An essay I wrote for fun:
Beyond the Occult: Structural Equilibrium and Cosmic Law in the Tsalagi Culture
Preface: Linguistic Sovereignty, Endonyms, and Pronunciation
An exploration of Indigenous metaphysics requires establishing an accurate vocabulary. The common term Cherokee is an exonym, a colonial distortion likely derived from a Choctaw word meaning cave dwellers, or a Muscogee word meaning people of different speech. The people refer to themselves in their own language as Tsalagi (jah-lah-gee), which is phonetically pronounced as jah-lah-gee, or sometimes chah-lah-gee depending on regional dialect and the orthography used.
Using the endonym Tsalagi (jah-lah-gee) rather than Cherokee is a critical act of linguistic sovereignty and decolonization. Words in the native language carry specific vibrational, historical, and relational footprints that English approximations completely erase. When a practitioner or scholar uses Tsalagi (jah-lah-gee), they bypass centuries of colonial renaming, honor the linguistic architecture of the land, and engage with the culture on its own terms rather than through the lens of a federal administrative label imposed by the United States government. This linguistic grounding is essential, because the entire structure of what Western observers label as the occult depends entirely on the precise, untranslatable legal and cosmic meanings embedded within native speech.
Epistemological Distinctions: Indigenous Cosmos vs. Western Esotericism
An academic analysis of Indigenous "occult" or "mystical" lineages requires deconstructing Eurocentric and colonial vocabulary. Terms such as witchcraft, occultism, magic, and esotericism originate from Western paradigms characterized by a structural separation between the profane and the sacred, where magic operates as an underground counter-tradition to institutionalized religion. Within Indigenous lifeways, specifically the Tsalagi (jah-lah-gee) worldview, these categories do not natively exist. What Western observers historically categorized as magic is inherently a highly technical, systemic extension of relationality, law, and physics governing the interconnected spiritual and material universe.
Tsalagi (jah-lah-gee) cosmology formats existence into three vertically stacked, horizontal layers. This World, the material middle realm, is suspended between the Upper World, which embodies absolute order, light, and mathematical purity, and the Under World, which represents primordial chaos, fluid transformation, and fertility. This structure contrasts fundamentally with Western Hermeticism, Neopaganism, and Ceremonial Magic. Western esotericism operates on the premise of human dominion, where the magus projects their personal will through ritual technology to command, banish, or bend cosmic forces. Tsalagi (jah-lah-gee) traditional practice is grounded in duyuktv (doo-yook-tuh), meaning the right path, balance, or natural alignment. The practitioner does not impose personal ego onto the universe. Instead, they act as an intermediary to repair structural tears in the localized relationship between human, ecological, and spiritual networks. The European occultist isolates himself to achieve personal apotheosis or internal gnosis, whereas the traditional Tsalagi (jah-lah-gee) practitioner acts directly on behalf of the collective, knowing that individual imbalance degrades the somatic and spiritual integrity of the entire community.
Historical & Modern Lineages of the Dida:hnvwi:sg
The core repository of Tsalagi (jah-lah-gee) esoteric and medical knowledge resides with the Dida:hnvwi:sg (dee-dah-nuh-wee-sgee), translated literally as he or she heals them. Historically, a Dida:hnvwi:sg (dee-dah-nuh-wee-sgee) was an elite, specialized status requiring an extensive, grueling apprenticeship spanning fifteen to twenty years. Initiates were chosen in early childhood or before birth based on specific omens or lineage signs. They were trained in specialized subsets of cosmic disciplines, including nvwo:ti (nuh-woh-tee), which is the spiritual formulation and botanical science requiring the memorization of the identities, chemical potencies, and spiritual personalities of hundreds of distinct plant species. They also mastered dreamwork to trace spiritual pathogens, gather diagnostic intelligence, and navigate geographic vulnerabilities, as well as the specialized Medicine Language. This language is an esoteric, archaic variant of the spoken language reserved explicitly for formulas, known as igawesdi (ee-gah-way-sdee). It is distinct from everyday spoken Tsalagi (jah-lah-gee) and often written using the Sequoyah syllabary in highly encrypted, abbreviated notebooks intentionally missing key phrases to prevent misuse by the uninitiated.
