Leah P Middleton

12/14/2024

This week's article explored The Cherry Tree Carol, a religious holiday folk ballad recorded in southern Appalachia that can be traced to medieval England. This religious song tells the story of a pregnant Mary, questioned by a doubtful Joseph, in which Jesus commands a cherry tree from Mary's womb to bow so she can pick its fruit.
One of the most famous keepers of folk songs went by the name Aunt Molly, a Kentucky-born balladeer, midwife, and union activist who lived a compelling life.
Mary Magdalene Garland Stewart Jackson Stamos, "Aunt Molly", grew up in the coal-mining communities of eastern Kentucky, where she witnessed the struggles of miners within her family and in other families. Her music reflected these hardships and stories, including songs like I Am A Union Woman and Poor Miner's Farewell.😊

11/29/2024

We're settling into our new home, one day at a time, since buying our house last month. It's been a whirlwind of emotions. As someone who experienced unstable housing growing up, I longed for the idea to create a safe, stable, loving home. It felt out of reach for so long for me. Petition after petition, prayer after prayer. There were a lot of disappointments that l'd later recognize were valid reasons why my spirits said it wasn't time yet.

08/16/2024

I could place any sort of description of how I approach witchcraft, its simplicity.
I try not to overthink or over explain why I do how I do it. Much of it is rooted in my own spiritual relationships, guided by their voices and visions presented to me, while other times it's traditional in a sense that it is a generational way from my ancestral roots.
As nature begins to awaken, l've found myself drawn more to working with various dirts. Hands deep in soil. Planting seeds.
Planting dreams. Planting new things to take root. How fitting in my own personal life as many seeds planted from last year are beginning to blossom into their own unique form.
Winter was magic for me. I enjoyed the long rest that allowed me to focus on internal work. And now, I am coming into a new phase, aligned with the upcoming astrological forecast of eclipse season and the spring equinox.
I hope this spring season is a special one for y'all ❣️

08/16/2024

The audacity 🕸️

I can't remember if someone told me this or I read it or I watched it on another video
— but there was a recommendation of focusing on how accomplishing a task makes you FEEL. I've been working on adopting that mindset ever since I was diagnosed with ADHD to replace the avoidance that comes with my task list.
Instead I try to change the narrative to,
"When I
_ I feel
_" It's been a
game changer so far!
With that said, I'm finally ready to share one of the two things l've been working on behind the scenes that has been requested and will return by popular demand! It'll be a special place for folks who'd like to dive down the rabbit hole of southern Appalachian folk magic.

08/16/2024

Ancestral healing and connection looks like making traditional foods or familial recipes.
Sundays were always family days after church. I've taken this childhood tradition into my spiritual practice as the day to venerate my ancestral spirits.
On the menu today was homemade blackberry and raspberry jam with berries harvested from the local farm as well as my new and improved biscuit recipe. I had been chatting about southern foods this last week with some friends, and felt inspired to finally work on my biscuit recipe. Safe to say, this batch has been my fluffiest yet!
Learning some new recipes and dishes is just one of the ways that connects me with my ancestors. It's a reminder that nourishing myself is important and aids me in healing my relationship with food.
Anytime I spend time doing a little kitchen witchery, the food always feels so special.
The dish was served as an offering blessed with a Brigid prayer from the Carmina Gadelica, a collection of incantations and prayers from the Highlands of Scotland.
* More of this veneration ritual will be shared for tomorrow's pa
on post. *

08/16/2024

July, you are... quiet moments quilting with folklore playing in the background,
tire swinging at the berry farm where we harvested for jams, thrifting old records,
divining with the Lenormand deck with the ancestors,
writing new prayers, finding a dowsing rod,
crafting intention oils and home charms for my community,
private warm family moments, tough days at work, learning new things...
and though I may be weary of the fire season and the rising heat, I am so grateful for your kindness this season.

