, psychic powers, protection, dreams, healing, astral travel, feminine energy, cleansing
Star Anise – luck, psychic powers, purification, protection, dreams, spirituality, sleep
Orange peel - love, happiness, uplifting, generosity, purification, clarity, energy, fidelity
Violet – love, lust, peace, healing, protection, commitment, death and rebirth
Pine resin – centring, focus, protection, truth, abundance, purification, fertility, healing
