New Apartment, New Altar!!!! I Found A Handmade Kitchen Hutch Beautifully Made By A Carpenter In The

Bibliography of Scholarly Articles and Books

Abbott, Frank, "The Devil Made Me Do It." Popular Spirituality in a Rural Quebec Parish, 1736-1901." Journal of the Canadian Historical Association/Revue de la Société historique du Canada, vol 27, no. 1 (2016): 1-30.

Abbott, Francis A. "The Body or the Soul? Religion and Culture in a Rural Quebec Paris, St-Joseph-de-Beauce, 1736-1901," Simon Fraser University Thesis, Fall 2012.

Anselme Chiasson. Les légendes des Iles de la Madeleine. Éditions des Aboitaux, 1969.

Anselme Chiasson. Le diable Frigolet et 24 autres contes des Iles de la Madeleine. Éditions de l'Acadie. 1991.

Arseneau, Danielle, "Growing Acadian Medicine: From the Acadian Homeland to Nova Scotia Gardens," Dalhousie University. 8 pages.

Arsenault, Georges. La Chandeleur en Acadie. Éditions La Grande Marée Ltée. 2011.

Arsenault, Georges. Contes, légendes et chansons de l'Ile-du-Prince-Édouard. Éditions La Grande Marée Ltée. 2018.

Arsenault, Georges. Noel en Acadie. Éditions La Grande Marée Ltée. 2005.

Arsenault, Georges. La Mi-Carême en Acadie. Éditions La Grande Marée Ltée. 2007.

Benoit Lacroix. Folklore de la mer et religion. Leméac. 1980.

Bergeron, Bertrand. Contes, legendes et recits du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean. Trois Pistoles, 2004.

Bergeron, Florence. A force d'amour: biographie de Florida Gilbert. Société d'histoire du Lac-Saint-Jean. 2008.

Bouchard, Russel. L'exploration du Saguenay par J.-L. Normandin en 1732: Au coeur du Domaine du Roi. Journal original retranscrit, commente et annote. Septentrion, 2002.

Dawson, Nelson-Martin. Fourrures et forets metisserent les Montagnais: Regard sur les sang-meles au Royaume du Saguenay. Septentrion, 2011. 322 pages.

E.I. Robson. A Guide to French Fetes. Methuen & Co. Ltd. 1930.

Gaudet, Colby. "Women and Acadian Popular Religious Culture in Southwestern Nova Scotia, 1795-1820," Vancouver School of Theology, thesis submission, March 2018.

Gaudet, Rose-Delima. “La place de l’Église catholique aux Îles-de-la-Madeleine” Sessions d’études: Société canadienne d’histoire de l’Église catholique 46 (1979): 99-106.

Karst, Amanda. 2010. Conservation Value of the North Ameriacn Boreal Forest from an Ethnobotanical Perspective. Canadian Boreal Initiative, David Suzuki Foundation and Boreal Songbird Initiative; Ottawa, ON; Vancouver, BC; Seattle, WA.

Labelle, Ronald. “Native Witchcraft Beliefs in Acadian, Maritime and Newfoundland Folklore” Ethnologies 30, no. 2 (2008): 137-152.

Lapierre-Otis, Rita. Angèle des Iles: Pour la suite de son monde. Jonquière (Impression à Cap-Saint-Ignace), à compte d’auteur, 1997.

Laurendeau, Geraldine. Inventaire des savoirs et des connaissances des Pekuakamiulnuatsh sur les plantes médicinales, rapport final. Ressources naturelles Canada. Mars 2011.

Lavoie, Kathia, Julie Mollen, Agathe Napess, Georgette Mestokosho et Priscilla Mestokosho. "Innu-Natukuna: La cueillette de plantes médicinales par des membres de la communauté d'Ekuanitshit" Recherches Amérindiennes au Quebec, vol. 45, no. 2-3. (2015).

Madeleine Doyon-Ferland. "Folk Dances in Beauce County," Journal of American Folklore vol. 67 no. 264 (April-June 1954): 137-47; "Carnavals et deguisements traditionnels en Beauce." and "Rites et voisinage chez trois populations rurales canadiennes (Beauce, Dorchester et Charlevoix)" in Coutumes populaires du Canada francais (Quebec: Les Presses de l'Universite Laval, 1972). Found at Library Archives Canada, General Collection F5419 F4 1972.

