Unfortunately, this book was not at all what I was expecting. First and foremost, if anyone has been practicing for any amount of time, the title will be nothing more than a review. Such repetition has been a longstanding issue in occult books, but it is more prevalent in The Kitchen Witch, which feels entirely redundant. There are countless (and wonderfully written) books on the wheel of the year, magickal tools, and correspondences, so I was hoping for a deeper and more thoroughly researched look into the tradition of kitchen witchery. Instead, The Kitchen Witch merely repeats information found in any beginner witchcraft book, with only a minor kitchen/cooking twist.

Moreover, I was shocked by some glaring misinformation. For example, (without quoting from the unedited book), the connection between the pentagram and the Texas Lonestar was inadequately explained in terms of historical iconography studies and lacked nuance in the discussion of the symbol's various meanings. Does this analogy extend to the Hollywood stars on the Walk of Fame, or the stars on the Pakistani or US flags? This particular point felt out of place and was completely lacking in context.

Regrettably, this was not an isolated incident. Throughout the book, claims are made without citing any reputable sources. The book even went so far as to include the proven pseudoscience of Dr. Masaru Emoto's studies, presenting them as fact. This can be harmful to the witchcraft community, diverting attention away from the cultural and historical aspects of the practice. There are many excellent works that offer scholarly and insightful research into the rich traditions of witchcraft. Sadly, this was not one of them.

This would be a good place to start as a beginner, but I generally didn't find anything too interesting or unique in this volume. I've read quite a few kitchen witch books over the years now and this felt like it had a lot of similar information to them. Also, there were just certain things that I generally disagree with, which makes it not for me. I didn't really find anything in her that was either new or that I wanted to use, but I think for a beginner it could be a good start.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an eARC of this book. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a great addition to any beginner's library! Not something I would pick up for myself, but if you're just starting out in the realm of kitchen witchcraft, then I would highly recommend this book.

Defining A Kitchen Witch

Skye Alexander is one of my favorite writers and practitioners of witchcraft, and this book is truly remarkable. She defines and discusses what a Kitchen Witch is and her or his magical objectives are. These may range from mindfully preparing food for their loved ones and using the magic energies of food and spices to empower their food with their magical objectives to researching both the nutritional properties of their ingredients and their magical properties as well, and using that information to get ideas about dishes, beverages, and remedies to prepare either for themselves or their loved ones based on things they might be going through—both healthwise and emotionally.

Skye discusses the various ideas, practices, guidelines, rites, the pantheon of deities, the principal tools of the craft, their traditional meanings and purposes, and the crossover between these well-known ceremonial objects and the mundane implements kitchen witches employ in everyday magic.

Cleansing, clearing, consecrating, protecting your kitchen is very important, and the author discusses many ways of doing such.

This book attests to the author's vast knowledge because it is filled with so much valuable information dealing with the life and meaning of being a Kitchen Witch. She states that as a kitchen witch, one should prepare and consume whatever food they’ve chosen with mindfulness, respect, and gratitude, because they know that everything carries energy and that they can use that energy and infuse it with their own personal energy toward their intent.

The information presented in this book is so much and to enormous to detail or explain in this review. I highly recommend this book for all beginners and it can be a great resource material for anyone in this field.

I loved how the author doesn’t just focus on western deities and kitchen witchcraft. This was a decent introduction to kitchen witchcraft and I enjoyed the spells the author included in the last part of the book. 3.5 Stars.

This book is filled with the kind of magic that makes life so very connected to the Earth. I found the listing of herbs Ms Alexander to be available and common. It gave me many ideas about kitchen recipes and healing with natural elements. My favorite is Healing Barley Water! This book is filled with new ideas and old ones too. I havent seen a more usable and helpful book in a long time. You will not regret reading this and trying it out. I liked it and found lots to incorporate into my daily life.

Arc Netgalley Review

Just a pleasure to read and flip through this cookbook, there was so many new recipes to try, and the author was so articulate in composing this book. You can feel the love and magic in every word and photo put between the covers.

I received an advance reader copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

I like the cover and blurb. That's what drew me to the book.

