{{Short description|Witch doll}} {{About|the doll or charm|a practitioner of kitchen witchcraft|Kitchen witchcraft}}
[[File:KitchenWitch.JPG|thumb|A Norwegian kitchen witch]] A '''kitchen witch''', sometimes called a '''cottage witch'''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.religions-and-spiritualities-guide.com/kitchens-witch.html |title=Kitchens witch, a witch of the home and hearth, practices, overview, tools |publisher=Religions-and-spiritualities-guide.com |access-date=2012-08-04 |archive-date=2012-07-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120713034336/http://www.religions-and-spiritualities-guide.com/kitchens-witch.html |url-status=usurped }}</ref> is a homemade poppet or doll resembling a stereotypical witch or crone displayed in residential kitchens as a good luck charm<ref>{{cite web |url=http://home.earthlink.net/~lunafaeart/id2.html |title=Kitchen Witches |publisher=Home.earthlink.net |access-date=2012-08-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629103707/http://home.earthlink.net/~lunafaeart/id2.html |archive-date=2011-06-29 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and to ward off bad spirits.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://doggychild.tripod.com/kitchenwitchmaker |title=kitchen witches, kitchen witch dolls |publisher=Doggychild.tripod.com |access-date=2012-08-04}}</ref>
==History== There is some debate over where the kitchen witch originated, some claiming Scandinavia and others Germany,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.germandeli.com/witch.html |title=The German Kitchen Witch |publisher=Germandeli.com |access-date=2012-08-04 |archive-date=2012-08-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120829032116/http://www.germandeli.com/witch.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> but consensus points to older Northern European customs, as it seems to have been more widespread earlier.
The poppet is supposed to depict a "good"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kitchenbos.com/index.html |title=Kitchen design interior |publisher=Kitchenbos.com |date=2011-01-03 |access-date=2012-08-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303171440/http://kitchenbos.com/index.html/ |archive-date=2012-03-03 }}</ref> witch who inspires productivity and safety in a kitchen, but also counteracts any ill-will directed to the home.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://scandinaviantouch.com/KitchenWitches.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110208171342/http://scandinaviantouch.com/KitchenWitches.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2011-02-08 |title=Kitchen Witches |publisher=Scandinavian Touch |access-date=2012-08-04}} (Archived)</ref> It is considered good luck to give a kitchen witch to a friend or family member. So that those unfamiliar with the kitchen witch can understand its meaning, sometimes a note will be hung around the witch's neck<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/dolls/msg1121525920538.html |title=Kitchen Witch - Dollmaking Forum - GardenWeb |publisher=Ths.gardenweb.com |access-date=2012-08-04}}</ref> stating something similar to:
<blockquote> The Legendary Secret of Goof-Proof Cooking: The Famous Kitchen Witch
For centuries, Norwegians have hung this good witch in their kitchen. They believe she has the power to keep roasts from burning, pots from boiling over, and sauces from spilling. </blockquote>
===In England===
Although largely unknown in modern England, the kitchen witch was known in England during Tudor times.
The will of John Crudgington, from Newton, Worfield, Shropshire in England, dated 1599, divides his belongings amongst his wife and three children, "except the cubbard in the halle the witche in the kytchyn which I gyve and bequeathe to Roger my sonne."<ref>{{cite web | url = http://chesterfieldpagans.org/2013/03/30/poppets-a-very-sympathetic-tradition | title = Poppets: A very sympathetic tradition | access-date = 2014-10-21 | date = 2013-03-13 | author = Amalasuntha | archive-date = 2014-10-21 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141021185855/http://chesterfieldpagans.org/2013/03/30/poppets-a-very-sympathetic-tradition/ | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://websfor.me.uk/crudgington/wills/john1599_will.asp |title=Crudgington Family Organisation |publisher=Websfor.me.uk |access-date=2012-08-04}}</ref>
==See also== {{Columns-list|colwidth=22em| * Amulet * Apotropaic magic * Apotropaic mark * Concealed shoes * Cunning folk * Dream catcher * European folklore * Folk religion * Good luck charm * Hoko (doll) * Kitchen Witchcraft * Mezuzah * Nazar (amulet) * Witch bottle * Witch ball * Yard globe }}
==References== {{Reflist}}
== Further reading == *{{cite book | last = Murphy-Hiscock | first = Arin | title = The Way of the Hedge Witch: Rituals and Spells for Hearth and Home | publisher = Provenance Press | location = Avon, Massachusetts | year = 2009 | isbn = 978-1-59869-974-6}} * {{cite book | last=Robinson | first=Sarah | title=Kitchen witch : food, folklore & fairy tale | publication-place=Cork, Ireland | date=2022 | isbn=978-1-910559-69-7 | oclc=1304817226}}
{{Witchcraft}} {{Superstitions}}
Category:European folklore Category:Luck Category:Magic items Category:Superstitions of Scandinavia Category:European witchcraft Category:German folklore Category:Traditional dolls Category:Crones and hags Witch