It’s officially November! Are you starting to feel the impact of the dark half of year yet? If it didn’t feel like fall before, I bet it does now. Another busy and stressful holiday season fast approaches. There’s plenty of work to do, yet we’re spending a whole lot more time indoors! Oh, and has everyone in your house been sick lately? What’s a busy witchy mama to do? Well, this is the perfect time of year to whip up a little kitchen witchery. Today, I want to share 7 super common staple herbs for kitchen witchcraft in November.
I’m not a doctor. Use caution when taking herbs medicinally or using around pets and children. Do your research, and speak with your doctor or herbalist about the impact of herbal remedies with your health conditions or medications.
Busy Witchy Mama is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This post may contain affiliate links through Amazon or other affiliate programs. If you choose to make a purchase through an affiliate link, I make a small commission at no additional cost to you. All opinions are my own and I only recommend products that I believe in. Read my full disclosure here. Thank you for your support!
As a witch with literally zero spare time on my hands, I love kitchen witchcraft. It’s the simplest way to infuse your daily routines with easy, accessible magic. It enhances all the daily tasks you’re already doing. What could be better?
Did you know there are tons of different types of witches? Check out this post to learn more!
Kitchen witchcraft is all about infusing your magical intentions into your daily cooking, mealtimes, and daily household tasks. As we move further into November, it gets colder, darker, and if your climate is anything like mine, wetter. The changes happening during this time of the year make it harder to get outside, so we’re spending more time stuck indoors and tending to household responsibilities.
If they’re not already chasing you down, flu season and winter illnesses are right around the corner. This is a popular time for people to start crafting immune boosting infusions. Fire cider, elderberry syrup, herbal remedies for illness, soothing chicken soup… All of these things easily become magical potions with just a little intention.
Also, if you’re in the United States like I am, Thanksgiving is just weeks away. If you’re hosting family and cooking a feast, planning your big meal around some simple witchy correspondences can make your Thanksgiving magical this year.
You don’t even need any special tools to practice. Kitchen witches make use of kitchen appliances, garden harvests, foraged ingredients, and grocery hauls in their magic.
Easy to Find Herbs for Kitchen Witchcraft in November
When I first started learning about kitchen witchcraft, it seemed so overwhelming! There are about ten million herbs and foods with different correspondences. Because kitchen witchcraft isn’t structured, it was hard for me to find resources on what I was actually supposed to do to cast spells with a pot of soup.
Today, kitchen witchcraft is exploding in popularity. There are dozens of books that can help you learn more! It helps that I’ve learned casting kitchen witchery is mostly just telling your ingredients what to do, and imagining it happening!
Here are 7 herbs for kitchen witchcraft in November that you probably already have in your spice rack. I’ll teach you the different correspondences of each herb or spice, and I’ll even give you a few ideas for simple ways you can actually use these ingredients. By the end of this post, you’ll be able to start whipping up some seasonal kitchen magic today!
This post is packed with tons of quick ways to add magic to your month. Make sure to pin it or save it for later!
Cinnamon
A little bit spicy and a little bit sweet, cinnamon is a reliable culinary herb that’s easy to find, affordable, and packs a punch. Cinnamon, along with other pumpkin pie spices, are super useful herbs for kitchen witchcraft in November. They add the perfect touch of fall flavor to warming desserts and drinks on cold days.
Magically, it’s just sweet enough to work well in spells to attract something your way, and its spicy kick will help speed up your workings. It was even used in the mummification process in ancient Egypt to preserve the bodies and honor spirits.
Cinnamon adds a depth of flavor to sweet dishes, and it’s often added to cakes, cookies, sweet breads, and other baked goods. You can also add cinnamon to curries, soups, and other savory dishes for an added flavor boost. This staple is also one of the spices used in pumpkin pie spice blend. My holiday season isn’t complete without pumpkin pie!
Medicinally, cinnamon is known for supporting healthy blood and circulation. It may also help boost oxytocin levels, supporting anything effected by this love hormone.