Maison Saint-Gabriel: Musee et site historique. "Capsule Historique: Croyances populaires et superstitions au Quebec ou côtoyer le merveilleux."

Marius Barbeau. The Tree of Dreams. Oxford University Press. 1955.

Marius Barbeau. Le Saguenay légendaire. Librairie Beauchemin Limitée. 1967.

Nicole Belmont. Mythes et croyances dans l'ancienne France. Flammarion. 1973.

Niemeyer, Mark. "Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie and the Ambiguous Afterlife of the History of the Acadians." Canadian Review of American Studies/Revue canadienne d'etudes americaines vol. 48, no.2, (2018).

Pearl, Jonathan L. "Witchcraft in New France in the Seventeenth Century: The Social Aspect." Historical Reflections/ Reflexions Historiques, vol. 4, no. 2. (Winter 1977): 41-55.

Pierre DesRuisseaux. Dictionnaire des croyances et superstitions. Éditions Triptyche, 1990.

Podruchny, Carolyn. Making the Voyageur World: Travelers and Traders in the North American Fur Trade. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2006.

Podruchny, Carolyn, "Werewolves and Windigos: Narratives of Cannibal Monsters in French Canadian Voyageur Oral Tradition," Ethnohistory vol 51 no.4, 2004.

Ransom, Amy J. "The Changing Shape of a Shape-Shifter: The French Canadian "Loup-garou"." Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, vol. 26, no. 2 (2015): 251-275.

Robinson, James M. The Nag Hammadi Library: The Definitive Translation of the Gnostic Scriptures Complete in One Volume.

Smallman, Shawn. "Spirit Beings, Mental Illness, and Murder: Fur Traders and the Windigo in Canada's Boreal Forest, 1774 to 1935" Ethnohistory vol 57, no. 4 (Fall 2010): 571-596.

Smith, Isobel. "Man into Animal: Lycanthropy in French and French-Canadian Folklore and Literature." Thesis presented to the University of Alberta, Spring 1985.

Tremblay, Marc. "Le cycle de la chasse-galerie: Etude des variantes significatives, de la diffusion et de la structure d'un conte folklorique canadien-francais." These soumise a l'universite Carleton, Janvier 1996.

Victor-Lévy Beaulieu. Les contes québécois du grand-pere Forgeron a son petit-fils Bouscotte. Éditions Trois-Pistoles. 1998.

W. Branch Johnson. Folktales of Brittany. Methuen & Co. 1927.

Wintemberg, W. J. “French Canadian Folk-Tales”, The Journal of American Folklore 17 no. 67 Published by American Folklore Society (Oct.-Dec. 1904): 265-267.

Legend of St. Hubert, oil con canvas. — Samuel John Carter (British, 1835-1892)

I decorated a Huckleberry compass this week! The shape is reminiscent of a planchette and it held the perfect opportunity for some stained glass painting.

Really Gorgeous Playing Card Decks from Bicycle Cards! An appreciation

Since I've been reading normal playing cards in my folk practice, I didn't want to limit myself to any ordinary deck I'd find in Dollarama or in a cupboard. Like Tarot cards, I want my deck to be gorgeous and evocative! So, here are my favourites, and you all might love looking at these!

Aviary (I own this one and use it for my practice)

Marquis

Jubilee

The Sea King (I lost my ace of spades in this one)

Odyssey

Stargazer New Moon

Stargazer

Stargazer Sunspot

Stargazer Observatory

Voyager

Honorable mention: A Ducale Game. I have no idea how to play it, but the cards evoke really old art styles! Not from Bicycle.

I love how my community groups together to learn together! Keep sharing resources, and someday we may have a book on the shelves for our practice :)

Hello! i just discovered your account. I read the same chapter in the North American Folk Magic book and felt connected to it through my french canadian ancestors. I’m having trouble locating books or really anything about these folk traditions. Do you have any to recommend? thank you so much <3

Hello! :)

I’m so sorry this has taken me months to reply to—I’ve had a reply half-written in my drafts for ages, but the end of the year was crazy so I wasn’t able to finish writing it until now. Hopefully this is still helpful!

