For hundreds of years, witchcraft was a kitchen art, hidden from the eyes of the Authorities, practiced with everyday tools. Its symbols became synonymous with the tools of hearth and home - the broom that sweeps the floor, the cauldron that cooks supper over the fire, the knife that cuts the nightly vegetables, the herbs that hang in bundles form the ceiling rafters, the cat who curls by the hearth after catching mice. Witches brewed potions and philtres in their own kitchens, often incorporating them into food and drink. In fact, the line between cooking and magic is very slim....not to mention the line between magic and perfumery, or candlemaking, or broommaking, or cleansing, or the alchemy of making butter from cream or soap from lye and fat. We of the Hestia Guild keep the old household arts alive, in honor of our foremothers who did their best to make hearth and home comfortable. May we do at least as well as they, and may their spirits watch over and protect our homes.

Articles:
Candles, Candlemas, And The Hearth Excerpt from "EarthBound: Pagan Homesteading" by Raven Kaldera
Feast and Fast in a Pagan Worldview: How To Appreciate Your Sustenance

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