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You guessed it! We are throwing a witchy, spooky dinner party, just in time for Halloween. But, before we begin, a few disclaimers:
1.) I don’t actually think witches are spooky, just misunderstood.
2.) Although I don’t personally identify as a witch, I’m pretty sure I’d be among the first to go if a modern witch trial were to occur. I have had my fair share of supernatural experiences (like, way more than my fair share), so I feel I can speak with some level of knowledge on this subject. That said, I wholeheartedly believe that everything in the metaphysical world is subjective, so if what I say in this newsletter doesn’t resonate with you, forget about it!
3.) This party is obviously great for Halloween, but it’s also works for solstices, equinoxes, full moons, new moons, or any occasion where you want to call in some tasty treats with your best boos. (Pun intended.)
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The Witch: A complete and unabridged history. JK, this is an incomplete and extremely abridged history.
The witch hunt craze in Europe began when feudalism died. Here’s why: feudalism was community driven. Everyone shared the land, and, even though they didn’t own it, they were part of a cooperative group that worked it together. Don’t get me wrong, feudalism ain’t it, but it was something that brought both genders together in an even playing field. All aspects of “work” were considered equal, this included cooking, sewing, farming and housework. When the landowners reclaimed their property to make a profit, everything became wage-centered, and men were the only ones who got paid. Women, who up until this point had been contributing equally, were stripped of their individual power, and became fully reliant on men. Single women lived in destitution in the outskirts of town, and had to rely on the kindness of strangers, begging for scraps to survive. This is when the old witch trope really took hold of the collective consciousness. I mean, I’m a single woman. If all of a sudden I lost all of my power and had to solely rely on dudes for cash, begging for everything I needed to survive, you better believe I’d be pissed! I’d probably behave like… the classic description of an OLD WITCH… staggering around, asking for stuff, yelling curses at people when they didn’t give it to me… siloing myself at home, making weird concoctions with things I found in the woods, my only friend a stray cat named Gareth, who is highly independent, so I wouldn’t have to worry about feeding him…
Next came the witch trials. Over a period of 300 years, from about 1450 - 1750, tens of thousands of people, almost all of them women, were accused, tortured, and killed. (Hardly any of them were actually witches, by the way.) This reign of terror, which is absolutely what it was, taught women to lay low, to not rock the boat, to watch their behavior and, above all, to always go along with what the men-folk had to say. The repercussions are felt to this day. We are still unlearning this behavior. Brutal.
Historically, witches are portrayed as either evil hags or over-sexualized seductresses, tricking men and stealing their penises. (Lol.) But real witches are neither of these things. Let’s talk about what they actually are. They are people, usually women, who work with energies and consciousness towards the higher good. Yes, there are those who work in deceitful ways, with harmful and selfish intentions - “bad witches," so to speak. We won’t worry ourselves with these types - any malintent they project into the world will come back only to them. The witches I want to talk about are the ones who understand that power is personal. They don’t attempt to control anyone, only themselves and the energy they accept, or put out. They keep their hearts and minds open and clear. They protect themselves from the negative influences of others, while working through their own negativity in a constructive way, cause guess what, everyone has negative tendencies, sometimes. It’s part of life. We are allowed to feel scared, sad, or angry. We just have to learn to own it, and keep our sides of the street clean. It’s a question of whether we let the negativity control us, or if we control it, and how we work through it to get to the other side. This liminal space is where “good witches” do their work. They alchemize the negative into the positive. They help, they don’t hinder. And if a situation arises where a baddie is trying to hurt them, they protect themselves, and their loved ones, walk away, and leave said baddie on their messy street corner, primed to learn their lesson the hard way. How do witches do this? With magic of course! (Ahem, I mean magick.)
What’s Magic(k) anyway?
Well, first of all, magick (with a k) is the kind witches use. Magic (sans k) is the kind showmen use. The former works with energies - spells, incantations. The latter works with illusions - sawing a lady in half, card tricks. I think of magick in the same way that I think of the placebo affect. The placebo affect is the use of inert medicines in treatments, unbeknownst to the patient, yet the patient gets results anyway. I’m not saying magick isn’t real, I’m saying it’s absolutely real. The placebo affect works. What you believe becomes your reality. What you say, think, and do is your reality. When witches cast spells or work with energies, they are essentially enacting a placebo affect. And who’s to say they aren’t doing something more on a quantum level that we can’t even begin to understand yet? I’ve been reading a lot of books on quantum physics and string theory, lately. Did you know that at a quantum level, you have to observe something for it exist? Have you heard of quantum entanglement? It’s the fact that two particles can be linked together in a quantum bond with instantaneous cause and effect, even when they are millions of light years apart. Did you know that in the quantum universe, it is possible to walk through walls? These things are real. They are proven - go ahead, look it up. Google “who won the Nobel Prize in physics, 2022.” It’s science, but it feels like magic! There’s plenty of stuff that hasn’t been proven yet, too. Stuff that science can’t explain because our brains aren’t capable of comprehending, or our tools aren’t capable of measuring it. String theory is an example of one of those things. With that in mind, if you choose to work with magick - the kind with a k at the end - do so responsibly, and always be respectful, because no one really knows how it works, we just know that it does. And above all, remember the golden rule - any malintent that you put out into the world, whether it’s towards other people, or yourself, will come right back to you. That certainly feels like quantum entanglement to me. Well, maybe it’s more like a quantum boomerang.