I’m going to start off by saying that I’m by no means an expert on this topic (I’m fairly new to reconnecting to these practices), so I’m probably missing some key sources. My French is very poor, so I’m unable to read a lot of the sources that are out there—especially Quebec-specific sources, which are often written in French.

Unfortunately, there aren’t any French Canadian folk magic 101 books (at least not that I know of!) out there, so we have to get a bit creative when it comes to sources.

First, I highly recommend checking out the website Courir le loup-garou (link)! They have a lot of articles about different aspects of Acadian and French Canadian witchcraft (sorcellerie). All of their articles are bilingual, and it’s an excellent, accessible resource to get you started. They also have a page on there with sources they’ve used (books, articles, etc.), so it might be helpful to take a look at those.

I’ll also direct you to @lesorciercanadien, who is a practitioner with excellent informational posts, as well as sources cited that you can comb through.

There is a podcast episode of Three Witches and a Druid, interviewing Laurence Cote, who is a French Canadian folk practitioner, about the subject. Link (goes to the Apple podcast app) here.

Another thing to do is to look at the living culture of your family members or people you know. Personally, my Acadian side of the family are very Christian and have no ties to any sort of magic or animistic beliefs—they don’t even pray to saints, which is a common aspect of French folk practices. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing for me to work with! Just means I have to be creative. For example, my Acadian family members use summer savoury in a lot of traditional recipes (meat pies, chicken fricot, stuffing on Christmas), so that’s an herb that I incorporate into my craft a lot of the time.

Food is an excellent and accessible form of culture that you can utilize in your own practice. By looking at common ingredients and working with the spirits of those plants and herbs, for example, or by practicing kitchen witchcraft as you try different recipes. I’ve found this a great way of connecting with my ancestors—following family recipes or even looking up Acadian recipes online and devoting that time spent cooking to those ancestors. It always makes me feel closer to them.

Similarly, I find that listening to traditional music is a great way of connecting to these ancestors. I’m unsure if it’s the same for general French Canadians, but I grew up listening to my Acadian family from New Brunswick playing folk music—specifically fiddles and mandolins and banjos. Sometimes I listen to this music as a way of reconnecting to that side of the family.

Another way to find sources is academic journals, and these will usually be articles about folklore, history, or religion. Use Google Scholar/JSTOR/etc. and search terms like the following ones: "province name"/"quebec"/“acadian”/“french canadian”/"city name" AND "witchcraft"/"folklore"/"magic"/"folk healer." Etc. These aren't always exciting reads, and sometimes the research goes nowhere, but I've found some amazing info this way.

Another type of source to look out for is folklore books—specifically ones related to French Canadian folklore. I was going to insert the name of an old one I read a while ago here, but unfortunately I’ve misplaced the name. I’ll include it here if I find it.

The story of Evangeline is one that is incredibly important in Acadian folklore, and the epic poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is worth a read. Evangeline is a folk hero to many, and is honoured by some folk practitioners.

I’ll also note that there tend to be a lot of awful racist stereotypes related to Indigenous people in some of the older articles and books about witchcraft in Canada, so that’s something to keep in mind as you do research.

Many of the mentions of Indigenous peoples within the particular papers I have read are due to the close ties some Acadian and Mi’kmaq peoples had with each other historically, which led to cross-cultural communication, trade, kinship, and the sharing of beliefs and knowledge. For example, the northern lights have shared folkloric beliefs for both cultures, which shows the cross-cultural communication that took place between them.

Until someone writes a comprehensive French Canadian or Acadian folk magic book, this is what we’ve got—unless there is a wonderful source out there that I haven’t come across yet! It’s a lot of work to dig through all of these sources to piece together your own folk practice, but I find it very rewarding. Putting in all that work just makes you feel all the more connected to the practices you’re doing, and it’s very worthwhile, at least to me!

Again, sorry this took so long, and I hope it helps! Happy new year :)

Bioregional Magic: Sustainable Ways to Work with Native Plants

Note: Post Contains Personal Anecdotes and UPG

As someone with a nature-based practice, I completely understand the desire to work with native plants. Many of us are deeply compelled to foster a connection with our land spirits and the local flora and fauna.

But with the normalization of consumption in witchcraft spaces paired with unethical wildcrafting and foraging practices, it's important to be careful. We don't want to harm the native plant populations and the wildlife that depends on them in our quest for a more localized practice.