You can use cinnamon in workings for:
- love and lust
- purification
- protection
- power and attraction
- luck and money
- spirit connection
- psychic enhancement
- making spells work faster
How to Use Cinnamon in Kitchen Witchery
- Burn cinnamon incense or add sticks to a stovetop simmer pot to purify the energy in your home without that lingering, suspicious smell of burning sage.
- Brew up a cup of cinnamon tea as a potion to increase loving feelings and get the blood flowing – if you know what I mean.
- Use a cinnamon stick to stir intentions of attracting love, power, fast luck, or money into your favorite hot drink. It’s delish in hot cocoa! Visualize the outcome as you sip (or gulp down if you have children) your drink.
- Take cinnamon capsules or add cinnamon to your morning oatmeal or smoothie as an herbal remedy to support healthy insulin levels.
- Add cinnamon to your favorite baked treats while focusing on good luck and abundance. Imagine this intention coming swiftly to you while you binge on snickerdoodles after the witchlings go to bed.
- Blow some into your open door at the start of the month to purify your home and attract abundance.
- Infuse a little olive oil with cinnamon. Leave a small jar of it on your kitchen altar or by the stove to honor spirits or deities of home and hearth.
Clove
Clove is another sweet yet spicy ingredient that’s perfect for autumn.
Magically, its sharp, pointed shape makes it perfect for protection and banishing. Cloves were also once only affordable to the wealthiest individuals, so it’s associated with prosperity and money. Cloves medicinal properties also make them good for healing magic.
Cinnamon blends well with baked goods and recipes that call for cinnamon, and is one of those essential pumpkin pie spices. It’s a key ingredient in mulled cider, and adds a rich spiciness to pork, stocks, and curries
Medicinally, cloves have antibacterial, antiseptic, and anesthetic properties. They support bone health, improve digestion, numb pain, and might also be an aphrodisiac.
You can use clove in workings for:
- protection
- banishing
- money and wealth
- improving health
- healing
- making and keeping friends
How to Use Clove in Kitchen Witchery
- Burn clove incense or add cloves to a stovetop simmer pot to banish negative energy and protect your space.
- Brew up some mulled wine using cloves. Charge up your brew with intentions of strong, long lasting friendship. Then invite over some friends, and enjoy a warming cup or two together as you strengthen your bond.
- Ease a toothache with clove oil or gargle with clove infused warm salt water.
- Make a pomander by sticking cloves into an orange and adding a ribbon. Use the pomander as a talisman to protect your health and drive away illness.
- Add some cloves to the aforementioned cinnamon tea for a double dose of sexual healing.
- Diffuse or spray around your space for mental clarity when you’re feeling especially overwhelmed this holiday season. To make a spray, simply add a drop or two of clove oil to some salt and mix with water in a glass spray bottle. Charge with the intention of mental clarity, and spray as needed.
- Add clove powder to baked goods, charge with protective energy, and serve as dessert after a big family gathering. Then send everyone off knowing they are safe and protected during their travels home.
Rosemary
No witchy spice cabinet is complete without rosemary. It’s super beginner friendly, smells amazing, and can be used for almost anything. Some witches even consider rosemary to be an herb you can substitute for any other herbal spell ingredient.
Magically, rosemary is a powerful tool for cleansing, protection, and healing magic. When burned or diffused, it clears out negative, harmful energy that can contribute to illness.
Rosemary’s woodsy, herbal flavor and smell works well with savory dishes. Add it to chicken, pork, potatoes, and even roasted nuts.
Medicinally, its woodsy, minty scent helps clear and invigorate the mind and improve memory recall. Rosemary is anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral, perfect for supporting a weakened immune system. It’s even good for your hair and can contribute to improving hair growth, strength, and softness.
You can use rosemary in workings for:
- cleansing
- protection
- healing
- improved mood and memory
- beauty spells
How to Use Rosemary in Kitchen Witchery
- Plant rosemary by the front door to bring good luck into your home. Can’t plant a whole bush? Hang a bundle above your door instead.
- Brew a batch of flax seed hair gel. Add rosemary essential oil, and charge it up to help your hair grow faster, softer, and stronger.
- Add rosemary oil or fresh sprigs of the herb to your mop water. Use the infusion to cleanse and protect your space while doing your regular household chores.
