Mini-Retreat Series
The Appalachian Juju Mini-Retreat Series is built to walk folks through Appalachian history, culture, folk traditions, signs, omens, land-based wisdom, and spiritual practice one gathering at a time.
These events look at Appalachian folkways through a spiritual lens that honors the many streams that shaped this region, including Christianity, old-world European traditions, pagan religions, Indigenous influence, African influence, family practice, survival knowledge, and the everyday wisdom passed from porch to porch, kitchen to kitchen, elder to child, and holler to holler.
Each mini-retreat is part teaching, part reflection, part community gathering, and part hands-on practice. We will look at where these traditions came from, how they were carried, how they changed, and what they can still teach us now.
At the end of each gathering, we will bring the lesson down into real life through a simple ritual, reflection, or working that draws from the themes of that day. Nothing is required that goes against your beliefs or comfort level. You are welcome to participate fully, observe quietly, or adapt the practice in a way that fits your own path.
Each mini-retreat is designed to build on the one before it, but most can also stand on their own. The final gathering, Homecoming, is the exception. That event is intended as a closing circle for folks who attended at least one earlier mini-retreat in the 2026 series.
Anyone who attends an Appalachian Juju mini-retreat in 2026 will be part of the Founding Circle—the first group of people to help bring this series into the world.
Carry It to the River ~
Release What’s Heavy
Yadkin River near Tobaccoville, North Carolina. Photo by Firehill, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Carry It to the River explores the different kinds of water recognized in Appalachian folk tradition, what they are, how they are understood, and the ways they have been used in everyday life and spiritual practice.
We will talk about water signs and omens, the meanings attached to different waters, and the ways water has long been treated as both practical and sacred.
The gathering closes with the Appalachian tradition of carrying something too heavy to hold alone to the river and giving it over to the current. The river cannot change what happened, but it can carry the weight forward for us and help make room for release, reflection, and whatever comes next...
Take It to the Mountain ~ Guidance
Take It to the Mountain explores the mountain as a place of direction, perspective, and spiritual guidance in Appalachian life.
We will learn about Jomeokee, the mountain now called Pilot Mountain, and the long history of people looking to high places for clarity, warning, prayer, and a wider view of the road ahead. The gathering also connects that tradition to the arrival of the Moravians and the settlements of Bethabara and Old Salem.
We will talk about the ways mountains have served as landmarks, meeting places, places of retreat, and places where people went when they needed to listen more closely.
The gathering closes with a feather release from the mountainside. The feather becomes a physical token of the request for guidance—a way of placing the question into motion and asking for the path ahead to become clearer.
Listen in The Forest ~ Hearing Direction
Listen in the Forest is about learning how to be quiet and content where you are, so you can become more open to direction and better recognize guidance when it is offered.
This gathering focuses on the notion that stillness is not the same thing as being stuck.
We will talk about Appalachian traditions of “gettin’ still,” listening closely, and trusting that things grow and unfold in the way they are intended. Sometimes the next direction does not come from pushing harder. Sometimes it comes when we become quiet enough to hear it.
Stand at the Crossroads ~ Choosing a Path
Stand at the Crossroads is about discernment when more than one path is open, possible, and even promising. When several choices could all lead somewhere good, how do you recognize which one is truly yours?
This gathering explores Appalachian traditions and lore around seeking confirmation, recognizing signs, and knowing how and when to act. We will talk about the ways people looked for direction before making an important choice, beginning a journey, or committing themselves to a new road.
We will look at forms of divination used in Appalachia. The focus is not on predicting every detail of the future, but on learning how people sought clarity when the road ahead divided.
Into the Cave ~ Liminal Spaces
Into the Cave explores the liminal spaces in life—the in-between circumstances where one thing has ended, but the next has not fully begun.
This gathering is about learning how to exist in that space without rushing through it, forcing an answer, or treating uncertainty as failure. We will talk about how to become more content with the pause, the threshold, and the parts of the journey that have not yet revealed their purpose.
We will also have a little fun with Appalachian lore surrounding “the veil,” including why certain places and moments were understood as thin or set apart, how people recognized them, and what determined whether those spaces were sought after or run from.
Come Home ~ Return and Remember
Come Home is the closing gathering for anyone who attended at least one Appalachian Juju mini-retreat during the 2026 series.
This will be a free potluck event for returning participants—a chance to sit together, share food, remember what we learned, and recognize the circle that helped bring this series into being.
We will talk about what homecoming and community have meant in Appalachia, how those bonds are fading by Appalachian standards, and what it may take to build some of that closeness, responsibility, and belonging again.
Each person will also receive a keepsake grimoire page recognizing them as a founding member of the Appalachian Juju Mini-Retreat Series.