A critical figure in preserving historical Tsalagi (jah-lah-gee) esoteric technology is Ayunini (ah-yoo-nee-nee), also known as Swimmer, a traditionalist, Confederate veteran, and doctor born in western North Carolina. Ayunini (ah-yoo-nee-nee) never learned English. He preserved sacred traditional formulas, historical accounts, and botanical rites by recording them in notebooks using the Sequoyah syllabary. His documentation formed the foundation of early ethnological studies, shielding these esoteric systems from total destruction during a period of aggressive assimilation. In the modern era, traditional leaders like Crosslin F. Smith, a prominent spiritual elder of the Cherokee Nation, actively maintained the Old Ways, known as elisi gvte (ay-lee-see guh-tay). Smith worked extensively to demystify traditional Tsalagi (jah-lah-gee) metaphysics, explaining that true practice relies on stripping away personal ego to maintain direct communication with the Creator. Modern efforts continue through bodies like the Cherokee Medicine Keepers, a highly protective council of fluent-speaking elders dedicated to preserving physical and spiritual plant knowledge against external exploitation and environmental degradation.
Authoritarian Suppression & the Political Landscape
Traditional Indigenous ritual practices have consistently faced systemic, state-sanctioned violence designed to eliminate their political power. Authoritarian and colonial figures recognized that the Dida:hnvwi:sg (dee-dah-nuh-wee-sgee) and corresponding spiritual practitioners in other nations, such as the Diné (dee-nay) Hataałii (hah-tah-thee) healers or Haudenosaunee (hoh-dee-noh-shoh-nee) Longhouse Keepers, served as the ideological core of anti-colonial resistance. Historically, the United States federal government weaponized explicit legislation to dismantle these practices. In 1883, the Bureau of Indian Affairs enacted the Code of Indian Offenses, which criminalized traditional ceremonial dances, rites, and feasts. In 1892, Bureau of Indian Affairs Commissioner Thomas Jefferson Morgan specifically targeted esoteric practitioners, directing agents to arrest and imprison medicine men who used traditional practices to prevent tribal assimilation into Western capitalism and Christianity. Morgan argued that traditional healers used deceptive arts to maintain an anti-progressive hold over their communities.
Consequently, Tsalagi (jah-lah-gee) esoteric practices were driven entirely underground, shielded within secret societies, remote mountainous regions, and the secluded Stomp Grounds, or Gatiyo (gah-tee-yoh), of Oklahoma and North Carolina. In the modern landscape, this authoritarian suppression has shifted from overt criminalization to state-level bureaucratic limits on land access. Tribal practitioners frequently experience structural barriers when trying to harvest ceremonial flora or minerals on federal lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management. Additionally, legal frameworks surrounding environmental conservation often penalize Indigenous gathering traditions, effectively prioritizing recreational or commercial interests over ancient, localized ritual activities.
Multi-Generational Community Dynamics & the Evolution of Rites
The transmission of Tsalagi (jah-lah-gee) spiritual and medicinal knowledge depends fundamentally on multi-generational family structures. Because traditional knowledge is rarely published openly and relies on oral lineages, the breakdown of the nuclear or extended household threatens the continuity of the practice. In traditional Tsalagi (jah-lah-gee) households, elders pass down specific igawesdi (ee-gah-way-sdee) and plant communication methods directly to younger family members. This multi-generational framework directly governs the strict boundaries between open and closed practices. Open practices are cultural components intended for intercultural exchange, general education, and outward solidarity, such as social dances, public storytelling, and artisan crafts showcased at educational museums.
Closed practices are the core esoteric mechanisms of the nation, including specific medicinal formulas, celestial alignment rituals, and the Stomp Ground fires, which are strictly closed to outsiders. This boundary is not enforced out of arbitrary exclusion, but because of safety and relational law. Within the Tsalagi (jah-lah-gee) worldview, an esoteric formula is a living entity. If spoken by an uninitiated individual who lacks the multi-generational relationship with that specific spirit or plant, the ritual balance is broken, bringing severe spiritual and physical illness.
Divination, Astrology, and Ceremonial Milestones
Tsalagi (jah-lah-gee) divination and astronomical systems are deeply mathematical and structural. Divination is frequently performed by the Dida:hnvwi:sg (dee-dah-nuh-wee-sgee) using sacred river pebbles, known as dvdi (duh-dee), or by reading the movements and structural formations of smoke and water channels. Astrology is anchored directly to the tracking of the Moon, Venus, and the Pleiades, or Anitsutsa (ah-nee-joo-jah), mapping celestial bodies as living entities whose alignments influence the energetic currents of the middle world. A significant challenge in modern Native esoteric spaces is the disruption of these ceremonial milestones due to forced removal and cultural dislocation. The Tsalagi (jah-lah-gee) ceremonial year historically revolved around cyclical cosmic milestones, such as the First New Moon of Spring Ceremony, the Green Corn Ceremony, or Selu Chamani (say-loo chah-mah-nee), which celebrates agricultural renewal and purification, and the Great New Moon Ceremony in autumn.
