Appalachian Roots

[AthenaiiseSofia]

I was raised in Appalachia, and lately I've been doing a lot of focus on the feeling of "place." I think the place we were raised leaves a deep mark on us, good or bad.

Regardless, are there any other Applachian-based pagans out there? And if so, how has the region affected your spirituality?

In my case, being outside around the awe-inspiring mountains, trees, and rivers, I was always close to nature. I always had the feeling there was more to it than meets the eye. However, living in the Bible Belt also made it difficult to explore this notion without people causing a fuss.

I've read recently some books on Superstition and Omens, but I haven't found anything serious about Appalachia and magic. There may not be anything, but I'm really hoping there is.

Thank you!

[Olivia]

I was raised in Appalachia, and lately I've been doing a lot of focus on the feeling of "place." I think the place we were raised leaves a deep mark on us, good or bad.

Regardless, are there any other Applachian-based pagans out there? And if so, how has the region affected your spirituality?

In my case, being outside around the awe-inspiring mountains, trees, and rivers, I was always close to nature. I always had the feeling there was more to it than meets the eye. However, living in the Bible Belt also made it difficult to explore this notion without people causing a fuss.

I've read recently some books on Superstition and Omens, but I haven't found anything serious about Appalachia and magic. There may not be anything, but I'm really hoping there is.

Thank you!

 
I'm sorry. I'm couple hours north of Appalachia so I can't really help you. However I have been there several times, I even volunteer for the Appalachian Festival every year, and I honestly can't understand how people can live that close to such wonderful, awe inspiring parts of nature and not feel something more. I don't know anything about Appalachia and magic but I wouldn't be surprised if there is something out there.

[Holdasown]

I was raised in Appalachia, and lately I've been doing a lot of focus on the feeling of "place." I think the place we were raised leaves a deep mark on us, good or bad.

Regardless, are there any other Applachian-based pagans out there? And if so, how has the region affected your spirituality?

In my case, being outside around the awe-inspiring mountains, trees, and rivers, I was always close to nature. I always had the feeling there was more to it than meets the eye. However, living in the Bible Belt also made it difficult to explore this notion without people causing a fuss.

I've read recently some books on Superstition and Omens, but I haven't found anything serious about Appalachia and magic. There may not be anything, but I'm really hoping there is.

Thank you!

You may want to look at conjure and hoodoo. Also what they call Traditional Witchcraft with the big T that looks at cunning folk and Christian/Pagan mix. I reviewed a book on Appalachian root work here: http://www.ecauldron.com/forum/showthread.php?5294-Southern-and-Appalachian-conjure&highlight=Candle+Crossroads%3A+Book+Appalachian+Conjure+Southern+Root-Work

[AthenaiiseSofia]

I'm sorry. I'm couple hours north of Appalachia so I can't really help you. However I have been there several times, I even volunteer for the Appalachian Festival every year, and I honestly can't understand how people can live that close to such wonderful, awe inspiring parts of nature and not feel something more. I don't know anything about Appalachia and magic but I wouldn't be surprised if there is something out there.

 
Thanks for your reply, and I know what you mean about the nature.=) It's just gonna be hard to find, ya know?

[AthenaiiseSofia]

You may want to look at conjure and hoodoo. Also what they call Traditional Witchcraft with the big T that looks at cunning folk and Christian/Pagan mix. I reviewed a book on Appalachian root work here: http://www.ecauldron.com/forum/showthread.php?5294-Southern-and-Appalachian-conjure&highlight=Candle+Crossroads%3A+Book+Appalachian+Conjure+Southern+Root-Work

 
Thank you, I'll definitely look into it. Much appreciated!

[Merin]

I was raised in Appalachia, and lately I've been doing a lot of focus on the feeling of "place." I think the place we were raised leaves a deep mark on us, good or bad.

Regardless, are there any other Applachian-based pagans out there? And if so, how has the region affected your spirituality?

 
I am.  Although my official title is Neo-pagan Druid, I am slowly incoporating more Appalachian folklore in my practice.  I started with songs and reading folktales and gradutated to other things (mostly Ancestral reverence).  I would be happy to share some of my resources with you, if you like.  Just give me a few days to track down a few good articles/books for ya.

