Dave Gaddy, Southern Witchcraft, and Animals Lessons – Ep. 9

Dave Gaddy is a southern witch (or as he spells it: “wytch“) and the author of the book, The Simple Magick of Wild Things. He has a deep connection to nature and frequently practices a form of magick that he calls “Granny Magick” — more on that later.

In this interview, we discuss his background (including how part of his spiritual journey was spent as a Christian pastor), Appalachian Folk Magick, connecting with our ancestors, and learning lessons from animals. I also learned a bunch of new terminology, like “haint,” “holler,” and “booger woods.”

I’ll give you the highlights here, sure, but if you want the full scoop, just go and watch the video!

My sincerest apologies because this article has long been overdue. Oh, and if you do watch the video, more apologies — I mislabeled the screen overlay as “Episode 8.” It’s actually Episode 9. But there’s nothing I can do about it now.

A Little Background

Dave was born and raised in North Carolina. He spent most of his childhood going back and forth between the mountains, hills, and “hollers.” (Hey, there’s one of those new words!)

Hollers, as Dave explains, are the lowlands of the mountains. There’s typically people there, but with a good amount of distance between them. I don’t know if the term is indicative of the fact that if you live there, you’ll have to holler (or shout) a message to your neighbor (because they’re so far away)… but that’s the image that comes to my mind.

Dave also spent some time as a Christian pastor, a rodeo clown, and as an aspiring actor in New York.

The Simple Magick of Wild Things

With the books subtitle, “The Journey of a Southern Male Wytch,” you’ll see right on the cover that Dave has chosen a slightly different spelling of the word “witch” — and this is how he refers to it throughout the book. When I asked him about it, he said it wasn’t necessarily a spiritual decision, he just liked it that way.

Each chapter ends with an exercise. All you really need to complete them are a pen and journal — and occasionally, something that you might find around you in nature… like a stone. If you’re new to starting out in magick, following these simple exercises is an easy way to get a feel for what “practice” looks like. And if you’re experienced, they are a great opportunity to strip away complicated tools and rituals and return to basics with a different perspective.

Oh, and there’s some cool recipes in the back, too!

Writing Your Own Story

One of the “themes” I noticed in Dave’s book (and in some of his exercises) was the power of writing your own story. He says that each one of us have a story and we get to decide how that story goes. He advises to start small when making changes (or rewriting your story), identifying elements of your life that might be keeping you stagnant and slowly “writing them out.”

I thought it was pretty cool how his book almost seemed to be a fulfillment or manifestation of that exercise.

The value of all of this is really reflected in the type of ancestral work that Dave describes, which seems to circle around familiarizing yourself with the people who have come before you… or to put it another way: getting to know your ancestor’s stories. He says there are always kinfolk from your past that are looking out for you. Sooner or later, you’re going to be called upon as someone’s ancestor… so what tales will they tell of you?

Granny Magick

Dave’s name for his Grandmother was “Mama.” She sounds like quite a character, prone to singing or dancing at any given moment. And as you get to know Dave through his writing, you inevitably get to know her a bit, too — she’s the one that taught him to be a storyteller.

She also taught him her form of folk magick — things that might not have really been defined as “magick” or “witchcraft,” but have integrated themselves into the local forms of spirituality. It probably all falls under the wide umbrella of Appalachian Folk Magick,”but if you want to get a better feel for what I’m talking about, I’d suggest listening to the interview or reading the book.

Animal Allies

The iconic image of a [friendly-looking] possum adorns the cover of The Simple Magick of Wild Things. In the book, Dave explains why he’s terrified of them. When I asked him about it being on the cover, he said it was the publisher’s idea. Talk about confronting your fears!

Elsewhere in the book, Dave talks about plenty of animal allies and explains the lesson that they might be trying to teach you, from squirrels to crows. It was definitely one of my favorite parts of the book. One of those stories centers around a crow that followed him around, even to other people’s houses! Oddly enough, as I was finishing up the book, Selene and I encountered our own crow that followed us around our neighborhood. Those are some smart birds!

Finding Dave Gaddy

If you’re looking to find Dave online, here’s where you can go:

• Facebook @ Dave Gaddy or The Weathered Wiseman
• Instagram @ weathered_wiseman_real

He also likes to attend festivals like Sacred Space and Mystic South — so if you’re a frequent festival-goer, there’s a good chance you’ll catch him there!

You can order his book, The Simple Magick of Wild Things, from Amazon or from Rebel Satori. At the time of posting this article, Dave has another book on the horizon called Be the Wytch That You Are, which you can probably pre-order in the summer of 2025.

Sound and Magick

Dave says music is a huge part of his practice. Just like his grandmother, Dave says he is prone to random outbursts of singing or dancing. He also suggests listening to nature and learning to play along with it, whether it’s dancing to the sound of the wind or whistling to the sound of birds.

If you want the full scoop on that, however, you’ll have to listen to the interview so that you can hear it in his own words.

Conclusions

I’m so glad I got the chance to meet Dave and speak to him for an hour or so on my show. His story is heartwarming and relatable, regardless of whether or not you’re into magick. As always, though, I have to point out that these highlight articles are no substitute for listening to the full interview… and the interview is no substitute for actually reading the book. Go grab yourself a copy!

Hey guys. Listen, I really appreciate you being here and reading. And it looks like you read the whole thing. Or maybe you didn’t read anything and you just blindly scrolled to the bottom. Either way, that’s pretty cool of you. While you’re down here, let me go over the required fine print. There are a number of Amazon links on this page. If you use one of those links to make a purchase, like buying a book, Amazon pays me a tiny, insignificant commission. That’s all. Go find an animal and show them some love.