a troubling song

evil witch bitch

[atroublingsong]

“In most accounts of Southern mountain witchcraft, magical power is passed through a family line, establishing individual traditions grouped around bloodlines and clan affiliations. It is not unusual for Appalachian families to have a story about one distant grandmother or aunt or odd uncle who was known to 'do things'. The Silver Bullet and a number of accounts in the Foxfire book series all demonstrate the commonly-held belief that witchcraft is something a person was born into, or at least had to be adopted into in order to be able to do it. The initiation ritual then could be seen as a form of adoption for those outside of a bloodline, and would require the assembly of knowledgeable 'family members' of the witchcraft line in order to properly pass the power on. Likewise, the power often came with specific rules about transmission, such as cross-gender passage.”

-Killing the Moon: Witchfraft Initiations in the Mountains of the Southern United States.

Corey Thomas Hutcheson

[diana-andraste]

Mildred Payne's Oracle of Black Enchantment, Patrick Valenza, c. 2017

Ink on paper

[atroublingsong]

One of, if not the, biggest problem in the “occult” community(especially within witchcraft) is that the majority of people in it see it as a subculture. To most people, being a “witch” is just a costume, a mode of aesthetics and, most dismal of all - a way to feel special.

On a similar note, these communities have a major problem with admitting where they are in their skill set. Many of yall are beginners but refuse to admit it and even worse - pretend to be experts on tumblr and patreon in order to get attention and, again, feel special. It’s nefarious, especially if you’re charging people money for your half-baked “advice” or “services”.

Yall will never get anywhere if you keep bullshitting yourselves. If you’re not making real, tangible results happen in the physical world with your magic; if you can’t communicate properly with spirits(not just nebulous feelings or subtle ‘signs’ that give you absolutely nothing of value other than feeling ooky-spooky); if you don’t have genuine supernatural power that is obvious to anyone(you or others) who witnesses it; you’re not a damn witch. Cut the shit.

It’s not a crime to just want to dabble in magic, or just have it in your life as a hobby. That’s perfectly fine - that makes you what we’d call a magician, or occultist. So let that be what it is. And for fuck’s sake, stop telling people with actual, tangible supernatural activity in their lives that it isn’t a requirement for being a witch.

[mysharona1987]

The Old Woman in the Wood from Little Brother and Little Sister by the Brothers Grimm, by Arthur Rackham

[atroublingsong]

Roger Horne’s books are fucking awful. The dude is an absolute poser.

[deathandmysticism]

Abraham Palingh, T Afgerukt Mom-Aansight der Tooverye, 1659

[atroublingsong]

The Witch of Bull Run Meets Her Match

“This story was contributed by Lenore Danley, who was a student in my class in folklore at Glenville State College.

Old Aunt Eunice, a native of Bull Run, Gilmer County, was well known as a witch. She had sold herself to the devil at sixteen years old, and she said the devil promised her that she would live a hundred years after that. She was approximately one hundred and twenty when she died.

Aunt Eunice was able to make people’s cows stop giving milk. She could take a hatchet and stick it in the corner of the house, steal a dishrag and hang it on the hatchet, and that evening the cows of the neighbors would give no milk.

One time Aunt Eunice bewitched Hezakiah Griffith, who lived on Crooked Run. Every night when Hezekiah went to bed, a darning needle would hop across the floor and jump on his chest. Finally he couldn’t put up with it anymore, so he went to the witch doctor to get a cure. The witch doctor told him to catch the needle and fetch it to him.

The next night he lay in bed and pretended to be asleep, but when the needle jumped on his chest he was ready for it. He grabbed that needle and held onto it, and early in the morning before daylight he took that needle to the witch doctor. The witch doctor heated the needle until it was red-hot, then he bent it double. He told Hezakiah not to let Aunt Eunice get hold of the needle.

Well, it wasn’t long till she sent someone after him, and she said she wanted to see him right away. When he got to her house, he found her all doubled up with the cramps. She was bent, just like that needle. After she promised him that she wouldn’t bother him any more, he put the needle in the fire to get it hot, and when he did this she moaned with pain. When he straightened out the needle, she got well right away. And Hezakiah was never bothered any more after that.”

-Witches, Ghosts, and Signs: Folklore of the Southern Appalachians

[atroublingsong]

Hello. I was born a witch, and raised in the craft. I’ve made this blog to share musings on magic, witchcraft, and whatever else. My opinions on these matters are coming from what might be called the “Old World” mentality on such subject matters, as that is where my training in the arts came from as well. Therefore, my opinions on these subjects may not appeal to all.

I am concerned with utmost Truth, and the preservation of our ways.

Feel free to message me or send asks.