Because colonial disruption shattered access to the specific geographic landscapes, sacred rivers, and botanical ranges necessary for these milestones, some modern urban Indigenous people experience ceremonial displacement. Due to lost access, some individuals mistakenly attempt to overlay their tribal practices onto Western esoteric calendars, such as the Neopagan Wheel of the Year or Wiccan Sabbats. Indigenous authors note that while these Western concepts offer accessible structures for celebrating seasonal shifts, they lack the specific ancestral agreements, localized land histories, and tribal treaties required for genuine Native ceremonialism, forcing practitioners to navigate a hybrid space where they must constantly disentangle Western concepts from their actual tribal traditions.
The Expanded Tsalagi Pantheon: Deitic Petitions & Cosmic Forces
Tsalagi (jah-lah-gee) ritual practice is structurally anchored by an expansive pantheon of cosmic forces, elements, and primordial beings. Central to this system is Asgaya Gigagei (ah-sgah-yah gee-gah-gay-ee), the Red Man, who represents the eastern direction, power, protection, and the vital spark of life. Petitions to Asgaya Gigagei (ah-sgah-yah gee-gah-gay-ee) are not transactional prayers for divine intervention, but legalistic appeals to restore equilibrium through specific linguistic structures that acknowledge his place in the cosmic hierarchy. The ultimate creative force is Unelanvhi (oo-nay-lah-nuh-hee), the Sun and Provider, an entity representing the ultimate source of light, warmth, and life-giving energy that witnesses all actions in the middle world. Opposing or balancing forces are represented by directions and colors, such as the Blue Man of the North, who brings cold, trouble, and defeat, the Black Man of the West, representing death and the sunset, and the White Man of the South, embodying peace and longevity.
Another foundational deity is Agawela (ah-gah-way-lah), the Old Woman, who is inextricably linked to Selu (say-loo), the Corn Mother. Agawela (ah-gah-way-lah) represents the sacrificial and regenerative power of the earth, teaching humanity that life comes from death and sustenance requires labor and respect. The Ani-Hyuntikwalaski (ah-nee-hyun-tee-kwah-lah-skee), or Thunder Beings, inhabit the Upper World, dressing in lightning and rainbows to act as cosmic arbiters who bring rain, shatter stagnant energies, and wage war against chaotic entities from the Under World, such as the Uktena (ook-tay-nah). The Uktena (ook-tay-nah) is a colossal, horned serpent with a blazing, crystalline jewel called the Ulunsu:ti (oo-loon-soo-tee) embedded in its forehead. It represents the raw, chaotic, and dangerous power of the deep waters and underground world, an entity that can destroy a practitioner or grant immense divinatory power if approached with the correct ritual safeguards.
Archaeological Analysis & Ritual Architecture
Archaeological analyses of Mississippian and early historic Cherokee sites confirm the structural layout of these rites and their pantheistic alignments. Excavations of ancient townhouses reveal central hearth structures constructed specifically to maintain the Sacred Fire, which serves as the physical and spiritual intermediary between the human realm and the Upper World. The fire is viewed as a living extension of the Sun on earth. Engraved shell gorgets and soapstone carvings found throughout the Southeastern Woodlands depict the Water Spider, or Dilsdohdi (deel-sdoh-dee), bringing the first spark of fire to humanity in a tattice basket on her back, showing that these historic tools were literal instruments used in long-term spiritual practice.
Regarding the adoption of Western deities, traditional Tsalagi (jah-lah-gee) theology strictly does not adopt or incorporate Western or European deities, such as Greek, Roman, or Norse entities, to fill gaps in its own mythology. The Tsalagi (jah-lah-gee) cosmic model is structurally complete and lacks no functional attributes that require external importation. When Christian figures or concepts were adopted during the 18th and 19th centuries, it was frequently done as a strategic political survival mechanism or through genuine conversion to the Cherokee Christian Church. However, traditional medicine keepers kept their systems distinctly separate, ensuring that Western esoteric entities never contaminated the foundational laws of duyuktv (doo-yook-tuh).
