Blog of an Appalachian Folk Practitioner

I’ve never seen this name— granted, I’m not actively hunting books either. But heads up.

Witchblr is saturated with success stories that it can sometimes create the impression that occult works hit the nail all day every day. So maybe some fun stuff

What was a general assumption, conspiracy theory or idea that you believed in at some point in your craft?

Have you ever had a spell backfire on you? Did you learn from it?

What was the pettiest reason that you've ever done a spell?

Are there any workings that you regret doing?

What is something about spell work that you want other people to know?

Have you ever had a bad experience with spirit work? How did you handle it?

My mum’s family aren’t witches.  They’re not holders of any ancient mystical “fam-trad” lineage.  (In fact, some are from staunch Scots Presbyterian stock, including the “no dancing on the Sabbath!” variety.)

However, they DID pass down a bunch of stuff - little stories, customs, all that, as any culture does.  (And my gran took it and ran with it, loving and researching folklore all her life, teaching it to me and later enthusiastically joining in seasonal rituals.)

One thing in particular, which I grew up with as completely normal, was something the women of the family did: the soothing called “the fluence”.  Fractious children were calmed by this combination of forehead-stroking and deliberately radiating calming feelings, often with a low humming.  Obviously these things are calming anyway, but someone really good at it - like my gran, rest her - could do it from a distance.

I thought it was just one of those quirky family things.  “You’ve got a headache? Come here, I’ll put the fluence on you.”  “Ugh, X kid is being a monster, better put the fluence on them.”

Later on, however, I learned that this was, in fact, A Thing beyond our family - “putting the influence on someone”, which was, indeed, often abbreviated to “the fluence”.  (Etymonline takes this meaning of “the influence” back to the 1500s, and says it shows up earlier in medieval Latin.)  I’d done it to jasminekor when she was distressed; one time she was reading or watching something historical, and a character accused someone of having put the (negative) fluence on someone, and she sat up and said, “Oh my god, it’s actually a thing! I thought it was just your family!” just as I had.

I’m not telling this story to show what a ~magical mystical folk-craft family~ I come from.  I’m telling it to show that, when we talk about folk magic, we’re not talking about some vague people long ago and far away, but just…us.  (I think Pratchett had something trenchant to say about this, as usual.)  It’s not all stuff gathered by Cecil Williams, it’s not all in books, it didn’t mysteriously stop at some point, it’s just…stuff we do.  

Using the fluence to calm a kid down, for their sake and the sake of everyone in the room who’s having to listen to the screeching - that’s folk magic.  Pointing out a single crow to the person you’re with because it’s bad luck to be the only one who sees a single crow, to turn the bad luck - that’s folk magic.  (I’m told this is a specifically Kentish thing, and I grew up doing it without even really knowing what it was, but to this day I still have the urge to point and say “Crow!” when I see one XD)  

Ditto saluting/touching your hat/spitting at/etc magpies.  (For me: flick your fingers three times, spit three times with your thumb between your forefingers, and if you’re being hardcore, “Away with you evil, away with you ill!”  Tricky when you’re driving XD)  Any ill-luck-turning ‘superstition’ is folk magic.  (Broken something?  Quick, run out and smash a couple of jam-jars, cos these things come in threes!)  Cross your fingers to avoid bad luck (or render a promise powerless).  Rub your wedding ring on your stye to cure it.  Throw salt over your shoulder. “See a pin and pick it up, all that day you’ll have good luck.  See a pin and let it lie, that day you’ll see your luck go by.”  Hang up a horseshoe.  Keep a lock of your baby’s first hair to protect them.  Throw coins in the wishing well.

We do so many of these things without even thinking, and call them “superstition”, while looking for obscure lore from tucked-away corners of the country, poring over accounts of cunningmen and executed witches, and never look at what was done by everyone - what *we still do* - every day, 

the laughing man house publishing is putting together a charity anthology to benefit orgs assisting in western NC. guidelines:

THEME: Folk horror and ghost stories, it doesn't have to be specific to Appalachia (although that is a bonus). WORD COUNT: >8k loosely, but if you have something that goes over, that's totally fine!  ART: We welcome art!  POEMS: Absolutely! 

deadline is october 11th. thought i’d share here if anyone is interested in contributing, you can find the interest form at their linktree:

Lilith.

In Judaism she is a demon which kills babies. Sids, sudden infant death syndrome, was attributed to her before any scientific discovery was made regarding it.

