Glossary of terms

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See also: Wiccan/Pagan New Age Dictionary

A

ADEPT: An individual who through serious study and accomplishments is considered highly proficient in a particular magickal system. A person can be an adept at Egyptian magickal practices, but a total failure at practical kitchen magick.

AEROMANCY: Divination by the stars.

AISLING: A Celtic-Irish word meaning "dream" or "vision", pronounced "ash-leen".

AKA: The cord between the astral body and the physical body, most likely this concept is derived from the biblical reference to a "silver cord" connected the body and the soul.

AKASHA: The Fifth element, the omnipresent spiritual power that permeates the universe. It is related to outer space, inner space, the unmanifest, and the life force.
See Also Elements

AKASHIC RECORDS: In the early part of this century the famed psychic Edgar Cayce brought to general society the thought form of Akashic records. Supposedly, there is a giant data base somewhere that can be accessed for information on subjects such as past lives, healing, and other magickal/spiritual practices. This record system cannot be accessed by material equipment, such as PC networking with a larger computer. In this case, the mind of the psychic or Witch accesses the data through Universal Connections.

ALCHEMIST: One who practices alchemy.

ALCHEMY: A form of high magick which stems from the middle ages noted by the attempts of alchemists to make lead turn into gold.

ALEXANDRIAN TRADITION: Based on the teachings of Alex Sanders.

ALIGNMENT: Synchronization of mental and spiritual vibrations with a god, goddess, or astronomical body. Often the complete balance and centering of the chakras is called an alignment.

ALTAR: A special, flat surface set aside exclusively for magickal workings or religious acknowledgment.

AMULET: Usually considered an object of protection that has been charged to deflect specific negative energies or thought forms. Amulets can be made of feathers, plants, beads, etc. The horseshoe and the four-leaf-clover are two examples of amulets.
See Also Talisman

ANKH: An Egyptian hieroglyphic that is widely used as a symbol for life, love and reincarnation. It is depicted as a cross with a looped top.

ARADIA: A champion Italian Goddess sworn to protect her people against the aggression of masculine faith and its persecutors during the reign of medieval terror. The original Aradia was a female Christ figures in Italy who taught around 1353. She was imprisoned more than once, escaped several times and eventually disappeared. The second Aradia you will hear about is Leland's Aradia, a book detailing information from an Italian Gypsy Witch. The third Aradia is the daughter of Diana and Lucifer (God of the Sun). She is considered the Queen of the Witches.

ARCANA: The two halves of a Tarot deck. The Major Arcana consists of 22 trumps depicting dominant occurrences in our lives. The Minor Arcana consists of 56 suit cards (sometimes called the lesser Arcana) that assist in fleshing out the trump situations, or indicate smaller occurrences in our lives. See also Tarot Cards.

ARCHETYPES: (EF) Extremely basic forms within the human psyche; the archaic "racial memories." Refer to the works of Dr.Carl Jung.

ARTHURIAN TRADITION: A Welsh tradition of paganism based on the lore of King Arthur (the "Once and Future King"), Merlin the Magician, and Guinevere.

ASUTRU: Modern worship of the old Norse gods. [For more information see http://www.spiritonline.com/gods]

ASPECTING: An advanced magical practice which is seen most commonly in a coven as opposed to solitary. The practitioner attempts to manifest an aspect of the Goddess or the God. This is seen in the pagan ritual of Drawing Down the Moon as well as in other pagan religions such as Vodou, where the priest often allows the deity to speak through his or her body.

ASPERGER: A bundle of fresh herbs either carrying dew or dowsed with spring water, used to sprinkle the water during ritual purification.

ASTRAL: (SR) This word conjures lots of definitions. To keep it simple, let's describe it as another dimension of reality. Referred to as "dreamtime". This reference is from the Australian Aboriginal people and their teachings, which are well worth further study.

ASTRAL TRAVEL/PROJECTION: The process of separating your astral body from your physical one to accomplish travel in the astral plane or dreamtime.

ASTROLOGY: The practice of revealing the future by interpreting the arrangement of stars and planets in relation to astrological theory and the zodiac.

ATHAME: A cleansed and consecrated ceremonial knife used in ritual work by Witches. The knife is never used for blood-letting, and rarely used to cut anything on the material plane.

ATTUNE: To bring different psyches into harmony.

AUGURY: Divination based on "signs" or omens.

AURA: An energy field which surrounds living beings. An aura is most often visible only to those born with the skill to see it, or those who developed this ability. A visible aura contains various colors and tells about the spiritual and emotional persona of the plant, human, or creature surrounded by it. However, an aura can also be felt, heard, or sensed through other means.

