#hillfolk magic

[pieandhotdogs]

I don’t have the willpower for a real post at the moment but if you’re trying to deepen your connection to the spirits of the land on which you live, I recommend visiting the following locations:

Nearby bodies of water

Nature trails and forested areas

The highest and lowest points, both natural and otherwise

Community cemeteries and memorials

Places of worship

Other prominent landmarks and characteristic sites

Bring field guides, maps, and brochures if you can find them. Study the topography of the area, note how they relate to other parts of the town, how they are accessed by travelers. Can you get there by car, or did you have to approach on foot? Is it within walking distance of your home? What plants do you recognize? Critters? What’s the history of each site, who lived here before?

Visit each place at different points in the year. The sun slants through the trees differently in spring than in fall, this trail is inaccessible in the winter, the river always floods when it rains, if I cut through the graveyard on my way home I can grab a couple fallen branches from that cyprus by the gate. Leave offerings, say prayers, speak to the spirits.

[pieandhotdogs]

What are some of the ways to tell if someone is hexing you?

Repeated nightmares, especially of a specific person

Milk that has spoiled too quickly. This applies to pantry items as well, but I specifically remember my grandma ordering everyone to take a shower after finding a jug of milk had curdled ten days early.

I’ve heard it said that if kitchenware falls on its own, it means unexpected company. I didn’t learn til later that it didn’t necessarily mean physical company.

Coming across a black comb in your path. I’ve seen black buttons mentioned in the same capacity as part of Ozark folklore. Don’t pick them up if you encounter them.

Blood in an egg yolk

A bird flying into a window, particularly if the bird dies from the impact

A bat in the house. This happened three nights in a row when I was in college. Don’t kill the bat or you’ll receive bad luck.

This is likely related to tetanus-related conditions and fatalities, but being scratched by a rusty/dirty nail. In this case, I’ve seen folks rub bacon grease on the nail and throw it in a fire to ward off infection. I’ve heard more esoteric whispers say that the act will send an attempted curse back at the witch who cast it.

[pieandhotdogs]

Is there no conflict from using the Bible in your practice despite being pagan?

No, as I’ve stated a number of times now, I view religion simply as one language used to describe reality. Appalachian Christian spirituality is a dialect I am quite familiar with, as it is my first language. I feel there is no more conflict than with a bilingual person effortlessly switching between two languages in casual conversation.

[pieandhotdogs]

Major highways also have spirits but most of y’all aren’t ready to talk about that fact.

[pieandhotdogs]

Are there any Appalachian folklore for spiders?

Yes, lots actually. A few examples off the top of the head:

Despite their fearsome appearance, I learned from an early age that orb weavers were protectors of the home. Their webs can catch all kinds of maladies, from nightmares and disease to ill-intentions, malignant spirits, and witches’ curses.

Black widows are considered bad luck if you find them in your house. However their bodies are useful in malefica. The flip-side to the same coin: their bodies can also be used in protection magic.

If a spider falls into a candle, it’s a sign of witchcraft nearby.

Not a spider, but if you whisper the name of a lost object to a grandaddy long-legs, he’ll use those long legs to point out the direction in which you should search.

Wolf spiders are good luck and I was taught by my grandpa that they are friends who help keep other nastier critters in check.

[pieandhotdogs]

And God gazed upon Her Creation

Her precious Earth, complete with Land and Sky and Sea

And She desired to preserve this Gem of the cosmos

So She placed around Her seven Guardians:

The Sun and Moon, Twin siblings to the Earth, watchful Eyes and Lanterns

The Mountains, born from Gaia Herself and ever-reaching to the Heavens

The Rivers, with long tendrils carving ditches toward the Sea

The Storms, roiling and howling with divine fury, transient as lightning strikes

The Forests, teeming with life and changing with the seasons

The Seventh Guardian is Hidden, to be revealed to the Initiate of Her Mysteries.

[pieandhotdogs]

any good protection spells you would recommend to a beginner?

Bury iron nails on your property in each of the four directions.

Powdered eggshells sprinkled at the corners of your home will protect against spirits and would-be psychic assailants (it’s also good for your vegetables!)

Hang up a Sator square or the third pentacle of Jupiter.

Crucifixes, specifically accompanied by the rosary can be used for protection and cleansing.

Write out Psalm 53 and burn the paper. The ashes can be used to draw wards or you can add them to the eggshells from earlier.

[pieandhotdogs]

Lots of talk about oath-breakers lately, you wanna know what breaking an oath actually does to you? Spiritual and magical and mystical talk aside. Breaking an oath makes you feel less worthy. When you break a promise to someone, whether that’s to your loved ones, your God, or yourself… you carry that with you. When you break someone’s confidence, you will always remember that you cannot be trusted. You lose faith in yourself. It haunts you. I know this to be true. Personally. It damages the image you have of yourself, until you feel there’s no point in trying to fix it. Until it’s impossible to forgive yourself. Until you believe you have become what you deserve.