The Powwow Guy

Traditional Pennsylvania German Powwow

Tagged: Healing

61 posts on this topic.

  • Easy Homemade Candles

    There is so much satisfaction in crafting your own things, like home remedies or candles — here is the quick and easy way to make lovely beeswax candles.

  • New Orleans Plantation Vodou

    Understanding the difference between Vodou as religion and Hoodoo as magical practice — and what this reveals about folk healing traditions.

  • Appalachian Granny Magic

    The following documentary is a fascinating look at the Appalachian "granny" healers and their folk magic traditions.

  • The Regulars

    There is a young couple local to me that comes to me regularly for various Powwowing. They don't make appointments, they don't have a schedule, they just sort of show up whenever they like.

  • Preparing for Spring!

    I know Spring isn't officially here yet, and it won't be for some time, but it's a good time to start your planning for the end of winter!

  • Kitchen First Aid

    One of my favorite aspects of Powwow is herbal medicine. I love using herbs and plants to make medicine. There is something extremely fulfilling about making...

  • Adherence to Tradition

    When I was a kid, along with my brother and sister, we were practically raised by our grandparents. They were Pennsylvania German through and through. My gra...

  • The Full Moon

    In Pennsylvania Dutch culture, the Full Moon is an important lunar phase for agricultural and weather prediction. It is also a time for Powwow for various ma...

  • The Man of Signs

    As a Powwow, I am very much aware of what sign the Moon is traveling through, as this helps us to know the parts of the body that are highlighted. I mention ...

  • What does Powwow "FEEL" like?

    What does it feel like to be Powwowed? Years ago, when I first began learning how to Powwow, I wondered what it would "feel" like to actually BE Powwowed. Li...

  • Preparing for Spring!

    I know it's only mid-January, but here in Southcentral PA we have to begin preparing for Spring!

  • Folk uses of silver

    In the Powwow tradition, items made of silver are generally talismanic or amuletic in origin. For example, nails made of silver (not lead) are believed to ha...

  • An ancient healing charm

    In the early 1700's in Europe, a book was published called Egyptische Geheimnisse für Menschen und Vieh.. This is, of course, the book we now know as "E...

  • Anxiety home remedies

    The Powwow tradition has little to offer in the way of relieving symptoms of anxiety disorders. However, that does not mean we are without resources! Home re...

  • Winter sickness home remedy

    I made a video for my youtube page containing the following recipe, but I was having microphone issues so I wanted to share one of the recipes here!

  • Pain removal ritual

    Powwow has a number of methods for relieving pain. What follows is a very simple ritual that you can do for either yourself or another person/animal. Remembe...

  • Powwow in the UK

    This was written by a student and dear friend of mine, who is a Powwow in the UK.

  • Hibiscus lemon syrup

    Hibiscus flowers have special properties that are believed to help reduce blood pressure and bad cholesterol. As we age, these things are more important for ...

  • Powwowing yourself

    I have arthritis in both of my knees and in my hands (and let's not even talk about my back). I'm getting older. Aches and pains and a little rheumatism are ...

  • A Blessing for your Adversaries

    Because Powwow is a Christian tradition, there are a number of charms that are designed to send your adversary away from you in the spirit of peace and truce...

  • The magical boundary

    As a Powwow, the protection of my home and my property are paramount to my successful healing work. Should something unwanted cross the boundary into my pers...

  • The real power in a blood-stopping charm

    name, and the third has the power to stop the flow of blood.

  • Magical oddities in Powwow

    The Powwow tradition is no stranger to odd and unusual charms. Indeed, we Powwows are often judged harshly when a non-practitioner (ie. someone who doesn't u...

  • Powwow in the garden

    Bill and I have many flower gardens on our property. I also have a large vegetable garden and I grow herbs in pots on one of the patios. This year, I added a...

  • The Roadside Apothecary

    Yesterday I wrote a blog post about finding Stickyweed (Sticky Willy) on the side of the road near my house. This morning I walked back up to that hillside t...

  • Sticky Willy: a super healer and cocktail mixer

    I love plants and their medicinal and folklore uses. Today as I was walking my dog near my house, I noticed an entire lovely hillside along the road that was...

  • The Farmer and the Hex Man

    This story is taken from Pennsylvania Dutch Folk Spirituality by Richard E. Wentz, 1993 published by the Pennsylvania German Society. I highly recommend this...

  • Mustard Seed...faith and folklore

    or example, in the 500's, mustard seed was believed to cure the bite and poison of a Scorpion! The seeds were also chewed on to releive toothaches. A plaster...

  • Healthy Citrus Water

    Water is so crucial to our health and well-being, and we don't seem to drink enough of it! Part of the reason might be that water is, well, boring. So I like...

  • April Fool's Day, the day of Eileschpiggel!

    April Fool's Day is a day of trickery, traditionally devoted to "trickster spirits" like Loki in Scandinavian folklore, for example. An entire day filled wit...

  • Asthma prevention syrup

    Last year I had COVID and it led to numerous bouts of pneumonia, which also led to some permanent lung issues. So now I have asthma and a rescue inhaler. One...