BALEFIRE: A traditional fire lit outdoors during Yule, Beltane, and Litha.

BANE: Another word for bad, evil, destructive.

BANISH: To magically end something or exorcise unwanted entities. To rid the presence of.

BELTAINE: A Wiccan sabbat held between spring and the onset of summer, between April 30th and May 1st. [For more information see http://www.spiritonline.com/wicca/3.html]

BESOM: A bundle of twigs attached to a handle used to cleanse and purify sacred space. Essentially a witch's broomstick.

BI-LOCATION: This is an interesting practice. You use a type of astral projection to travel in everyday reality by retaining the capability to be aware of your present surroundings.

BIND: To magically restrain something or someone.

BINDING: Using magick to restrain someone or something, or to 'bind' them to you.

BLESSED BE: A term derived from the ritual of the Five-fold Kiss, it is simple a blessing commonly used by wiccans and pagans as a greeting or a goodbye. Abbreviated as BB or B*B.

BLOOD OF THE MOON: A woman's menstrual cycle. If this cycle occurs over a Full or New Moon (and you can arrange that) she is far more powerful than during any other time of the month, as long as she acknowledges this strength within herself. For too many years women have been told that they must regard their cycle with an unkind eye, calling it a curse when actually it is a boon. Society has so dictated this to them that many feel weak, tired and disoriented because they are supposed to. Wrong. If you can rearrange your thinking on this matter, the Blood of the Moon can pack a powerful wallop for you. if you feel spacy, try grounding.

BOOK OF SHADOWS: A relatively new term for the collection of information in book form for a Witch's reference. Much akin to a magickal cookbook. Another name for this text would be grimoire.

BOLLINE: A curved, white-handled knife used for practical magickal purposes such as cutting. For instance, the knife can be used to harvest herbs, cut a branch for a wand, inscribe candles, etc.

BROOM CLOSET: Not meant literally, this is a term used to describe someone who is "in the broom closet", or in other words, who is not public with their pagan practices.

BURNING TIMES: In reference to a historical time from around 1000 CE through the 17th century when it is said that over nine million people were tortured and burned by church and public officials on the assumption that they were the Christian version of Witches. This turned into an extremely profitable venture, as all land and property was seized from the accused individual and portions given to the accuser (in reward fashion) and the remainder seized by the church officials. Historians indicated that the majority of people tortured and murdered were women and children.

CABALA: Also seen as Kabbala, Kabbalah and Qabala. The ancient Hebrew magickal system.

CALL: Invoking Divine Forces.

CANDLEMAS: Pagan sabbat held on Feb. 1.

CANTRIP: A spell cast by a witch. It is small, quick, and has minimal effects.

CARDINAL POINTS: North, East, South, and West. Symbolized by the circle in magic (which connects the points), the four elements, and the watchtowers.

CATHARSIS: The release of magickal energies at the height or climax of a ritual. Essentially the use of energy at the catharsis is the crux of the rite, determining whether its outcome will be successful or not.

CAULDRON: A feminine symbol of the goddess, also of life, death, and rebirth. This is associated with Cerridwen, a goddess who brewed a magickal cauldron from which a single drop was yielded each year. The consumer of her brew would be granted great wisdom. Today her cauldron survives not only in pagan ritual but in the Christian concept of the holy grail.

CENSER: A container in which incense is smoldered or burned. It symbolises the element of air. Often a censer is used during ritual to "cense" an area, generally by moving the censer around the area and especially around the circle as a means of purification.

CENTERING: Grounding your energy through meditation, often before rituals to help harness and direct the balanced energy.

CHAKRAS: Seven major energy vortexes found in the human body. Each is usually associated with a color. These vortexes are: crown - white; forehead (third eye position) - purple; throat - blue; chest - pink or green; navel - yellow; abdomen - orange; groin - red. Smaller vortexes are located in the hands and feet, as well.

CHARGE, THE: Originally written in modern form by Doreen Valiente, it is a story of the message from the Goddess to Her children.

CHALICE: A feminine symbol of the element water. This is used during ritual and once the waters of life which it contains is blessed, it is passed around so that everyone in the coven may bring the Goddess "into" themself.

CHANNELING: New Age practice wherein you allow a disincarnate entity to "borrow" your body to speak to others either through automatic writing or verbally. Channeling does not have a very good track record simply because it is difficult to prove and the information imparted is usually not about things that can be "tested." Subjects normally involve distance prophecy, what the after-life is like, the structure of other dimensions, words of wisdom that everybody really needs to know before it is too late, etc. Channeling is the new buzz-word for mediumship. The best known and most accurate medium within our present century was the later Edgar Cayce. Most book stores will carry some of his material and it is well worth your time to read. Channeling is not the same as contacting the dead for information or help.

