Select delivery location
See All Buying Options
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

H. Byron Ballard
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Staubs and Ditchwater: a Friendly and Useful Introduction to Hillfolks' Hoodoo Paperback – June 15, 2012

by H. Byron Ballard (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 281 ratings
See all formats and editions
After years of pondering, Byron Ballard has finally written a primer for the kind of magic she practices. Driven to it by colleagues, friends and students, writing this little book is an act of stubborn devotion to a fading culture. This deceptively simple system of folk magic has come down to modern Southern culture through the immigrants and natives who called these blue hills home. Written in an easily accessible style and filled with insights and stories, Staubs and Ditchwater: a Friendly and Useful Introduction to Hillfolks Hoodoo is part memoir, part workbook.
Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    122 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Silver Rings Press
  4. Publication date
    June 15, 2012
  5. Dimensions
    5.25 x 0.31 x 8 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0976758180
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0976758181
  8. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now

Editorial Reviews

Review

It's been a very long time since a new book on any aspect of contemporary paganism came along that has not only seemed worthwhile but impressive. Byron Ballard's fascinating, engaging new book on Appalachian hoodoo beliefs and practices is not only a sparkling treasure chest of folklore and magical tidbits. It is full of pragmatic and wise advice on how to think, live and thrive in a changing world. Not for the faint of heart, this book will teach you how to hex, and also how to heal. It'll explain to you things you know (growing your own food is a good idea and fun) and things you don't (did you know you can expose a liar in public with very little effort?) and things you never thought you'd think about (I'll let you find out for yourself). Ballard is a charming writer, and this book brings her sly wit, native intelligence and sense of community compassion to any reader lucky enough to procure a copy. I can't imagine not having this book in my library, or not wanting to gift it to many friends. --Peg Aloi, Media Coordinator, The Witches' Voice; creator of The Witching Hour blog; media scholar; film critic; author

Like an Appalachian Brigit, Ballard tends an eternal fire. It s a flame that warms the hearth, but it s also a blaze that fuels a devotion to social justice. Her authority doesn t come from her degrees and her training (though she has them indeed), but from deep within her bones and within the earth of her home hills. If you want to experience an authentic traditional practice, turn these pages and find your reward. --K. A. Laity, author of Pelzmantel and Other Tales of Medieval Magic

Fresh, exciting, and brilliantly written, Byron Ballard's Staubs and Ditchwater is the perfect remedy to get your Mojo going again! --Dorothy Morrison, author of Utterly Wicked

About the Author

H. Byron Ballard is Asheville s Village Witch and does workshops and lectures regionally. She was a featured speaker at the Sacred Space Conference in 2011 and is a popular teacher at the Southeast Women s Herb Conference and Pagan Unity Festival. This book includes Hillfolks Hoodoo and the Question of Cultural Strip-mining the paper she delivered at Harvard s 2006 conference Forging Folklore. Ballard serves as a ritualist and teacher for Mother Grove Goddess Temple in Asheville, NC

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Silver Rings Press; First Edition (June 15, 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 122 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0976758180
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0976758181
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 0.31 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 281 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
H. Byron Ballard

H. Byron Ballard

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
281 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Joseph Bloch
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully readable reminiscence about hoodoo practices
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2016
Verified Purchase
H. Byron Ballard is billed as "Ashville's village witch", and her first book, Staubs and Ditchwater, is a short but wonderful entry into the world of Appalachian hoodoo and folk magic.

The book is structured in topical chapters, each of which is separated by a relevant homey reminiscence about life in rural North Carolina. Her style is wonderfully easy to read, and she really makes it feel like you're sitting on a porch on a mountain cabin, listening to her talk while the birds and bugs sing into the waning afternoon. She really has a gift for language, and her writing "in dialect" is done rarely enough as to not be annoying or a hindrance to understanding.

Chapter one sets the scene, giving a brief history of the region and its magical and religious history. Chapter two covers magical tools, chapter three materials, chapter four divination, chapter five provides some techniques and spells (or "receipts" as they are called), while chapter six wraps up the whole thing nicely.

