Folk magic is the magic of the common people, usually without elaborate ritual or preparation. It is found in childrens' rhymes: "Rain, rain, go away ...", in casual acts such as throwing a pinch of spilled salt over the shoulder, and in gestures such as burying iron under the hearth of a new home. It is neither religion nor superstition, but a belief that the energy flowing through people and natural objects can cause positive change.
Information on various mystical secrets including Wicca, Druidism, channeling, ghost dancing, dream walking, spirit healing and shape shifting. http://www.armourtech.com/~lostsecrets
Essay contrasts fear of black cats in European-American folklore with African-American belief that a black cat bone acquired and prepared with proper ceremony can grant the bearer invisibility or force the return of an ex-lover. http://www.luckymojo.com/blackcat.html
Scholarly bibliographies of books on folk magic. Topics include: Witches or Magic Users in Greek Literature; Necromancy; Cursing; Anthropological and General Theories of Magic, Papyri Graecae Magicae; and Magic and Religion in Egyptian, Coptic, Jewish, Sy http://www.rdg.ac.uk/~lkpbodrd/magbib/.
A very large collection of folk-magic spells from various cultures contributed by hundreds of usenet posters since 1995, sub-divided by spell type, not by originating tradition; on-site search engine helps users locate information. http://www.luckymojo.com/spells.html
John George Hohman's 1820 German-American magical receipt-book: its continuing influence on Appalachian and African-American herb and root doctors, examples of spells from the text, and an extensive bibliographic publishing history. http://www.luckymojo.com/powwows.html
Christopher Fennell, a University of Virginia anthropologist, describes a small X-marked clay skull, an article of malevolent conjuration buried beneath a Virginia farm house between 1780 and 1860, raising significant issues in ethnic studies, folk magic, http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/users/fennell/highland/harper/symbol.html
An essay on the blue glass "Nazar Boncugu" or "Eye Bead" worn for protection in Turkey, Cyprus, the Central Asian Turkic Republics, and among the Uigur Turks of China. http://www.luckymojo.com/evileye.html
Abstract of a paper by Pieter Plas of the University of Ghent examining ritual-symbolic actions undertaken to magically subdue or chase off wolves in Serbian and Croatian folk customs. http://www.ku.edu/~slavic/bss99-plas.html
