New World Witchery: A Trove of North American Folk Magic

As an enthusiastic listener to the New World Witchery podcast, I had this book pre-ordered and ultimately read the minute it came through the door. I started writing a review right away, but had to stop because it was essentially gushing praise with the occasional whine that a particular bit of folklore that I was hoping for wasn’t covered.So now that I’ve had time to sit with it and “do the work,” I’m feeling better able to describe why I love this book so much. It provides a framework to understand folklore and folk traditions in regards to North American magic. It provides historic context to what seem like bits of superstition and magical thought process as they have grown up or evolved from the meeting of the many cultures that have started here or landed here. It does so in a way that acknowledged that while some of it was good-natured cultural exchange and melding that it also had many roots in oppression and great want. New World Witchery contains a wealth of information along with practical advice and everyday magic. But it’s not giving the reader a “fish” – it’s very much showing the reader how to fish. It’s also chock full of juicy footnotes and references that will make your reading list stack up.All over social media there are memes that will attempt to sum up what a kitchen witch or a green witch is in a handful of images and keywords. This book is the polar opposite of that approach by showing the reader how to spot the folklore in their lives already and to understand how time, place and need keep the folklore evolving.Reading the book reminded me of the experience of learning about forests. As a suburban kid, I had seen areas with trees along the fringes of towns. A forest was a semi-mythical place where bears stole pic-a-nick baskets and the trees could put on evil faces and snag you in thorny branches. School had told me a little about how seeds worked and how an acorn might grow an oak, but all of this was theoretical until I went camping. That’s when I found out that the forest was a whole lot more complicated. It wasn’t a monolith of a single kind of tree – it was a lot of trees, plants, bugs and animals. You could skip down a path or find yourself tangled in the underbrush. Over time, the fuzzy concept of the forest has come into more focus with every bit of science and folklore learned and personal experience among the trees.New World Witchery introduces the reader to folklore in the same way. It asks the reader to think about what they already know and do – what things are lucky or unlucky, what things ward off misfortune and bad luck, what weird stuff happens at weddings and funerals? Where did those ideas come from – family, fairytales, friends at slumber parties, popular media? With those starting points, the book asks the reader to explore deeper into not only the origins, but also how to turn those bits of folklore into magical acts.The book also comes with some history of primarily US regions – what cultural groups were there, what religious beliefs they brought with them, how they reacted to different forms of magic and magical practitioners. As a neopagan that started in the 90s, many my experience was that folks explored paganism and magic in isolation from other religious traditions. That can work if someone is just interested in religious and devotional aspects, but magical practice can happen across the religious spectrum – whether it’s asking for miraculous intercession from deity, gaining specific assistance from non-human sources – angels, devils, saints, nature spirits- or pulling together the right combination of stones, bones, oils to get desired information or outcomes. Fundamentally, looking for signs in the way birds are flying or flipping open a bible to a random passage for divinatory insight are the same thing.In this way the book is accessible to all folks with all religious backgrounds. I’ve read criticisms or musings of the book that state, “There’s a lot of devil.” North America has been largely shaped by Christians who use/used that terminology. The folklore and stories that’s been handed down, uses the terminology. At the same time, the descriptions of the folkloric devils don’t typically line up with biblical accounts, and for pagan practitioners, might be interpreted as nature spirits or trickster spirits or gods.The book also asks the question what is a witch and how one person’s healer is another person’s evil doer. The book is laid out in “Rites,” such as Initiation, Spirit Flight, and familiars showing the history of different steps or features of the North American witch.Over the last year, while I’ve been thinking about what New World Witchery has taught me, I’ve been noting the everyday luck and charms – the knocking on wood, the annual TV news stories comparing the weather predictions of all of the regional ground hogs, the evil eye talisman at the cash register at the Greek diner. I’ve also been talking to the older relatives, asking about the great-aunt that put a knife over her cards when she got up from the card game or about what my grandmother used to say about spiders and crickets. I’ve started a notebook where I jot down the seasonal changes that impact my garden or the best time to harvest the wild plants I use, along with my tarot spreads and random synchronicities that I take as signs. All of this next to the charm I overheard from the guy at the flea market and the recipe I tried for dinner and the recipe I tried for a salve. I’ve made trips to the local history section of the library. In short, it jump started the quest for the folk magic around me.

So much good information in this book very easy to follow beautifully made high-quality information in this book. I would highly recommend this book to anybody that is looking for a deeper understanding of folk magic. For entertainment purposes, only of course.

