My Village Witch

I’m Byron Ballard and I’m pleased to welcome you to My Village Witch. We have some intentions for this space that include presenting and promoting my writing and workshops and to offer to the sincere spiritual seeker a gateway into Appalachian folkways and to practical magic techniques. There is an array of services to focus on offer to enhance your journey. My goal in this and in all my work is to provide an authentic and filling experience. I am a witch and energy consultant; a freelance writer and an urban farmer; a weaver of words and webs, and I may have found a hat rack here on which to hang all my bonnets.

From successful public rituals to a simple handfasting, from “ghostbusting” your new/old house to blessing your child’s first car, you’ll find a variety of options for services contained in these pages. If there’s something you don’t find here, please send us an email and we’ll let you know cost and availability. Caveat: I do spend a fair amount of time on the road during festival season and I wander hither and yon. I will get back to you as soon as I am able.

I am a western NC native, a teacher, an amateur folklorist, and writer. I have spoken at and taught workshops at the Appalachian Studies Association annual conference, the Conference on Current Pagan Studies, Rites of Spring, Florida Pagan Gathering, Gaia’s Womb, Glastonbury Goddess Conference, Hexfest, Pagan Spirit Gathering, Pagan Unity Festival, Sacred Feminine Rising, Sacred Space, Scottish Pagan Federation, Sisters Rising, Starwood, Trees of Avalon, and others. I am a senior priestess and co-founder of Mother Grove Goddess Temple and the Coalition of Earth Religions/CERES, both in Asheville, NC.

I love to contribute to anthologies, and I write a regular column on Crone Life for SageWoman Magazine. My books include Staubs and Ditchwater (2012), Asfidity and Mad-Stones (2015), Embracing Willendorf (2017), Earth Works (2018), Roots, Branches, and Spirits (2021), Seasons of a Magical Life (2021), and Small Magics (Fall, 2023). Upcoming books include Feral Church (2024), The Ragged Wound: Tending the Soul of Appalachia, a cookbook from Wyrd Mountain, and a musical adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.


 

I do a weekly podcast on Appalachian life and ways, with Alicia Corbin Knighten, called Wyrd Mountain Gals. It’s available wherever you get your podcasts.

Classes and Workshops: Wayfaring

I present workshops in all sorts of interesting places and explore our personal and collective mythos. There are few things more delightful and satisfying than a good workshop. We can create one tailored to the needs of your group or can let you know when the next one will be offered. Click on the link below to view available workshops. Please contact us for a more in-depth description as well as price and availability. Working in the glory of the southern highlands of Appalachia means we are but a stone’s throw from Charlotte, Atlanta, Richmond, DC.

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Contact Me

info@MyVillageWitch.com

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If you want in on the newest news, snippets of works in progress and more, join my Matreon.

Copyright © 2024 H. Byron Ballard. All Rights Reserved.