E.

F. E. Lacharity lives in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, with his wife Chantal and two daughters. He has been a Frankish Heathen (Thia Frankisk Aldsido) since 2011 and is an active member of his regional Pagan community, principally with Rúnatýr Kindred and Raven’s Knoll. He has had a lifelong interest in the folklore and folk beliefs of his heritage and has absorbed all he can from his parents and grandparents and the elders who have passed on much of their old ways. These teachings are primarily focused on folk wisdom gained from rural living. In the 2010s Erik became interested in witchcraft and quickly took to the ways of his French Canadian ancestors, supplementing what he could from available ethnographic works. A few years ago, he began researching, collecting, and collating information along with Morrigane Feu, and the work in these pages—as well as the Courir le loup-garou—are the fruits of that passion.

Melissa A. Ivanco-Murray is a writer, artist, and musician with bachelor of science degrees in Russian and International Relations from the United States Military Academy (2011) and a master of arts in Slavic Languages and Literature from the University of Virginia (2020). She is currently a PhD candidate in the Slavic Department at UVA. Melissa has been a member of Ár nDraíocht Féin since 2015 and served as the Distinguished Faith Group Leader for the Fort Bliss Open Circle from 2016–2017. Melissa is the creator of the Slavic Tarot deck as well as the author of a fantasy series, Circle, which is loosely inspired by Slavic folklore and mythology. For more information about her past, present, and future works, see www.maimurray.com.

Dee Norman is a witch who grew up in her family’s Italian American magical tradition and is the author of Burn a Black Candle: An Italian American Grimoire. She has been a student of cartomancy since the mid-eighties and is the creator of the Emblemata Lenormand oracle deck. She is also a card reader with clients around the globe. Throughout the past twenty years, she has been using her professional experience as an adult educator to develop and present workshops on Tarot, Lenormand, and a variety of magical topics. When not tending her household altar or paging through grimoires, she likes to play creepy video games and explore amateur cryptography with her daughter. Find out more about her projects and read her blog at www.blackcandlecottage .com.

Aaron Oberon is a folk witch, print relief artist, Florida fanatic, and author of Southern Cunning: Folkloric Witchcraft in the American South. They have been practicing folk magic for over half their life and grounded their witchcraft into the sandy soil of Florida for almost twenty years. Aaron lives in Southwest Florida and can often be found hidden in the mangroves speaking to lost and forgotten gods (and is often lost themselves). You can hear Aaron gush more about Florida and folk magic on their podcast FolkCraft, co-hosted with Temperance Alden. To see Aaron’s art, musings on magic, and read jokes only they find funny, find them on Instagram @aaronoberon.

Robert Phoenix was born and raised in Pennsylvania and currently lives in south-central Pennsylvania and works for the state of PA. He has always been interested in folk magic and has studied many different systems over the years. He is a member of the Reformed church, known nowadays as the United Church of Christ, and an enthusiastic supporter and champion of Pennsylvania German culture. He loves Powwowing because it’s a Christian-based system that really does work, and it connects him to the traditions, beliefs, religion, and folklore of his ancestors. He is the author of The Powwow Grimoire, The Powwow Guy: A Memoir of a Pennsylvania Dutch Braucher, and the website https://www.pagermanpowwow.com/. He was featured in the film Hex Hollow: Witchcraft and Murder in Pennsylvania (2015, directed by Shane Free).

Jake Richards was born and raised in East Tennessee and holds his Appalachian-Melungeon heritage close in his blood and bones. Jake has practiced Appalachian folk magic for over a decade and is the creator of the Conjure Cards deck and author of Backwoods Witchcraft: Conjure & Folk Magic from Appalachia (2019), Doctoring the Devil: Notebooks of an Appalachian Conjure Man (2021), and Ossman and Steel’s Classic Household Guide to Appalachian Folk Healing: A Collection of Old-Time Remedies, Charms, and Spells (2022). He is also a member of the Phoenix Line of Braucherei practitioners and runs the Holy Stones & Iron Bones blog on all things Appalachian.

Sandra Santiago is a radical educator, activist, and poet. Sandra is initiated in various branches of African spirituality; she is a Lucumi Priestess of Obatala as well as a Yaya Nganga in Palo Mayombe. She does integrative light work via reiki and intuitive divination. She is a certified Reiki Master and is accredited by the World Metaphysical Association and the Accreditation Council of Holistic Healers. Sandra is a medium in the Afro-Caribbean tradition Espiritismo and has been offering consultations and readings since 2010. Her work can be defined as decolonization therapy. It is a healing process where wounded spirits and souls from disenfranchised groups can work to recover from historical trauma, racism, and other collective social ills caused by the longterm negative effects of colonization. Sandra’s work has been published in various anthologies, including Shades of Faith: Minority Voices in Paganism (2012) and Shades of Ritual: Minority Voices in Practice (2014), and she has contributed to the Wild Hunt, a daily online news journal. She has also taught at many gatherings, conferences, and venues across the United States.

Robert L. Schreiwer is the president and founder of the Urglaawe tradition within Heathenry, which is a Pennsylvania Deitsch term that means “primal faith.” He is currently the president and CEO of the Troth, which is the oldest and largest Heathen organization in existence. He is the manager of Heathens Against Hate, a Philadelphia area–based outreach organization, and a prison chaplain for Heathens.

Eliseo “Cheo” Torres, retired as a Vice President of Student Affairs from the University of New Mexico, is now part-time faculty teaching traditional medicine, Curanderismo courses year-round. Cheo regularly lectures and offers a two-week summer class and two online courses on the history, herbal remedies, and rituals of Curanderismo to audiences ranging from scholars and students to people hoping to become knowledgeable about alternative and traditional medicine, including lay people and medical professionals alike. Before coming to New Mexico, his most recent role was Vice President for Student Affairs and professor at Texas A&M University–Kingsville. He had various roles throughout his twenty years there. He has published seven books in his subject area. His most recent books are Curanderismo: The Art of Traditional Medicine without Borders and Curandero: Traditional Healers of Mexico and the Southwest, published by Kendall Hunt Publishing Company, and previously published books include Curandero: A Life in Mexican Folk Healing and Healing with Herbs and Rituals: A Mexican Tradition, both available from the University of New Mexico Press.

Benebell Wen is the author of I Ching, The Oracle (2023), The Tao of Craft (2016), and Holistic Tarot (2015), published by North Atlantic Books. She is a Taiwanese American occultist with deep family ties to Buddhism and Taoist mysticism. Wen has also practiced law in California and New York, primarily in the areas of venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property, and securities law. Her academic background is in critical race theory and intersectional feminism, having focused her legal education in social justice law.

Brandon Weston is based in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and is a healer, writer, and folklorist who owns and operates Ozark Healing Traditions, an online collective of articles, lectures, and workshops focusing on the Ozark Mountain region. As a practicing folk healer, his work with clients includes everything from spiritual cleanses to house blessings. He comes from a long line of Ozark hillfolk and is also a folk herbalist, yarb doctor, and power doctor. He is the author of Ozark Folk Magic and Ozark Mountain Spell Book from Llewellyn Publications.

A Landscape of Magic, Mystery, and Tradition

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