Smoky Mountain Sorcery

Smoky Mountain Sorcery: Latest Articles

  • When Ancestors Did Horrible Things

    In 1622, the colonists at Jamestown in what is now Virginia were outgrowing the boundaries of the original settlement. Relations with the local Powhatan tribe had thus far been good, but the colonists weren’t being good neighbors. Feeling entitled, they routinely stole food stores and ruined crops planted by the Powhatans. Finally, a colonist murdered…

  • Practical Polytheism: a Week’s Worth of Gods and Spirits

    One of the things I found most confusing as I was first developing my pagan practice was how to incorporate multiple deities and spirits without offending any particular one. Especially since I was coming out of Fundamentalist Christianity, where the deity is notoriously jealous and demanding. I don’t seem to be alone in this as…

  • The Mòrrìgan and Mental Health

    I was in a very deep pit. Surrounded by fog and darkness, weighed down by heavy stones. Chunks of time were missing from my memory. For days on end I slept nearly round the clock, waking up in the evenings long enough to get drunk and send my husband (who works overseas) long, desperate texts…

  • When You Feel Unheard and Unwanted

    I’ve had a recurring dream since before the situation became a (misleading) political ad: I’m home alone and someone is breaking in meaning to kill me. I call 911, and the line rings and rings… sometimes I get an answer and am told help is on the way but half an hour goes by, I’m…

  • Going “No Contact” With Hurtful Loved Ones

    It can be one of the hardest decisions you’ll ever make, and even harder to follow through with. But for those of us who fight trauma, cutting contact with hurtful family members can be necessary for our healing journey. Notice I said “hurtful,” family and not “toxic” or “abusive.” That’s because I believe in setting…

  • Birth Mama Drama

    This feels like an episode of Jerry Springer lol. Grab some tea and buckle up! So, my birth mother was 18, and hadn’t finished high school when I was born and placed for adoption. I’ve always known that much – my (adoptive) parents were always open about it, and even made my teen mother sound…

  • Meghan, Harry & Oprah: Trauma Doesn’t Care About Privilege

    CW: suicidal ideation. It’s 5am here in North Carolina, and I just finished streaming Oprah Winfrey’s interview with Prince Harry and Dutchess Meghan. They royal family can suck it, I’m honoring their titles and you can’t stop me. So I guess you can tell already where I land on the Harry vs. The Firm question.…

  • Self Care Magic: Creeks & Streams

    A few minutes beside a stream can calm the most persistent anxiety, at least for a while. There is some scientific backing for this. According to the book Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do, being…

  • That Time the Parents Came to Therapy

    CW: child abuse, gaslighting, verbal abuse, victim blaming So when last we joined our saga, I had had a flashback. I remembered vividly my dad holding me by the upper arms and shaking me, his face inches from mine. I could feel his hands gripping my arms. I remembered how he would grab one arm…

  • The Collective Trauma of George Floyd’s Murder

    I’m going to start with a disclaimer: I am not a Black person, so I hope to tread very carefully in this post. It is not my intention to center my pain as a white person over the ongoing trauma experienced by Black people who’ve seen too many of their own lives brutally taken. That…

  • Biddy Early: Healing Comes With a Price

    In the southwest of Ireland, midway between Galway and Limerick, a mother and father are worriedly tending their sick daughter. Tenant farmers in the time of Famine, most of the family was starving. They’d likely be evicted when the rent next came due. But none of that was as urgent as what was happening to…

  • What A Flashback Feels Like

    CW: child abuse. I was alone, waiting in the exam room for my Psychiatrist to arrive for my appointment. He was running a bit behind, and my mind began to drift. I’d been re-reading The Body Keeps The Score (again highly recommended) and a particular tidbit was tickling my brain. Basically, all of our traumatic…

  • The Parents Return

    In 2019, I was taking my second round of Lora O’Brien’s Meeting The Morrigan intensive. It’s a six month class, offered once a year and “intensive” is an understatement. I knew it would be, well, intense… but I had no idea how much trauma I would have to face and overcome during the class. As…

  • Meeting Manannan Mac Lir

    Originally appeared on Pentecostal to Pagan 18 April 2017 After coming home from the Women’s March, I reached the point where depression and anxiety made it impossible to do more than put one foot in front of the other each day. I did plant a garden – but that’s been about the only productive thing I’ve…

  • Mom Joins The Fray

    CW: Victim Blaming I’ve posted previously about how my dad and I originally cut ties. This is what happened next. So the original “incident” happened in October of 2016, a few weeks before the Presidential election. As you might imagine, since those apologizing for Mr. Trump’s “grab ’em by the pussy” remarks had triggered the…

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