#FolkMagic

[blairstales]

How To Get Free Books On Folklore

I do not believe in gatekeeping knowledge, so this post will be sharing how I get all my folklore books for free, legally.

To explain, when a book gets over a certain age and the copyright is not upkept, it falls under “public domain.” When that happens, many different websites will provide those books as a free download.

This is not restricted to one type of book, either. You can grab anything from Sherlock Holmes to history books, to folklore, and more.

If you are looking for a specific book, you may have to check more than one source, so I suggest bookmarking more than one website.

Example Websites:

Internet Archive

Project Gutenberg

Google Books

Open Library

Electric Scotland (Scottish books)

Sacred Texts

National Library of Scotland: Ossain Collection

Forgotten Books

Hathitrust

For me when I download a book, I then upload them to my Google library so that I can use the search functions as well as bring up the books anywhere, but a popular PC option isCalibre.

If you are interested in Scotland-specific folklore, I do have some suggestions of books you can start with.

Scottish Folklore Books:

(link) A Dictionary of Fairies: Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures by Katharine Briggs (1976)

(link) Folklore of Scottish Lochs and Springs by James M. Mackinlay (1893)

(link) Superstitions of the Highlands & Islands of Scotland by John Gregorson Campbell (1900)

(link) The Peat-Fire Flame: Folk-Tales and Traditions of the Highlands and Islands by Alasdair Alpin MacGregor (1937)

(link) Notes on Folk-Lore of the North-East of Scotland by Walter Gregor, M.A. (1881)

(link) The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries by W.Y. Evans-Wentz (1911)

(link) Witchcraft and Superstitious Record in the South-Western District of Scotland by J. Maxwell Wood (1911)

(link) Witchcraft & Second Sight in the Highlands & Islands of Scotland by John Gregorson Campbell (1902)

(link) Folklore of Scottish Lochs and Springs by James M. Mackinlay (1893)

(link) Folk-Lore From The West of Ross-Shire by C.M. Robertson (1908)

(link) The Fairy Mythology / Illustrative of the Romance and Superstition of Various Countries by Thomas Keightley (1850)

(link) Popular Tales of the West Highlands by John Francis Campbell (1862)

(link) Scottish Fairy and Folk Tales by Sir George Douglas

(link) The Scottish Fairy Book By Elizabeth W. Grierson (1918)

(link)

(link) Popular Superstitions of the Highlands By W Grant Stewart (1823)

[wytchwyse]

Have you worked with Hellebore (Helleborus ×hybridus) ?

What was your experience like mundanely speaking? dried, did it still cause skin irritations? im working on an Obfuscation Dust but i want to be safe as Hellebore is a poison.

PS I have experience working with other plant toxins, such as water hemlock, and foxglove. I also use flying ointments in my personal practice as well. So I don't want anyone to think that I'm getting in over my head or anything. Although I totally appreciate all of the cautious reminders. 🤗

[vintagerpg]

What Happened at Wyvern Rock? (2020, I think) feels like a companion to Other Magic. Perhaps that’s just because I bought them at the same time as part of the same collection. Perhaps because they are both illustrated with lovely woodcuts (though with very different styles). But I think thematically, too. Where Other Magick imports folk magic to RPGs, the stated intention of Wyvern Rock is to bring Strangeness to D&D.

Drew Meger defines Strangeness as an experience or encounter that seems to challenge or defy our underlying understanding of the real world. That seems a touch broad to me, but in practice, Meger is essentially talking about the specific sense of strangeness attached to UFO sightings, cryptids and the fog of mystical and quasi-scientific oddness that tends to surround both. UFOs and Grey Aliens and the Moth Man are concepts that feel very much rooted in the 20th century, but in a weird way, they work extremely well in the context of D&D.

The zine is mostly interested in the Greys and in portraying these aliens and building adventures around them, I can’t help but be reminded of Delta Green, where they, and the Fungi from Yuggoth that control them, work in a similar way. I would not have thought that recontextualizing alien abduction folkore into D&D would work so well, but then I was kind of dubious about Call of Cthulhu meets X-Files, and I love that game now, so really, what do I know?

The main zine is accompanied by a bit of fiction called On Tattered Wings. It’s a fun little bit of cryptids meet D&D cotton candy with some fantastic art. I love Meger’s fusion of UFOs, Lovecraftiana and D&D imagery generally, but it really comes together for me in the fiction zine.

[666candies]

I am the Void 🌑✨

"Exile: Redux" by Clayshaper (2023) based on "Modesty" by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1902).

[cantva190]

Round or oval stones symbolize the feminine as they represent the female reproductive system, and pointed stones symbolize the masculine as they represent the male phallic side. ............................................................................................ Make a Wish: While you are in the river you can grab a stone and make a wish, while you do so focus on your wish and visualize how it has already materialized. After this, throw the stone with all your strength, go and don't look back.

