In Monday’s blog, we talked about the feasibility of working magic toward a positive outcome using the food we prepare. In this posting, we will discuss the nuts and bolts of how to do it. When working magic through food, there are two categorizations to consider.
1) Is the food comforting or stimulating? Most foods will fall neatly into the categories of “stimulating” or “comforting.” Think about the foods you eat on a regular basis. Are they stimulating (hot, spicy, invigorating, exciting?) or are they comforting (filling, mild tasting, soothing, healing)? Usually, we are drawn to the routine consumption of a type of food that fills a need in our lives. If a person needs comfort foods on an ongoing basis, they should look at ways to reduce stress and tension. If stimulating foods are frequently desired, that person may need to learn to take more risks and become more available to adventure.
When we manage a situation magically, we seek to make a change of some kind, usually to an existing situation. In this case, the question is do we want to stimulate the situation or relax it? You would not likely give a person hot salsa and chips if you want to relax them. Foods like cayenne pepper and cinnamon are stimulants and will invigorate a person’s metabolism and rev them up. A more relaxing appetizer would be bean dip and chips because the proteins in the beans will react with the grain in tortilla chips to produce amnio acids that have a calming effect.
Consider your magical objective. If you want to inspire, motivate, or excite someone, plan a meal that is stimulating. To relax, soothe, and open someone up emotionally, plan a meal that is comforting.
2) What is the elemental affiliation of the food? We can use the elemental properties inherent in a food to accentuate the magical push. Is it an Earth, Air, Water, or Fire food? A balanced meal would include foods from all four elements to provide the magical effects of each of those four energies. When we populate our menu with choices from the four elemental food groups, we automatically create a nutritionally balanced meal plan. When we work magically with food, we want to make the most of its elemental attributes.
Whether fruit, vegetable, grain, or meat, all healthy foods depend on the four elements to thrive. Fire comes from the sun, water is required for all living things, air provides either oxygen or carbon dioxide, and the earth is where the creature stands, the food grows, or the food for the creature grows. Individual foods are usually aligned closely with one of the four elements more than the other three.
Earth foods are grounding, stabilizing influences. Earth is the element of prosperity, strength, and healing and its foods are rich in protein, including all meats, beans and legumes, dairy foods, eggs, and nuts.
Air foods blows in the wind. Some are made into oils and used as seasonings, as well as grains and vegetables. Most herbs, grains such as wheat, barley, oats, soy products, as well as greens and any vegetables that are not beans or legumes, are Air foods. Air foods stimulate the intellect, promote wisdom, and are excellent for new beginnings and creating opportunities.
Fire foods are, as you can imagine, particularly hot. Spices such as cinnamon, cayenne, and cumin, hot vegetables such as peppers, Vitamin D foods, and invigorating foods like chocolate are all Fire foods. Fire foods are great for igniting passion, motivating, sparking creativity, and lighting a fire under a situation.
Water foods produce juice readily and easily, including all melons, most fruits including tomatoes, berries, coconut, citrus, lettuces, and other vegetables with a natural high water content. Soups are also included in the Water category. Water foods work with the emotions and intuition and are suited to finding closure and finalizing situations, stabilizing the emotions, assisting with dream and sleep issues, and increasing or understanding psychic impulses and information.
Some foods have strong associations with more than one element. Soy, for instance, is a grain, but is also very high in protein, so it is associated with either Earth or Air. Sometimes, a food just “feels” more like one element than another to you and always, you should trust your instincts. Magic is, more than anything I can imagine, flexible and accommodating. A food that aligns to more than one category is managed exactly the same way as you would handle it nutritionally. Nutrition itself and the effect it has in our bodies is energy. Just as a food that has a high calcium content and a high protein content can be counted for both categories nutritionally, so can a food that is strong in two different elements be used for both or either magically with no lessening of its energy from the other elements.
Remember that the further your food is processed away from its natural state, the weaker the energy code becomes. To preserve the greatest magical impact in food storage, use raw foods first, then frozen, then dried, then canned. Regarding cooking processes, raw is always best, followed by steaming, then grilling, braising, frying, and boiling in that order. Waters and oils tend to leach away the magical energy. Your goal is always to keep the food as close to its natural state as possible for maximum magical energy retention.
How do you bring it all together:
– Determine your exact objective
– Identify if you want to stimulate or comfort the situation to achieve your goal
– Consider the properties of each of the elemental energies and choose foods from the categories that support your goal
– Remove distractions from your cooking environment and cook purposefully while you focus on your desired outcome, instilling the energy of your will into the food you are preparing
– Use an attractive presentation to serve your food, accentuating the eating area with colors that support your goal
– Eat mindfully and savor the energy of the food
Always remember, you can eat the foods you magically create and amplify your own goals by doing so. In magic, we are always our own best recipient.
Want to learn more about kitchen magic? You can click the book cover below to order the book Goddess in the Kitchen: The Magic and Making of Food.