I grew up in Maryland with tales of Goat Man and Bunny Man, Black Aggie and Crybaby Bridge, which inspired my love of folklore. I love that when Corey Hutcheson speaks and writes about folk magic, there may be a twinkle in his eye but he is always respectful and sensible with the subject...he may be telling a tall tale, but he understands how it came to be so tall. His knowledge goes far beyond the surface and he draws connections that I might otherwise miss.If you are interested in folklore and folk magic, I highly recommend the podcast New World Witchery, which he cohosts with Laine Fuller. I have learned so much to sharpen my practice, and Corey and Laine share magic that is accessible to everyone. Their monthly almanac entries are my favorite.

I’m fortunate enough to know the author and consider them a life long friend. Will that taint my review? Probably. Will I lead you astray? No. If I didn’t like it I’d just tell him in person something like “oh my god, loved it, have I not written a review? Omg, I need to do that.” Now that the bias is out of the way, let’s discuss!Cory Hutcheson did the work. It’s truly incredible all that he covered and how it’s covered. There are some parts of North America that feel more in depth than others with regards to the folklore aspect, but he makes up for that by how he presents the local lore and how it can affect and benefit your magical practice.What’s great about it is that the folklore is there to guide the practitioner in finding tools in their region. He makes a strong case that we all, regardless of religion, should see the world through a magical lens. He shows that magic can be all around us and can be personal to us if we only take the time to see it. Now that’s just fun, come on! I really appreciate the extent in which he shows the ways life can be magical. It really is a tool to show how to build a practice that’s personal. One of the coolest things Hutcheson does is have these sections called “dirt under the nails” in which he offers real world applications a practitioner might try- a “how to” if you will.What I loved about his approach was that he stays in his lane and he’s inclusive. He recognizes the struggles of different races, orientations, gender, and ableness. He shares what he knows about cultural practices that aren’t of his group(s) while recommending to not appropriate them and explains why that’s important. What’s also cool is he lifts others up. At the end of every chapter, there’s a suggested reading section if you want to know more about the topic at hand. We stan a queen that knows their boundaries.There’s also an audiobook that works just as well (yes, I got both). In some ways, Hutcheson’s writing style is better for the audio as it feels conversational and he loves an aside. To me, that translates better w/the audio as that’s how conversation flows. It’s not bad in print, though, just be prepared. That style isn’t for everyone.You can be like me and read it straight through or dabble here and there and skip around. It really is that kind of book. He did a great job on this one to make it interesting as a straight through read, while also being a great resource.I’m so proud for him. Go buy it. Support it and enjoy you start to a magical world.

Tenía muchas ganas de tener este libro y al fin lo pude comprar en Amazon .Súper recomendable lectura .

If you've ever listened to the New World Witchery podcast, then you will adore this book. It feels like huddling in a booth at the back of a mysterious pub (haunted, obviously) with the hosts, discussing assorted systems of folk magic, historic figures, familial customs, devilry, and the like.If you haven't heard the podcast and have just stumbled upon this tome (and it is definitely large enough to trip you up), then you are in for a real treat. The book is set up into sections with wonderful side roads and segments that introduce you to historical 'witch' folk you should know, work you can attempt, and ways of discovering more magic in the world around you. You can hop around from chapter to chapter if you like, but I think it's quite the experience to read it from cover to cover (you're going to need a lot of post-it flags).The folk magic found in this book is North American based, but the author also acknowledges the path it followed from its homelands to get here and how it may have commingled with other practices and peoples. He makes sure to touch on the less savory aspects of its history, as well, addressing appropriation, sketchy methods of procurement of ingredients, patriarchy, and more. Cory gives us a cross-section of customs, rituals, and lore, and then encourages the reader to follow their own rabbit trails into further research.This book is a treasure chest of history, magical practices, and folklore that any witch (or the witchcraft-curious) should have on their bookshelf. Magic is present and accessible to all of us, and this book shows you how you've likely crossed paths with it for years before you knew it for what it was.There isn't anything like this collection of North American folk practices to be found in bookstores. Dr. Hutcheson has given us an extraordinary contribution to the narrative of witchcraft and folk magic and I think this book will be talked about for years to come.

One of my all time favourite books on witchcraft and anthropology! It is so well put together, very informative and rich with information.Cannot recommend enough!

BUY ITWitch or not, this book is incredibly interesting and informative.Can't stop hearing Cory's voice when reading it.Also listen to his podcast by the same name if you haven't.If you like it, you'll like his book.One of my favorites in my collection now.

One of the absolute best books on folk magic.Cory's writing style is very clear for both newcomers and old practioners alike, and I love the way the chapters are presented.I'm finding the information in this book extremely interesting and I have already marked up my first copy to the point of purchasing a second just to have a clean copy lol.The only downside is that there is currently no hardcover version lol.Can't recommend this book enough to anyone with even a slight interest in folk magic. 10/10Thanks for writing this Cory!*also really recommend 54 Devils by Mr. Hutcheson, super interesting read!*