Learning which plants are safe to harvest

By safe, I don't mean safe to handle or consume, though this is also crucial knowledge for anyone harvesting wild plants in general. I'm specifically referring to whether or not the collection of native plant matter will make a negative impact on the local ecosystem.

Think of it this way, if your practice is spirit-focused. Will the collective spirits of certain plants really want to assist you if you're devastating their population for your own gain? IME the answer is a hard no.

Take a look at a field guide and start identifying some of the native plants in your region. Are some of them listed as endangered, threatened, or special concern? Now you know which plants you should never disturb or collect materials from.

If not threatened, are some species generally harder to find? Are they present only in a certain type of environment? Do they take a long time to mature and/or have a very specific method of seed dispersal? Proceed with caution.

Example:

Common Blue Violets are one of the first plants to bloom in my garden during springtime. I also consider them very important in my practice and like to harvest them for certain rituals. But like I said, they're one of the first native plants to bloom during spring. Which means there are going to be pollinating insects, songbirds, and small mammals which rely on these plants for food. And predators who rely on those animals.

Since this is a hardy plant that usually grows in abundance, it's okay for me to harvest some from the garden for personal use. But I still need to leave enough to serve as a resource for wildlife and allow it to reproduce for the following year.

On the contrary, I never touch my wild Bloodroot. I only have two or three plants in the garden, their seeds have double dormancy germination requirements, and they take 2-3 years to reach blooming size. I have only ever collected seeds for propagation, and even then do it rarely because I know that the ants do a much better job at this than I could.

So when we can't harvest materials to use for tools and ingredients in workings, how do we utilize these plants in our practice?

Physical Representations and Symbolism

Images, objects, and symbols representing the plant can be used to substitute organic matter that you would otherwise collect and use for workings. Consider art pieces or photos, sculptures, sigils and seals, paper cut or folded into the shape of leaves or flowers, etc.

If the plant is your main component or energy source, consider designing the working to cater to this. For example, if I'm petitioning the spirit of milkweed, I might want to incorporate aspects of air and wind, since this is how their seeds are distributed. Or I may want to add some lunar energies knowing that this is the planetary correspondence for milkweed. This is would completely depend on my intent for the specific working and which physical or spiritual aspects of the plant I choose to work with.

If you're seeking a more long-term effect, try getting crafty and using symbols of the plant to decorate your own tools. I'm talking homemade oracle cards, painted jars or boxes for container spells, decorated offering bowls, ritual jewelry, and so on.

Working with Living Plants

This one is for the spirit workers. While it's entirely possible to petition plant spirits, especially collectives, solely using imagery, working carefully with a living plant can help establish a more direct spiritual connection.

This can be done by conducting your working outdoors, inviting the spirit of the plant into your space, and asking for assistance. During this time you would leave an offering, usually fresh water, but you can also offer things like soil or compost. Obtaining a working knowledge of certain plants can help inspire ideas for more creative, species-appropriate offerings, giving your spells and rituals an extra boost.

Now if this were a plant that was on a special concern or endangered species list, I would avoid offerings and actions that could potentially disturb the plant in any way. I may work within a few feet of the plant and present my offering in a bowl, removing it at the end of the working. I would definitely avoid touching it or say, pouring out water over the soil where it grows.

While we're on the subject of offerings, consider acts of service. Once again, we're going to use milkweed as an example. If I want to leave a nice offering for the spirit of milkweed and I know that Black Swallowtails feed on the nectar and pollinate it, I may offer a potted plant of dill placed in the wildflower garden. This is because Black Swallowtail caterpillars love to eat dill and will later pupate into adults, which will be beneficial for the plant. Consider different species and their relationship with each other. You may even get multiple spirit allies out of the deal.

Cultivation and Seed Distribution

Now, we've talked about ways to avoid harm when incorporating native plant species into our practices, but what about making a positive impact?

The Act of Growing Things is actually my favorite part of plant magic. Sure, I love harvesting my vegetables, fruit, and herbs to use in various recipes, and wild plants I find in the yard are excellent allies. But there really is something special about watching a tiny seedling grow into a full-sized plant, or seeing that delicate young native perennial thrive during its first year outdoors.

