Magick for the Kitchen Witch by Deanna Anderson

I sent out a message to several Pagan oriented discussion groups that I actively participate in yesterday asking what book they would recommend as the start of this brand new venture. To my delight and surprise, one of the members not only had books to recommend, but sent me e-copies for me to read! At first, when talking to her in the group, I hadn't recognized her name. Once I started reading her first book, I realized that I have actually seen it on shelves! I'll admit the feeling was a bit surreal. Before this, I had heard of Kitchen Witchery, and I've dabbled a few times myself in healing spells mixed into food. Once I opened this book, I just could NOT put it down.

The preface to the book is something a lot of people skip over. As a die-hard book lover, I always read it just to get some insight into the author. The preface is very short in this book, compared to others I have read, but it touched me far more than any other I have read. Deanna begins the book with the only logical thing to begin with: her story. What makes this different from many other Pagan books out there, and I know everyone reading this can relate, she isn't telling you her story to pat herself on the back. She is very straight forward and leads you into an intimate friendship where she carefully shares her story with you about her path to Paganism and Kitchen Witchcraft. There was no proclamations of being a Witch Queen of several covens, or saying something ridiculous like she is the best herbalist that knows the secrets lost for thousands of years from Native Americans. She just tells her very normal, unextraordinary, history.

This same simple, yet not simplistic, writing style continues into the book. This book is NOT like the rest of Pagan books you'll end up reading. Everyone expects, or at least I do, when I pick up a book on magick to find a lengthy introduction to the history of Wicca/magick/etc., then a few gems of information scattered about page upon page of self-promotion. Now, I completely understand and agree that books, besides the facts, are based in the author's opinion. Hearing the author essentially say how awesome they are is the fastest way to get me to hate a book. Deanna, however, is different. While most books are all that rubble with a few rough tiny diamonds mixed in (if you are really lucky), Magick for the Kitchen Witch is full of wonderful, shiny, pretty bits of information that just made my brain sing as I read each page. Her book is not what most people expect, and I think that's why it got the few negative reviews on the Barnes and Noble listing. Those people are obviously looking for cookie cutter Paganism, which you won't find here.

One of the complaints I noticed on the book listing on B&N was how Deanna is "just regurgitating" stuff from other books. I wish I could make it quite clear to those reviewers the difference between what would be essentially plagiarism and what Deanna does which is called CITING her sources! I was impressed and incredibly pleased that Deanna was not shy about including authors and book titles that she felt would help me as the reader along my quest for more knowledge. What made me even happier is that she didn't hide the bibliography in super tiny print at the end of her book. She proclaimed it just the same as the rest of the text, openly and honestly. Throughout the book, such as in the section on food where she discusses different single serving soup recipes, she states exactly where she heard of the idea from and then explains her ideas and her recipes. A lot more Pagan authors could do to follow her example and give credit where credit is due IN TEXT versus just a bibliography that leaves the reader guessing what ideas are truly the author's and not someone else's with a slight spin. I know this seems like a bit of a rant about citation, but considering how many English papers and other research papers I've had to write in high school and college, citation is incredibly important to me. If I can't avoid citing my sources in my paper's body, I don't think authors should be able to either.

Deanna Anderson's book Magick for the Kitchen Witch is an insightful, intimate book that makes you feel as if Deanna is sitting right beside you showing recipes and ideas from her own Book of Shadows and telling you how she thought up her ideas. The scattering of old wives' tales and mythology make the book engaging and interesting. While others may consider some of her tangents off point and irritating, I find them charming and appropriate, considering Kitchen Witchery is steeped in those very traditions. Overall, I highly recommend this book for not only any Kitchen Witch, but any Pagan who wants to "turn the mundane into magick" (1).

If you want to purchase Deanna's book, please go here to Barnes and Noble's website.

(1) Anderson, Deanna. Magick for the Kitchen Witch. Mount Airy, NC: New Gaia Press, 2009.