| Sabbat - A Witchs festival/holiday. The eight holy days sacred to Wiccan's. Witches call Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh, and Samhain the Greater Sabbats, and the Solstices and Equinoxes the Lesser Sabbats.
Sachet A bag filled with herbs. Sacred Imperatives - Used by some traditions, these are directions which all participants must follow in order to enter or leave a ritual circle. Examples of some imperatives may include: Entering the ritual circle with "perfect love and perfect trust" as well as waiting for the rituals High Priest or High Priestess to give the appropriate sign for participants to exit the circle. Sacred Space A cleansed and consecrated space created for prayer and ritual purposes. Sacred Spiral A Wiccan symbol that represents coming into being death, rebirth and the cycle of life. Sadhus - Hindu or Jain holy person who wears little of no clothing as a symbol of his or her inner focus and spirituality. The well known pagan term "Skyclad" was coined by a Sadhus named, Mahavira who also founded the Jain religion. A more recognizable example of a Sadhus is Mahatma Gandhi who wore only a loin cloth to as a symbol of his inner spiritual focus. Salamander - The traditional term for a Fire Elemental. Samhain - The November-Eve ritual better known as Hallowe'en. It is a Gaelic word, the name of the month of November, and is pronounced *SOW'en* (the first syllable to rhyme with *now*). One of the Wiccan eight holy days; celebrated on October 31st of each year. Sanctuary - A sacred place, such as a church, temple, or mosque; an area designated to be used for spiritual events and practices only Saraswati - Hindu Goddess of Knowledge, the Arts, Mathematics, Education, and cosmic Wisdom (Creatrix) Scourging - Ritualized whipping, to purify the soul. This was an invention of Gerald Gardner, who seemed to enjoy this. This ritual action is more common among groups following the Gardnerian and Alexandrian traditions. Scourge - A ritual whip symbolizing firmness, in balance with the Wand which symbolizes mercy. Most ritual scourges are quite harmless, made for example with silk thongs. Scry, to - The process of gazing at or into a shiny object, flame, or water for the purposes of contacting the psychic mind. A form of divination. Scrying - An old word that means to look into a mirror, crystal ball, a quartz crystal sphere, a pool of water, reflections, a candle flame or shiny piece of stone for visions of the future or hidden things. A method of divination. Scrying allows the scryer to become aware of events prior to their actual occurrence, as well as to perceive past or present events through other than the five senses. Scrying Mirror A mirror used for divination, paitned balck on the back, and dipped in or painted with an herbal wash to enhance the power of its reflective surface. Second Sight - The power of seeing things into the future or distant. Sedna - Inuit Goddess of the Sea and Queen of the Underworld Seer - An individual gifted in the art of divination. Selene - Greek; Goddess of the Moon and Solutions. Appeal to Selene to bring a logical answer to any problem. Sephira/Sephiroth - The name for the ten spheres on the Qabalistic Tree of Life. Seven Great Powers - The Seven Great Powers are the seven basic archetypes to which Personal Deities tend to correspond. They are also likened to the seven planets of Ptolemaic astrology. The archetypes most commonly used in ceremonial magick are the seven planets which correspond to the seven days of the week and the hours of the days: Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Some pagans also liken the seven powers to the various aspects of the God (Child, Hero, King and Aged Wise Man) and Goddess (Maid, Mother and Crone). Seven Planes - or spheres of existence are used to describe the different levels of being. These different planes overlap so that we can simultaneously exist in all plane in a single point in time. Most scholars agree that the Seven Planes refer to the areas of different densities of matter. The physical world is the densest plane with the lowest frequency and therefore is believed to be the lowest plane of existence. Subsequent planes in order of ascent are: the Emotional Plane, the Mental Plane, the Astral Plane (where our physical realities are first formed--by us), the Solar Plane (where we experience spiritual evolution toward becoming ourselves deities), the Monadic Plane, (where we access that part of ourselves which is already godlike though still unique and separate from the universe as a whole) and finally the Divine Plane (where we are unified with all godhead and the universe). Shade - The spirit of a being which refuses to leave the physical plane. Shakti - Hindu primordial cosmic energy, Great Divine Mother Shaman - A man or woman who has obtained knowledge of the subtler dimensions of te Earth, usually through periods of alternate states of conciousness. Various types of ritual allow the shaman to pierce the veil of the physical world and the experience the realm of energies. This knowledge lends the shaman the power to change her or his world through magic. Shamanism - The religion of the ancient peoples of northern Europe and Asia, generally characterised by the ability of the Shaman to communicate with the spirit world. Major facets of Shamanism are animism, possession, prophecy/revelations, shapeshifting, and soul travel. Shapeshifting - A very esoteric practice involving changing the human form. This can be practiced while on the astral plane, this alone is a great accomplishment. It is said that one can also shapeshift on the physical plane, though documented proof of this is nonexistent. Few books are published on the subject as it is an art mainly for certain people, and teachers prefer to find these people and teach them their art secretively rather than let the public know their ways. Shekina - Hebrew, feminine aspect of God, Shekhina represented compassion in its purest form Shifting Consciousness - The process through which individuals alter their awareness usually willful through meditation though sometimes also by accident. Changes in consciousness are the result of changes in brain wave activity. The faster or more frequent a persons brain wave activity is, the more aware they become of the physical plane and the less aware they become of higher planes of existence. This is called a Beta State. This is Natures way of protecting the organism from physical attack or other calamity; however, this also takes us away from the state most conducive to successful magickal workings. Other levels of brain wave activity are Alpha, Delta and Theta States. The state most conducive to magickal workings, learning and creativity is the Theta State which is achieved through deep meditation, though not deep enough to induce sleep (the Delta State). Shillelagh - Magickal tool corresponding to the staff in other traditions. Usually made from blackthorn wood. Shiva - Hindu; consort of Kali. God of the universal cycle of birth-death-rebirth. Shiva can be both kind and terrible. Showstone - A crystal sphere used for divination, especially scrying. Also called a crystal ball. Sickle - The sickle is the symbol of the Croneof harvesting and death. Its crescent shape further identifies it with the Moon and so with the Goddess. Sigil - A magickally oriented seal, sign, glyph, or other device used in a magickal working. The most powerful sigils are those that you create yourself. Sigils can be used on letters, packages, clothing, on paper tucked in your pocket, etc. Silver - The metal favored by Witches; symbolically connected with the Moon. Silver Cord The connecting line of energy between the astral and physical bodies. Simple Feast - A ritual meal shared with the Goddess and God. Sita - Hindu Goddess representing perfect womanhood |
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