It nice to meet someone else who is interested in this sort of thing.

[EasternTiger]

I was raised in Appalachia, and lately I've been doing a lot of focus on the feeling of "place." I think the place we were raised leaves a deep mark on us, good or bad.

Regardless, are there any other Applachian-based pagans out there? And if so, how has the region affected your spirituality?

In my case, being outside around the awe-inspiring mountains, trees, and rivers, I was always close to nature. I always had the feeling there was more to it than meets the eye. However, living in the Bible Belt also made it difficult to explore this notion without people causing a fuss.

I've read recently some books on Superstition and Omens, but I haven't found anything serious about Appalachia and magic. There may not be anything, but I'm really hoping there is.

Thank you!

 
I'm not from Appalachia, but I have a deep love for Appalachia, the people, and cultures there.  It is a truly amazing place.  I have a very deep connection to my place of origin and understand your feelings although for a different region.

That said, I second looking into Hoodoo/Conjure.  I studied some Hoodoo and took a class and it has quite a bit of roots in Appalachia, probably more Southern Appalachia than Northern. It's extremely interesting stuff and I highly recommend it.  

My second suggestion is to look into Appalachian Granny Magic, it was mostly practiced by women healers and midwives, but I know a man who learned from his grandma and has carried on the tradition.  He's not an Appalachian-based Pagan exactly, but his heart and soul is Appalachia.  He's an Asatruar and herbalist.

My third suggestion, and this may be a weird one, but maybe read some essays by Wendell Berry.  He's from Northern Kentucky and a devout Christian (I don't want this to potentially scare you though), he has an excelled sense of place and how it is woven with his spirituality.  He's very into the environment, agrarianism, sustainability, localism, traditional ways.  If I had to suggest an essay to start with it'd be "A Native Hill".  I recommend him because he opened my mind to the ways spirituality and sense of place come together, and I think anyone who thinks about these things would appreciate some of his writing regardless of spiritual difference.

I hope something of this helps.

[Merin]

That said, I second looking into Hoodoo/Conjure.  I studied some Hoodoo and took a class and it has quite a bit of roots in Appalachia, probably more Southern Appalachia than Northern. It's extremely interesting stuff and I highly recommend it.  

 
I've never seen a connection between Hoodoo and Appalachian culture (Southern or otherwise).  I would be very much interested in some resources, if you have the time.

[Viv]

I was raised in Appalachia, and lately I've been doing a lot of focus on the feeling of "place." I think the place we were raised leaves a deep mark on us, good or bad.

Regardless, are there any other Applachian-based pagans out there? And if so, how has the region affected your spirituality?

In my case, being outside around the awe-inspiring mountains, trees, and rivers, I was always close to nature. I always had the feeling there was more to it than meets the eye. However, living in the Bible Belt also made it difficult to explore this notion without people causing a fuss.

I've read recently some books on Superstition and Omens, but I haven't found anything serious about Appalachia and magic. There may not be anything, but I'm really hoping there is.

Thank you!

I was born and raised in South Eastern Kentucky. I played in the Appalachian Mountains every day. I still live in KY but far from my original home.

Like Loretta, I'm a coal miner's daughter. I had a Cherokee grandmother and a Creek great-grandmother. They were considered Wise Women in the community. They often had local doctors coming to them asking for poultices and various remedies to treat patients, lol. Many local women counted on my granny when it came to finding a beau, too.

My dad's family were Methodist and my mother's family were Church of Christ. My mother later became a Free-Will Baptist and dad followed. I sort of just went along for the ride.

For some reason, the ol' timey folk magic, Native American magic, and Christianity never seemed to conflict with one another. It was just an accepted thing amongst the people in the community. Superstitions and such weren't considered out of the ordinary either. Somehow it all just melded together. Thinking back on it, it was really something special. No one criticized or judged one another for carrying on their family folk traditions and still calling themselves Christians.

