I have been drooling over Pinterest pictures of pantries filled with cauldrons and glass jars of lentils, and shelves full of spices with bundles of herbs for as long as I can remember have had a Pinterest account. Over the years I have tried to put something in place to match my vision, but it’s never been quite right. We converted the cupboard under the stairs into a pantry, but it was a fiddle to get in and out of. I didn’t want to pay a fortune for matching glass jars, so having everything on display always looked untidy.
Then last year I inherited a dresser from my Nana and finally, literally last week, it twigged – THIS could become the Witch’s Pantry & Apothecary I’ve been dreaming of.
It has been sat in my living room for a year and has slowly become a storage space for random bits and pieces rather than the beautifully curated display shelf I wanted it to be. When I really looked at what was in there, it was mostly full of my Witchy books, incense sticks, candles, crystals and glasses, so actually we were nearly there anyway.
My most recent push to look into creating an apothecary stems from Valentine’s Day, when I recieved a bouquet of roses and decided I wanted to dry the petals to use in rituals and spells. I have had a tray of petals drying in my kitchen for the last 6 weeks. Matthew then had to cut a large section from our Rosemary bush, so again, I put some out to dry including some of the Rosemary blossoms. Obviously, I now need somewhere to store my very own ‘handmade’ witchy supplies.
Today was finally the day I bit the bullet and emptied out our dresser and got everything organised. Here it is before.
And here it is after being organised. I even had room to include a beautiful tea set and a coffee set that have been stuck in the back of our cupboards, unused, for far too long!
My Witch’s Pantry is intended to store my tools and supplies for magic making, spell casting, rituals and, hopefully, a more regular pot of intentional tea. I am very much looking forward to gathering supplies and learning how to use them.
Last week I found this gorgeous wooden set in a charity shop that is a perfect addition to my Witch’s Pantry, I now just need the herbs and spices to fill it.
I have been reading a lot recently about herbalism and how we can use it to support our health, especially as we get a bit older (perimenopause, anyone?) and I have been dabbling with growing my own herbs for a number of years. My plan is to grow and dry herbs, edible flowers and spices to make my own oils, tinctures, potions, vinegars, balms, extracts, teas and whatever else I come across in my studies.
This is just the beginning of my journey and I will keep you posted on my progress as we go along. I have ordered a selection of seeds to get me started – chamomile, calendula, mint, feverfew to name the ones I can remember. I was even out yesterday picking stinging nettles and dandelion flowers from my garden to add to my pantry.
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Do you have a Witchy pantry and apothecary? What herbs, spices or flowers should I absolutely add to mine? Let me know in the comments.
