Introduction

It's only proper that one should start a journal off with an introduction, don't you think?

My name is Jessica, and I am a "self-proclaimed" kitchen witch (as if there is any other kind).  More specifically, I consider myself to be an eclectic Pagan, which is more or less the earth-based-spirituality equivalent of saying "non-denominational."  I consider myself a fairly normal person, overall; my broom is for sweeping and not for flying, and my cauldron is far more likely to have stew bubbling in it than any strange potions.  I have "cast a spell" on occasion, but even that is far less arcane and supernatural than most people would imagine.

I was actually raised in a somewhat-fundamental Christian home, right in the middle of the Bible Belt.  Those teachings never really resonated with me, though, and I ended up falling away from the church.  I often felt as though there might be something missing, but I couldn't put a finger on what it was, until a few years ago when I stumbled onto a wonderful website about the modern Wicca faith.  Although Wicca turned out not to be the exact spiritual path I would follow either, it helped to solidify an earth-based spirituality that before that had just been abstract feelings in my mind.  Since then, I've discovered that the place I feel most connected to the World, and the most magical, is in my kitchen; when I open myself up to it, the art of cooking and other domestic things can feel like religious observances.  The phrase "kitchen witch" is also something I found online, when I discovered there were other like-minded Pagans out there.

All passions cool eventually, though, and it seems like the past year or so I haven't been practicing the way I should--I haven't been keeping track of moon phases or even solar holidays, I don't have an altar set up at the moment, and so on.  Which would be fine, except that now that little niggling "something is missing" feeling is creeping up again; this time, though, I know what I need to do to satisfy it.  As part of that, I'm starting this web-journal as a writing project that will hopefully help keep me in touch with my spiritual side.  So, by all means, feel free to follow along if you're interested!