[torotillo]

Fox With The Celtic Morrigan,

art by Tora Williams

[magpiethepunkfairy]

Having feelings about witchcraft and my identity or lack there of again

I want to get back into witch craft and get into specifically folk magic but I keep getting caught up in what I should be practicing and how and what I can*

I've made another post talking about feeling disconnected from any form of community, literally/spiritual/familia(?) wise, and I think that's part of it

And so I'm just not doing anything, which is obviously not helping or what I want to do

I feel like I need to be able to prove I belong before I can actually start anything, but that's hard to do when my family doesn't have any ties to any kinda culture or traditions. I don't even think we have any just basic family traditions

And I know one of the big parts of folk magic is the folk, so where do I start if I don't have that component??

And this feels like it also ties into my like, in a glass jar feeling I get, I have a hard time connecting and believing in anything even if I really want to cause it all just feels to far away or, like "fake", and I also have similar issues connecting to the real world and people in general

I don't think I've ever wished I was Christian more cause if I was I could just talk to a priest or something but who do I talk to for this shit

*this is Not about anything closed to me, I don't want that

[scorpiocordis]

mundane magick…

• my mom can remember any set of numbers, even her high school locker combination from years ago

• my friend knows when someone is pregnant before they even do

• my brother can recall memories from when he was super young in vivid detail

• my childhood best friend used to dream of things before they even happened

• i have lucky intuition with guessing numbers

[beckiwilson]

Thank you Jessy for always coming to me for fun and witchy tattoos ✨🖤🙏🏼 I love tattooing other moms and I love the ideas you always bring. Hawthorn flowers and their berries are so rich with folk-y history, one of my favorite things I’ve read is that “Throughout history, people have believed that fairies live under hawthorn trees as guardians. “ 🌿🧚‍♂️ • • • #tattoo #tattoos #botanical #botanicalillustration #botanicaltattoo #botanicalart #hawthornberries #hawthorn #fineline #blackandgrey #blackandgreytattoo #folkmagic #healing #witchcraft #witchytattoo #travel #travelingtattooer #hadesinquisition (at Hades Inquisition2) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpJoNxKOiHT/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[starry-skies-tell-no-lies]

Birdie and their relationship with religion (version 1)

One of the things I really want to dig into is Birdie's relationship with religion. They were raised Roman Catholic, and that always came with some questions.

Then they started to realize that maybe secretly something over the course of time had started to chip away at their faith. They start to think about how if there's a plan for everyone then plans include other people doing bad things and it affecting you, and that can't be right.

It only gets worse when they start to realize that they are a they and don't fit nicely into the binary the church enforces.

For awhile they reject all religion. Yes, it is important to other people, but its only for other people. They don't really find meaning in any of the religions that they've heard of. The closest thing is maybe maybe witchcraft

(but they don't want to work with gods or spirits, and they don't want to cast spells, and slowly they come to realize that what they really like about it is taking time to slow down and think, and sense, and pay attention to the world and what makes you happy.)

They like the little rituals, not because they believe that it will work yet, but because they don't and sometimes 'just in case' is enough of a reason. And because it keeps them present and in the moment. It's just making a reason to actually enjoy life.

So, they decide that religion is allowed to be what they make it. They decide that it matters how they do things sometimes. They decide that sunrises are spiritual, and the stars are holy. They decide that sometimes talking to the moon in their head to thank her for light is a worth while thing to do.

They decide that all the things that catch in their chest and remove just a little bit of weight, the things that make them smile, well they can be religion too.

(and if its all the placebo affect, well the placebo affect works doesn't it? and they are so much happier having decided that things matter)

So they don't really believe in a god or gods, and they don't really believe in spirits, but they decide that they can treat everything like its alive like a stuffed animal. They may know that a tree won't really hear if they apologize when they bump into it, and that the moon will shine whether or not you thank it, but it feels like they have company if they acknowledge it, so they do. (and its just nice to be nice to things so there's that too)

[blairstales]

Scottish Folklore of Cursed “Dolls”

There is a rarely talked about (though seemingly uncommon) historical custom in Scotland that will likely sound a lot like the exaggerated “voodoo dolls” (which, despite the name, are not prominent in Haitian Vodou or Louisiana Voodoo) of media.

The Scottish version is a doll that is a form of sympathetic magic(a magic category invented by Scottish folklorist James George Frazer).

Sympathetic magic has two varieties; one of which requires similarities, and the other requires contact or “contagion.”

“The former principle may be called the Law of Similarity, the latter the Law of Contact or Contagion. From the first of these principles, namely the Law of Similarity, the magician infers that he can produce any effect he desires merely by imitating it: from the second he infers that whatever he does to a material object will affect equally the person with whom the object was once in contact, whether it formed part of his body or not.” “The Golden Bough” by James George Frazer(1878)

The dolls of this topic are a form of imitation type sympathetic magic. For these, the dolls were crafted with ill-intent in the likeness of the person you wanted to curse, then what was done to the doll was thought to harm who it was made to look like.

