#southern appalachia

[ghosttownyardsale]

[zanderism]

haunting the ghost towns | brenton, wv

[killrisma]

Please keep western NC and the rest of Southern Appalachia in your hearts. Those areas aren’t prepared for hurricanes as they almost never get hit with them. I understand that it can be frustrating to watch some rich influencer on Tiktok decide to wait out the storm in their beachfront property in Florida, but this ain’t Florida, and the folks who’s lives are being destroyed certainly ain’t rich.

Instead of sending hate towards innocent humans that weren’t able to, or didn’t think to evacuate, maybe direct your energy towards something productive like fundraising to rebuild the entire towns that were demolished.

[samwisethewitch]

Please read Mountain Magic by Rebecca Beyer

I was on a break from social media when I read this one, so this isn't a full review, but I highly, highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Appalachian folk magic. This is especially relevant to Southern Appalachian lore since Beyer lives in North Carolina.

I loved Beyer's first book, Wild Witchcraft, and with this one, I think she's officially become one of my favorite authors. This is a very thorough collection of folklore and practice for how short it is, and it's organized in a way that is easier for my ADHD brain to follow than some other authors.

I also have to gush about the illustrations. Both of Beyer's books are beautifully illustrated, but I think the art in this one is especially incredible. It's worth having a physical copy for the info alone, but the gorgeous art really makes this a book I want to display in my home.

Finally, I've found Beyer really helpful as an example of combining a pagan religious worldview with a Christian folk magic tradition. Her first book is very much pagan, with info on the God and Goddess and the Wheel of the Year. In this book, she talks about how Christianity has always been at the core of Appalachian folk magic and doesn't try to "paganize" the practice, while also leaving room for readers to bring their own beliefs to the table and explore what feels comfortable for them. This book did not feel preachy in the way some books on American folk magic do.

But yeah, this is just a really fantastic book, and I absolutely think every folk witch needs a copy of it on their shelf!

[painisforsundays]

[hollergospel]

overcast in appalachia

[popculturelib]

Hillbilly Women (1974) by Kathy Kahn

A Book of Heroines They live in the towns and hamlets of southern Appalachia. They are the women of the coal-mine camps and mill towns; they are members of a fiercely proud sisterhood. For in spite of enormous abuse from mine and mill operators, welfare agencies, corrupt union officials and their hun thugs, these women remain undaunted. Hillbilly Women tells their stories in their own words--sometimes angry, sometimes tender, always compelling and direct. This is a vivid and moving picture of hillbilly life: its tragedies, its rewards, and its indominable resiliency.

The Browne Popular Culture Library (BPCL), founded in 1969, is the most comprehensive archive of its kind in the United States.  Our focus and mission is to acquire and preserve research materials on American Popular Culture (post 1876) for curricular and research use. Visit our website at https://www.bgsu.edu/library/pcl.html.

[its-always-emo-in-philadelphia]

If you want to help Southern Appalachia right now and cannot donate.

LEARN

Find a city that was washed away and read about it's history

Read about the species in the area and the habitat the mountains provided

How the plants that thrive here have been used

The good, the bad, the ugly

Help us keep our stories alive

[ghosttownyardsale]

possum run

[zanderism]

[killrisma]

Hey folks, friendly reminder that, even though I might be a queer leftist, I’m ALSO a born and raised country hick. If you’re out here posting that the folks out in west North Carolina (my home state) and the rest of Southern Appalachia somehow “deserved” the catastrophic damage that Helene brought, block me. I’m not asking you to block me for my own internet experience, I’m telling you that it is within your best interest to block me.

To the folks at home who are donating supplies, sharing links, or even just prayin’ or keeping those impacted in your hearts, I love you and appreciate your kindness. Please keep it up, if possible, this won’t be “fixed” in a week, in fact, it never will be. This is Katrina level, there are already 200 confirmed dead, and they haven’t even started looking for the deceased.

I hope everyone reading this has the day they deserve <3

[samwisethewitch]

Two Banishing Powders from a Southern Folk Witch

In Southern folk magic, the formula used for a banishing spell varies a little bit based on whether you want to banish an actual person (basically getting them to leave you alone) or a spirit/energy/abstract concept.

Banishing formulas for getting rid of living people tend to focus on causing irritation and discomfort to get someone to leave, which may be less effective if they don't have a physical body. Banishing formulas for spirits/energy are more about deep cleansing and making the space inhospitable for undesirable spirits. The herbs and minerals a practitioner might reach for are different in these two situations.

Below are two all-purpose banishing formulas from my practice: one for living people, and one for spirits.

GTFO Powder

For getting rid of unwanted (living) people.

You will need:

The spiciest red pepper flakes/powder you can find (If you like spicy food, use something so hot you can't eat it in large amounts. I like spice and I use Szechuan pepper flakes, but cayenne will work, especially if you know the person you want to banish doesn't like any spice at all in their food. Discomfort is the goal here.)

Black pepper (Used here to cause mild inconvenience/discomfort/bad luck)

Salt (Good, old fashioned banishing)

(Optional) dried, crumbled wasps nest*

(Optional) dirt from the side of a busy road or highway**

*This is actually much easier to find than you'd think, but be careful not to get stung! This is a traditional ingredient in Southern folk magic because wasps are known for how viciously they protect their homes. Fair warning: this is a mean ingredient (since its purpose is to cause pain/discomfort), so I'll leave it up to you whether to include it or not. If you're dealing with a stalking or abuse situation, wasps nest can give you the extra oomph you need to help keep the abuser from returning.

