Born in the garret, in the kitchen bred. 

(Lord Byron, A Sketch)

For my grandmothers. For my grandchildren.

1. All there is is a single tree.
2. This tree is the world-soul.
3. Every branch of the world-soul is itself a soul.
4. A soul is a lived life.
5. A lived life is irreplaceable, just as it is.
6. Living life begets a soul.
7. Each soul is a branch.
8. The branch is always here, has been, and coulda woulda shoulda.
9. Every branch connects together, every soul making more in every step.
10. The world-soul feels and thinks and acts and is in every life.
11. Living your life is loving wisdom; in all wisdom is the world-soul.
12. In every choice we make, she makes a choice with us.
13. Every choice we make is a grandmother to another and another.
14. The world-soul mothers all, generating generations generating everything.
15. Each and every one of us has a soul, lives our life, and mothers somethin’ or other.
16. We could and should be a gift to all the world, make a home in her leaves, and become a granny to the whole of time.
17. Magic is knowing somebody’s true name; I yam that I yam, being being itself.
18. We make a world by being-magic.
19. Being is always being-magic, worlding the worlds of souls ensouling the world-soul, granny-magic.
20. Shuck peas and pick pecans.

These are the so-called “power doctors,” backwoods specialists, each claiming to be endowed with supernatural power to cure certain specific ailments. They seldom attempt any general practice, and most of them take no money for their services, although they may accept and even demand valuable presents on occasion. Some of these people, usually old women, can cool fevers merely by the laying on of hands ;others draw out the fire from burns by spitting or blowing upon the inflamed areas, while still others claim to heal more serious lesions by some similar hocus-pocus. One old lady who specializes in burns says that she always mutters a few words which she “l’arnt out’n the Book” -the Bible,that is- but refuses to tell me what particular text is used.

Vance Randolph, Ozark Magic & Folklore

Image: Magnolias on a Wooden Table by Martin Johnson Heade (n.d.)