While they are called dolls, they are not really what you might expect a child to have. Instead, they are sculpted of clay but not cured in an oven.

“An image of the victim was made of clay, and because it had a certain resemblance to him (likeness denoting real connection), it was believed that whatever was done to the image would produce a similar effect on the person whom it represented. “ “The misty isle of Skye : Its scenery, It’s people, Its story” by Eneas Mackay, Stirling, (1927)

It could be stuck with pins and needles to cause aches and pains, or you could do far worse. For example, if you put the doll into a stream, as the clay broke up in the water, so was said to gradually happen to the targets health.

“When any one wished evil to another he made a clay image of the person to be injured, and placed it in a stream with the head of the image against the current. It was believed that, as the clay was dissolved by the water, the health of the person represented would decline. The spell, however, would be broken if the image was discovered and removed from the stream. In the counties of Sutherland and Ross the practice survived till within the last few years.” “Folklore of Scottish Lochs and Springs” by James M. Mackinlay (1893)

It is perhaps no surprise that this was not a type of magic talked fondly about, and is instead classified in books as an evil act of black magic.

[wytchwyse]

So now that I've calmed down a little bit, I want to talk about what prompted my previous Post. I had recently joined the most ridiculous group on Facebook called "all things occult". And there was just the strangest environment in there, but I was just curious and wanted to see if I can engage with people on there in a healthy way, I learned very quickly You cannot lol. Now I probably talk a lot about folk magic on here, folk magic is very important to me. I grew up with bits of folk magic from both Appalachia and Italian-American culture. Pretty sure I said this before but I'll say it again. My father is Appalachian, my mother Italian American. My father would often have all sorts of stories and little bits of mountain wisdom for me when he was having a good day. He taught me a lot about respecting nature and animals, he taught me that you don't just take from nature essentially saying that nature could get back at you. He talked a lot about dreams and having the sight. On my mother's side there was always talk of the Dead visiting my family After funerals.there could be found Catholic talismans hidden around the house for Protection, my grandmother kept a St. Michael pendant by the hot water heater because she was always afraid of fire. And you want to know something,We never had a fire. This growing hate boner for folk magic is incredibly problematic. It is incredibly culturally insensitive, And without even meaning to it's classist. Religious trauma, particularly at the hands of Christianity, is a massive problem. But here's the thing about christian folk magic traditions. Folk magic cannot be separated from Christianity, but folk magic is sorcery and animism and is not sanctioned by any church or any Christian authority. It is still heretical and blasphemous to them. You can hate Christianity, and you do not have to practice folk magic , but folk magic belongs in Pagan And occult spaces no matter your feelings on the issue. There are plenty of trad witches and folk practitioners who are dual faith, and there are many who Care very little about religion and more about the relationships we build with spirits and the religions that they come from.

[poisonerspath]

These are too pretty not to repost 🍄 Posted @withregram • @the_scarlet_wytch Hand Embroidered Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria) half way finished !. I'm particularly excited about this piece and it's certainly been a journey working with the energy of Fly Agaric ! More on that when it's complete 😉. . . . . . . . . . . #poisonpath #darkembroidery #veneficium #poisonwitch #traditionalwitchcraft #tradcraft #folkmagic #cunningcraft #folkwitchesofinstagram #folkmagick #folkloricwitchcraft #cunningfolk #folkwitch #folkwitchcraft #herbwitch #herbwitches #herbwitchery #solitarywitch #hedgewitch #spellwork #hedgewitchery #witchcraft #greenwitch #ritualaltar #hedgecraft #witchesapothecary #ritualcraft #traditionalwitches #thecrookedpath #animisim https://www.instagram.com/p/CnnPZh-rAQz/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[herbanwytch]

This may be the loveliest seasonal wheel that I’ve ever seen..so inspiring , simple and beautiful.🌱🌻🍁❄️ Repost from @familiar_flower • Calendar «seasons» ❄️🌿🌻🍂 . . . . . . #altarspace #witchyvibes #paganwitch #folkmagic #darkcottagecore #solitarywitch #cabinetdecuriosites #odditiesandcuriosities #witchthings #darkwitch #witchaesthetic #witchcore #witchesofinstagram #paganwitchcraft #witch #wiccan #pagan #darkcore #goblincore (at The Herban Inn) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm6j62ogeNu/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[cantva190]

Princess Nokia: Brujas (Witches) Oshun🐝🍯🌻🍊💛

[sirdanjin]

What were you listening to on your walk?

Mix of my favs on Spotify is my usual go to. Enter Shikari's new album is lit tho. A bit of architects, rise against, while she sleeps and a wild mix of metal core and indie