In the hills, we’ve long believed that certain words carry a light all their own. Among them, Psalm 121 is one of the brightest. My grandmother called it “the traveler’s psalm,” because it was spoken over anyone leaving home. Whether they were headed to war, to the mines, or just down the mountain for work, she’d stand on the porch, hand raised, and begin, “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.” The words hung in the air like a promise.
For Powwow healers, Psalm 121 isn’t simply a reading—it’s a shield. Each verse reminds us that the same God who made the mountains also keeps watch over those who walk through them. When a person came asking for protection, the healer would recite this psalm while tying a red thread, tracing a cross over the doorway, or anointing the forehead with oil. The power wasn’t in the act itself but in the faith behind it—the deep knowing that we are never truly unguarded.
It was common to keep a handwritten copy of Psalm 121 folded inside a Bible or tucked beneath a pillow. Some families pinned it above the barn door or stitched the numbers 121 into a quilt corner, believing the home would rest under that same promise of safety. When storms rolled in, or sickness swept through the holler, my grandmother would whisper, “He shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in,” as though the very wind might hear her and hold still.
In Braucherei tradition, this psalm also served during journey blessings. Before a wagon or automobile set out, a healer would walk clockwise around it once, quietly speaking the verses. Travelers carried the peace of that moment with them, believing the hills themselves lent their strength to the prayer. It was a way of saying, You are watched over—by heaven, by earth, and by every good hand that loves you.
Even today, Psalm 121 meets us where we stand. Whether spoken over a child leaving for school or murmured before sleep, it steadies the heart. Powwow healers know that protection isn’t about fear; it’s about connection—staying linked to the Divine Source that neither slumbers nor forgets. We call on it not because danger rules the world, but because peace does.
So the next time you step beyond your doorstep, whisper these words and let them settle around you:
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: He shall preserve thy soul.
The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.