Friends of the Forest: Mountains, Feathers, Roots & Secrets in the Woods
Merry Meet everyone!
By now, you all know my deep love for the Moon, the Sun, and the Ohio River. But being born and raised here in West Virginia, surrounded by ancient mountains and foothills, the woods are my true sanctuary. With my Native American blood, nature is truly one with me—it runs in my spirit. That’s where I do so much of my meditating, grounding, and daily practice.
On the other side of my family, my German roots run deep. My grandmother—even while being a devout Lutheran—dabbled in the darker, mysterious side of folk practice. She’s the one who turned me on to the unknown, the unseen, and the occult. She had an old wooden Ouija board we used to consult, along with old-world rituals and beliefs that I’ll have to share with you all sometime!
Whenever I’m out in the woods, I always carry fire and work with the elements—and nature always answers back:
Butterflies : I’ve had butterflies land directly on me, carrying the presence and peace of past clients who have crossed over.
Forest Encounters : Deer, rabbits, wild turkeys, and birds that always seem to cross my path at the exact right moments.
Feathers : I am deeply passionate about collecting feathers—each one is an intentional gift and message from spirit.
There are ancient secrets and pure magic hidden deep in these Appalachian hills. Like Crowley taught with backwards thinking and hidden codes—a real-life Jabberwocky—I even listen to music backwards in my rituals to unlock different states of mind and hear the hidden frequencies.
I’m starting this dedicated thread so I don’t clutter the main board with endless wildlife and nature shots (don’t want to overwhelm anyone or get flagged! lol ). I’m slowly catching up on everyone’s amazing posts during downtime between shifts and while clients rest.
Sit back, enjoy the photos, and feel free to share your own animal encounters, spirit signs, ancestral roots, and woodland magic here!
What lovely images! The countryside around you looks so peaceful. I love seeing all the rocks and boulders.
I’m incredibly fortunate to have so many of these animals living near or visiting my backyard, even so close to a city. Their presence is my gift from the Universe!
This summer, Mama turkey visited with her three chicks. She accepted bird seed from a paper cup.
These two come every single Spring, and just hang out till around midsummer. Nothing we do out there (gardening, mowing) bothers them. Meet Daisy and Jay.
She was actually born in Monschau, Germany, and her family settled in the Ohio Valley. So I don’t know about Pennsylvania Dutch. I have heard and seen a lot about them.
From what little I know about the Pennsylvania Dutch, William Penn went and found, like, all the Quakers and proto-Amish or whatever. But what he advertised was the Freedom of Religion thing. To everyone in, like, Germany, Sweden, and England that he could get ahold of.
So, of course, all those pagans in the Black Forest and the other areas came over and settled down, posing as Quakers but doing their own thing. They hid their charms and things in, like, paintings and other ways, and therefore most Hex Signs were stars in circles.
A lot of the quilt patterns came from that area, I think. It’s been a while since I read the book I’m thinking of, but they went on to point out how a lot of quilt patterns were protective, too? Not sure on that either. But it makes sense.
That makes sense. My grandmother loved to quilt and had some unique ones, now that I think about it. I would love to read that book. If you can think of the name of it, please send it to me.Like I said, now I’m going to have to do a deep dive, lol. Thank you… The more knowledge more stronger we get.
When I read it back in the 2000s, it was Pennsylvania Dutch Folk Magic, but it was renamed back in the 2010s into American Folk Magick by Silver Ravenwolf.
don’t remember a lot; I remember what little I do, thanks to the Crying Child Series by Barbara Michaels, who did an entire book with a cursed quilt and a stalker. Stitches in Time was very interesting, even though I’m not sure how accurate it is. I’m assuming it’s pretty good because she was an intellectual and actually an Egyptologist! She did a lot of books with folklore in it.
Wow @Feathertip your photos are amazing I don’t live around any forest but I did have a fox visit me one morning I opened the door and we both looked at each other it was a great moment and also, I had a swarm of bees around my front door that I couldn’t get outside then they eventually settled down on a tree branch for a rest and off they went to find a new home.
Thank you! Wow, that’s a lot of bees - glad they decided to pick another spot further away from your front door.
This sounds fascinating - she is apparently a very good writer and has penned several books. I do like reading about the various ways early settlers established themselves here - everyone had their own reasons and agendas for pulling up stakes and coming here. I’ve only the sketchiest recollections of reading about the Pennsylvania Dutch, but Mr. Penn certainly was involved in rounding up a lot of folks in his day.
Just took a peek - there’s one paperback copy sitting at Amazon for 60USD! Not likely to grab that anytime soon: wonder if it’s out of print.
Absolutely beautiful photos! The wildlife was all so adorable! I live in north Alabama in the foothills of the Appalachian’s. I love to go to our Bankhead National Forest and spend time deep in nature. Thanks for sharing the wisdom and photos!
Will be doing some research on Bankhead National Forest . Got my intention sounds lovely and for comments. Feel free to share any photos . Would love to see
Please share any lizards or snakes or anything that comes to visit. I would love to see them. To me, that would be fascinating to see. We have snakes and turtles; that’s pretty much it for reptiles. This was on my way to work this morning, pulling into the neighborhood.Deer up here are like family; we all live together. Blessed Be
What wonderful photos! I love walking out in nature (although I no longer do much of it due to the climate here and my knees). But I do at least like to sit out on our patio and watch the birds and butterflies in our suburban back yard. Thank you for sharing these wonderful photos.
We go up to a rental cabin in northeast Texas each year and here is a photo I took on our last visit. Lots of wildlife up there.
Friends of the Forest: Mountains, Feathers, Roots & Secrets in the Woods 
: I’ve had butterflies land directly on me, carrying the presence and peace of past clients who have crossed over.
: Deer, rabbits, wild turkeys, and birds that always seem to cross my path at the exact right moments.
). I’m slowly catching up on everyone’s amazing posts during downtime between shifts and while clients rest.
I would love you’re backyard. 
on Bankhead National Forest 
. Got my intention sounds lovely 
and 
or snakes 
or anything that comes to visit. I would love to see them. To me, that would be fascinating to see. We have snakes and turtles; that’s pretty much it for reptiles. This was on my way to work this morning, pulling into the neighborhood.Deer up here are like family; we all live together. Blessed Be 
before; that sounds like pure Zen 
to me. Cabin 
water 
fire