- Cook up a snack or meal with rosemary before a big test. The herb helps with mental clarity, recall, and quelling anxiety. Perfect for your anxious testers.
- Use rosemary tea or incense during your shadow work. Rosemary helps improve your mood, calms stress, transforms negative energy into positive, and is extremely healing. It’s hardy in tough soil and all weather, and it grows better when you regularly cut it down. This makes it perfect for supporting the processing of trauma.
- Place dried stems of rosemary on your ancestor altar. Its evergreen status makes it a good one for connecting to and remembering your ancestors.
- Support your immune system with rosemary. It’s one of the primary ingredients in fire cider and 4 thieves vinegar.
- Weave fresh rosemary sprigs into a wreath that brings blessings to your home.
Bay Leaf
Making wishes on bay leaves is basically witchcraft 101. Nearly everybody who took up the craft as a kid tried this out. And it works! Bay leaves are the perfect quick and easy beginner spell ingredient.
Magically, bay leaves are used in cleansing, prosperity, success, and wishing spells.
Bay leaf is a quintessential flavor when making soups, stews, and stocks. It enriches the flavor of these warm, hearty, cold weather favorites. Bay leaf’s prevalence in soups and stews makes it the perfect herb for kitchen witchery in November, when the temperature really starts to drop.
Medicinally, bay is packed with vitamins which may help support the immune system. They might also support digestion and ease headaches.
You can use bay leaf in workings for:
- cleansing
- prosperity
- success and good luck
- granting wishes
- healing
How to Use Bay Leaf in Kitchen Witchery
- Charge up bay leaves with intentions of prosperity and success before tossing them into your soup pot.
- Write your wishes onto bay leaves. Toss them into the fireplace on a chilly night, and send your wishes out into the universe.
- Add a bay leaf to your homemade chicken soup to help your family recover from illness more quickly.
- Deter insects from taking residence in your space. Sprinkle them in cabinets and dark corners. Roaches and other creepy crawlies are sure to run for the hills. (Don’t do this if you have pets. Bay leaf is toxic to dogs and cats).
- Place a bay leaf near your front door as a protective talisman.
Garlic
If you ask me, there’s no such thing as too much garlic. This pungent kitchen staple makes almost every food taste better (except strawberries… ask me how I know). It also packs a punch magically and medicinally.
Magically, garlic’s stinky properties make it useful for banishing, repelling, and protection work. It offers up cleansing and healing energy and can absorb negativity in your space.
Garlic can be used in pretty much any savory dish. It adds a spicy, aromatic kick to meats, casseroles, and veggies. Garlic improves the flavor and health benefits of soups, stews, and stocks.
Medicinally, garlic is antibacterial, antiseptic, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and supports heart health. It’s a key ingredient in immune boosting tonics. Garlic may support healthy blood pressure and cholesterol, and its strong aroma can help clear up clogged breathing passage ways. It’s one of the best healing herbs for kitchen witchcraft in November.
You can use garlic in workings for:
- protection
- banishing
- absorbing negativity
- cleansing
- healing
How to Use Garlic in Kitchen Witchery
- Hang single heads, clusters, or ropes of garlic bulbs above your door to ward off illness and unwanted energy.
- Grow garlic in your garden to attract good fortune to your home.
- Add an extra clove or two (or ten!) to savory dishes charged with the intention of bringing good health and repelling illness.
- Protect your home and drive away negativity. Combine garlic powder with salt and sprinkle it in your windowsills and doorways.
- Use garlic as an offering to the goddess Hecate. This powerful herb is associated with her.
- Make a yummy and healthy love potion. Add a few cloves to any of your favorite tomato based dishes. Then charge with the intention of passion and love.
- Hang it in bedrooms. Garlic hung over a sick person’s bed is said to help heal illness and manage symptoms. A bulb hung over a child’s bedroom window might repel nightmares.
- Brew up a natural cold and flu remedy. Add cloves of peeled garlic to a jar and cover with honey. Take a spoonful of the honey with a clove or two when you feel a cold coming on. Allow it to sit for a couple of weeks for the highest potency, or take right away if needed. I don’t recommend this one on an empty stomach, though. I’ve vomited up raw cloves of garlic once or twice before! I also wouldn’t do this if you have low blood pressure.
