Thoughts on Using Every Recipe Ingredient for Magic

Originally published August 22, 2024, on Tumblr and Ko-Fi.

In my spell recipes, I list every ingredient's possible usage/correspondence because in my practice, it matters. Different flours have different properties that might change the outcome of a particular spell. Same with oils/fats, various leavening agents... It matters, because it's all adding up to the whole. Each thread adds to the tapestry. The more I take into account, and the more purposeful I am with those ingredients, the better my spells turn out.

Of course, it's completely fine to only work with the primary or "active" ingredients in a food-based recipe. That magic will absolutely work, and it makes sense to do it that way! For a lot of people, it takes more energy to extend focus to the rest of the ingredients. It can be easier to focus on just one primary ingredient, or on a handful of ingredients.

But personally, it doesn't take any extra energy to work with every ingredient in a dish. Often, it ends up being easier for me, because I'm relying on the energy innate within the ingredients. The more ingredients I'm using to power the spell, the more threads I have to work with, the stronger the weave becomes in a shorter amount of time, the less effort and energy I myself have to "force" into the mix.