Recipe for a Calling the Corners Dinner Party
fun for 6-8 people, now with 50% more magic(k)!
To throw this party, you’ll need the following: a menu, wine suggestions, invitations, a playlist, decorations & games, Up for Discussion conversation starters, recipes, a grocery list, and a prep plan. You’ll find the menu and wine suggestions below. The invitations, playlist, decorations, and convo starters will come in the next newsletter. The recipes, prep plan, and shopping list will follow in the newsletter after that.
The Menu:
If you’ve ever seen the 1996 teenage witch film, The Craft, you know all about calling the corners. For the uninitiated, you “call the corners” when you invoke the energies of the four elements, usually along with the four directions. It takes all four to complete the circle, each of them working together to create a whole. Earth represents groundedness, the physical body and the material world. Water represents emotion and intuition. Air represents intelligence and the thinking mind, and Fire represents passion, desire and creativity. Calling the corners is ultimately a ritual that cleanses negative energies, and requests protection from the spirit world. While we aren’t doing the actual ritual at our dinner, we are calling the corners symbolically with the menu, (which, honestly, is kinda the same thing - it’s all about intention!). Each of the dishes symbolizes an element. We start with the water element by drinking Saltwater Martinis and snacking on Shrimp Scampi. The Earth element is a dish chock full of produce from an autumnal harvest - a Farro, Pumpkin and Apple Gratin. We utilize the fire element two ways in the Braised Pork All’arrabiata - with spicy chilies, and with actual fire, when we char the chilies before adding them to the pot. Then, for dessert, we literally whip the element of air into the Black Sesame Spoon Pie in the form of meringue and whipped cream.
I added an extra layer of energy work into the menu by being intentional with the ingredients used. All ingredients come with energetic properties, and you can pick and choose which ones you cook with based on what you want to call in, or clear out. Here’s what we’re working with on this menu:
To learn more about energetic ingredients, check out my cookbook Divine Your Dinner. (This is not a shameless plug - it’s a great book and you should own it if you find this newsletter interesting in any way!)
Wine suggestions
You’ll start with Saltwater Martinis, but eventually, you’ll want to switch to wine. I asked my friend Erin Sylvester of Sylvester Rovine Selections for wine suggestions. Here’s her picks:
Maloof "Scrambled Sticks" 2020, Willamette Valley, Oregon -- For the earth pairing, I chose a skin-contact blend of Ribolla Gialla and Tocai Friulano. This wine is fermented and aged in hand-made clay amphora which is to say it was literally surrounded by earth during its transformation from grapes into wine. It's richly textured, a touch smoky, and dare I say, a bit earthy. Bullseye!
Fossil & Fawn "Do Nothing" 2022, Willamette Valley, Oregon -- For the fire pairing, I went in the opposite direction by choosing a juicy, thirst-quenching chilled light red to offer a counterbalance to the heat of the dish. Do Nothing is a co-ferment of the Pinot triplets -- Gris, Noir, and Blanc and it's loaded with bright cherries balanced by a vegetal backnote. And it has the witchiest label, so there ya go.
Terada Honke "Daigo No Shizuku" sake, Chiba, Japan -- And finally, the air pairing! When I saw the black sesame in the spoon pie, I knew immediately what would propel this right up to the heavens -- sake! But also, not just any ole sake. Terada Honke has been around since 1670 (yes, witch trials era -- though a world away) and works in the most natural way possible. They employ medieval brewing techniques and eschew all modernization -- resulting in some very distinctive sakes. The Daigo No Shizuku is a fascinating and wildly expressive sake -- honeyed with citrus and cereal notes. In fact, it almost reads as vinous (wine-like) and Chenin-y which is rare to find. The magic of Terada Honke is also in the brewery air itself which hosts a diverse yeast population that leads the fermentation process. It's a wild one that really walks its own path.
If your wine merchant doesn’t carry these particular bottles, ask if they can bring them in, or to recommend something similar.
Thanks for coming through! Follow Ruined Table on tik tok and instagram for more, and stay tuned for the host reveal, playlist, conversation starters, decorations and game ideas, all coming in the next newsletter, in 2 weeks. Shout out to Witch, a BBC Radio 4 podcast that was an invaluable source on info on the history of witches.
Stay messy,
McBroom