Backwoods witchcraft, p.18
Backwoods Witchcraft, page 18
DANDELION
Literally “lion's tooth,” the whole root of the dandelion plant is used to exert your will on a situation or person. Besides being a good spring tonic and food, dandelion root can be carried to help with depression, soaked in warm water and rolled on a paining body part for relief, or carried for success in job interviews. I've heard the “milk” of the stem is also a good cure for warts.
GINSENG
Ginseng is one of the most beloved herbs in Appalachia for its culinary and medicinal uses, as well as its financial value. Some families harvest and sell it to help get by until the first of the month. The Cherokee say it is the chief of the plant people and was the one to decree that all plants will make a cure for any disease sent to afflict man. Because of this, ginseng is carried for good luck and success, much like High John the Conqueror root.
GOLDENROD
Goldenrod makes a good tonic for women's menstrual cramps and bloating. In Appalachia, the blooms are used for business, money, and court. To draw in money, sprinkle the tiny blooms in the four corners of the home while praying, beginning with the Lord's Prayer. For court, mix new salt with powdered goldenrod and sprinkle some as you go into the door of the courthouse. While in the courtroom, as secretly as you can, drop a pinch or so every time the judge says something—but make sure you're on the right side of justice.
GOLDENSEAL
Cherokee and European hunters carried goldenseal to ward off snakes—particularly the rattler. The root may also be carried for good luck, general health, and money, particularly if it is dug up with your left hand on a Friday during a full moon.
MAYAPPLE
The roots of mayapple are carried for luck in love and finances. Bind your hair and that of your lover's around the root while praying the Lord's Prayer, followed by your petition. Hide it beneath your mattress to encourage fidelity between you both.
PAWPAW
A native fruit-bearing tree in Appalachia, pawpaw has always been associated with witchcraft and the dead. Pawpaw roots can be carried to protect from haints, to lay a curse on someone, or to heal addictions by cutting the root; for the latter cause, measure each “dose” with half an empty eggshell. Three doses are measured, and a dose of root is made into a poultice with flour, salt, and water, which is applied to the upper right side of the abdomen until it dries. Don't mix it enough to create a dough, though—mix just enough to create a sticky putty. Carry nine pawpaw seeds sewn tightly in a bag to warm you when you've walked over “something.” If made and blessed right, it'll jump to warn you and also kill that work if it's for you.
POTATO
Coming from the Irish healing tradition, the potato makes an appearance in Appalachian cures for warts, deep wounds, and charms for good luck. Carry one in your left pocket for luck or rub a half on a wart and bury it under the eaves of the house or barn. They can also be carved into dolls (we've also done the same with soap and coal in my family).
PUTTY ROOT
Putty root is the infamous root Adam and Eve sold for use in love workings. The Cherokee carried bits of it for good luck in games of chance and for love. You can carry putty root in a deerskin bag for good luck in hunting.
TRILLIUM ROOT
Also known as Little John or Low John, trillium root was chewed the morning one had to go into court to gain favor with the judge. Harvest the roots in the spring on a Friday, and hang them up in a bundle to dry, to keep the law away. You'll need to feed them every month by dabbing whiskey on each stem while saying your prayers.
TROUT LILY
Best picked in the spring while it is blooming, trout lilies were given (in my area) as courting charms. Carry the root to find the affections of your sweetheart or wash your face with the juices before meeting with them. The juices were also used as an eyewash for many afflictions.
WALNUT
The walnut tree finds its way into Appalachian folklore just as much as the willow. Grated and dusted walnut hulls are used for a brown to black dye for clothes, and the leaves are scattered about the house at sunset and left until morning, when they're swept out, to get rid of troublesome spirits. Walnuts are also used in cursing, protection, and uncrossing. Carry an unripe walnut in your pocket for rheumatism and arthritis. As it ripens and dries out, so will the aching.
YARROW
Yarrow's uses are varied but practically intact from European lore in Appalachia. It is used for cleansing, healing, and protection. For cleansing, take up one stalk that has ten blades. Pluck the tenth off and cast it away. Make the sign of the cross on the person's chest and back, rubbing it on the head and the bottoms of their feet. Then burn it, away from the home. Yarrow can also be used for love workings to gain the affections of another.
Curios
Other objects besides herbs are used in Appalachian workings as well. Here are a few of the most common ones.
COINS
Minted before 1964, silver dimes are worn around the ankle or neck to protect from conjurations, particularly those set on the ground for you to walk over. It is said the silver dime will turn black when you have walked over a trick, the reason being most powders for harm contained sulfur. I've been wearing the same dime for about five years now, and while it hasn't turned black due to something I have walked over, it has sometimes fallen off. To me, this is another way it shows me something's up. Bent coins are carried for luck, as are pennies found heads-up. Holed pennies are also worn for different purposes: a hole through Abraham's head treats headaches; a hole through the heart addresses heart issues and love; a hole in front of Abraham brings good luck, and a hole behind him protects from conjure. However, pennies for yourself cannot be holed by you or in your home; those must be done elsewhere by someone other than you, using a nail and hammer.
