The Hidden Porch
Welcome to the porch, where we talk, conjure, and explore: Black Traditions, Superstitions, Magic, Folklore, and More.
The Hidden Porch Library
Whispers from The Hidden Porch
The Hidden Porch Table Cookbook
The Hidden Porch Table Cookbook
Whispers from the Hidden Porch: Old Southern Sayings, Spells, Prayers, and Warnings from Black Folks Who Knew
By Tamika Kelley (writing as Meeka , Keeper of the Hidden Porch)
"Down here, wisdom don’t come in textbooks , it come in whispers."
Step onto the porch where the spirit speaks, the ancestors watch, and every saying carries power. W
Whispers from the Hidden Porch: Old Southern Sayings, Spells, Prayers, and Warnings from Black Folks Who Knew
By Tamika Kelley (writing as Meeka , Keeper of the Hidden Porch)
"Down here, wisdom don’t come in textbooks , it come in whispers."
Step onto the porch where the spirit speaks, the ancestors watch, and every saying carries power. Whispers from the Hidden Porch is a soulful, raw, and powerful collection of over 300 old Southern Black sayings, omens, traditions, folk prayers, curses, and hidden spells , each rooted in the lived experience of Black Southern life.
Organized into eight spirit-led chapters, this book holds everything from:
- Everyday sayings your Big Mama used to warn you with
- Signs, omens, and spiritual codes passed down through generations
- Kitchen-rooted folk magic and Hoodoo hidden in plain sight
- Church mother wisdom, gospel shade, and prophetic tongue
- Love lessons, heartbreak rituals, and how to leave without lookin’ back
- Graveyard rules, funeral lore, and ancestor visitation signs
Whether it was said in a whisper, a hum, a prayer, or a curse , these are the voices of grandmothers, aunties, church elders, porch prophets, and neighborhood seers. Written in the unmistakable voice of a 43-year-old Southern Black woman from Pensacola, FL, Tamika Kelley (a.k.a. Meeka ) brings you a work that is not just a book , it’s an altar, a remembrance, and a testimony.
If you grew up hearing, “A hard head makes a soft behind,”
Or if you’ve ever had your spirit shift when someone said, “She got that old oil on her,”
This book is for you.
Pull up a chair. Let’s remember what they tried to make us forget.
The Hidden Porch Table Cookbook
The Hidden Porch Table Cookbook
The Hidden Porch Table Cookbook
This cookbook is a soulful journey through Southern Black kitchens of the 1700s to 1900s, capturing the heart and history. Each chapter features a curated selection of authentic, strong, and soulful recipes, from savory staples to sweet comforts, highlighting the flavors, traditions, and stories that nourished generations. Minimal yet po
This cookbook is a soulful journey through Southern Black kitchens of the 1700s to 1900s, capturing the heart and history. Each chapter features a curated selection of authentic, strong, and soulful recipes, from savory staples to sweet comforts, highlighting the flavors, traditions, and stories that nourished generations. Minimal yet powerful, each recipe connects the cook to a rich Southern heritage, preserving the soul of the South in every dish. ons.
Roots, Smoke, & Ritual
The Hidden Porch Table Cookbook
The Hidden Porch Alchemic
This ain’t just a cookbook..it’s a spellbook wrapped in cast iron and collard greens.
Roots, Smoke & Ritual is a sacred guide to the soul of Black Southern foodways, where the kitchen becomes an altar, herbs are holy helpers, and every pot carries a prayer.
Blending Hoodoo, Black folk herbalism, and ancestral rootwork, this one-of-a-kind
This ain’t just a cookbook..it’s a spellbook wrapped in cast iron and collard greens.
Roots, Smoke & Ritual is a sacred guide to the soul of Black Southern foodways, where the kitchen becomes an altar, herbs are holy helpers, and every pot carries a prayer.
Blending Hoodoo, Black folk herbalism, and ancestral rootwork, this one-of-a-kind cookbook offers over 100 spiritual recipes that feed both body and spirit. From sweetening teas to uncrossing baths, cornbread spells to money-drawing greens, each page feels like sitting at your Big Mama’s table, soaking up stories, flavors, and sacred wisdom.
🌿 Inside, You’ll Find:
- 100 homegrown herb recipes for love, protection, healing, and abundance
- Spiritual uses for everyday foods like beans, greens, lard, honey, and cornmeal
- Sacred formulas for floor washes, attraction oils, simmer pots, and dream teas
- Seasonal rituals, moon-phase cooking, and ancestral offerings
- A full glossary of 100 magical herbs and how to grow them
- Porch wisdom and folk warnings passed down from elder rootworkers
For Readers Of: - Jambalaya by Luisah Teish
- Working the Roots by Michele E. Lee
- Sacred Woman by Queen Afua
- Roots, Smoke & Ritual is a celebration of Black ancestral wisdom,a cookbook that stirs the spirit as deeply as the pot. It's perfect for the soul-led cook, spiritual herbalist, or anyone walking the path of rootwork and remembrance.
- Kitchen Witchery and folk herbal spellbooks
- Lovers of Hoodoo, conjure, herbal magic, and Southern healing
The Hidden Porch Alchemic
The Hidden Porch Alchemic
The Hidden Porch Alchemic
The Hidden Porch Alchemic is not just a book—it’s a spiritual companion, an ancestral almanac, and a conjure journal designed to walk beside you all year long. Rooted in Southern Black traditions, Hoodoo wisdom, and deep front-porch magic, this almanac guides soul workers through the sacred rhythms of the year with monthly rituals, astro
The Hidden Porch Alchemic is not just a book—it’s a spiritual companion, an ancestral almanac, and a conjure journal designed to walk beside you all year long. Rooted in Southern Black traditions, Hoodoo wisdom, and deep front-porch magic, this almanac guides soul workers through the sacred rhythms of the year with monthly rituals, astrological insights, weather signs, moon phases, and more.