What drew my specific attention, in my studies of Germanic folklore and folk-magic, were the similarities between what Ms. Ballard describes and sources from Trolldomr (Scandinavian folk-magic), Braucherei (Amish folk-magic, itself derived from west-German sources), and pre-Christian practices described in penitentials, sermons, Saints' lives, and similar sources. After all, Appalachia was settled by Anglo-Scottish border country folk (right in the thick of the ancient Danelaw and Norse influence, not to mention the Anglo-Saxons) and Germans.

If the book has one failing, it's that she doesn't always differentiate between elements of her practice that are borrowings from Amerindian or African diaspora magic, although she does mention that such borrowings exist. Her second book, Asfidy and Mad-Stones, does seem to do a better job of making such distinctions. Still, it's not an insurmountable problem, and doesn't greatly detract from the overall utility, and wonderful readability, of this terrific little book.

If you're at all interested in folk-magic, this is a great addition to your library.
8 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
lucyblue
5.0 out of 5 stars A True Voice
Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2016
Verified Purchase
Oh my. Ms Ballard writes so well and doesn't lose a bit of the Appalachian feel while blowing those "hillbilly" stereotypes right out the window. I am another well educated Southern Appalachian woman who nonetheless remembers her roots and this little book touched so many parts of my spirit. The conversational style kept me reading long after I meant to put it down.
This is no high priestess pomp and circumstance circus of tricks - this is the real deal, down home and powerful yet profoundly accessible information that almost anyone could use for self empowerment. It truly is a 'magic' primer, yet the richness of locale, of mountain color, of her-stories weaving through the pages makes it so much more than that. I read a lot, and rarely give 5 stars, but would give this one 6 at least. I am grateful for the information, for the writing style, for the light being shone on this wondrous culture called southern Appalachia, and also impressed mightily by the fine writing and editing. Practically perfection this is - astonishing!
10 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Kathleen
5.0 out of 5 stars Finding Something Deeper
Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2017
Verified Purchase
This is a really terrific book. Biographical resources are the way to go with learning folk magic. It happens to be peppered with instructables and recipes, but the real meat of the book is in its authenticity, and the way you can really connect with the whole purpose of folk magic: practical magic, practical results rooted in a relationship with the land you know. It's really good to have a first hand account of what being raised with that lifestyle is like, as so many people are missing that today. H. Byron Ballard is a very down to earth storyteller, and she brings a way of living back to many people who didn't know what they were looking for.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Violette Rose-Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars Ridiculously good and practical.
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2013
Verified Purchase
I was nervous buying this book, not sure whether I would hit a self-aggrandizing stinker of an author or the real deal, some who worked at the grassroots level with practical knowledge and a pragmatic approach to things. I wanted the latter and this is what I got. I suspect this may be the most useful book on witchcraft I will ever buy. If you want high ritual, the mystical in a pretty package with glitter and dark, hidden secrets, this book is not for you. If, however, you need magick in your life to right inequalities, find that extra bit of cash when you are hard up or just protect your family from the drugged up idiot next door, then this is the book for you. I have been practicing for nearly fifteen years, have bought dozens of books. If I had to cull them to ten, this book would be in that ten.
40 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Atteneri Black
3.0 out of 5 stars 3.5/5 stars
Reviewed in Mexico on March 2, 2023
Verified Purchase
I have learned a few receipts that I'm eager to add to my practice. This book has motivated me to be more in touch with nature.
Report
Peter Gergel
5.0 out of 5 stars Just an introduction...
Reviewed in Canada on July 23, 2021
Verified Purchase
As the title says, it's just an introduction. An appetizer! But it's a good introduction. Opens your appetite and you need more. Good book, but to short. Like the author's style. It's worth to read.
Report
Mrs F.
5.0 out of 5 stars Grounded Wisdom
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 19, 2022
Verified Purchase
I loved the accessible tone of this book, the clear guidance and the humour made it a fun read as well as being packed with practical tips and receipts for everyday life. Highly recommended.
Report
Selfeor Steorra
5.0 out of 5 stars Great insight into Appalachian culture and Folkways
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 6, 2016
Verified Purchase
Great insight into Appalachian culture and Folkways, and the author has a writing style that is simply charming. Hoping that her second book on hillfolks hoodoo becomes available on Kindle soon.
Report
susan watt
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 9, 2016
Verified Purchase
Great
Report