Smoky Mountain Sorcery: Latest Articles
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Joy and the Wolf of Fascism
Two years ago, at a pagan gathering near Atlanta, Ga, during a Seiðr ritual the god Loki made a stunning entrance. The Volva (the oracle who, in a trance state, connects with Otherworld beings to answer questions for and give messages to attendees) was suddenly possessed by the god, dancing and laughing in a manner…
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Embracing Animism
When our ancestors stepped outside, they saw a world teeming with spirits. Trees, stones, rivers, plants – all were embodied by living beings that could visit good or ill upon the human population. All “objects” or material phenomena were seen to have agency – they acted independently and made their own free choices. Our ancestors…
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Experiencing Freyja In Iceland’s Northern Lights
It’s hard to describe everything Freyja is. To me – and I’ve done a lot of research to come to this conclusion – she is the sun, the Great Goddess of northern Europe that appears in so many guises. A goddess of life itself, of death and fate and witchcraft. When my husband and I…
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Appalachian Folk Magic, Hoodoo & Appropriation
A few things Appalachian natives do not love: First, “skinwalkers” aren’t a thing here, that’s a Navajo legend out west. A whole lot (but not all) of what’s scary in the wilderness here is humans doing things they don’t want noticed. Second, a whole lot of what gets passed around as “Appalachian” magic (especially online)…
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Appalachian Magic: Stump Water
The magic practiced in the backwoods of Appalachia for the past few hundred years has been, by necessity, one that used what the practitioner had to hand. Before we had the internet, we had no way of getting our hands on specific crystals or herbs laid out in some ancient European grimoire. Outside of maybe…
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What Does It Mean To Heal?
“You have to accept the fact that this may never go away. That the best you can do is manage it.” I sat, stunned, unable to reply to my therapist. How could this be? I had a definite point in life where my brain had seemed to “break” and my trauma (eventually diagnosed as CPTSD)…
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Nature As Healer
Science has found a lot of proof in recent years of what our Ancestors knew all along: Nature is our greatest healer. “There is mounting evidence, from dozens and dozens of researchers, that nature has benefits for both physical and psychological human wellbeing,” says Lisa Nisbet, PhD, a psychologist at Trent University in Ontario, Canada,…
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Prince Harry Discusses Spare With Dr. Gabor Mate
“You were raised in deprivation.” That’s what Dr. Gabor Mate told Prince Harry he experienced, despite his material privilege. Just prior to this, Harry had been insisting that his childhood was overall a good one, but stopped when he saw the Dr. shaking his head. This moment happened during the early minutes of the conversation…
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The Year of Aun: A Cycle of Healing
Before the Christianization of Scandinavia, there was a major offering every 9 years at holy places such as Uppsala. If you’re familiar with the show Vikings, this event is depicted in the first season, when Ragnar takes Athelstan with his family to the sacrifice with the intention of offering him as one of the 9…
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Loki the Trauma Survivor
As someone with a significant amount of trauma, most every deity I encounter gets a write up about it eventually – either in how they experienced it in the lore, or how they work with human survivors today. Loki Laufreyjarson dealt with trauma on an almost unfathomable level. CW: violence against (mythological) kids Loki as…
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Learning About Loki
It began, as far as I can consciously tell, with John Beckett’s article about Loki’s message at this year’s Mystic South conference. As I read his report of the Trickster’s words I began to feel a tug. A spark if you will. Up till now the only deity that’s really held my attention has been…
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How Trauma Affects Your Brain – And Your Magic
The 1990’s unleashed a neuroscience revolution, as novel brain-imaging techniques allowed scientists to process information in real time. For the first time in history, scientists watched human brains process memories, sensations and emotions. They were able to map the circuits of the mind and consciousness. Suddenly, they could show us images of our brains on…
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An Appalachian Lughnassadh: Lugh, Fascism & Family Trauma
It’s been just over a year since we signed the papers and finally settled down on a mountaintop in western North Carolina. Sometimes I drive around town and still marvel that I’m here, on the very mountain that I used to feel protected by as a child. Last year at Lughnassadh, we were still digging…
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What Is Trauma?
Terror. Unbearable and intolerable pain. Your body releases a surge of adrenaline, causing your senses to be hyper sensitive, while other non-immediate bodily functions slow or stop. Your heart races, your muscles tense. Depending on what happens next, you will either fight, flee, or freeze. Whatever your system chooses in that moment, every cell of…
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Trauma Disorders: PTSD vs C-PTSD
You don’t have to be a military veteran to suffer from PTSD. As mentioned in the article What is Trauma? there are an infinite number of events that can lead our nervous systems to spark a trauma reaction. Sometimes, the reaction is temporary. Something horrible happens to us, and for a while we remain “on…
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