Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Pagan
Pergamum Unfurled: Review – Mountain Conjure and Southern Root Work

Pergamum Unfurled: Review – Mountain Conjure and Southern Root Work

Last updated on: May 24, 2021 at 5:37 pm by Terence P. Ward

Pergamum Unfurled: Review – Mountain Conjure and Southern Root Work 2021-05-24T17:37:15+00:00 Terence P. Ward

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Conjure might be one of my favorite subjects. It’s a fully realized American form of magic, one that follows the experience of human migration to this continent. As with that human experience, conjure varies based on where it’s learned and from whom; it is the synthesis of knowledge gleaned in other places to best apply it on this continent; it reflects the particular types of oppression that humans have inflicted upon one another in this hemisphere, being a tool used most often by the oppressed; it’s also packed with ways to live in relationship with spirits in this land, which speaks to my animist heart. I have read, reread, and embraced the teachings of Mountain Conjure and Southern Root Work. With each pass through these pages, I gain deeper insights into these practices, and also into myself.

It’s clear from how this book is structured that Foxwood is a teacher before anything else. Understanding that subtle arts like conjure can never be fully conveyed through words on a page, the author nevertheless seeks to root the reader in the history and theology that underpin this particular style of conjure. If you are the sort who is tempted to skip to the spells, this may not be the best choice for your reading pleasure. To be clear, there are lots of very specific practices laid out in minute detail, but if you flip past the first hundred or more pages to get to instructions on uncrossing, for example, you’ve missed out on the inner work of doctoring your own root that is essential to get anything out of what comes next. Give yourself the gift of patience, and take the work of those early chapters seriously if you want to embrace this discipline.

Foxwood also tackles the history and cultural context of conjure in an unapologetic way. While all forms of conjure have roots that can be traced back to a variety of peoples, including the first ones to come to the Americas some 12,000 years ago as well as the poor folk scratching out a subsistence life in the Scottish highlands, a big part of any conjure tradition is owed to the Africans who were shackled, shipped, and treated as property, and to their descendants who were treated in the same way for a shameful number of generations. Another layer that is an essential part of conjure is its reference to biblical verses and deities. Rather than downplaying or ignoring either of these historical pillars, and the author makes it clear that they are part and parcel of these practices and must be embraced to use them authentically.

Foxwood writes about growing one’s spirit. Image by Med Ahabchane via Pixabay.

It’s when Foxwood writes about growing one’s spirit that the casual reader is separated from the serious worker. “The most important spirit those who seek to be spirit workers can ever conjure to this world is their own,” the author writes. Regardless of one’s cultural, geographic, and genetic background, heeding the lessons of this chapter will lead to profound change. One could do worse than to just reread this one section four or five times a year for life. Even if it doesn’t lead to developing relationships with some of the other spirits Foxwood discusses, it would not be wasted time.

There are indeed specific practices that include work with ancestors and spirits encountered in graveyards, along with those who dwell in certain plants and places. If the reader wants to add to a collection of healing or prosperity magic, this book has that and more—but again, don’t expect much of it to work for someone who hasn’t doctored one’s own root first. There is information aplenty here, but those without wisdom may find it out of reach. Fortunately the path to that sort of wisdom is laid out, too. In many ways, reading this feels more like being with a teacher than it does leafing through a reference work. The best way to learn anything esoteric uses a combination of both, but this is a pretty decent choice for someone who hasn’t found a teacher quite yet.

Quirks: this book has a lovely “hold my beer” passage in the form of “a recipe for attracting prosperous spirits.” These are passages that cause the reader to wonder if the exercise exists only on paper, or if anyone has tried it in the real world. When I see one, it makes me want to give it a try. This particular recipe involved some very specific ingredients, including a fist-sized lodestone and some other items that I did not have lying about my home. I carefully gathered all the necessary items over a period of weeks, and then I completed the steps as instructed. As it happens, I purchased the original version of this book—published with a different name—circa 2013, which means that I’m in a position to report that after feeding these spirits for a number of years, the prosperity of my family continues to grow. It took until sometime in 2014 before I was ready to begin this particular work, but seven years is enough time for me to pronounce this recipe as one that can be completed successfully.

