VOCABULARY OF WICCAN TERMS

Rick Johnson
PO Box 40451
Tucson, AZ 85717
RikJohnson@juno.com

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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION
Within any field be it science or religion or literature, there are words and terms that are specific to that field. Witchcraft is no exception. The major difference between Wicca and other fields is that our vocabulary is derived from words and terms that are centuries and millennia old. And as a result, our definitions of these words differs from the modern usage. Thus, when a Witch states that the universe is composed of four elements (earth, air, fire and water) it is easy to laugh with the enlightment of modern chemestry that has listed over a hundred and a dozen elements, not to mention isotopes.
But, in reality, what a Witch means is that the universe manifests itself in four states, solid (earth), liquid (water), gas (air) and energy (fire). We use the ancient terms simply because they more accurately describe the universe in terms that are understandable to the avarage Witch, provide a tie to the golden past and aid us in reading the ancient manuscripts.

Here are some of the terms and words that are common in the Wiccan Religion and Paganism as well as many that are obscure and fading from use. Not all of these terms are used by all Witches though many are becoming very common as others drop out of the language. The words come from a number of sources, Traditions and religions and so even though most of these terms are Wiccan, there are a few non-wiccan terms from other pagan faiths and magickal fields as well. These are included because they have been adopted or are useful. In most cases, however, the Gardnerian-Wiccan term has become the Common public term.

When Gerald Gardner started his reform of Wicca in the mid-20th century, he found that poetry was the language of ritual. So he would pour over old dictionaries for archaic terms with which to add flavor to the Rituals of the Craft. He would also introduce new words (sometimes by accident) into the language which would describe the religion in more poetical ways. And as most of the popular Traditions of Wicca are derived in some manner from Gardner's writings and work, the Gardnerian term came to be accepted as common. Thus did the language grow.

Be aware that many of these terms are thousands of years old and are retained to keep a tie to the past or because they can more easily distinguish between a magickal technology and a material technology. Others are modern terms that have been added to this vocabulary because of their use in Paganism. Those which are labelled (Gardnerian) are those found in the various Gardnerian Traditions, (Seax) are those found in the Seax Tradition of Wicca and so on. As in most dictionaries, I have placed the most common definition as used in modern Wicca as the first with the less common usages secondary. Thus, most definitions will be the Gardnerian as first and others as number 2 or 3. However, in some rare cases, the Gardnerian term is less common than others, in such case, the more common usage is shown first.

In cases where the term is in common useage with different spellings, I will list each spelling separatly. The most common spelling will carry the definition and the less common spellings will refer to the most common.

The Complete Vocabulary is about 10 times this length. I have deleted most of the Gardnerian terms as they are so obscure that most Gardnerians don't even use them. I have also deleted most of the herbs and proper names and anything that I felt would get me into trouble. Despite all this editing, it is still over 125 pages in length. Also I make no apologies for any editoral comments I have added.
Feel free to inform me of any terms that I may have missed, misdefined or that you would like added..
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For more information, contact us at:
Rick Johnson
PO Box 40451
Tucson, AZ 85717
Rick Johnson at: RikJohnson@juno.com

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