- SKU: 9781578637539
- BARCODE: 9781578637539
- VENDOR: BooksCloud
Ossman & Steel's Classic Household Guide to Appalachian Folk Healing: A Collection of Old-Time Remedies, Charms, and Spells - Paperback
Couldn't load pickup availability
Description
by Jake Richards (Author), Silver Ravenwolf (Foreword by)
A long-treasured but forgotten classic of folk healing, with an introduction and commentary by the author of Backwoods Witchcraft and Doctoring the Devil.
Ossman & Steel's Guide to Health or Household Instructor (its original title) is a collection of spells, remedies, and charms. The book draws from the old Pennsylvania Dutch and German powwow healing practices that in turn helped shape Appalachian folk healing, conjure, rootwork, and many folk healing traditions in America. Jake Richards, author of Backwoods Witchcraft and Doctoring the Devil, puts these remedies in context, with practical advice for modern-day "backwoods" healers interested to use them today. The first part contains spells and charms for healing wounds, styes, broken bones, maladies, and illnesses of all sorts. The second part includes other folk remedies using ingredients based on sympathetic reasoning, including sulfuric acid, gunpowder, or other substances for swelling, toothache, headache, and so on. These remedies are presented here for historic interest, to help better understand how folk medicine evolved in America. It is Jake Richard's hope that reintroducing this work will reestablish its position as a useful household helper in the library of every witch or country healer.Author Biography
Jake Richards holds his Appalachian-Melungeon heritage close to his blood and bones. His family heritage in Appalachia goes back generations; they have lived in southwest Virginia, east Tennessee, and the western Carolinas for a good four hundred years. He spent most of his childhood at his great-grandmother's house on Big Ridge in North Carolina, wading the waters of the Watauga and traipsing the mountains by his ancestral home on the ridge. "My family," Jake writes, "always spoke of the old wives' tales and folk remedies. They were mountain people to the bone; hunters, farmers, faith healers, preachers, and root-diggers." Jake has practiced Appalachian folk magic for over a decade. Aside from being an author and practitioner, Jake is a member of the Melungeon Heritage Association, holds a seat on the board of WAM: We Are Melungeons, and is the creator of HOM: House of Malungia, Melungeon cultural society. You can find him on Instagram @jake_richards13
Reviews
Exceptional Support and Clean Code
I was impressed by how fast the support team responded to my questions. Even as someone with basic coding knowledge, I found the theme incredibly easy to work with. The code is well-organized, and everything runs smoothly.
Reliable Theme with Excellent Customer Service
After trying multiple themes, I finally chose Wokiee — and haven’t looked back. It’s reliable, modern, and easy to customize without coding. What impressed me most was their support team: fast, helpful, and willing to assist even with third-party issues. That level of service is rare!
Beautiful Design and Great Flexibility
Wokiee is hands down the best Shopify theme I’ve used. The design options are stunning and fully customizable. I was able to build a high-converting store without any external developers.
Top-Notch Support and Regular Updates
The customer support team is incredible — helpful, responsive, and very professional. They’ve helped me resolve everything from layout tweaks to app integrations. Plus, the theme is regularly updated with new features.
Amazing Customization Options"!
Wokiee gave me full creative control over my store’s layout and visuals. The theme’s design blocks are so flexible that I could create something truly unique — without touching a single line of code.
High-Quality Theme with Professional Code
You can tell Wokiee was built by pros. The code is clean and optimized for performance. No bloated features — just what you need. My store loads fast and looks great on all devices.