Her name is cognate with the Akkadian word "līlītu" but A. this isn't the name of a goddess, it's the name of a type of demon, and B. the name "Lilith" literally just means "nocturnal creature"/"owl". And Lilith as an individual supernatural entity is first attested in Jewish traditions from the Second Temple Period... as a demon that children need to be protected from.

I usually do not answer Anons. I hardly, in fact, get any Asks. I will say first off, you are ignorant. Aphrodite in my experiences, and UPG, is welcoming to Transfolk and others whom approach Her, and act with sincerity.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I welcome honest, openminded, civil discourse. Not trolls and idjits who seek to provoke, and whom do so cloaked in cowardly anonymity.

Unacceptable.

She holds TERF views and as an Appalachian, and a queer one at that? I cannot and will not support anyone like that. My copies of her work are being tossed, and all of my support of her on this blog will be edited with clarification that I no longer support said work.

And per usual for proof I do have screenshots from her Facebook, of which no apology or acknowledgement has been made that I can find. I imagine since this is roughly when she began working with a major publisher she might have been advised to dropping the topic online? There is apparently some mentions of this in her 'irl' interactions as well but I am digging for internet proof of such. If anyone finds anything further please let me know.

Proof from her own Facebook is below. And if asked I will provide direct links to ensure that they are not doctored in any way.

Appalachia is a welcoming place, TERF beliefs are not welcoming and therefore not Appalachian by extent.

Because of how roads have been washed out making homes and towns inaccessible to vehicles, the Cajun Navy (organizations that performs search, rescue, and assistance during disasters) has partnered with Mountain Mule Packer Ranch to use the mules to get medications, food, and water to people in need.

The mother, maiden crone archetype or the “life cycle” of a female revolves around reproduction and whether or not it is being done. Ones “divine feminine” and spiritual wellness is judged on reproductive factors being “in sync with your cycle” and the like.

I think it is time we move on from this. We are not defined by our ability to reproduce, witchcraft and paganism claims to be a freedom for women free from the misogyny that plagues all other faiths. Yet just like these other religions spirituality, paganism and witchcraft reduces AFAB people to breeders.

People with children are first and foremost people. Their spiritual purpose is not just child bearing and should not be forced into a lifestyle where they are treated as nothing but a mother.

A person who chooses to not have children is not “out of touch with the divine feminine” one does not need to have children to “spiritually level up”.

People who do not have sex or are perhaps on the asexual spectrum are still divine. Getting your tubes typed or going on birth control doesn’t make you of less value. Those who can have children are not any more divinely feminine then those who cannot

AFAB people who have periods and female anatomy but do not associate them with femininity should be respected. Reproductive organs do not define a person.

Trans women who cannot have periods are not any less divinely feminine. A trans woman who never got to be a maiden in the outdated, traditional sense should not be considered any less.

my wife recently gave me A Look when i had one playing in the car and she was like, "why do all of these old folk songs talk about killing people lmao" and i realized i wanted to Talk About It at length.

nerd shit under the cut, and it's long. y'all been warned

The River Knows-Molly Tuttle (A woman who knows she's in a murder ballad turns things around)

Caleb Meyer- Gillian Welch (A woman gets assaulted and kills the man who attacked her)

Old Time Angels- Po Ramblin Boys (The women killed in murder ballads get vengeance)

Griesly Bride- McKain Lakey (A man who thought he'd married a sweet young girl has an unexpected wedding night)

And a selection of more classic ones (plus one modern) that are less happy for their female characters, but no less beautiful. I am sticking to female singers here, because OP is right that their versions usually hit better.

Well Below the Valley- Saya Novinger (This one is dark. Incest, child murder, and guilt abound)

Darlin Corey- Meredith Moon (The life and death of a moonshiner named Corey)

The Highwayman- Loreena McKennitt (A woman and her outlaw lover are killed by British soldiers)

The Cruel Brother- Maeve Mackinnon (A woman is murdered by her slighted brother on her wedding day)

13 of them appear nearly copy-pasted exactly as is, with only a few minor word changes in Skye Alexander's "The Modern Witchcraft Spell Book" (published in 2015).

I'm?? wondering who wrote the spells? If they're both pulling from a common spell pool at the publisher??? If the publisher asked Skye to put the spells into one book as a way to sell more of them 10 years after their original book home? Legitimately, I googled both Skye and Arin to see if they're the same person???

... no ... that's us... we just... reused it .... owo''''''''

So, it's possible.

Also I have caught spells from the Modern Witch's Spellbook (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH THE OTHER TITLE ABOVE -^ It's a different book) in the 5K spellbook (but the 5K spellbook is a like collection horse where people were spending in spells so who knows?).