- Add bulbs or braids to a kitchen altar to bring protection to your home and hearth.
Garden Sage
Sage is easily one of my favorite herbs for kitchen witchery in November. If you do American Thanksgiving, you know that a Thanksgiving turkey is nothing without a good handful of garden sage! Now, white sage is great, but I’m talking about the regular old sage you can pick up in a shaker at the grocery store. It’s more accessible and not currently being over-farmed.
Magically, garden sage can be used a lot like other types of sage. It’s great for clearing and cleansing, removing unwanted energy, and protection.
Garden sage is what gives poultry like chicken and turkey that iconic herby, savory flavor that feels like fall.
Medicinally, sage is antimicrobial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and supports a healthy immune system. It may be useful in supporting brain, digestive, oral, skin, and female hormone health.
You can use garden sage in workings for:
- healing
- protection
- grounding
- cleansing
- calming
How to Use Sage in Kitchen Witchery
- Brew up a potion of sage tea with honey. Sip it to relieve a sore throat and support your immune system. Sage tea may also support those dealing with symptoms of menopause.
- Use garden sage for smoke cleansing instead of white sage.
- Charge with intentions of grounding and protection. Then add it to your Thanksgiving or family meal spread to keep everyone feeling those good vibes.
- Dress a blue candle with sage and burn in your kitchen after the holidays to help calm frazzled emotions and overwhelmed brains.
- Diffuse sage or add to a simmer pot to remove tension from your home. This is especially helpful if you’re hosting a holiday gathering this month!
Thyme
Not gonna lie, I’m lowkey obsessed with thyme, especially lemon thyme. There’s just something about the scent and energy of this stemmy herb that screams magic to me. Thyme is another herb that adds a great flavor to savory foods and traditional Thanksgiving dishes, too.
Magically, thyme is another one of those woody, stemmy herbs that holds up to extreme weather and does even better when it gets a regular haircut. It also grows as long twisting tendrils that form an impenetrable mass, and it sets down roots wherever the stems touch the ground. This makes thyme perfect for spells involving protection or shielding, and any working where you need to build yourself up or recover from trauma that’s trying to tear you down.
Thyme lends a beautiful herby flavor to savory dishes like soups, stews, and stocks, meat and poultry, and even scrambled eggs. It makes a pretty refreshing tea, too. It’s another one of my favorite herbs for kitchen witchcraft in November because of how well it works with turkey.
Medicinally, thyme was (and still is) another important ingredient in healing and protective tonics during times of plague and illness throughout history. It is antiseptic, antibacterial, supports the immune system, and keeps illness away.
You can use thyme in workings for:
- confidence boosting
- release work
- clearing negative emotions
- abundance and prosperity
- healing and protection
- positivity
How to Use Thyme in Kitchen Witchery
- Burn thyme incense or diffuse during times of difficulty, trauma, and stress. It will help you process and work through these challenges.
- Sniff crushed thyme or thyme essential oil in times of stress to keep you grounded and give you the courage to face difficulties.
- Grow thyme in your garden to attract abundance and good luck.
- Add an extra few sprigs of thyme to a healing soup or broth to give your immune system an added boost.
- Add it to homemade cleaners and floor washes to clean and cleanse your home. Thyme is especially helpful with boosting the energy of a space in times of stress, illness, and mourning.
What Are Your Favorite Common Herbs for Kitchen Witchcraft in November?
Herbal magic and kitchen witchery are perfect for the dark half of the year because kitchen witchcraft is so versatile and accessible. Common herbs and spices we already use regularly become powerful spell ingredients with the addition of a little magical focus and intent.
If you’re on the fence about exploring witchcraft due to time or financial constraints, using these herbs in kitchen witchcraft is a great place to start!
What are your favorite autumn inspired herbs for kitchen witchcraft in November? Drop a comment below!
If you like what you read, be sure to save, share, and follow us on social media. While you’re at it, sign up for our newsletter, and get busy witchy content sent straight to your inbox.