Ossman & Steel's Classic Guide to Appalachian Folk Magic

Ossman & Steel’s Guide to Health or Household Instructor (its original title) is a collection of spells, remedies, and charms. The book draws from the old Pennsylvania Dutch and German powwow healing practices that in turn helped shape Appalachian folk healing, conjure, rootwork, and many folk healing traditions in America. Jake Richards, author of Backwoods Witchcraft and more, puts these remedies in context, with practical advice for modern-day “backwoods” healers. The first part contains spells and charms for healing illnesses of all sorts. The second part includes folk remedies using ingredients based on sympathetic reasoning, including sulfuric acid, gunpowder, or other substances for swelling, headache, and so on. These remedies are presented here for historic interest, to help better understand how folk medicine evolved in America. It is Richard’s hope that reintroducing this work will reestablish its position as a useful tool in the library of every witch or country healer.