#appalachian witch
As someone who has a hard time with spirit flight I absolutely ADORE this time of year.
If you’re like me and also usually struggle with leaving your body this is a great time to redouble your efforts and try again.
Rising from the dead to reblog this post (‘tis the season) and to let anyone who still follows me on here know that my friend finally convinced me to join her on Instagram sharing magical info.
It’s called Heckling Hags and I’ll be starting a whole intro to tarot series starting next Tuesday. It’ll be a fun time, though honestly mostly moderated by Kettle.
Sooo yeah, update over. I might pop in here now and then but I likely won’t ever update like I used to years ago.
After a really wonderful chat with my sister earlier this evening I was all set to type this huge post explaining one of the ways I got out of my magical rut.
Instead, all I’m gonna say is this:
Finding a group of people you don’t overly care about but can keep tabs on is a wonderful way to try out new spells and ideas.
Folklore Friday:
Never take an old broom into a new house, as bad luck is sure to follow. It must be a new broom, and first carried across the meadow, to avert any ill from entering the home.
Pro tip: if you ever accidently make a comment or two that verges on too witchy in front of people just laugh and blame it all on your weird, superstitious Catholic family.
Works like a charm
Anyone have any book reccommendations for southern folk witchcraft thats not focused as much on bible-centric beliefs? Im having trouble trying to find resources that arent super full of bible references
Is there a particular reason you want to specifically practice folk magic but also avoid the Christian bible?
I don’t want to come off as flippant with that question. It’s sincerely asked because resources will be much more difficult to find if they are both hills you’re willing to die on. It won’t be impossible but everyone has different boundaries so you might be able to get away with more if your limits are looser.
For example, I’m not southern but my craft is based in the folklore of my area. It’s an area which is heavily Christian. I’m not, but I also acknowledge the power that a tool like the bible has in certain workings. It’s also worth noting that just because something might come from a “Christian” source doesn’t mean there aren’t roots that dig even deeper.
If you truly want it to be southern, andfolklore based, and not Christian I would research stories and folklore of the area. Distill them down to their bones. Experiment with what works. Journal your findings. Get to know the local flora and fauna and the energy that resides in them and the land itself. Though to be fair, this is always my advice when it comes to locally based witchcraft.
Best of luck!
My reason for wanting to take the southern folk route without the christianity is because my family has lived in the deep south for a very long time, so i want to get closer to my roots, but Christianity has always rubbed me the wrong way. Depending on how reliable/apaptable the source its not really a deal breaker if it includes Christian themes because i recognize that Christianity is deeply intertwined with southern folklore and i want to respect that part of history. Also, im 100% planning on getting to know my area more and educating myself on the local stories! Thanks for the advice i appreciate it so much!!
I’m glad to hear that you’re already planning on learning more about your local area! I feel like that gets overlooked more often than anything else when it comes to folk magic. As for book recommendations, I don’t have a ton because most of my practice came locally but I have a few. As always, take everything with a heaping dose of salt and always try to check against multiple sources.
Okay! Onto the books:
If you want Southern folk magic and don’t mind Christian influences and bible talk, Jake Richards’s Backwoods Witchcraft is nice. I’ve also always loved The Silver Bullet, and Other American Witch Stories by Hubert Davis and Aaron Oberon’s Southern Cunning: Folkloric Witchcraft In The American South makes a nice addition to the Silver Bullet.
Forfolk magic in general, some people like Gemma Gary’s work. Her book The Devil’s Dozen: Thirteen Craft Rites of the Old One is nice but I have mixed feelings on her writing style. A friend of mine has all her books though and loves her.
A Grimoire for Modern Cunning Folk: A Practical Guide to Witchcraft on the Crooked Path by Peter Paddon is nice for “beginner” trad craft work. And while I’ve never read it, I’ve heard Nigel G. Pearson’s Treading the Mill: Practical Craft Working in Modern Traditional Witchcraft is worth checking out and is in the same traditional vein.
Like I said before, good luck with everything! Building a folk magic tradition isn’t the easiest but I wouldn’t trade my practice for anything.
I’ve been writing a lot of incantations lately and this is my take on a return to sender spell with maybe some spice. Hey, they struck first. This is pretty straight forward and all you’ll need is:
- an envelope
- paper and pen/pencil
- sea salt or beach sand
- spider web or knotted string
- bone dust or a small bone
- a tear (optional)
- poppy seed (optional)
note: If you feel uncomfortable with using spider web or bones, leave them out. You could also replace either item with something that looks like a bone— maybe sculpt something! Spider web represents something hard to get out of— tie and make a mess of some string instead. I made some choices such as dying my paper and envelope with coffee. Coffee is known to speed up a spell so this is simply to send this letter quickly. Poppy seed can be used to confuse or dominate people. I mix it with sea salt to represent something eating away at their protection and causing strife. You can see the contrast of black and white. I used a wax seal to close the letter and tied twine around the letter itself.
You’ll be making a petition paper of sorts! Write on your paper your target’s name and date of birth. Feel free to add a photo of them or whatever you do have. This person should be someone who genuinely caused you pain or tried to; you’re sending whatever negative energy back to them with tax.
The incantation is pretty literal so after you write your letter you’ll simply add it to your envelope and start reading the below lines. On the first stanza third line, “take no salt” add either your sea salt or beach sand. On stanza two when you say, “left a trail” this would be the time you sprinkle poppy seed.
On stanza three line one, you’d add your spider web or knotted string. When you say, “bone dry” you’ll add your bone dust. On the final line, if you can muster a tear, you’d tap the tear on the envelope’s seal and rub it in with your thumb. You want them under your thumb now. Seal the letter and you’re done.
When you think the lesson is learned, take the letter out of the envelope and either keep it or dispose of it. I suggest burning it.
”Out of balance and out of hand
Twisting daggers in my back
Seal the wound and take no salt
Let my blood have a cost
It left a trail so the path is paved
Let them wish for better days
I have that map so they’ll be lost
The tides have turned and they are caught
Resting in their own little web
Quickly made their own bed
Leave them high and bone dry
Feeling low with damp eyes”
