Calendar of the Sun 8 Blutmonath Feast of the Kitchen God/dess Colours: Red and blue Element: Fire Altar: On this day the altar is built in the kitchen, on the center of the main table. All activity of the day centers around the kitchen. Crowning the pile should be the paper portrait of the Kitchen Goddess. Decorate the altar with dishes of food, glasses of drink, and copper pots. Use the best china. The portrait of the next kitchen goddess should be hidden under someone's clothing, rolled up and waiting. Offerings: The entire kitchen should be cleaned thoroughly. Afterwards, the kitchen should be cleaned again. A pot of honey should be placed nearby. Daily Meal: Enough food should be made and laid out to feed the entire community for the lunch and dinner period, and outsiders should be invited in to share it if possible. The food should be lavish and elaborate and aesthetically prepared. Invocation to the Kitchen Goddess Lady who watches over The heart of our home, Lady who fills our bellies And who observes all our faults, Today we send you to heaven On a curl of smoke from your hearth. We ask you, be generous, And speak well of our efforts. When you speak of our faults, Have compassion on our humanity Lady who guides our hands, Send us pots that do not burn, And enough love and peace To infuse every morsel Of nourishment that we here consume. (Each person present should step forward, dip their finger in the honey, and touch it to her picture, asking her aloud or silently to forgive them for whatever pettiness occurred in the kitchen that year, be it actions or thoughts. Then she is taken to the hearth and burned in the flame, while everyone present claps and chants rhythmically. After that, lunch is eaten, and then a new Kitchen Goddess is installed in her place.) Chant: Fire of the hearth, Fire of the wine, Fire of the heart, Fire of the mind, Fire of the Art, Fire out of time.
[source:paganbookofhours.org]