Kitchen Witchery: A Compendium of Oils, Unguents, Incense, Tinctures, and Comestibles [Paperback]

Marilyn F. Daniel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2002

Psychic Soap 4 parts Lemongrass + 3 parts Bay + 1 part Cinnamon Come and See Me Oil 5 drops Patchouli oil + 2 drops Cinnamon oil + Olive oil base Over the years, Wiccan High Priestess Marilyn Daniel has collected hundreds of recipes for her craft. Responding to repeated requests for her secrets, she has compiled them here for the first time in this comprehensive reference of more than 400 magical tips and recipes - covering everything from beauty treatments to healing salves to tasty treats. In addition to advice for buying, storing, and blending essential oils (always stir clockwise), Marilyn reveals her secrets for making incense, bath salts, soaps, ointments, potpourri, ink, and more. Readers will learn how to make a Tuberose Bouquet for attracting love and Air Oil for clear thinking and overcoming addiction, as well as how to incorporate their pets into spellcraft. Kitchen Witchery includes a wide variety of cookies, breads, wines, and other magical foods, and Marilyn serves up her famous recipes for goodies like Sabbat Cakes and Wiccan Handfasting Cake, and drinks such as Nettle Ale and the Milk of Isis. And should a witch find herself in the middle of a recipe with a missing ingredient, she can find a worthy substitute in the extensive list provided. Kitchen Witchery also includes a helpful reference list of magical correspondences and a glossary of herbs and their folk names.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Marilyn Daniel is an ordained Wiccan High Priestess. She founded the Temple of the Diving Dragons in Amarillo, Texas, and has been practicing witchcraft ever since she was a young child. This is her first book.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Weiser Books (May 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578631890
• ISBN-13: 978-1578631896
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #908,893 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Shame, shame...massive plagiarism, April 26, 2003

By 

Dell Taylor (Haslett, MI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kitchen Witchery: A Compendium of Oils, Unguents, Incense, Tinctures, and Comestibles (Paperback)

I purchased Kitchen Witchery from a local bookstore and returned it the next day. Normally a fan of Weiser books, I was shocked to find blatant plagiarism of so many other (mostly Llewellyn) books. This book is a mixture of the entire Complete Book of Incense, Oils & Brews by Scott Cunningham with a few other sources from authors Laurie Cabot and the Farrars. Daniel has so very thinly paraphrased Cunningham's own words (example: "always stir clockwise" becomes rewritten as "stir clockwise always") that I am amazed this was published by such a reputable firm as Weiser. The worst part of this collection of "secrets" is that Daniel has listed identitcal recipes from other authors but CHANGED THE INGREDIENT AMOUNTS as well as left out important information about safe handling of the ingredients. This book reads like a garbled online Book of Shadows and is an insult to the hard work done by the authors listed in Daniel's bibliography.

29 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good witch, bad witch..., November 26, 2002

By 

Kindling CandleBrew (Oklahoma City, OK USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kitchen Witchery: A Compendium of Oils, Unguents, Incense, Tinctures, and Comestibles (Paperback)

Many times I have picked up this book to purchase it and then put it down again. The recipes are tempting and many, but I have a few problems with the author. I have borrowed this book from friends, but when it comes to endorsing it with my purchase, a little red flag goes up.

I am not new to witchcraft, and a lot of the instructions seem overly ritualistic to me. "Always stir in a clockwise direction" comes to mind. Daniel makes it sound as if the form and technique are more important than the function, and rarely if ever describes magical intent and the true purpose behind one's ritualistic endeavors (that is, self-programming to bring about change).

Daniel tends to lead a reader to think that if her precise instructions are not followed, the "spell" will not work. This is not a commonly held belief in the pagan traditions -- it is widely acknowledged that "magic" things happen because you have brought the change from within. In this regard, she can greatly confuse a person who is trying to find out more about the practical practise of Wicca or witchcraft. Perhaps Daniel is a highly ritualistic person herself, but she should at least mention that she is not following the mainstream traditions. Yes, many do think you can add power by stirring a certain way, but if you happen to act otherwise, it's not the end of the world because what really matters is one's focus and determination to bring about the change.

There are many fragrant and useful recipes compiled within. However, I believe I have seen most of them published in other people's works (Scott Cunningham and Laurie Cabot, for starters, and there are many more). I do not know if she gained clearance before publishing them in "her" book, but none of the seemingly plagiarized tables and recipes are credited to the other authors.

I keep considering this book for purchase because all of these nifty recipes are conveniently contained within one volume. I keep putting it down because I disagree with Daniel's tone and narrow-minded instructions. I do not like that the other authors are not credited with their works, but I do not know what went on behind the scenes with the publishers.

My hope for anyone considering this book is that if they do purchase it, they do so with open eyes about the content and the tone. If you can do it with a clear conscience, go ahead and get it; if not, best to choose a different book.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Blatant Thievery, September 26, 2004

By 

Elemental 1 (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kitchen Witchery: A Compendium of Oils, Unguents, Incense, Tinctures, and Comestibles (Paperback)

I own this book, I would have returned it but the cover got damaged. As previous reviewers have stated this book is pretty much nothing but plagiarism. 400 recipes, several of which Iam looking at right now in Cunningham's Incense, Oils & Brews, the only difference between many of the recipes is the proportions and the difference is 1 drop for each component oil. While it's nice to have one book to refer to, spend the extra money and buy the originals (Cunningham, Cabot, Farrar) at least that way the proper people, or their estates, get the money and maybe someone elses life work won't get ripped off.