  • Happy Spring!!!

    For some reason, the older I get, the happier I feel when Spring arrives. It might be in part due to the pain I feel in my spine and my knees during the cold...

  • Deivel's Dreck, a charm against evil

    In the early days of the Pennsylvania Germans, the idea that evil (and thus, the Devil) could influence our lives for the negative was quite prevalent. One m...

  • Fence post Powwowing

    In some ways, I'm an old-fashioned Powwow. I think my work is more effective if, in even a little way, it involves the outdoors. Even when I make an herbal t...

  • As time passes... a look back on my blog..

    I've been writing and maintaining this website for 13 years, give or take. During that time, I've grown from a simple practitioner and student of Powwow to a...

  • Appalachian folk magic

    This is an incredible documentary about the Appalachian "granny" healers.

  • The green aspect of powwowing...

    When I was a kid, my grandmother had a little garden outside the kitchen. She grew the very best tomatoes I've ever eaten and she also grew dandelions. While...

  • May 10 update

    Today we added another dog to our family. If you didn't know, we consider our home to be something of a rescue for old doggies or for those who suffered trau...

  • Powwow versus Coronavirus

    Powwow is a faith healing tradition. We want you to feel better. It is our calling from God to help you feel better. We believe very strongly that Christ wan...

  • What you can expect when you visit your local Powwow...

    A hundred years ago, a visit to a local Powwow may have gone something like this:

  • Protection from witchcraft

    A large part of a powwow's work is combating harmful magic, also known as witchcraft. This type of magic is designed to disrupt, harm, or otherwise cause cha...

  • The unseen battles of a hex doctor

    Being a hex doctor, a powwow, means you take on the awesome responsibility of healing in the name of Christ. It also means you make yourself a beacon for all...

  • Blowing out burns

    Last Saturday night I fell into my neighbor's fire pit. It was a great metal cauldron with a huge fire inside. I stood up from my chair and literally fell ri...

  • using a knife in powwow

    Next to my bible, my pocket knife is my favorite tool for powwowing. I use it in healing charms, anti-hex work, weather work, and all manner of other types o...

  • Jesus; the first Hex Doc

    Ask any of the old timers who the first powwow doc was and they will undoubtedly tell you it was Jesus himself, "the Good Lord". He went around, preaching th...

  • powwow and the politics of healing

    Believe it or not, I've received some nasty emails over the past three years claiming that I'm not a "real" powwow because I don't endorse Candidate A or Can...

  • Rocks used in braucherei, by John Ramsey

    John Ramsey is a fellow powwower and author of Pennsylvania German Powwow (I'm having trouble putting a link here but it is available on amazon) He sent this...

  • folk magic vs ceremonial magic

    Sometimes people are surprised to find out I have a few ceremonial ritualistic elements to my powwowing. The surprise is understandable because powwowing is ...

  • basic tools of powwowing

    Powwowing is a no frills tradition. It requires little more than your faith in the Holy Trinity and knowledge of a few tried and proven charms. You could spe...

  • A world away. In memory of my grandparents, Arthur and June Whitley.

    As is often the case when my mind is focused on research into powwowing, I find my thoughts drifting to my grandparents. Born of immigrants from both Austria...

  • November 28th, Nelson Rehmeyer Day

    As a powwow doctor in south central Pennsylvania, November turns my thoughts to Nelson Rehmeyer. In 1928, long before my time, a local Powwow Doctor was mur...

  • Cold and flu season

    It seems like every winter my body is just on the verge of being sick. It's like there is a constant shadow of a cold hanging over my head, and most morning...

  • Long-Distance PowWow

    One of the most common distance charms in the PowWow tradition is the recitation of Ezekiel 16:6 "Then I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own b...

  • Magic Wand: the tool of Christ?

    Besides studying Powwow, one of my favorite areas of research is Christianity's history and early development; in particular it's history with magic.

  • Ethics of hexing/cursing in Powwow

    Some of the older Powwow charms seem to cross the line and step into the realm of cursing or, as it's known in PA Dutch culture, hexerei. Hexerei is malevol...

  • Unusual Written Charms

    Powwow has many different variations on paper talismans and charms. Most of these are not works of art, nor are they meant to be. A written charm is meant ...

  • PowWow charms: spoken or whispered? To touch or not to touch?

    When I was originally introduced to PowWow, my teacher taught that one must ALWAYS whisper the spoken parts of the charms; they must NEVER be spoken out loud...

  • Cloth Braucher Charms

    In other schools of magical thought, the cloth Braucher Charm (also seen referred to as a Brauche Bag) is sometimes called a gris gris bag, a mojo bag, a cha...

  • Amulets of Protection

    On the surface, we tend to view PA Dutch Pow-wow as a simple country system of folk healing. And that would be a correct view. However, another layer of th...

  • Protection from Thieves

    It's very sad that we even need charms like this, but this time of year especially we see and hear stories about families being robbed or houses being broken...

  • Pow-wow First Aid

    Pow-wow is great for minor aches and pains or the type of injuries and mishaps that might occur throughout the normal course of your day; such as scrapes, cu...

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