Speak in the Charming Tradition of Ozark Rhymes, Poems & Verses
Little Ann was born in Nelson's Holler during a thunderstorm on the same day her grandmother died. She was also born with the gift. Follow Ann's story as she grows up learning the folkways, embraces her natural cunning, and eventually becomes her town's charmer, earning the nickname "Granny Thornapple."
Brandon Weston begins each chapter with a . . .
Speak in the Charming Tradition of Ozark Rhymes, Poems & Verses
Little Ann was born in Nelson's Holler during a thunderstorm on the same day her grandmother died. She was also born with the gift. Follow Ann's story as she grows up learning the folkways, embraces her natural cunning, and eventually becomes her town's charmer, earning the nickname "Granny Thornapple."
Brandon Weston begins each chapter with a compelling snippet from the life of this fictional practitioner who is based on the many healers he has interviewed. In addition to these vignettes, Weston shares authentic teachings and workings from the Ozark charming tradition that have been passed down orally for generations.
He introduces dozens of charms for practical purposes, such as preventing thievery, building a fire, and alleviating a toothache. Become part of this mountain magic that utilizes familiar poems and verses, including some featured in nursery rhymes and fairy tales. These intuitive folkways can help you seize your inborn power and enhance your own charming abilities.
"Every bit as entertaining as it is informative, Granny Thornapple's Book of Charms brings the time-honored traditions of Ozark charming to life. Following the story of the titular character, readers are presented with dozens of useful, and at times quite whimsical, charms for everything from health to hexing. Brandon Weston has once again provided an invaluable collection of folk magic and readers of this volume are sure to be both . . .
"Every bit as entertaining as it is informative, Granny Thornapple's Book of Charms brings the time-honored traditions of Ozark charming to life. Following the story of the titular character, readers are presented with dozens of useful, and at times quite whimsical, charms for everything from health to hexing. Brandon Weston has once again provided an invaluable collection of folk magic and readers of this volume are sure to be both delighted and charmed by the fabulous Granny Thornapple."
—Kelden, author of The Crooked Path and The Witches' Sabbath
"This book offers a unique exploration of Ozark charming traditions through examination of regional storytelling tropes, tales, and narratives....Brandon's careful analysis grounds these witch tales in the craft-logics and operative techniques of Ozark magical practices, offering supplemental advice, spell-craft, and formulary for working these storied charms in one's own work. In so doing, the author traces (amongst many other things) the oft-crossed hedge-lines between healer, charmer, granny, and witch and the uneasy folkloric tensions between communal fears of harmful witchcraft and the fondness for telling of the exploits of this larger-than-life granny/witch figure."
—Dr. Alexander Cummins, author of The Starry Rubric, An Excellent Booke of the Arte of Magicke (with Phil Legard), and A Book of the Magi
"Brandon Weston masterfully takes us into the world of Granny Thornapple, where we learn about her life and the spells she casts to help her community. Storytelling in magick is a long-lost art that not only teaches us enchantments but also helps us understand the person who is conjuring the magick. Step into the world of Granny Thornapple, pull up a chair, and ask her to teach you the magick of the Ozarks."
—Chris Allaun, author of The Black Book of Johnathan Knotbristle
"Weston weaves the reader into the flow of Ozark folk charming practices, showing how they move and change over time to meet the needs of those using them. Charms for healing and harm, charms for love and beauty, charms for knowing what others don't and speaking to the spirits others won't all fill this hearty compendium....The research we expect from Weston is still here but tempered by modern twists on old charms, linking the lore of the past to the world of the present."
—Cory T. Hutcheson, author of New World Witchery
"A rare volume, not merely a collection of tales or raw folkloric data, but a whole landscape populated by characters you will come to love by the end. Weston's teachers, neighbours, and friends all find their voice in this deeply personal work, their stories supporting the magical practices outlined. So often in magical books we get the practices divorced from culture, but in this book we have all of it right in front of us. Weston gives us rituals, charms, prayers, and all manner of magical practices...and supports almost every single one with a story....This book will appeal not only to those interested in the Ozarks, but to all who want to connect to their own landscape as deeply as Weston has."
—Ben Stimpson, author of Ancestral Whispers
"As a lifelong Ozarker as well, I was immediately drawn into the story of Granny Thornapple. She is the Granny woman we all wished we'd had in our life. Brandon Weston has given us a connection to those healers, teachers, and workers that many of us missed in our youth. He demystifies the charm practice, allowing us to give ourselves permission to explore this path. He shows us that anyone who is willing to do the work can fold this practice into their own."
—Debra L. Burris PhD, professor, farmer, and author of Weather Magic
ISBN-13: | 9780738776088 |
Imprint: | Llewellyn |
Pub Date: | January 2024 |
Product Type: | Trade Paperback |
Page Count: | 288 pages |
Size: | 6.03 x 9.00 x 0.72 IN |
Weight: | 0.85 lbs |
Case Quantity: | 32 |