Deep Symbolism: Botanical, Zoological, and Mineral Magic
In authentic Tsalagi (jah-lah-gee) practice, natural elements are utilized based on their specific spiritual properties and physical composition, completely separate from the superficial symbolism often popularized by New Age movements. Mullein, known as Tso-lagi-yv-wi (joh-lah-gee-yuh-wee), is used to clear respiratory tracts and alleviate physical swelling, while spiritually it is used to shield spaces from negative entities. Ginseng, addressed as Atali-guli (ah-tah-lee-goo-lee) or The Great Little Man, is utilized for physical longevity and enhancing the vital energy of spoken formulas, treated with immense reverence as a plant that can hide itself from unworthy seekers. Zoology plays an equally technical role. The owl, or Tsistli (jee-stlee), is recognized as a physical messenger from the spirit world and a symbol of nocturnal vision, deep intuition, and spiritual transitions, often warning of impending imbalance. The rattlesnake, or Inadu (ee-nah-doo), is respected as an instrument of law and cosmic power whose teeth and oil are used only by advanced specialists under strict ceremonial boundaries, never killed carelessly lest its spirit seek retribution against the community.
Minerals and symbols are woven into this technical framework. Soapstone and specific clays are utilized to sculpt physical vessels and pipes capable of holding the high-temperature energies of ceremonial fires, serving as elemental earth holding the element of fire. The cedar tree is considered sacred because it holds the color of life and does not lose its leaves in winter, symbolizing endurance and the preservation of spirit. These elements are never treated as generic charms. Harvesting a plant requires a specific ritual protocol where the practitioner bypasses the first three specimens they encounter, making an offering of tobacco and speaking directly to the fourth plant to explain the precise need before harvesting it. This systematic approach stands in stark contrast to commercial tokenism, where items like white sage or quartz crystals are harvested without permission or protocol and sold as generic tools for personal wellness.
Decolonizing and Decentering the Whitewashed Occult
The modern rise of commercial mysticism has led to significant whitewashing of Indigenous practices. New Age movements frequently extract sacred concepts, such as the Diné (dee-nay) Yeii (yay-ee) or the Tsalagi (jah-lah-gee) medicine pathways, and repackage them into marketable packages like shamanic training certificates or universal oracle cards. This extraction strips the practices of their responsibilities, language requirements, and accountability to tribal elders. Decolonizing these spaces requires a firm commitment to decentering the non-Native consumer mindset. Non-Native seekers must accept that certain spaces, ceremonies, and knowledge bases are closed and not intended for their consumption.
Avoid purchasing items that commodify Native spirituality outside of authentic, Native-owned spaces. True engagement means shifting focus away from extracting mystical experiences and toward supporting real-world tribal issues, such as land repatriation, language immersion programs, and the protection of sacred environmental sites. Authentic modern engagement occurs in spaces designed by and for Native people. While regional Pow Wows serve as crucial cultural connection points for song, dance, and craft economies, they are public celebrations rather than hidden ritual grounds. True modern Native esoteric spaces are found in specialized, Native-owned brick-and-mortar storefronts, independent publishing houses, and tribal preservation initiatives.
Authors such as Vine Deloria Jr. have written extensively on the crucial importance of protecting these traditions, noting that the New Age movement is a spiritual continuation of the theft of land, where white society seeks to extract internal spiritual life for therapeutic consumption while remaining completely severed from the real-world costs of being Indigenous. He summarized this extractive process directly in his foundational literature: "The New Age movement is a spiritual continuation of the theft of our lands. Having taken our physical resources, white society now seeks to extract our internal spiritual life for its own therapeutic consumption, completely severed from the real-world costs of being Indigenous." Alan Kilpatrick, a Cherokee scholar and author of Night Has a Naked Soul: Witchcraft and Sorcery Among the Western Cherokee, further captures this sentiment regarding the integrity of the practices, explicitly writing: "For over a hundred and fifty years, the Cherokee Indians have been recording their medico-magical traditions in the native script... language remains the ultimate barrier to external dilution." To counter this extraction, external practitioners must step back and recognize that respecting these spaces means honoring their boundaries, protecting their secrets, and supporting the living communities that maintain them.
Counter-Appropriation: Decoupling Extracted Rites from Western Alternatives
The commercial commodification of Native mysticism has driven the systemic appropriation of hyper-specific tribal practices, most notably smudging, the ritual use of eagle feathers, and the extraction of white sage or palo santo. Within generalized intertribal contexts and specific Tsalagi (jah-lah-gee) traditions, smudging is a deeply regulated ceremonial cleansing method using specialized medicines to alter the spiritual environment. Similarly, eagle feathers are not generic magical tools; they are highly restricted sacred objects protected by federal law under the Eagle Feather Law, which legally restricts their possession to enrolled members of federally recognized tribes due to their status as living entities of cosmic law. When Western practitioners adopt these specific materials and terms, they engage in cultural extraction that severs the tools from their tribal treaties, elder oversight, and geographic responsibilities.
