Tagged: Protection & Hexerei
Guarding house, beast and person — and undoing what has been worked against them.
Bowling Angels
Tonight, as I type this, we are experiencing a rare but much-anticipated thunder and lightning rain storm — and the angels are bowling.
Where is PA Dutch Country?
When the waves of immigration began in the 1600's from the German-speaking lands to the rolling hills of Pennsylvania, a majority of those first brave souls settled in the Philadelphia area.
Kitchen First Aid
One of my favorite aspects of Powwow is herbal medicine. I love using herbs and plants to make medicine. There is something extremely fulfilling about…
Adherence to Tradition
When I was a kid, along with my brother and sister, we were practically raised by our grandparents. They were Pennsylvania German through and through. My…
The Full Moon
In Pennsylvania Dutch culture, the Full Moon is an important lunar phase for agricultural and weather prediction. It is also a time for Powwow for various…
PA Dutch House Blessings
In the Pennsylvania Dutch culture, a House Blessing is a hand-written letter which offers protection to the bearer of the letter. These are sometimes…
Folk uses of silver
In the Powwow tradition, items made of silver are generally talismanic or amuletic in origin. For example, nails made of silver (not lead) are believed to…
Anti-witchcraft rituals and charms
Every anti-witchcraft charm from the three grimoires that shaped Powwow — The Long Lost Friend, the Romanusbüchlein, and Egyptian Secrets — collected in one place.
An ancient healing charm
In the early 1700's in Europe, a book was published called Egyptische Geheimnisse für Menschen und Vieh.. This is, of course, the book we now know as…
Anxiety home remedies
The Powwow tradition has little to offer in the way of relieving symptoms of anxiety disorders. However, that does not mean we are without resources! Home…
The Throw Stick
I taught this information with my six-week course last year but decided that I wanted to share it here as it seems to be a lost practice within…
Pain removal ritual
Powwow has a number of methods for relieving pain. What follows is a very simple ritual that you can do for either yourself or another person/animal.…
Verhexed Objects
Objects that carry a hex: how a verhexed thing is recognised, what it does in a household, and how the old sources say to deal with it.
Gifts and favors - the sign of a true witch
Here in Pennsylvania we have no shortage of stories of farmers and house maids having unfortunate run-ins with the local witch. Many of the stories begin…
The magical boundary
As a Powwow, the protection of my home and my property are paramount to my successful healing work. Should something unwanted cross the boundary into my…
A means of binding one who has wronged you
In folk magic, to "bind" someone is to cause them to be unable to cause harm or mischief until they are brought to justice. It is a means of bringing down…
The Farmer and the Hex Man
This story is taken from Pennsylvania Dutch Folk Spirituality by Richard E. Wentz, 1993 published by the Pennsylvania German Society. I highly recommend…
Homemade berry jam!
For an extra Easter treat this year, I decided to make jam. My son found this recipe on his favorite You Tube channel The Green…
Elderberry syrup
My son and I were feeling extra kitcheny today, so after I finished making jam, he made Elderberry syrup! My son is 10 years old and fancies himself…
Charming at the crossroads
When one thinks of working charms at a crossroads, one likely thinks of hoodoo or other "conjure" traditions of the southern United States. And this would…
My crow protectors
I've always had a love of crows. Growing up in the coal region of Pennsylvania, crows were the most common bird. Now that I live in South Central…
Wormwood; Biblical Poison
10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of…
Deivel's Dreck, a charm against evil
In the early days of the Pennsylvania Germans, the idea that evil (and thus, the Devil) could influence our lives for the negative was quite prevalent. One…
Annual Powwow household protection ritual
As the moon moves into the sign of Capricorn, I realize it's time to strengthen the protections around my home. This is as much a magical process as it is a…
Oh no! Someone put a curse on me!
What to do when you believe you have been cursed — and the more common explanations a Braucher will rule out first.
What you can expect when you visit your local Powwow…
A hundred years ago, a visit to a local Powwow may have gone something like this:
The Lesser Banishing Ritual
I have used the Lesser Banishing Ritual for many years. It was created by the Golden Dawn in the 1800's and has been picked up by modern occult groups of…
The Sanctum Sanctorum - your place of power
I am fortunate enough to have a library in my home. It's not a large room, maybe 13 x 15 feet, but it houses almost 3000 books on shelves, an old…
The unseen battles of a hex doctor
Being a hex doctor, a powwow, means you take on the awesome responsibility of healing in the name of Christ. It also means you make yourself a beacon for…
shotguns in powwow
Firearms turn up more often in the old Powwow sources than people expect — as a target of charms, and occasionally as a tool of them.
using a knife in powwow
Next to my bible, my pocket knife is my favorite tool for powwowing. I use it in healing charms, anti-hex work, weather work, and all manner of other types…
Jesus; the first Hex Doc
Ask any of the old timers who the first powwow doc was and they will undoubtedly tell you it was Jesus himself, "the Good Lord". He went around, preaching…
The devil and his meddlesome ways…
I believe in the devil. I don't say that lightly. There was a time when I thought it was nonsense... Propaganda created to instill fear and obedience in the…
Rocks used in braucherei, by John Ramsey
John Ramsey is a fellow powwower and author of Pennsylvania German Powwow (I'm having trouble putting a link here but it is available on amazon) He sent…
folk magic vs ceremonial magic
Sometimes people are surprised to find out I have a few ceremonial ritualistic elements to my powwowing. The surprise is understandable because powwowing is…
November 28th, Nelson Rehmeyer Day
As a powwow doctor in south central Pennsylvania, November turns my thoughts to Nelson Rehmeyer. In 1928, long before my time, a local Powwow Doctor was…
Conception Billet: the power of the written word
One of the common identifying traits within Powwowing is the use of himmelsbriefs, or Letters from Heaven. Dating back hundreds of years, himmelsbriefs…
Hex Hollow Documentary - the story of Nelson Rehmeyer
In the Spring of 2013, I was asked to be one of many individuals interviewed for the Hex Hollow Documentary film, put together by filmmaker Shane Free.…
der Belsnickel
Before our much Americanized, and commercialized, version of St. Nick, kids growing up in Pennsylvania Dutch homes were taught the Belsnickel story, said…
Magic (black) mirrors in Powwow.
This blog was originally posted April 19, 2013, but updated as of September 14…
The SATOR square
The SATOR charm is one of the most popular magical talismans in western occultism, and is a favored within traditional PA Dutch PowWow. It's history is…
Ethics of hexing/cursing in Powwow
Some of the older Powwow charms seem to cross the line and step into the realm of cursing or, as it's known in PA Dutch culture, hexerei. Hexerei is…
Unusual Written Charms
Powwow has many different variations on paper talismans and charms. Most of these are not works of art, nor are they meant to be. A written charm is meant…
Hex, hexen, hexerei
Hex, Hexen, Hexerei — what the words actually mean in Pennsylvania German, and how English speakers came to misuse them.
Pow-wow First Aid
Pow-wow is great for minor aches and pains or the type of injuries and mishaps that might occur throughout the normal course of your day; such as scrapes…