The rituals associated with the hearth and with fire were, and still are, a significant part of spiritual development. Even in today's climate of convenience foods there is the sense of work in the kitchen being a spiritual offering. There are folk tales in most cultures to do with the kitchen, and spiritually it represents transformation and transmutation. This is much more to do with desired transformation, rather than one that is enforced. The kitchen is a place of creation, and usually of warmth and comfort. It has, therefore, come to represent the nurturing aspect of woman. In dreams, the kitchen can often represent the mother, or rather the mothering function. For most people, the kitchen represents the ?heart? of the house. It is the space from which we go out into the world and to which we return. It is the place that is usually busiest and, therefore, where many relationships are cemented, and where many exchanges take place. In a man's dream, a kitchen is more to do with the way that he is, or has been, nurtured and the effect this has on him, whereas in a woman's dreams a kitchen symbolizes how she nurtures others. Also consult the entries for Fire, Hearth, House and Oven for further clarification.