**Only include this if you're trying to make someone physically leave your space or relocate to a different geographical area. And PLEASE be careful collecting this dirt! My advice is to try to collect it during a less busy time of day and to stay several feet away from the actual road.

How to Use It:

When you mix up this powder, speak over it and state your intention. You can enchant this powder for all-purpose banishing, or you could mix up a batch to banish a specific person. Either way, it is important that you tell the powder what it is meant to do. I like to speak directly to the spirits in the powder and ask them for their help.

Traditionally, you would use this powder by sprinkling some in your target's shoes, but that isn't always possible. You can use it in poppet spells by adding it to the feet of the poppet for the same effect. You can also use it to dress candles, add it to jar spells, or incorporate it into other types of banishing spells. Warning: do not burn this powder, as it can cause irritation or injuries to the lungs.

If you need to get rid of a specific person, you'll want to customize the powder to only work on them. The easiest way to do this is with a taglock (an item that has a physical connection to the target). Some of their hair would be ideal, but you can also use a photo of them or even a piece of paper with their name and address written on it, like you were addressing a letter. You'll want to burn the taglock to ash, then mix this ash into the powder. Make sure you burn it outside, because the smoke will be unpleasant.

You can use this powder to keep someone away from your home or another building by sprinkling a line of it across all entrances to the building. If you do this, make sure you've customized the powder for that person with the method above -- otherwise you may accidentally banish ALL visitors.

Ghost-Be-Gone Powder

For getting rid of unwanted spirits or psychic energy. Can also be used to banish non-physical things, like an illness or a bad habit.

You will need:

Asafoetida*

Salt (Again, used here for good, old fashioned banishing)

Garlic (You know how garlic is supposed to repel vampires? That's basically what it's doing here.)

Rosemary (Used for cleansing and banishing)

(Optional) dirt from a church, temple, or other place of worship**

*Honestly, I've used asafoetida by itself for banishing and gotten really good results. This is definitely the Big Daddy of cleansing herbs in Southern folk magic. You can usually find this in international grocery stores or get it online for fairly cheap, and it's one of the few herbs I think are worth going out of your way to get. Warning: a lot of people complain about the smell of asafoetida, but it honestly just smells like a stronger, more pungent garlic to me so your mileage may vary.

**While dirt from a church is traditional, use something tied to a religion YOU believe in. If you aren't Christian, don't use church dirt. For myself, I might use dirt from the Wiccan temple near my home or from another pagan holy site. The point here is to call on your personal spiritual allies for help. If you are an atheist or agnostic, just leave the dirt out entirely.

How to Use It:

When you mix up this powder, speak over it and state your intention. You can enchant this powder for all-purpose banishing, or you could mix up a batch to banish a specific spirit. Either way, it is important that you tell the powder what it is meant to do. I like to speak directly to the spirits in the powder and ask them for their help.

To use this powder to remove a spirit from your home, use it to clean your floors. You can sprinkle it on the floor, let it sit for a few minutes, and then sweep or vacuum it up.

I don't recommend burning this powder as incense, but you can use it in spells. You can place a ring of it around the base of a black candle or add some to a jar spell, for example. You can also use this to cast a circle around your spellwork if you want to protect it from interference in the spiritual realm.

A Note on Cultural Appropriation

Every time I post some of the more folksy parts of my practice online, I get asked whether it's okay for others to use these spells. Specifically, people want to know if these spells come from a closed tradition or if they have to live in the South to use them.

The folk magic tradition I practice is not tied to any closed cultural practice. I will never post anything from a closed practice online. So yes, you can use these powders no matter who you are or where you are from. You don't have to live in the South or be from the South to practice Southern folk magic, but you will get more out of your practice if you have a connection to the region.

On a related note: some of y'all may have noticed that these powders are similar to formulas used in Hoodoo. The GTFO Powder specifically is very similar to Hotfoot Powder, which is used for a similar purpose in Hoodoo. Hoodoo is a semi-closed African-American tradition that is typically passed down in families or communities. When I post about my practice, I do occasionally get comments accusing me of appropriating from Hoodoo.

Here's the thing: my practice does have some overlap with Hoodoo, because I am in the same geographical region and part of the same regional culture that Hoodoo comes from. Over hundreds of years, ideas get exchanged across racial and cultural lines. Just like some elements of Hoodoo come from European traditions, some elements of white folk magic in the South come from African roots. It's not appropriation -- it's a natural result of living in multicultural communities.

All of this is just to say, what I do is not Hoodoo, but I think of my tradition and Hoodoo as cousins. There's some shared DNA, but also a lot of differences. How I do things might look similar to how a Hoodoo practitioner does them, but the theory or exact ritual process may be different.

[painisforsundays]

The world of love wants no monsters in it.

— Janelle, Bones and All

[hollergospel]

dilapidated devotions

[threeheadedtrinity]

How some of y'all are treating people from the south is crazy. I can't personally speak for Florida but I'm from North Carolina and the people we know in the mountains have lost literally everything. They've lost family, their houses, and their pets. They have no clean water and barely any food yet you're out here acting like they're dumb for not evacuating. How could they evacuate on such a short notice? Their roads are now rivers and even if they could get out where would they go? All of the surrounding states are also flooded. If you're not from a hurricane state then you have no idea how unpredictable and widespread the effects of a hurricane can be. How quickly and unexpectedly everything can be taken away from you. And if you do care it's likely only because your vacation spot is now gone. These are people's hometowns that are now ruined by flooding if they weren't already ruined by developers and rich transplants. The south is struggling and you all just laugh at us and call us idiots for living here. Why should we abandon our homes? We should get aid from the government but instead we are left behind.