Jake Richards

In Backwoods Witchcraft, Jake Richards offers up a folksy stew of family stories, lore, omens, rituals, and conjure crafts that he learned from his great-grandmother, his grandmother, and his grandfather, a Baptist minister who Jake remembers could "rid someone of a fever with an egg or stop up the blood in a wound." The witchcraft practiced in Appalachia is very much a folk magic of place, a tradition that honors the seen and unseen beings that inhabit the land as well as the soil, roots, and plant life. The materials and tools used in Appalachia witchcraft are readily available from the land. This "grounded approach" will be of keen interest to witches and conjure folk regardless of where they live. Readers will be guided in how to build relationships with the spirits and other beings that dwell around them and how to use the materials and tools that are readily available on the land where one lives. This book also provides instructions on how to create a working space and altar and make conjure oils and powders. A wide array of tried-and-true formulas are also offered for creating wealth, protecting one from gossip, spiritual cleansing, and more.

Conjure & Folk Magic from Appalachia

Backwoods Witchcraft

Stephanie Rose Bird

Benebell Wen

Mallorie Vaudoise

Lilith Dorsey

Via Hedera

Starr Casas

H. Byron Ballard

Alexander Cummins

Brandon Weston

Robert L. Schreiwer

Melissa A. Ivanco-Murray

Iya Baba NoKe

Kenya T. Coviak

Paloma Cervantes

Robert Phoenix

This comprehensive guide to North American folk magic covers more than twenty diverse magical traditions that have taken root on the continent. You will discover the Northeastern maritime practice of "buying the wind," the Mexican Curanderismo method of energy cleansing with candles, the Irish- American custom of making fairy houses, and much more. Drawing on the expertise of twenty-five renowned practitioners, this book explores authentic magic from New England to the West Coast and everywhere in between. Learn about Appalachian folk magic from H. Byron Ballard, Voodoo from Lilith Dorsey, Ozark folk magic from Brandon Weston, and Brujería from J. Allen Cross. Filled with history, tools, and spiritual beliefs, this new entry in Llewellyn's Complete Book Series showcases the rich and varied magical traditions of North America.

A Landscape of Magic, Mystery, and Tradition

Llewellyn's Complete Book of North American Folk Magic

Appalachian conjure man Jake Richards takes us deeper into the backwoods, sharing root work practices and spells of traditional folk craft magic. Who were the old conjurors and witches of Appalachia? What were their practices and beliefs? How can you learn the ways of conjuring for yourself? Appalachian folk magic and conjure are little known today, but forty or fifty years ago just about every person you might ask in Appalachia either knew something about it themselves or knew someone who did it. These practices and "superstitions" are at the core of Appalachian culture. In Doctoring the Devil, Jake Richards speaks to those questions and more, offering the various ways of rooting out the "devil"--any unfriendly spirit bringing bad luck, poor health, and calamities of all sorts. Like the blue smoky mists that glide up the Appalachians, Jake leads his readers up the hillsides too, introducing us to folks along the way--hunters, farmers, blacksmiths, faith healers, preachers, and root-diggers. We'll also meet the local spirits and learn root ways. Further up the hill, we delve into Jake's notebooks--a personal collection of tried-and-true Appalachian recipes and roots for conjuring love, money, justice, and success.

Notebooks of an Appalachian Conjure Man

Doctoring the Devil

In this “great starting point for those hoping to practice Appalachian folk magic” (Publishers Weekly), conjure man Jake Richards shares the root work practices and traditional magic he learned from his family as he grew up in the hills and hollers of Appalachia. Who were the old conjurors and witches of Appalachia? What were their practices and beliefs? How can you learn the ways of conjuring for yourself? Appalachian folk magic and conjure are little known today, but forty or fifty years ago just about every person you might ask in Appalachia either knew something about it themselves or knew someone who did it. These practices and “superstitions” are at the core of Appalachian culture. In Doctoring the Devil, Jake Richards speaks to those questions and more, offering the various ways of rooting out the “devil”—any unfriendly spirit bringing bad luck, poor health, and calamities of all sorts. Like the blue smoky mists that glide up the Appalachians, Jake leads his readers up the hillsides too, introducing us to folks along the way—hunters, farmers, blacksmiths, faith healers, preachers, and root-diggers. We’ll also meet the local spirits and learn root ways. Further up the hill, we delve into Jake’s notebooks—a personal collection of tried-and-true Appalachian recipes and roots for conjuring love, money, justice, and success.

Appalachian Backwoods Witchcraft for Conjuring Love, Money, Justice, and Success

A unique divination deck based on the authentic backwoods traditions, folklore, and superstitions of Appalachia. For centuries, people living in Appalachia have used homemade playing cards for fortune-telling and dream interpretation. This tradition has arisen over many generations of backwoods conjurers, grannie witches, and yarb doctors. The Conjure Cards fortune-telling deck was created by Jake Richards (author of Backwoods Witchcraft) and fashioned after the folklore, superstitions, and dream symbols that he grew up with in western North Carolina. Jake offers these common Appalachian methods of divination paired with the honored pastime of sharing and interpreting dreams. Examples: The Nine of Diamonds shows a headless rooster; to dream of a headless animal is a sign of a haint or plat-eye, which is a spirit who didn’t have proper burial. The Ace of Spades, usually named the death card, is an old-fashioned baby cradle because to dream of a birth predicts a death. The “little joker” is a witch or enemy and is represented by the folkloric black cat, while the “big joker” is the devil and is symbolized by one of the devil’s forms in Appalachia: the black dog. The black dog represents evil spirits, so if it is paired with the black cat and the Ten of Spades (a grave stone), it could mean a family haint is haunting you or an enemy has conjured the dead against you. The Ace of Diamonds shows two wedding ring, ands predicts news, luck, and proposal. If shown with the Five of Hearts (a chapel with a stained-glass window) and the Ten of Diamonds (sunflowers), it would predict a happy marriage or undertaking.

Fortune-Telling Card Deck and Guidebook

Conjure Cards

Jake Richards

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