CHANT: Repetition of magickal phrases, syllables, or words to produce a desired effect as well as bring the chanter to a deeper meditative state.

CHAOTE: A Chaos magician not actively in practice.

CHARMS: Can either be an amulet or talisman that has been charged by saying an incantation over it and instilling it with energy for a specific task.

CHI: A Chinese term for the all-encompassing universal life force.

CHEIROMANCY: Divination based on the examination of the hand, related to palmistry.

CIRCLE: A protected area where ritual work takes place.

CLEANSING: Purification through a ritual bath (often with a handful of sea salt thrown in) and through meditation to cleanse the psyche. Traditionally performed before every ritual.

CONE OF POWER: Psychic energy raised and focused by either an individual or group mind (coven) to achieve a definite purpose. The most interesting Cone of Power raised in recent history was that of the Witches of England who stood together, despite their differences, to turn Hitler back from the shores of their beloved country.
Conjure
To summon entities from the spirit realm into the physical plane.
CLEANSING: The act of removing any negative energy, vibrations or images from an object or place by utilizing positive, psychic energy.

CONSECRATION: The act of blessing an object or place by instilling it with positive energy.
Circle of Protection; CoP
See Circle.

Corn Dolly
A figure made by plaiting wheat, similar to a poppet. It is symbolic of the fertility, grain, and harvest aspects of the Goddess.

Correspondences
Materials used in magick which relate to their specific goal. These can be herbs, stones, moon phases, colors, numbers, etc. An example would be mugwort used in a dream spell, as mugwort is a popular herb corresponding to dreams.

COVEN: A group of thirteen or fewer Witches usually led by a High Priest and/or a High Priestess that work together in an organized fashion for positive magickal endeavors or to perform religious ceremonies.

COVENSTEAD: Meeting place established by a coven, and is often a fixed building or place where the Witch can feel safe and at home.

COWAN: A slang term for a non-witch or non-pagan, generally used as a derogatory word for a pagan who is considered a fake or a poser.

CRAFT, THE: The Craft is a term used to refer to witchcraft and wicca.

CRONE: A term of respect used for a witch who has passed menopause or who is over 50-56 years old.

CRONING: A rite of passage into being a crone.

CROSS OF CONFUSION: An ancient Roman symbol which questioned the validity of Christianity.

CROSS QUARTER DAYS: A term used for the fire sabbats (Samhain, Imbolb, Beltane, Lammas). The most important festivals of the years which form the "cross" in the wheel of the year.

CUNNING MAN: A practitioner of magick; this term dates back to long before Christianity. He was relied on by villagers to bring a good harvest, protect them from evil, and provide charms and medicines. The Cunning Man survived the coming of Christianity, but not for very long.

CURSE: Conscious direction of negative energy towards a person, place, or object.
 
 

DAYS OF POWER: Although usually referred to as Sabbats, these are other days throughout the year that can be considered days of power. These days can be triggered by astrological occurrences, your birthday, a woman's menstrual cycle (also know as the Blood of the Moon), or your dedication/initiation anniversary.

DEDICATION: Unlike the initiation ceremony that brings one into an order, the dedication of a Witch is that process where the individual accepts the Craft as their path, and vows to study and learn all that is necessary to reach adeptship in a given tradition. In a dedication, you consciously prepare yourself to accept something new into your life and stick with it, regardless of the highs and lows this action may produce.

DEGREE: The level or status of a practitioner of magick. You must face various tests of knowledge and practical experience in order to progress to another degree within your tradition.

DEOSIL: Clockwise movement. Most rituals and ceremonies, even spells, call for deosil movement at some point in their construction.

DIVINATION: The art of using magickal tools and symbols to gather information from the Collective unconscious on the nature of people. places, things, and events in the past, present and future.

DOWSING: The art/science of using a pendulum or stick to find the actual location of a person, place, thing or element. Dowsing can also be used to answer yes or not questions. and quite a science has developed by holding a pendulum over a specially designed chart to answer specific questions on life patterns.

DRACOMANCER: A practitioner of magick who uses dragons in their workings.

DRAKE: A dragon, generally refers to a young one.

DRAWING DOWN THE MOON: A ritual used during the Full Moon by Witches to empower themselves and unite their essence with a particular deity, usually the Goddess. Usually a ritual which invokes the Goddess into the High Priestess by the High Priest.

DREAMTIME: The Shamanic concept of a world which parallels this one.

Druidism: An ancient celtic order of priests which has undergone a modern revival into neo-paganism.