Blood and Spicebush began as my personal blog in 2014 and has evolved into a place to share my passion for Appalachian folk magic, folk herbalism, history and so much more. Let me introduce myself…

 I'm Rebecca Beyer, the woman behind the Blood and Spicebush. I live in the mountains of Western North Carolina where I teach people how to integrate the Old Ways back into a cyclical life, write books and articles, and work as a tattooer. If I knew as a child that I'd grow up to be a professional forager-witch, author and tattooer, I wouldn't have believed it. 

I was born in Western, PA, where both side of my family are from. I then mostly grew up in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, moving many, many times as a child. I moved to Western North Carolina in 2010 and found my first true sense of home. I have a B.S. in Plant and Soil Science: Agroecology from the University of Vermont where I fell in love with growing food. I completed a Masters in Appalachian Studies and Sustainability, concentrating in Appalachian Ethnobotany at Appalachian State University in May 2018. I am also a member of the Association of Foragers. Here is my Curriculum Vitae if you'd like to hire me for a lecture or University presentation. Despite my rough and tumble exterior, I love presenting in an academic setting.

I practice, research and write about Appalachian Folk Magic, Traditional Witchcraft, Primitive Skills, Gardening, Foraging, Appalachian Ethnobotany and European and Appalachian Folk Ways. I also study and research Southern Black and Indigenous, namely Cherokee: Tsalagi Gawonihisdi (ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ), ethnobotany and historical uses of plants to better serve all my students of all ancestries and continue to educate myself about the complex and difficult history of the land in which I am a guest on here in what is now called North Carolina. I am passionate about understanding the historical context that my own herbalism and folk magic practice happens within. 

Together, I call these things Hedgecraft. I've learned much from the amazing teachers at the Earth Skills Rendezvous, my apprenticeship at Wild Abundance with Natalie Bogwalker in 2011, my friends and mentors in our amazing community in WNC, and my serious collection of books. Listen and learn. There's no time to waste. 

I love playing guitar, singing Irish, Scottish, English and Appalachian Ballads, as well as fiber arts, spoon carving and basket making. I am a painter, tattooer and an author as well. I know, I am a busy body, but I like it that way.

I spend my days trying to learn what my ancestors did and finding ways to share traditional skills while tackling cultural appropriation through practicing and teaching those things which my relations would have done as a English, Irish, Scottish, German, French and Polish ancestored person. I used to say I was born into the wrong time, but hell, I was born exactly when I should have been. If you love Appalachia, traditional ways, wild foods or witchery, welcome home.