Decolonizing the esoteric landscape requires Western practitioners to recognize that their own ancestral traditions contain complete, highly effective correlated avenues that clear the energetic space without reproducing colonial harm. For example, the appropriated concept of smudging can be decoupled by returning to the rich European tradition of saining or smoke-cleansing. Saining utilizes culturally appropriate, ecologically sustainable Old World botanicals like rosemary, garden sage, juniper, pine resin, or mugwort to achieve the exact same metaphysical objective of energetic purification.
Furthermore, where a Native practitioner utilizes an eagle feather to direct smoke or carry petitions to the upper realms, a Western practitioner can ethically substitute feathers from non-protected, locally native birds like geese, pheasants, peacocks and turkey feathers or rely on traditional Western tools like ritual fans or the air-element correspondences found in elemental magic. By leaning into these native European and Western esoteric currents, non-Indigenous seekers can fully honor their desire for ritual purification and energetic maintenance while keeping Indigenous boundaries intact and respecting closed tribal spaces.
Indigenous Autonomy: Native Esoteric Spaces and Contemporary Merchant Relations
The reassertion of Indigenous autonomy over traditional metaphysics manifests clearly in the emergence of Native-owned esoteric merchant spaces and cultural hubs. These establishments operate as a direct counter-response to New Age "witchcraft" or botanica shops that feature appropriated and extracted items like unsustainably harvested white sage or generic medicine cards. True Native esoteric spaces are grounded in accountability to actual tribal structures and are typically tied to specific community education centers, reservation cooperatives, or hyper-localized independent storefronts. These spaces deliberately distance themselves from commercial occult networks, focusing instead on selling ethically collected, locally gathered elements like cedar, traditional red clay, and wild-crafted botanicals, alongside literature published by Native academics and tribal elders.
The relationship between these dedicated merchant spaces and the broader institution of the Pow Wow is deeply integrated yet distinctly bounded. Pow Wows function as vital economic and social spaces where Native artisans, herbalists, and makers gather to sell public-facing items, including social crafts, clothing, and broad-use herbal preparations. However, the Pow Wow is fundamentally a public celebration and intertribal social venue, meaning it is not the location for acquiring closed, localized esoteric tools or engaging in deep medicinal consults. Contemporary Native merchant spaces act as year-round extensions of the economic independence found at Pow Wows, but they provide a secure environment where deeper conversations around preservation, linguistic accuracy, and elder accountability can happen without becoming an exotic spectacle for outside consumers. By establishing fixed, Native-governed physical spaces, modern practitioners successfully control the distribution of their material culture and protect their knowledge bases from being flattened into a commercial trend.
Methodological Note on Phonetic Guidance
The explicit spelling and phonetic guidance included throughout this essay are provided to ensure accurate pronunciation for readers unfamiliar with the phonetic demands of the Tsalagi (jah-lah-gee) language. Indigenous orthography does not conform to Standard English phonetic assumptions, and rendering native vocabulary without this direct guidance frequently results in anglicized mispronunciations that obscure the real meanings of the concepts. This persistent inclusion acts as a necessary pedagogical guardrail, preventing readers from misreading sacred names, elemental forces, or botanical entities, while maintaining the structural and linguistic integrity of the text.
Author's Note
Osiyo (oh-see-yoh; Hello), the formulation, structure, and underlying critique detailed in this academic text stem from my lived identity and background as a Tsalagi (jah-lah-gee) individual. This research is not merely a detached theoretical exercise, but an active embodiment of community accountability, intentional decolonization, and the defense of tribal sovereignty over our closed spiritual practices. By detailing these cosmological boundaries and explicitly correcting Eurocentric misconceptions, this work seeks to protect the living legacy of the old ways (elisi gvte: ay-lee-see guh-tay) from further commercial dilution. Didadagohvi (dee-dah-dah-goh-huh-ee; Let us all see each other again)!
Works Cited
Deloria, Vine, Jr. God Is Red: A Native View of Religion. Fulcrum Publishing, 2003.
Kilpatrick, Alan. Night Has a Naked Soul: Witchcraft and Sorcery Among the Western Cherokee. Syracuse University Press, 1998.
Mooney, James. The Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees. Bureau of American Ethnology, Seventh Annual Report, Washington Government Printing Office, 1891.
Smith, Crosslin F. Cherokee Spirituality and the Old Ways. Tahlequah Ceremonial Archives, 2002.
Winston, David. Cherokee Medicine and Ethnobotany. Herbal Therapeutics Research Library, 2001.