08/16/2024

A Witch's Ancestral
Veneration Practice
When you begin venerating spirits, ancestoMana Coston they begin to communicate to you in their own unique way.
I have found recently that a particular ancestor that I can only describe as sentimental has decided that midnight interruptions and frequent visitations with the cats appropriate.
My slumber has been experiencing a new routine; a tickle on my foot and gentle stroke on the back of my neck as the clock hits anywhere from 2:30 to 3am, only to wake up to my orange tabby sitting on top of my head as if to guard me from intruders.
This has been a new routine ever since I framed a few more pictures I collected of my family from an online resource, as I don't have access to pictures any other way.
Both of my feline friends have taken to lounging on my altar space as their daybed. Something that they typically find elsewhere in our house. Instead, the quiet and shy one has been laying here as if it was hers to claim. I choose to not disturb her naps on my desk since most of the time my appearance in the room is disturbance enough for her to stretch and jump down.
Today I burn Myrrh and an herbal blend corresponding of water element ruled plants for this ancestor along with the sound of the Appalachian Folk Music playlist.

08/15/2024

We are not looking to center ourselves - our hope is that other members of the community from all walks of life are compelled by this ongoing conversation to step up and take action - chime in, get involved, provide a platform. Go and invite your friends' diverse voices to the table.
Help share the vision, time, and energy of organizing a community discussion in the form of a larger live panel - where no individual is centred & everybody stands together in accordance with their means and ability.
We would like to extend an invitation towards ALL members of the occult & witchcraft community - not just content creators or big names, but everybody - to participate in dialogue centred around the lived realities surrounding social media content and the issues, as well as blessings that engaging with said content creates for us as a community. The idea is to create an opportunity and safe space to be open about our lived experiences of the challenges, aches & pains, matters of belonging, accessibility, authenticity, FOMO, grift & abuse, long-term impacts of the online world on our practice, and much more.

You can participate in the discussion by sharing your perspective based on the prompts that we prepared for you in the slides above. You are welcome to chime in via video, live, blog/article, podcast or any other format that is accessible to you. Use so we can find each other's contributions easily. You can find our conversation starter videos atredheadedwitch .harrison and .folk.witch YouTube channels.
If the idea picks up, we are interested in hosting a big live community panel to discuss the matters in a proper circle of practitioners, open for everybody to participate.

08/15/2024

Something woke up inside me that has manifested itself in creative writing during this spring season.
Writing has always been a sacred ritual for me. A way to alchemize emotions into something beautiful and moving. Words hold power, and I had an amazing tarot reading that only validated how this practice empowers me.
As a folk practitioner, I often refer to the astrological signs and the moon. My Appalachian ancestors believed in tuning into these rhythms to plan their gardening and farming. The success of their seeds and result of astrological timing. I adopt this approach into my magical practice for certain workings - to plant seeds, to water them, to harvest them and bear the fruits of my labor.
By combining the power of written and spoken words during a Dark Moon under the stability of an earth sign, they take root deep in the soil for future manifestations. I wanted to share an incantation that l've used for such intentions that is open to being altered to fit your own practice.
When speaking or writing this incantation, I will state the exact intention for the seeds to be planted and to flourish.

08/06/2024

Happy Bealtaine/ May Day, witches! I hope y'all had lovely celebrations. It is also Mental Health Awareness Month. I'd like to share a bit of my own journey *
You are capable of magical things, and nurturing your mental well-being in a way that suits you is one of them.
I have struggled with anxiety/depression and was recently diagnosed with ADHD.
This was the answer to so many of my questions. Gaining a better understanding of my mind allowed me to better craft authentic daily practices and workings. I gave myself the permission and grace to not feed into the external pressure that my practice needed to look like anyone else's.
That if I had no spoons for an elaborate ritual like planned, an intentional walk in the forest is just as meaningful. It has always been something that nourished my spirit, mind, heart, and body. My approach is enough - and it works.
Manv of us have found ourselves on this path for a number of reasons, and mine was during a time of grief. Then deepened further during a time of great heartache.
Without my spiritual practice - the rituals I did, the spirits I commune with, the spells I worked - I'm not sure who l'd be today.
But I know that this path has brought me home, uncovering the bits and pieces of me, and motivated me to take back control of my overall well-being, including my mental health.
With my practice and the help of therapy, I've reclaimed a part of myself that was once lost. To show myself the same love and grace I share to others, and to challenge my anxious thoughts on hard days. I've been guided fiercely along the way by my spirits, leading me to an incredible support system and community who have been present. For so long, I fed myself the narrative that healing can only be done alone. But it was actually the opposite, and I'm really grateful for the connections l've made. I'm learning more every day that it's okay to share my vulnerability. As my friend has said, my softness is my strength.
Even on my lowest of days, I am capable of great magic. 🦋

08/02/2024