Roger J. Horne

Complete with practical exercises, in-depth descriptions of craft theories and models, hand-drawn illustrations, and the author's working grimoire, Folk Witchcraft provides the student witch with a thorough introduction to the craft that is firmly rooted in the past, but adapted for the present. Experienced witches will deepen and enrich their practices by connecting more fully to traditional magics from hundreds of years in the past.Learn how to: -Master ecstatic methods of spirit-flight described in witch-lore-Celebrate the turning of the seasons with traditional rituals-Cultivate closer relationships with nature spirits and personal familiars-Work powerful traditional charms, such as the witches' ladder, the poppet, and blessing/cursing by gesture-Discern the magical properties of herbs and plants without relying on tables from books-Augur practical guidance from the spirit world-utilize old craft incantations, remedies, and recipes-Connect with the Old Ones, the ancestors of Folk Witchcraft-Experience shapeshifting into various animal spirit forms-Craft herbal unguents, oils, powders, tinctures, and infusions-Interpret incantations, charms, and sigils received from your own familiar spirits-Research and hone your own lore and grimoire-sourced magical practicesWith over 50 rituals, charms, and exercises, Folk Witchcraft offers a refreshingly simple approach to the craft that is non-dogmatic, flexible, and rewarding as a personal spiritual practice

Folk Witchcraft: A Guide to Lore, Land, and the Familiar Spirit for the Solitary Practitioner

Preserved in medieval and early modern witch-lore, the image of the witch embarking upon flight has become iconic from a historic and folkloric perspective. In the accounts of previous ages, however, it was commonly understood that witches flew in spirit form rather than corporeal form, leaving the physical body behind as the practitioner voyaged into the otherworld to procure knowledge, learn charms, visit boon or bane upon others, and attend the spiritual gathering of the witches' sabbat. In this unique offering, the author organizes the lore and charms of the transvective arts around thirteen central lessons and approaches in methodology, acting as gates through which the practitioner may cross. Some approaches offered here may be familiar to folk and traditional witches, such as via veneficium (by way of poison) and via equarum (by way of steed), while others, like via imaginibus (by way of image) and via tempestatis (by way of storm) draw on historic lore and charms in order to innovate upon old craft while maintaining the spirit that flavors these beloved arts. By mastering the often overlooked work of sabbatic ekstasis, the witch is brought into direct contact with familiar spirits, powers of the land and of ancestry, and with the primal sources of witchcraft itself, yielding an inexhaustible and ever-unfolding curriculum of the art magical.

13 Gates of Witchcraft by Spirit Flight

A Broom at Midnight

In this new and expanded edition, including 180 individual incantations rooted in the lore and age-old texts of previous centuries, The Witch's Art of Incantation reveals the often-overlooked diversity of the incantatory arts: charms that beckon, charms that command, charms that poison, charms that bless and heal, charms that remember, charms that terrify, charms that praise and exalt. Because each charm is accompanied by an approximate date, region, and associated source text, student witches will sharpen their knowledge of folkloric texts while engaging with these rich and potent spells. The practical methods provided in the introduction, though seemingly simple, outline rarely discussed methods of incantation, including the construction of the magical listener and pairings with sympathetic and contagious ritual acts. New to this edition is a chapter devoted to heretical psalmistry as a branch of the witch's incantatory arts, including both a collection of practical psalms and a complete index of the magical uses of the psalms. Roger J. Horne is a writer, folk witch, and modern animist. His spiritual practice is informed by his ancestral currents of Scottish cunning craft and Appalachian herb-doctoring. He is the author of Folk Witchcraft, The Witch's Devil, and other works. Through his writing, Horne seeks to help other witches rediscover the living traditions of folk craft. Read more about his work at rogerjhorne.com.

Spoken Charms, Spells, & Curses in Folk Witchcraft

The Witch's Art of Incantation

Fifty-two the pages count in the devil's picture-book, thirteen signs within four suits of blood, knife, stone, and crook... Exploring the common playing card deck as a book of magic authored by Old Scratch himself and drawing on cartomantic and folk-magical texts from hundreds of years in the past, The Witch's Pack offers readers a concise, well-sourced, and practical guide to the witch's card-based arts. Innovative approaches to old traditions in this volume include unique spreads, such as "the witch's table," advanced reading techniques, and rarely detailed methods of cartomantic craft, including Leland's Aradian spirit conjuration, card-based sigilization and incantation formulae, and ritual card pairings for sabbats and seasons. In addition to a solid introduction to divination and magic using playing cards, this volume includes a brief essay exploring the inherent pairing structure in the trump sequence of the Marseille tarot. The sound approaches in The Witch's Pack seek to offer a corpus of transferable lessons that can be utilized with any playing card deck or old-style tarot deck alike, emphasizing skillful pattern discernment over keywords and memorization. From the Introduction: The slim volume you now hold in your hand is inspired by the tradition of chapbooks from the mid-1800s detailing cartomantic operations, including works such as Mother Bunch's Golden Fortune-Teller (1857), The New Fortune Book or Conjurer's Guide (1850), and The Spaewife or Universal Fortune-Teller (1827). In the age of these concise books, now long passed, the reader could explore a variety of cartomantic methods and rhyming mnemonics without spending a fortune. Their methods were simple and accessible to all, designed for use by common folk. Anyone could pick up a deck of cards and begin to explore the subtle arts of cartomancy. In the spirit of this tradition, this work is intended to be both concise and practical. Today, one can find any number of oracle decks in a variety of themes and art styles, so why should the modern witch bother to train in the discipline of old folk cartomancy? Put simply, folk cartomancy offers us a connection to our past and to arts that are skill-based rather than product-based, cunning rather than consumerist. By learning these methods and approaches, the witch can read with cards in a variety of styles, including the elusive tarot minors in unillustrated decks like the Marseille tarot. The history of folk cartomancy is old and rich indeed. In fact, evidence suggests the existence of diverse folk-magical practices involving cards long before the tarot rose to its now prominent position. Huson (2004) notes that La Spagna Istoriata, published in 1519, makes reference to making a circle and "throwing the cards." Pierre de l'Ancre (1622) notes the use of cards to forge pacts with devils. In Witchcraft and the Inquisition in Venice, 1550-1650, Martin (1989) describes alleged witches Angela and Isabella Bellochio, who supposedly used cards extensively in their rites. Leland's (1899) collection of Italian folklore published as Aradia: The Gospel of the Witches of Italy lists the ability to "divine by cards" as a gift given to those who follow the path of witchcraft. Unfortunately, the practitioners who belonged to these currents of cartomancy were not so fortunate as to bequeath their work in the form of a cohesive tradition. Instead, it is up to us to reconstruct their wisdom from the fragments we collect like jewels...

Roger J. Horne

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