Food is magic. It's medicine. It's an edible love note (the best kind of love note). I've never really considered myself incredibly witchy. I don't have crystals or stones, I don't use tarot (nobody has bought one for me, so I just use playing cards. And play my version of solitaire. That's my idea of a reading). I do have an altar for Hestia, the Greek Goddess of hearth and home and Andhrimnir, the Norse god of cooking. Even professional cooks need a prayer and an extra hand for stirring.
Medicine and witchery have grown with each other and witches, along with most parents, agree that it's easier for people to take their medicine if they like it and if they believe in it. It's easy to build on the trust of food and make it medicinal. Herbs, combining veggies, preparation styles, there is a lot going on in a cooking pot. Or a cast iron skillet. Or a wok. Really think about what is most useful for you. This is serious spellwork, you don't want a cheap cauldron. Herbs are the real backbone to spell and medicine knowledge. I've been learning about herbs for years and I'm still wading in the shallow end of the sheer amount of knowledge happening. And spices are a whole library by themselves. Heat a dry pan, toss spices in. The heat opens up the favors. This is called ‘toasting’ and, much like toast, it's amazing. Simple fire and human ingenuity, it's such a game changer that it changed our guts. That's some serious witchcraft. Or as Arthur C. Clark would describe it, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” and guts designed to eat food we designed is pretty high tech.
As the world continues being a dumpster fire of a planet in the galaxy of Terrible (which sadly is not far far away enough) I've turned to food for solace. I mean absolutely I'm eating it, but also cooking it. I really like cooking, which works out for me labor wise. People have always eaten and will continue to eat for the foreseeable future, so it's kind of an established trade. Food is just so deeply emotionally connected to us, even if you're in a weird place with it. Eating disorders are realio, as someone who has struggled to build a relationship to food. Now, I love food. It's the best. It doesn't judge me, it doesn’t invalidate me, it doesn't shout horrible dehumanizing things at me. It's pretty chill like that. I definitely still struggle to eat, however. Depression and anxiety wreak havoc on my appetite and aversions to mouth feels and certain tastes and odors can limit my choices.
Food is resistance. It's the most concrete way for me to contribute. Feeding those who need to eat is important for the simple need it fills. These meals also create gathering spaces for people to literally break bread and unite. I might not become a community organizer in any official capacity but the ones with the ladles tend to know what's going on around them. Any group of people runs on their stomachs and cooks know it.