FEATHERS
The bird from which the feathers originate determines their use. Dove feathers can be added to a pillow to ward off nightmares; duck feathers are carried for good luck in money; feathers from a black hen that hasn't laid eggs yet is good for protection from conjure; and buzzard feathers hung above the doorway can avert illness. Again, a friendly reminder that it is against federal law in the United States to possess anything of a migratory or songbird under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which includes the possession of feathers, eggs, nests, and anything that is made or used by the bird.
LOCKS AND TIES
Often called personal concerns by the general magical community, locks and ties are any object that connects intimately to a person. Different ties have certain values based on the intimacy of that connection. For example, a picture of a person or their handwriting isn't as strong as a drop of their blood or a hair freshly plucked from their head. We've seen several examples throughout this book for how hair, unwashed garments, and nail clippings are used in Appalachian conjure.
RED FLANNEL
Red flannel is believed to carry special powers of good luck and protection from the evil eye.
STONES
Stones from particular places such as a churchyard, a graveyard, or a crossroads may be included in a sachet. A practice that spread from Pennsylvania down to Virginia was the “dar rootie” (a corruption of der ruhkschtee, German for “stone of stillness”). It was a stone that was placed on a fence post and left alone for a full moon cycle, after which it was helpful with insomnia, colicky babies, and pain and stress. Peepstones, also called hag stones, are rocks with natural holes in them that are carried for good luck and protection from the little folk.
TURKEY BONES
Turkey bones have a long history in Appalachia for enticing lust and romance in a partner. Hide a bone under your loved one's bed, bury it at their door, or slip it under the seat of their car. (Back in the day most men drove trucks, and women would slip a bone behind the driver's seat.)
Written Charms
Written charms consist of holy writ or folk verses copied on paper to be carried close to the skin, either tied to an afflicted limb for healing or in a pocket. Here are a couple of examples.
For pregnant women, the following may be written on paper and kept close to the skin for the duration of the pregnancy:
*
I.N.R.I.
+Jesus Mary Joseph +
This charm provides protection, health, and blessings to the mother-to-be by the names of the blessed family who were sheltered, helped, and kept safe in the direst of circumstances.
The next charm is written and kept on a sick person to enact healing or is burned on Christmas Eve and the ashes kept in the home for good luck throughout the next year. It consists of writing the names of the Three Kings who brought gifts to Jesus with the Star above them:
If the above is to be used for healing, place the written charm in a cloth bag and keep it as close to the skin as possible. If it is burned to bring good fortune to the home, the ashes are left in the back of the fireplace and are never to be cleaned out. To make sure they aren't removed unknowingly, surround the ashes with white stones to separate them from the other ashes and simply clean around the stones for the year.
Jacks and Packets
In Appalachia, jacks, jack thumbs, jimmies, tobies, hands, sachets, roots, and sains are understood to generally mean the same thing, although a sain is particularly used for protection, blessing, and cleansing—and jimmies are for healing. These are charms containing different herbs or curios carried in order to work their magic. Folklore differs on how long they should be carried, and there are different methods for caring for them.
No one is allowed to see your “hand,” and it should never touch the ground. Should this happen, it should be tossed out and another one made. If you are good at keeping things hidden, then you may be able to keep your sachet for a very long time and simply repair it when it begins to fall apart by patching it in more fabric and sewing it together again. One of my mother's bags for keeping the law away has been carried and repaired for a good eight years now and is close to retirement. Other times the nonperishable contents can be transferred to a new “skin” and blessed again.
Different workers have their own way of creating a toby or packet. As I was taught, each item is simply placed on a square piece of fabric. The number of items varies based on region and family, but generally it is kept at odd numbers such as 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, or 13. I sometimes employ charms composed of one simple herb or curio, such as the necklace I wear now, which is a whole nutmeg wrapped and sewn in a scrap of flannel to avert toothache and cold.
Before being placed on the fabric, all the ingredients you plan to use are prayed over, spat upon, or rolled with the fingers in the palm of the hand while praying or cursing. The fabric is then bound around the items by bringing all the corners together and tying it with a red cord, knotted three times in the name of the Trinity. Leave about six inches of cord hanging off and clip the excess.
The charm now needs to be blessed, which also differs based on lore and people's regional practice. Sometimes, I will simply rub and breathe on it, praying silently. Other times, I will sprinkle it with holy water, baptize it with some 'shine, or leave it for the spirits to bless.
Following is an example of how you can “witch” your hand for the work. Lift the bag by the string and dip it into a glass of clean water quickly and invoke the Trinity:
In the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, I baptize this sachet by my name for [state the intention of the charm].
