• Family History

    I've been piecing together my family history for over twenty years and am very proud of what I've managed to find — including Brauchers in my Pennsylvania German lineage.

  • Powwow Newspaper Article 1976

    A historical newspaper article about Powwow from the Lock Haven Express, November 1976.

  • The Three Crosses

    Powwow charms are all spoken in the name of the Holy Trinity as found within Christian tradition.

  • 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...

  • To Fumigate Impure Air

    Impurity can mean many things when it comes to a space you are occupying. It can mean the air is stale. It can mean there is something toxic in the air. It c...

  • PA Dutch House Blessings

    In the Pennsylvania Dutch culture, a House Blessing is a hand-written letter which offers protection to the bearer of the letter. These are sometimes carried...

  • 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...

  • Powwow in the UK

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

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • Wormwood; Biblical Poison

    10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of wate...

  • The Lesser Banishing Ritual

    I have used the Lesser Banishing Ritual for many years. It was created by the Golden Dawn in the 1800's and has been picked up by modern occult groups of all...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • Hex Hollow Documentary - the story of Nelson Rehmeyer

    In the Spring of 2013, I was asked to be one of many individuals interviewed for the Hex Hollow Documentary film, put together by filmmaker Shane Free. This...

  • der Belsnickel

    Before our much Americanized, and commercialized, version of St. Nick, kids growing up in Pennsylvania Dutch homes were taught the Belsnickel story, said Zac...

  • The SATOR square

    The SATOR charm is one of the most popular magical talismans in western occultism, and is a favored within traditional PA Dutch PowWow. It's history is somet...

  • 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.

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • Christmas Pow-wow Divination Wand

    The use of a forked branch or stick to search for water is fairly well known. Finding hidden water or metals is what is refered to in Powwow as "divination"....

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