Appalachian Folk Magic with Byron Ballard

Tarot and Magic go hand in hand. What else are we doing, when we work with the cards to look beyond what we see with our eyes? In Appalachian Folk Magic especially, the bridge to the Beyond is deeply rooted in the physicality of our bodies and the earth, and in Episode 28 of TABI's Tarot World, your hosts Victoria and Gwen talk to Appalachian witch, folklorist, author, and artist Byron Ballard about the intersection of the worlds we experience. Also like the Tarot, Appalachian Folk Magic is an amalgamation of many cultural traditions. Byron takes us from the lowlands of Scotland to the highlands of North Carolina via Child ballads - music being the source of so much magic - where it weaves the traditions of the Cherokee nation and hoodoo into a spirituality that works alongside a solid framework of Protestantism. We talks songs and spells, eggs and butter, waulking and keening, and our society's approach to death ... it's all about healing and making whole. A reader of playing cards since childhood, Byron discusses her approach to reading Tarot and which deck she favours, and then we move on to her own Oracle deck, The Revelator. An entirely hand-drawn deck with quilt squares as the background, The Revelator might be beautiful and evocative in its depiction of Appalachian culture, but don't be fooled -- the deck pulls no punches in its messaging. The first half of the deck is out now (keep an eye on TABI's blog for a review coming soon) and the second half is due out at the end of 2026/start of 2027. Make yourself a cup of tea, set your intention, and listen. There's magic in the making.

Find Byron Ballard on her website http://www.myvillagewitch.com, where you can read about her workshops, classes, readings, and her eight books on Appalachian Folk Magic and Goddess worship; she is a co-founder and currently serves as Senior Priestess at the Mother Grove Goddess Temple in Ashevillehttps://mothergrove.org/

Want to find out more about TABI? Visit our website at www.tabi.org.uk Membership is international and only £20 per year. If you'd like to get in touch with Victoria and Gwen, you can email us: podcast@tabi.org