The Marches hearth magic
Custom and tradition create a magic of their own in the Marches. From the poppets to the rings of standing stones and earthworks, the magical sigils of the Marches are made from the earth, with the earth and from things that spring from the earth.
The very existence of the Marches is based on what other nations might call hearth magic, Its prosperity is created by the magical tradition that runs from every child's poppet to the most powerful of Landskeepers, who'd be called ritual magicians elsewhere in the Empire.
The good that Good Walder looked for was as much adherence to these hearth magics as abstract morality. Every Household has its own, but some are found most everywhere. The simple magics of woven straw, and beer.
Poppets
Every home in the Marches has at least one straw dolly or poppet, made at the time of harvest to bring good luck to the house and ward off evil omens. These intricately twisted and knotted effigies of straw, corn, oats, rye, grass or rushes traditionally bind the vitality of the field and bring their strength into the home. Some folk use poppets as elements for focusing medicine or magical effects.
Marcher folk place great store by their poppets. Every child is given a straw dolly of their own; stories abound of children separated from their poppets prematurely who suffer a terrible fate. A poppet protects a child before they are old enough to look after themselves. In particular, an expectant mother will carry a poppet to ensure the health of the child. When the season turns again to sowing the seeds for the new crop these poppets are laid on the fields and ploughed back into the earth, or occasionally cast into a bonfire, ensuring a bountiful harvest for the following year.
Beer
Jack-of-the-Marches
The Marcher Egregore is Jack, a simply-dressed figure carrying an axe, amd often adorned with leaves. It is possible to discern Jack’s mood from the nature of the foliage or the type of axe; flowers indicate Jack is filled with Spring’s hope and joy, keen to see new life prosper, taking a particular interest in Marcher children. Jack’o'the’Spring is the woodcutter, and carries a small hatchet, or pruning-hook.
A forest bill, or battle-axe, indicates that Jack is girded for war, supporting Marcher troops as they line up to fight, and interested in the work of Marcher generals. That’s Jack-in-the-Green, the soldier, who often bears leaves of binding ivy.
When Jack appears bearing a ceremonial axe crafted from gold, then their interest lies with the political life of the Marches; Jack with the Axe of Gold is a reminder to yeomen, stewards and Wardens alike that the Marches prospers through its honesty and integrity, rather than through taking short cuts.
And finally, when Jack appears bereft of foliage and carrying a scythe or executioner’s axe, then their mind is focused on matters of religion and introspection. Jack Frost speaks rarely, and only when there's something important to say; almost always intended to guide the Marchers to stay true to the old ways and tend to the land.