This is baptizing it with the water. Now it needs to be baptized by the fire.
Light a candle that has been anointed with oil blessed by reciting Psalm 23. Hold the hand up by the string and begin swinging it back and forth through the flame of the candle while praying to the spirits to bless the charm. Make sure to keep a consistent swing through the flame while praying so as not to burn the sachet or catch it on fire. Say your prayer three times:
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, [petition or prayer...]
Once you're done blessing it by fire, smoke it with tobacco smoke and pour a bit of whiskey over it. Feed it with the same type of whiskey every week or month to keep it “alive.” You've put a root or spirit in it, and you have to “remind” it with the whiskey of what its job is so it doesn't die.
To make a jack thumb or packet, get a square piece of paper you've torn from a brown paper bag. Place pinches of herb or root in the paper and fold it up. Bind it and bless it with the Lord's Prayer. Blow tobacco smoke on it three times and finish by doing so in the name of the Trinity. Feed this with a drop of whiskey. When folded, it should be about the same length and width as your thumb. After this, I will leave the sachet or packet for the spirits to bless for three days, during which I pray the same petitions over them in the morning, at noon, and at night.
Candle Magic
Candles and oil lamps are another thing in Appalachia surrounded by superstition. They were often used in home remedies and even in determining when a person would die. A tapered candle was sat in a holder next to the bed of someone sick, especially when the predicament seemed hopeless. The timing of death could be seen when the candle made a “winding sheet” in the direction of the ill—tears of wax that have run down the side in the same place over and over again, forming a large protrusion from the candle. Another omen of death was the coffin handle—when the wick curls in on itself, creating a complete loop.
Three candles should never be sat in a row and lit or it will bring death; an oil lamp should never be allowed to run dry or it will invite misfortune. Candles and lamps are used as offerings to the spirits one is working with and to send the prayer out. A candle burned at a wake was sometimes rubbed on the skin for pains or wounds, and the remains of any candle burned during the last Christmas dinner is rubbed on a bad bruise for three days—usually Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. However, my Mamaw Morgan never bothered with that. She'd just head up a sewing needle, prick it, and draw the blood out from it.
The methods for using candles and lamps are somewhat plain and not very elaborate in Appalachian folk magic. Taper candles are the most commonly used, aside from glass-encased vigil candles, which are simply dressed with olive oil on the top of the wax while praying. Other times, I will tear strips of cotton cloth and write my prayer on the fabric. I then tie the cloth around the glass candle at the bottom.
With a taper candle, the person's name is carved into the side or three simple X's are marked into it. To anoint a candle, rub your hands with olive oil while praying and then rub the candle with the oil. Sometimes the candle is stuck with nine pins or needles if the work is a curse. Prior, I also roll the candle away from me if I'm sending something away or toward me to draw something.
The placement of the candle when it's ready to burn is determined by the work. Sometimes more than one candle is called for, with the usual number being three. Color isn't really specified, as most candles back then were simply white or off-white. In works of healing, I will place the person's photo down, on the back of which I have written the petition, and surround it with four candles, creating a quincunx to add power to the work by symbolically calling up the crossroads to send a disease or illness away. Oftentimes, I will simply use three candles set in a triangle to represent the Holy Trinity.
Now for oil lamps, you'll just need to wash out the basin of the lamp with saltwater and then fill it with the herbs you'll be using, along with any other curios. The best thing about oil lamps is that the flame is away from the ingredients and is fed only by the oil infused with the prayers of the herbs. This way, the actual ingredients do not perish right away, and the lamp can be used for months or years. Once the basin is filled with the oil and herbs, make the sign of the cross over it and whisper your prayer into the vessel and blow three breaths into the basin.
Place the top on, light the wick while saying your prayer again, and affix the glass chimney. Make sure the flame isn't turned on too high, as it can be dangerous; just make sure the flame is about the size produced by a modern lighter. The lamp can be burned every day from sunrise to sunset or by the hands of the clock. Make sure to say your prayer again as you light it, but don't leave it burning unattended, and don't let the oil burn all the way up. Lamps are usually for long-term works such as good health, protection, help in dealing with diseases, and as a simple offering to the spirits. To strengthen the work, you can get a clothespin and attach your prayer paper to the wick inside the basin, so the roots pass through it to the flame.
Candles and lamps are sometimes placed in bowls or buckets and surrounded with water or other offerings to the spirits, such as fruits, herbs, foods, and candies. Just make sure the items aren't flammable, and don't position them close to the flame, as it deconstructs the candle. In the case of a lamp, don't let it touch the chimney. Other times, the candle or lamp can be placed on a closed Bible. We've seen how the Bible is infused by the minds of believers and nonbelievers alike with power and importance. I wouldn't recommend setting it on an open Bible, however, as the curve of the pages could make it a possible fire hazard.
