Tidewater Conjure

04/05/2026

Not sure what the weather is like where you are but in Wexford folklore has it that the sun will dance in the sky as it rises on an Easter Sunday morning. While I also heard that today was known by some as “The Suns Birthday” or “The Birth of the Sun”. I am sure there is probably some confusion/crossover with the Christian story/Son of God but it was the big round warm thing in the sky that I heard these accounts.

Text: Michael Fortune

04/05/2026

Ostersonntag in Upper Lusatia, Saxony, and 1,600 Osterreiter, in 19th century frock coats and top hats, travel down streets and country roads close to Bautzen, Kamenz, Hoyerswerda and Ostritz, carrying the message of Jesus' resurrection.

Sorbian Catholics, Sorbs are a West Slavic minority group, have followed the tradition since the Middle Ages, and as with many processions the Easter Riders Procession has its origins in pre-Christian times. Driving away the evil spirits of winter, and asking the gods to grant a good harvest.

Protestants join a few of the groups, which are mounted on horses wearing special harnesses with Christian symbols and embroidered ribbons, while the Osterreiter carry crosses, church banners and statues of Jesus.

Some ride silently, others sing and pray in German and Sorbish while travelling along their route. Pausing at churches and cemeteries in villages to pray, receive blessings, and are offered food and drink.

And Osterreiterprozessionen also take place in Old Bavaria and Franconia.

Photo credit: Oberlausitz, Osterreiten in der Lausitz by Dieter Weirauch, einfachraus.eu/erlebenswert-osterreiten-sorbischer-volksbrauch

10/13/2025

Happy Indigenous Peoples Day 🪶

We acknowledge that the state of North Carolina is situated on the ancestral homelands of many American Indian tribes who have lived in this place, cared for these lands, and traveled throughout the region for thousands of years. Tribes spoke different variants of Algonquian, Iroquoian, and Siouan languages. We honor them as the first stewards of this place and acknowledge, with sorrow and remorse, the violent history of their dispossession and forced removal.

We respectfully acknowledge the Coharie, Eastern Band of Cherokee, Haliwa-Saponi, Lumbee, Meherrin, Occaneechi Band of the Saponi, Sappony, and Waccamaw Siouan and honor the enduring presence, vibrance, and diversity of contemporary Indigenous communities.



Image: Town Creek Indian Mound NC Historic Site, Montgomery County.

07/23/2025

Happy Feast of St. Mary of Magdala--Apostle to the Apostles!

Art by Robert Lentz, OFM

05/03/2025

Us Pennsylvania Dutch have a plethora of superstitions about the month of May.

This month held many positive and negative intonations.

It's a common held belief that collecting the first rain of May and washing your hair with this water would make your hair grow extremely fast and long. There's an entire ritual concerning the morning dew on May 1st but I will address that later today on a separate post.

The month of May was considered an unlucky month particularly for getting married. "Marry in May and you'll rue the day" "Maid or widow married this month must expect ill luck"
~Being born in May was thought to produce a sickly child.
~Never buy a broom in May
"Buy a broom in the month of May, sweep a family member away"
~Never wash blankets in May. "Wash a blanket in May, wash a dear one away"
~Cats born in May will bring snakes into the home.
~Taking baths in May is considered unlucky and even thought to bring death to the home. "Those who bathe in May will soon be laid in clay"
~ Any Hares (rabbits) seen on May morning are witches in disguise

04/06/2025

In Appalachia, Spring awakes,
With emerald hills and misty lakes.
The tender green in forests deep,
Where shadows dance and willows weep.

Redbuds bloom in pinkish hues,
A canvas brushed by morning’s dews.
The air is soft, the sky is wide,
As colors paint the mountainside.

The earth, it sings with life anew,
In shades of green and pinkish blue.
A quiet joy, so wild, so free,
Spring in the hills of Appalachia, we see.

04/04/2025

Folk saints, canonized or not, stand as champions of the people, and embody hope for a more just and equitable world.

04/03/2025

This morning marked a proud and historic moment for our people as the sign for Kuwohi was officially unveiled in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Lavita Hill and Mary “Missy” Crowe were vital in restoring this name to our ancestral homelands. Their dedication to our language, culture, and people made this day possible.

Restoring the name Kuwohi is a reminder that our connection to these mountains is as strong today as it’s ever been.

03/18/2025

Happy St. Patrick's Day!