The prosperity of my family continues to grow. Image by Francesco Bovolin via Pixabay.

Quibbles: Foxwood is unapologetic about the fact that conjure is a tradition that is heavily influenced by Christianity, and I appreciate that openness. Abrahamic religions represented a relatively well-documented bridge to the past, and are the only lens through which we can glimpse some folk traditions. What I wish had been addressed differently is the thread of monotheism that runs through the book without examination. Foxwood’s understanding of the universe is that no matter how many gods one believes exists, everything can be traced back to a single source which in some traditions is named with the common noun “god.” The language used suggests that this, at least, is something on which we can all agree, but in fact it is not something about which everyone can agree. I fully support the right of someone to believe that whoever they worship is an emanation of some singular source, in part because I once worshiped a god who told me that very thing and even turned into Herne to drive home the point. However, the gods I worship now are in no way part of some other deity, and have made that abundantly clear to me. The author could have framed the idea as being part of particular traditions rather than suggesting it’s a universal understanding. I found it distracting, because by exposing this blind spot Foxwood reminded me that I have some of my own that I’ve yet to discover.

Fortunately, the vast majority of people who read a book like this will find that quibble is beneath their notice. The reason to raise it is to show that this is the biggest problem I have with a largely outstanding book.

Title: Mountain Conjure and Southern Root Work
Author: Orion Foxwood
Publisher: Red Wheel/Weiser
ISBN: 978-1-57863-736-2

Mountain Conjure and Southern Root Work

About Terence P Ward

Terence P Ward is a moneyworker, journalist, Hellenic polytheist and Quaker who lives in the bucolic Hudson Valley with his wife and five cats. He is a hiereus (temple priest) of Poseidon with Temenos Oikidios, based in Rhode Island. You can read more about the author here.

Previous Post

May 21, 2021

Simple Witchery: Wildcrafting In The Northern Midwest

Next Post

May 25, 2021 Salt City Pagan: Why I Choose To Be Pagan

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category A Lakeside Hearth Adventures in Wortcunning Alone In Her Presence Arts, Crafts & Cooking Birthing Hereditary Witchcraft Book of Blackbirds Book Reviews Born-Again Witch Cauldron, Sword, Spear, & Stone Cermony and Liturgy Columns Community Dandelion Seeds Dear Jasmine Druid Thoughts Editor's Picks Everyday Pagan Family & Household Practice Family Traditions Full Frontal Magic Gateway Goddess Guest Articles Happily Heathen Health and Wellness Hearth of Hellenism Heathen Woman Hills of the Horizon History Holidays Horse Goddesses Interfaith Interviews Irish-American Witchcraft Jewish Witch Lamp & Labyrinth Letters from Midgard Literature, Media, Film, Music Loop of Brighid Love, Sex & Relationships Magic or Magick Making Light Naturalistic Traditions Nature News Outside The Circle Pantheisticon Politics Prayers, Poems, Blessings & Stories Queer Femme Mystic Queer of Swords Recipes Ritual and Practice Science and Research Seekers and Guides Seeking the Grail Socially Responsible Magic Spear of Athena Star Made Witch Syncretic Electric Technology The Blooming Staff The Busy Witch The Cartomancer The Crow's Nest The Dance of Pagan Recovery The Hearth of Hellenism The Lady's Quill The Other Side of the Hedge The Path of She The Rantin' Raven The Witches Next Door The Zen Pagan Theology, Ethics, Philosophy Tree City Witch Urban Earthwitch Wayfaring Woman Witch on Fire Wyrd Words

Select a Month January 2026 March 2025 December 2024 June 2024 April 2024 March 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 August 2023 July 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many times does the book of Genesis mention "God created"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

5 7 11 9