Review: The Magick of Food by Gwion Raven

Title: The Magick of Food: Rituals, Offerings & Why We Eat Together
Author: Gwion Raven
Format: eARC
Pub. Date:January 8th 2020
Source: Netgalley / Llewellyn Publications


Book Description:

Delight Your Senses and Your Soul with a Feast of Recipes, Rituals, and Spells

Discover a magickal collection of lore, recipes, and practices from modern and ancient cultures of the world. The Magick of Food reveals how to transform the mundane task of fueling your body into an opportunity for deep nourishment and connection to loved ones and the divine. This powerful book provides detailed information on food magick and rituals, from edible aphrodisiacs to feasts for the gods.

Whether you're preparing boar tacos for Bacchus or a vegetable frittata to celebrate the equinox, this book helps you find community through food and build your kitchen witch skills. Using history, magick, and more than forty delicious recipes, you'll breathe new life into your devotional practice while you connect with ancestors and deities.

Review:

★★★★★

This book was absolutely what I needed.

I love to cook. And I love to bake. And I love to feed people. It is one thing I am good at and it is something that helps me express how much I care about someone else. Food comes from the heart, and this book is a complete celebration of that for a kitchen witch.

There are a wide variety of topics covered in this book, such as history, mythology, recipes, and rituals. I found the sections on history fascinating. It's interesting to read about how similar our traditions are in the 21st century (such as feasts like Thanksgiving) and also how very differently we enjoy the same things (like feasting when DoorDash delivers to us).

I appreciated how this book made me think of common things I do just a little bit differently. The biggest of these was a glaring example of cooking with intention that I'd never thought about before: chicken soup for those who are sick, and how we make it for them with the intention of them to drink it and feel better. It made complete sense, but I'd never framed it that way before.

It's also clear that the author did a fair amount of research for this book. It's littered with footnotes, references, and samples of texts by other writers. But as much as there were references cited, it never felt like it was a textbook. The author tells such heartfelt personal stories that it feels as though he was writing this paper just for me, friend to friend. I really liked that sense of comfort and familiarity. (And also he talks about how he goes to witch camp. I wanna go to witch camp!).

Another thing that I really appreciated is that Gwion Raven addressed the fact that not everyone has access to supplies, let alone groceries. He discussed food deserts, and how things can be substituted or adapted based on what you do have. So many magick publications just assume you have access to every single herb and ingredient on the planet and that you have endless space and equipment and it's not true for so, so many people. It was nice to see it addressed by someone.

The recipes included here are also pretty varied. I wish there had been a bit more of them, but there's still a pretty good number. They include things like ancient recipes, recipes for the sabbats, cocktail recipes, every day recipes, and even a section on aphrodisiacs.

Some of the recipes that I'm the most eager to try include: Kykeon (Ancient Greek horchata of sorts), Boar Tacos with Spicy Berry Salsa, Roasted Goat Leg with Grape Molasses, and Samhain Pot Roast for one.

I think that this is a great book for those who partake in magick and who also love food. It's a good mix of history, ritual, and recipe book that make it easy to read, and easy to bookmark for later reference.

I received a copy in exchange for my honest review. Thank you!