Eichengeflüster

A kitchen witch, sometimes called a cottage witch or a "Scandinavian" kitchen witch doll, is a puppet or homemade doll resembling a stereotypical witch or crone displayed in residential kitchens as a good luck charm and to ward off bad spirits.
There is some debate over the exact country in which the kitchen witch originated, some claiming Norway and others Germany, but consensus points to it stemming from older European customs.
Although largely unknown in modern England, the Kitchen Witch was known in England during Tudor times.
The poppet is supposed to depict a "good" witch who inspires productivity and safety in a kitchen, but also counteracts any ill-will directed to the home.

In searching the history of folk traditions we often see claims that "It just appeared" as is said about dowsing in Germany but it cant be ignored that there was persecution of folk traditions by the church and that much of the history of these traditions has been lost, destroyed or hidden and likely has a much older history that we have knowledge of.
In 1518 Martin Luther listed dowsing for metal an act that violates the 1st commandment of the Bible.
Considered to be illegal witchcraft or working with the devil many laws have been passed forbidding dowsing but the practice has been considered so useful it always seems to reemerge.
In 1556 a woodcut on metal mining 'De re metallica' detailed the use of metal dowsing and the practice is still employed in modern times by farmers and water engineers.

Pyssyjoki (Norwegian: Børselva; Northern Sámi: Bissojohka) is a river in Porsanger Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway.

The 76.2-kilometer long river runs from the mountains down to the village of Børselv, and it then empties out into the Porsangerfjorden.

The humble abode pictured here is known in Finnish as a turvekammi (literally: turf chamber) and is the hermit hideout of one 90-year-old Finn by the name of Salamon Johansen. He speaks Norwegian poorly. Like many other elderly Finns, he too uses the Lapp coat.

Photographed in 1966 by Hans Lidman.