Folk magick can be fun!

Written by A.C Aldag, author of Common Magick

A starry eyed apprentice gazes at the silent lesson being told by the wise woman.

What is it? “Folk magick” means the esoteric practices of the common people of any given society – those who work on farms, perform everyday labor, keep house, mind children, and perhaps work a skilled trade. Every culture has its own folklore, folk beliefs, and magical praxes. They recognize otherworldly beings, and use certain ritualized activities to appease or honor them. Individuals might perform rites to enhance their work, create luck and prosperity, protect themselves and their loved ones from supernatural beings, communicate with deities and spirits, and keep their homes and workplaces safe. Many folk practices were done to ensure good health.

The fun part includes folk stories, holiday celebrations, and unique customs. For instance, currently in the British Isles, farmers are “crying the neck.” This is a good-natured contest to chop down the last sheaf of grain, called “the neck”. When this is accomplished, it is followed by hollering, as well as feasting, drinking adult beverages, dancing, and more games. Sometimes, the “neck” is dressed in doll’s clothes to become a corn maiden, to celebrate the harvest and as a good-luck talisman for the following year. Yes, this older Pagan rite is still practiced. You can look up this tradition online and watch home-made videos of the celebrations.

Where is the folk magick from? People who originally dwelled in the British Isles – Cornwall, Ireland, Scotland, Wales /Cymru, the Isle of Man, and what is now England – had and still have their own unique folk magick. Many of their rites and practices were imported to America by British and Irish immigrants. There, the rituals and beliefs merged with those of other immigrants, as well as those of enslaved workers from African nations and the local Indigenous tribes. Because several folk magick rites from Britain were combined with the folkways of enslaved African workers, some of them might resemble the practice of Hoodoo or Conjure traditions.

Antonio from The Pride (right) and Shadow Beebe (left), as Death and the Stag from "The Stag Hunt" folk play at Convocation 2025. This performance is an example of a fun folk magick ritual!

Who used folk magick? Both the working classes and the so-called nobility of Britian had folk customs, although they were mostly practiced by common laborers. Most famed of the British Isles folkloric traditions are those revived by Gerald Gardner and Robert Cochrane as a foundation for modern Wicca and British Traditional Witchcraft. Gerald Gardner, a folklorist and amateur anthropologist, likely borrowed the eight seasonal holidays (sabbats) from British folk traditions, although their names are Irish, Norse, and modern adaptations. Several of the holiday rites were still openly practiced in England during Gardner’s time. He also used some of the spells, workings, names of entities, herbal lore, and “folkplays” or ritual theater of folkloric traditions.

For example, the “witches’ ladder” knot-tying spell came from British folk magic practice. Jumping over a fire on Beltane for fertility was a common occurrence in Wales, Ireland, and Scotland, right up until the 1930s. Some folkplays and folk dances were still being held in England. Others were adapted, modified, and new ones were even invented. It’s quite possible that Gardner and his friends from folklore societies observed some of these customs.

Here in the USA, the folk magic from Appalachia is widely recognized. This tradition arose from the rites and beliefs of Scots and Irish immigrants, who intermarried with native people. The folk magick of New Orleans, LA, came from British Isles and French immigrants comingled with West African and Haitian religious praxes. My own family’s tradition came from my Cymric /Welsh ancestors of Michigan’s upper peninsula, which also incorporated practices and beliefs from Finnish and Cornish immigrants, and the Ottawa / Chippewa tribespeople.

Was it really called “witchcraft”? Nope. Cornish, Welsh, Irish, and Scots people have their own languages, and thus their own words for folk magick and its practitioners. In addition, there are dozens of dialects in England, so words such as “Pellar” and “Cunning man” and “Spae Wife” were used, instead. The word “witch” came from the Anglo-Saxon /old English lexicon. In fact, there was a tribe called Hwicce who colonized what is now England’s midlands.

Did folk magick die out? Was it persecuted out of existence by Christianity? Again, nope. People practiced folk magick, both independently of Christianity and incorporated into the newer religion, right up until the 1950s, when Gardner prompted its revival. Archologists have found witches’ bottles, apotropaic “hex marks”, poppets, hidden ritual objects, talismans, and other witchcraft and folk magick artefacts dated from the 1500s to modern times. A spell-jar discovered on a Cornish beach used a Coca-Cola bottle manufactured in the 1970s. People used various methods of divination, including Bible verses, until the present day. And as I mentioned, people still performed the folkplays and ceremonial dances right up until the 1930s throughout the British Isles. Scholars have discovered older folk magick praxes in immigrant populations in Canada, the USA, and Australia, where many British and Irish people emigrated.

Many examples of these objects and artefacts can be found in the Cornish museum of Witchcraft in Boscastle, in the Buckland Witchcraft museum in Cleveland, OH, and in the Witchcraft museums in Salem, MA.

How was folk magick passed on? Unlike initiatory witchcraft, folk magick does not utilize initiations, lineages, and a degree system. Instead, a younger or less experienced individual is trained by an elder, more adept practitioner. They may or may not be related by blood. While there might be some secrecy involved – we wouldn’t want our twelve-year-old knowing all the recipes for entheogens, abortifacients, or poisons – folk magick was usually more of a “trade secret” than a hidden occult tradition. Some practices and lore were imparted to very young children, such as stories about fairies and holiday dances, stories, and rites.

