August 5, 2022 - SWFF "A Kinder Exorcism: Spirit Work in the Ozarks" (Virtual)
Host: Salem Witchcraft and Folklore Festival
Time: 4-6pm (Eastern)
Location: Virtual
Buy Tickets Here
The traditional Ozark view of the spiritual Otherworld has always surprised outsiders and folklorists because of the general religious conservatism of the area. Despite this, a worldview that includes the existence and constant presence of spirits of the dead is common to find within more traditional communities. These spirits can take many forms, from helping angels to trickster haints. When ghosts become troublesome, hillfolk in the old Ozarks knew to call the local Power Doctor who specialized in folk exorcisms (amongst a wide variety of other charms and spells.) In the modern world, many healers have changed their view of spirits and exorcisms, influenced mostly from the Spiritualist and Spiritist movements of the 19th century, whose literature and teachings entered the Ozarks in the early 1900’s. This has created what one of my teachers called “a kinder exorcism,” whereby spirits are healed rather scared away. In this lecture we’ll be examining both the older Ozark traditions of exorcising rites as well as this “newer” way of approaching the spirit world and its inhabitants.
Time: 4-6pm (Eastern)
Location: Virtual
Buy Tickets Here
The traditional Ozark view of the spiritual Otherworld has always surprised outsiders and folklorists because of the general religious conservatism of the area. Despite this, a worldview that includes the existence and constant presence of spirits of the dead is common to find within more traditional communities. These spirits can take many forms, from helping angels to trickster haints. When ghosts become troublesome, hillfolk in the old Ozarks knew to call the local Power Doctor who specialized in folk exorcisms (amongst a wide variety of other charms and spells.) In the modern world, many healers have changed their view of spirits and exorcisms, influenced mostly from the Spiritualist and Spiritist movements of the 19th century, whose literature and teachings entered the Ozarks in the early 1900’s. This has created what one of my teachers called “a kinder exorcism,” whereby spirits are healed rather scared away. In this lecture we’ll be examining both the older Ozark traditions of exorcising rites as well as this “newer” way of approaching the spirit world and its inhabitants.
August 14, 2022 - Book Signing: Ozark Mountain Spell Book @ Pearl's Books
Time: 4:30pm (Central)
Location: Pearl's Books, 28 E Center St, Fayetteville, AR 72701
Book signing and author talk for the Ozark Mountain Spell Book.
Location: Pearl's Books, 28 E Center St, Fayetteville, AR 72701
Book signing and author talk for the Ozark Mountain Spell Book.
August 28, 2022 - Book Signing: Ozark Mountain Spell Book @ The Four of Wands
Time: TBD
Location: The Four of Wands, 440 N College Ave, Fayetteville, AR 72701
Book signing for the Ozark Mountain Spell Book.
Location: The Four of Wands, 440 N College Ave, Fayetteville, AR 72701
Book signing for the Ozark Mountain Spell Book.
September 23-25, 2022 - Viridis Genii Symposium (Virtual)
Time: TBD
Location: Virtual
Register Here
Lecture: The Midnight Barn Dance of 100 Spirits: Ozark Daemonology
Taking the famous Japanese idiom “Hyakki Yagyō” or “Night Parade of One Hundred Demons” as inspiration, we will be focusing on my research into the Ozark region’s own pandemonium. Since 2012 I’ve been categorizing and compiling magical creatures from Ozark folklore as well as my own work as a spirit medium into this Midnight Barn Dance. We’ll all join in on the fun together and look at a number of the creatures, although sadly not all 100. Specifically we will be focusing on plant-spirit daemons, or those spirit entities that inhabit inside or take the form of specific plant species. Field guide information includes the daemon’s habitat in our world as well as designations in the Ozark Otherworld, temperament, diet, characteristics, method of exorcism, and of course, information on how these daemons might benefit a cunning magical worker.
Workshop: Hiring from the Otherworld: Crafting Plant Spirit Helpers
2 HOUR INTENSIVE– space is limited to 20 participants
Building off of information presented in The Midnight Barn Dance, we will be looking at how Ozark healers and magical practitioners over the years have used certain plant daemons in their craft. Participants will be able to build their own spirit helpers using native Ozark roots and botanicals as well as receive detailed instruction on caring for their newborn daemon. This workshop offers participants a mixture of both traditional and modern Ozark folk knowledge.
Location: Virtual
Register Here
Lecture: The Midnight Barn Dance of 100 Spirits: Ozark Daemonology
Taking the famous Japanese idiom “Hyakki Yagyō” or “Night Parade of One Hundred Demons” as inspiration, we will be focusing on my research into the Ozark region’s own pandemonium. Since 2012 I’ve been categorizing and compiling magical creatures from Ozark folklore as well as my own work as a spirit medium into this Midnight Barn Dance. We’ll all join in on the fun together and look at a number of the creatures, although sadly not all 100. Specifically we will be focusing on plant-spirit daemons, or those spirit entities that inhabit inside or take the form of specific plant species. Field guide information includes the daemon’s habitat in our world as well as designations in the Ozark Otherworld, temperament, diet, characteristics, method of exorcism, and of course, information on how these daemons might benefit a cunning magical worker.
Workshop: Hiring from the Otherworld: Crafting Plant Spirit Helpers
2 HOUR INTENSIVE– space is limited to 20 participants
Building off of information presented in The Midnight Barn Dance, we will be looking at how Ozark healers and magical practitioners over the years have used certain plant daemons in their craft. Participants will be able to build their own spirit helpers using native Ozark roots and botanicals as well as receive detailed instruction on caring for their newborn daemon. This workshop offers participants a mixture of both traditional and modern Ozark folk knowledge.