Whether transplanting or growing from seed, you're inevitably going to develop a strong relationship with that specific plant. You'll learn all about its growth rate, ecological benefits, soil requirements, and more. This will lead to folklore, correspondences, and later on your own UPG related to where this plant fits within your practice.

Another option, if you don't have the energy for more hands-on cultivation, is seed scattering. Disturbed areas like roadside ditches or even your backyard are perfect for this. Whether scattering or growing in starter pots, seeds can be charmed or enchanted with a specific intent and planted as a sort of living spell.

I use Prarie Moon Nursery for my seeds, but there are plenty of other affordable online vendors. You can also check out what's available locally. There are a few native-focused nurseries in my area that have a nice variety of options depending on the season.

Let there be light!

"Totentanz/Danse Macabre" Probably one of my most well known & and most fitting for the season piece is once again available as a tapestry print!

Google Docs

Werewolves Tapestry Pre-Order 2024

Pre-order for the following selection of tapestries: "Shapeshifter" "Totentanz" "Transmutation" "Nachtschwärmer" "13 - Death" "Perchta" "Bi

Celebrations in Acadian Culture - Mardi-Gras, Ash Wednesday and Lent

For Christians the world over, Lent has begun! It is a movable time of the year, not always landing on the same day. It begins however, with Ash Wednesday. It falls 47 days before Easter. Ash Wednesday begins the Lenten season, where its objective is to practice moderation, repentance, fasting, and reflections on our spiritual lives. In the Scriptures, it reflects the period of time where Jesus, after being baptized by John the Baptist, wandered in the desert for 40 days to meditate and be at one with God to prepare himself for his mission on Earth.

The eve before Ash Wednesday (known as Shrove Tuesday in the English-speaking world, and Mardi-Gras to the Francophones) families make pancake suppers to indulge in one last sweet treat before the 40 days of sweet privation. In Acadian communities, on that Tuesday, sometimes the Monday prior, classes would be let off early so that the children could prepare themselves for a masquerade in town. It was tradition to go door to door, with masks and costumes and request treats and candy. Some festive seekers would ask for potatoes and lard to make poutines râpées (a potato dumpling) to enjoy later. They would sing: "C'est monsieur Marier, qui n'a pas encore dîné. Va dans tons baril de lard, Nous chercher du lard." and the hosts would sing back: "Mardi Gras, va-t-en pas, On fera des crêpes, Et p'is t'en auras." (It's Mr. Marier that hasn't supped yet. Go to your lard barrel, and give us some lard!" "Shrove Tuesday, don't go away, we'll make crêpes, and you shall have some!") These dumplings would be prepared in two big cauldrons or pots, one for the girls, one for the boys. Some would hide names of each person in the dumplings, and upon discovering the name, the person has to give a kiss on the cheek to the lucky recipient. Another tradition was to hide a black and white buttons in the dumplings. Whoever discovers a black button would be single for the year, and a white button would foretell a happy wedding on the way. It was also known that folks would pull molasses into golden strands to lay in the snow, and roll onto a stick to enjoy! It was also superstition to not go into the woods for firewood on Shrove Tuesday, for fear of being maimed by your own axe. (Dupont 287-290)

Ash Wednesday, a solemn day of fasting among traditional Christians, is meant to remind practitioners that they are made of dust, and to dust one day they will return. "Souviens-toi que tu es poussière et que retourneras en poussière." the priest would say as he would draw a cross from the cinders of last years' palm fronds or cedar twigs. It is a ceremony in which to reflect on our own mortality, and that we are not above anything in this world, but a part of it.

For the Lenten period of 40 days many Acadian families of the past would fast according to the Church's rules of the time, quite severe. It would include 2 ounces of bread for breakfast, a full meal at lunch time and a little snack for supper. Since the 1940s, the Church relaxed its restrictions a smidge, allowing most families who still practice to just avoid eating meat and fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Many people nowadays also take the time to avoid sweets, or defeat a particular vice, such as smoking. Some pious families would even do a family rosary prayer every morning, attend mass more often, and participate in the Way of the Cross on Fridays and sing hymns and songs for this time. It was encouraged by the local churches that parishioners take the Way of the Cross to and from Mass on every Wednesday and Friday night during Lent.