Whether you're just beginning your spiritual path or returning to the ways your grandmother practiced in secret, this book will help you:
🌿 Track your dreams, omens, moon phases, and rituals
🌙 Understand planetary days, retrogrades, and zodiac energy
🕯️ Time your rootwork by the seasons, stars, and wind
📖 Journal your spirit journey with 90 days of reflection prompts
💐 Reconnect with ancestral signs, offerings, and soul messages
Includes:
- Horoscopes for all 12 zodiac signs (2025–2026)
- Monthly ritual themes, rootwork focus, and spiritual recipes
- Moon + retrograde calendar for 2025–2026
- Weather & wind reading tools rooted in African American folk wisdom
- Yearly tracking pages for herbs, dreams, signs, and ancestor work
✨ This almanac is perfect for the spiritually curious, kitchen witches, dreamers, diviners, rootworkers, or anyone who needs a place to slow down and listen to Spirit through the wind, the stars, and their own bones.
If you've ever said: “I wish I asked my grandma more before she passed”—this is the book for you.
The Hidden Porch Grimoire
The Hidden Porch Alchemic
The Hidden Porch Grimoire
The Hidden Porch Herb Grimoire is a sacred guide to the herbal wisdom found in traditional Hoodoo, root work, and Southern Black healing. Written for both new and experienced practitioners, this book walks you through the spiritual and physical uses of herbs, honoring their elements, histories, and sacred roles in conjure.
Drawing inspira
The Hidden Porch Herb Grimoire is a sacred guide to the herbal wisdom found in traditional Hoodoo, root work, and Southern Black healing. Written for both new and experienced practitioners, this book walks you through the spiritual and physical uses of herbs, honoring their elements, histories, and sacred roles in conjure.
Drawing inspiration from works like Jambalaya by Luisah Teish and rooted in Tamika Kelley’s own lived experience as a traditional root worker, this book is a living grimoire. It includes:
- Detailed profiles of Hoodoo herbs and roots
- Their uses for protection, love, cleansing, healing, and ancestor work
- How to mix herbs into spiritual baths, mojos, and condition oils
- A clear guide to elemental plant wisdom: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water
- Safe use practices, including a section on dangerous herbs for ritual only
- The differences between Hoodoo and Voodoo plant uses
- A guide to building your own sacred apothecary on the porch
This book is more than information,it is an invitation to remember, to practice, and to root yourself in tradition. Whether you're sweeping your porch with basil, lighting a candle dressed in rosemary oil, or preparing a healing bath with hyssop and Psalms, The Hidden Porch Herb Grimoire offers the knowledge, guidance, and spirit you need to walk your path in truth.
Explore our journey!
Ways to Help
Porch Meet-ups
Porch Meet-ups
Porch Meet-ups
My name is Tamika Kelley, the porch keeper behind The Hidden Porch. I’ve spent years sharing Southern wisdom, spiritual teachings, rootwork traditions, and community healing online. Now I’m ready to take the porch on the road and start holding Porch Meetups in different cities , places where we can sit together, learn together, and keep
My name is Tamika Kelley, the porch keeper behind The Hidden Porch. I’ve spent years sharing Southern wisdom, spiritual teachings, rootwork traditions, and community healing online. Now I’m ready to take the porch on the road and start holding Porch Meetups in different cities , places where we can sit together, learn together, and keep our traditions alive.
I’m asking for support as I take the first steps. Your donation helps with travel, venue space, supplies, and everything needed to bring this experience to our communities. If my teachings, books, or posts have ever blessed you, poured into you, or reminded you of home, I ask that you consider giving so we can build this next chapter together.
Every dollar counts. Every blessing helps.
Thank you for helping me bring The Hidden Porch to more people who need it.
Porch Lights
Porch Meet-ups
Porch Meet-ups
If The Hidden Porch has ever inspired you, taught you something, or made you feel seen, I’m asking for your support. Your donation helps me create more experiences, more gatherings, more surprises, and more moments of joy for our Porch Sitters near and far.
Every light you help me turn on keeps this porch growing.
Thank you for pouring into a vision that pours right back into the community.
Gifts for the Porch
Offerings
$20.00
Porch Offerings for the Ancestors
I’m MEEKA Porch Keeper the porch keeper of The Hidden Porch, and I’m opening up a space for those who feel called to help us honor our ancestors while blessing our Porch Sitters.
When you leave an offering, you’re helping us
• uplift the elders who paved the way
• bless our meetups and teachings
• keep our traditions alive
• and pass down love, wisdom, and protection
We are accepting a small donation, to purchase gifts such as:
• candles
• herbs
• incense
• flowers
• altar items
• spiritual tools
• small gifts for Porch Sitters
If you would like your offering blessed and placed with intention, please leave the name of the ancestor you’re honoring, along with what you wish for yourself or your family, whether it’s protection, clarity, healing, strength, or a new beginning.
Every name spoken and every wish shared becomes part of the work we do on this porch.
Your offering becomes a thread in the healing, the teaching, and the honoring of those who walked before us.
Thank you for helping keep this porch sacred, rooted, and glowing.
Contact Us
Come see us on Facebook & TikTok!
We love our porch-sitters, so feel free to ask questions, drop a story to share, or just get more info about the porch.Email Us