What I learned from my family members and neighbors wasn't really considered any kind of tradition. It was treated as if it was just common knowledge that everyone should know. None of it was written down, it was shared orally and learned hands on. Sadly, a lot of the kids back home when I was growing up had a habit of ignoring whatever someone tried to teach them. They were more interested in the cool new thing, MTV, and anything else going on outside of the mountains, in the so-called "real world."

Wish I could go back home to stay but the area is economically blighted and wouldn't offer my kids the best opportunities. Maybe some day, when DH retires, we can go back and I can dwell in the shadows of those gorgeous mountains again. All I'll need is a mountain view from my front porch and a comfy porch swing.

[southernfriedwiccan]

I was raised in Appalachia, and lately I've been doing a lot of focus on the feeling of "place." I think the place we were raised leaves a deep mark on us, good or bad.

Regardless, are there any other Applachian-based pagans out there? And if so, how has the region affected your spirituality?

In my case, being outside around the awe-inspiring mountains, trees, and rivers, I was always close to nature. I always had the feeling there was more to it than meets the eye. However, living in the Bible Belt also made it difficult to explore this notion without people causing a fuss.

I've read recently some books on Superstition and Omens, but I haven't found anything serious about Appalachia and magic. There may not be anything, but I'm really hoping there is.

Thank you!

 I am and always great to here from someone else from the Appalachians. My craft is full of Appalachian tradition. Like my ancestors I look around and incorporated and make do.  There is a strong magic about these mountains that runs deep through my blood.

[Olivia]

I am and always great to here from someone else from the Appalachians. My craft is full of Appalachian tradition. Like my ancestors I look around and incorporated and make do.  There is a strong magic about these mountains that runs deep through my blood.

 
This is a little off topic but I'm a bit jealous of you folks from Appalachia. I've always found it to be a beautiful area and culture. I grew up in and still live in Kentucky but I'm in the northern tip of the state and I feel like I missed out on feeling like I was raised in Kentucky sometimes. Lol

[southernfriedwiccan]

This is a little off topic but I'm a bit jealous of you folks from Appalachia. I've always found it to be a beautiful area and culture. I grew up in and still live in Kentucky but I'm in the northern tip of the state and I feel like I missed out on feeling like I was raised in Kentucky sometimes. Lol

 My father's people or coal miners and subsistence farmers. They live in these mountains for generations. My great great grandfather was a cancer doctor... as it was known then. They used charms to heal the sick

 But before my father was fully a man the coalmine business begin drying up. They moved to central Virginia and took up tobacco farming. I came along there after

 I wasn't raised up in the mountains but the mountains was  raised up in me if you know what I mean.

 I was already practicing magic when I moved my family back to these mountains 8 years ago. When I say it's in my blood I mean it's in my blood. Before I came here I never felt such a strong connection to my magic. I was never more powerful than now. I think a person's familial regions has a way of feeding into your blood connecting you with the land. I always strongly urge people to connect back with their roots. However I do feel that the Appalachian Mountains are one of the more magical place on earth

[Lionrhod]

I was raised in Appalachia, and lately I've been doing a lot of focus on the feeling of "place." I think the place we were raised leaves a deep mark on us, good or bad.

 
While I'm not Appalachian, I agree with what you're saying about a feeling of place. I was raised in NY, both the city and upstate, and even in the middle if the city, I was fortunate to be in a rural area. (No, it doesn't exist that way any more.)

Down here in Orlando I feel out of touch with the local plant life and spirits of the place. (The oaks fortunately, are some of the exceptions that make it bearable.)

I spent two years in Colorado and cannot wait until circumstances allow me to move back to the mountains again.

[Merin]

This is a little off topic but I'm a bit jealous of you folks from Appalachia. I've always found it to be a beautiful area and culture. I grew up in and still live in Kentucky but I'm in the northern tip of the state and I feel like I missed out on feeling like I was raised in Kentucky sometimes. Lol

 
I believe that Kentucky is part of Appalachia, actually.

[Holdasown]

I believe that Kentucky is part of Appalachia, actually.

Perhaps they mean they live in a part of the state that don't have the hills?