Rather than taking classes or attending workshops, folk magic practitioners learned by observing their elders in an everyday setting. As a youngster learned to make cheese or care for horses, they also were trained in magickal workings by their older relatives and neighbors. All ages participated in holiday celebrations. One of the oldest folk dances in Britain, the “Abbots Bromley Horn Dance,” was passed along in one family and village friend-group for over 1,100 years. It may have originally been performed to ensure a good hunt. You can watch this folk dance online this year in real time in mid-September, or see videos of this Pagan-influenced folk dance.

Were there really covens of witches? Sorry, but probably not. During times of persecution, there may have been secretive meetings of elder practitioners to “talk shop,” but mostly folk magick was a family or village practice.

How is it different from other traditions? Unlike some Afro-Cuban diasporic traditions, folk magick is not a “closed” tradition (meaning only people of a certain ethnicity or family can practice.) Things in common with Hoodoo include using a spell jar or witches’ bottle as a container for magick, and using an iron railroad spike as a protective object. In the British Isles, a mining piton preceded the iron spike, used to protect a dwelling and drive away certain malevolent energetic creatures.

Unlike Wicca or many modern Witchcraft traditions, folk magick does not often utilize a sacred circle or creation of a similar “safe space”. Instead, practitioners wear amulets and speak words of power for self-protection. This is because some of the praxes involve moving about, including parades and processions that were done on holidays – hence the magick cannot be contained within a ritual circle. Within a home or workspace, apotropaic items like hagstones, sigils, a besom (broom) or pitchfork, salt, and iron objects were used for magickal protection.

Also unlike Wicca, most folk magick practitioners do not usually believe in any “threefold law” or “rede.” Doing no harm is not possible – every time we take a step, we may crush a smaller being, such as an insect – but we strive to do as little damage as we can. While we recognize that our behaviors have consequences, including magickal actions, we also believe that we must seek our own justice. For example, we may avoid “hexing” a politician, simply because of the blowback that might affect the entire populace. However, we might ask that the political leader be “bound” or hampered from doing harmful behaviors that negatively impact their constituents.

How is folk magick similar to other Pagan and Witchcraft religions? Many of the tools utilized by modern Witchcraft practitioners came from folkloric traditions. These were usually common, everyday objects, found on any homestead or farm. They include a mortar and pestle, a besom /broomstick, a chalice or cup to hold liquids, poppets, and yes, the ritual athame.

Although some modern scholars believe that Gerald Gardner invented the use of a ceremonial knife, or borrowed it from another culture, folk-magick practitioners did indeed often employ an athame. Our family is in possession of a bronze blade with a blackthorn handle that is more than 500 years old. The athame was used for everything from cleaning fish to chopping sacred herbs to directing magickal energies. Like many Pagan and Witchcraft traditions, folk magick uses divination, spirit communication, and trance work to enhance our lives.

Most people do spellwork for three reasons – love, health, or wealth. We wish to attract loving, happy situations for ourselves and our friends and loved ones. We desire optimal health. We wish to live in comfort and security. In past times, this included performing rites to ensure good weather, the propitiation of farm animals and crops, protection of children and pregnant women, and creating optimal circumstances for sailing and travel by horse. Apotropaic objects and sigils were placed on wagons, boats, and the horses themselves, including “horse brass” in the shape of four-leaf clovers and triskeles. Weather-witches would “tie up the wind” in ropes or cloth, to release to fill the sails when at sea. Cattle and children were given amber ornaments to wear to keep them healthy. Most of the seasonal holiday celebrations enjoyed by modern Pagans have their roots in ceremonies to invoke a good harvest, protect herd animals, and in thanks for abundance.

Gerald Gardner researched many spells and workings that had to do with optimal health, including using a stand-in object for an individual, such as a poppet. He discussed “raising energy” for healing purposes and sending it remotely to a person who was not present. Much of the herbalism currently employed by modern practitioners comes from folk magick.

Is folk magick still relevant today? Oh, yes! In addition to aligning ourselves with the natural world, and interacting positively with deities and energetic beings, folk magick is empowering and fun. Rites used for blessing a craftsman’s workspace can be utilized for a cubicle in an office building, an apotropaic object used to protect a horse can also keep your vehicle safe, and herbal remedies are often as effective as pharmaceutical products. Many of the older customs are being revived, since they’re a connection to British Isles heritage, and they’re enjoyable. Some of them are even being presented for tourists. Other practices have taken on a unique flare – the New Orleans Mardi Gras Parade, the Philadelphia Mummers’ Parade, and Mummering in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, all have their origin in traditional British Isles folkplays. These lively, colorful rites are a wonderful connection to ancient folk magick.

How can I learn more? Come to my folk magick presentation at The Pride spiritual shop on Saturday, September 22nd at 6:00 pm. There will be folk magick artefacts on display, and you can pick up a copy of my book, Common Magick. We’ll also do a quick and easy rite for home protection. Looking forward to seeing you!