I liked the section on holidays and appreciated the descriptions.

I felt that overall many sections of the books felt like they lacked nuance and detail that would have improved the information. A lot of the short seconds felt like they were copy-and-paste from similar books.

Some of the ideas of this book I did not like. The law-of-attraction method of witchcraft also implies that bad things that happen to you are because you thought about bad things. Small tidbits like donating food based on attracting wealth and a spell where eating off gold dishes is one of the options gave me the impression that the author is a bit removed from the typical readers views.

The audience for this book would be for someone brand new to witchcraft so I feel it could be improved by rethinking how ideas are framed, making them more accessible and also explaining why something is the way the book says it is. A lot of saying what's the way to do something and not a lot of explaining why.

The food correspondence section had some great entries and I appreciated learning about some deities I hadn't heard of before.

While this book is supposed to be for the kitchen witch, it seems to go a lot broader and is a bit much to take in. I can appreciate the author’s need to touch on more topics, but I’d recommend really focusing on the topic at hand…and maybe write a few more books on the other types of witches that are mentioned, because you really have that fire in you and you can share that content as well with a deeper focus on it.

That said, being an eclectic witch, I find everyones practices to be of interest. Kitchen witches are the most relatable, even to non practitioners, because we all make our nourishment with love. If you’re looking for a good introduction, read on…but when you feel like the topics gone off in another direction a bit, just let it go and read on. It’s a lot to take in all at once for a new topic.

This book is a lovely look at all things kitchen witchery; it is obvious that the author knows exactly what they are talking about and the experience shines through. I love the detail of this book and the overall aesthetic.

This book is a great resource for both novice and experienced kitchen witches alike, providing a wealth of information on the subject matter. It offers a useful starting point for anyone looking to learn more about the topic, whether it is someone just beginning to explore kitchen witchery or a seasoned practitioner looking to deepen their understanding. With its clear and concise explanations, it is a valuable addition to any collection of personal resources. I am excited to share it!

Thank you Netgalley and Adams Media for letting me read and give my feedback to The Kitchen Witch by Skye Alexander.

I really enjoyed this book. It's a good starting point and resource for a newbie when it comes to kitchen witchery. It covers all the basic and I sure learned some new things.

A great book to start with!

This was a book that contained A LOT of information, in ways both good and bad. While it was certainly comprehensive on the topic of kitchen magic, it covered so much from so many areas of practice that it felt a little like trying to take a delicate sip from a firehose. The breadth and depth also made some of the chapters feel too meandering while other parts felt too basic.

I also could have lived without the references to clean eating and the implication that whole unprocessed food are inherently more magical. Now this is not a unique issue to this book, I often find that magical texts swerve a little too close to classism, I just wish I could find kitchen witch references that don't act like boxed mac-n-cheese is inherently incompatible with the ethereal earth-goddess lifestyle.

That said, the reference section of foods and magical meanings alongside the spells were great. If you are looking for a sizable guide to foods that have correspondences, this book is a great resource. The integration of food correspondences with major holidays is also great and an easy way to get into mixing food magic with other magical practices. Overall, this is still a solid resource for anyone looking to add kitchen witchery their practice.

The kitchen witch by skyr Alexander published July 2023. A very informative books on natural cooking and cures

Having read a few of Skye Alexander's books I was keen to read this one and it did not disappointment.
This book had sections on what kitchen witchery is, building your craft as a kitchen witch these sections seem to be more general than kitchen witch specific and cover a lot of info that beginner Witches will love but more adept winches will probably skip over. Next is a very comprehensive section on magical edibles with over 100 ingredients and their correspondences including ruling planets, historical, magical and medical uses. Followed by a section of common spells, charms and rituals.
Skye Alexander's writing style is approachable and easy to understand and whilst I feel this book would be perfect for a beginner witch. However as a witch that has been practising many years there are still things i will take away from this book.

This is a good comprehensive book for the beginner, as well as a nice review for someone who has dabbled with herb usage here and there. It includes a multitude of herbs and their uses, both culinary and magickal, plus quite a bit of history and extra knowledge.