One of them, a classic of oral tradition of French Canada, would be "La Passion de Jésus-Christ" (The Passion of Jesus Christ). One edition was picked up by Carmen Roy, from a resident of Port-Daniel, Mme. Zéphirin Dorion (born Philomène Roy) in the 1950s. This edition can be found online, or on the album "Songs of French Canada, Folkways", or on the vinyl Acadie et Québec, produced by the Folklore Archives of the University of Laval in 1959. Answering to St. John, Christ predicts his own death on the cross in this song.

(Lyrics taken from Le Parnasse des coeurs d'amour épris, released October 10th 2013). The French grammar in this song shows the French Canadian accent in its speaking, with emphasis on the 'Z' sound accompanying plural words, and a rolling of the Rs. This song, constantly evolving with time, has its roots in medieval France, from the regions where Acadian and Québecois settlers came from. An example of the song track can be listened to below:

This link provides different versions from varying regions in France, Acadie and Québec:

https://books.openedition.org/editionsbnf/471?lang=en

The Lenten Season for Acadian communities was a time of quiet. No weddings could be celebrated and no kitchen parties and dance nights. Young men could not visit their beloved girlfriends and many folks stopped playing card games.

The Mi-Carême is on the horizon though, so hold fast! Another post will come for this day of revelry and feasting! Just so you can also hold your breath while you wait!

Ways to participate in Lent

listen to the song in this post, and savour its melody. If you can understand French and appreciate the words, all the more to you!

take last year's Palm Sunday cedar twigs or palm fronds hung on your doorway and burn them to ash. Mark your forehead with the ashes, repeating the words used in the rites to remind ourselves that we are dust and to dust we will return. It is tradition to wear this mark for the entire day. Yes, even if you have errands to run or have to go to work.

take up a religious or spiritual activity you would like to get better at. For example, I'm sitting with myself every day for Lent to read the New Testament, taking time to understand and contextualize the words I'm reading. I'm reading the First Nations Version this year.

what do you feel like you could abandon for 40 days? Do you have a shopping addiction that needs curtailing? A vice you'd rather not have? Time to reflect on it and try to do better. The point is not to be amazing at it from the start. If you slip up, forgive yourself and start again.

pray a morning rosary if you feel so inclined! Being mindful in the mornings instead of scrolling through your social feed can do wonders for your mental health.

Almsgiving is also an encouraged practice this time of year. I like to use Lent to promise myself I will serve all my customers at my job the way that any human being deserves to be served, and take time to get outside of myself and empathize with their needs (I work in banking, St. Matthew help me)

References

Georges Arsenault. La Mi-Carême en Acadie. Editions La Grande Marée. 2007.

Jean-Claude Dupont. Héritage d'Acadie. Editions Leméac. 1977.

https://books.openedition.org/editionsbnf/471?lang=en

Bonjour and Hello!

My name is Laurence and I am a Heritage Witch. I chose this path in 2019 after research into my genealogical roots and heritage from Quebec and Acadia. I wanted to create a path for myself that was relevant to my experience growing up in my Quebec family and in the surrounding landscape around me. I have another Tumblr account, showing some French Canadian witch material, but I decided to hone the focus and create a new account just for this.

I research French Canadian and Acadian folk ways and history, using archive and scholarly sources to gain knowledge for my practice. I also aim to write a book about these practices for the modern witch. I want to have the information I gathered to be accessible to the wider witchcraft and Pagan community, for anyone that would be interested in adding these tidbits to their path.

As the book is being written, I am going to post some blog entries about my findings, and little tidbits of knowledge I've found.

This blog is a safe space for all witches and everyone that comes with an open mind. While French Canadian and Acadian culture is beautiful, I recognize the colonial aspects of the history and culture, and I aim to dismantle that. I will not entertain or tolerate Quebec nationalism, racism, xenophobia, homophobia, etc. I support active reconciliation efforts with indigenous cultures and peoples, and while I recognize that French Canadians and Acadians have a shared cultural history with indigenous peoples, this blog will not post or teach indigenous practices. It is not my place to do so. This practice focuses on folk Catholicism as practiced by my ancestors. I do not support the Catholic Church and I want them to be held accountable for all the wrongs they have committed. This is a place of love and acceptance.

Stay tuned and I look forward to exploring and sharing further.

-Laurence