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Definitions

Mabon: On or around September 21, the autumn equinox, Wiccans celebrate the second harvest. Nature is preparing for winter. Mabon is vestige of ancient harvest festivals which, in some for or another, were once nearly universal among peoples of the Earth.
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Mage:A master magician; often a mage is a scholarly and skilled practitioner who prefers that the only tools of their magick be their mind, ability, and spirit.

Magick: The movement of natural energies (such as Personal Power) to create needed change. Energy exists within all things – ourselves, plants, stones, colors, sounds, movements. Magick is the process of rousing or building up this energy, giving it purpose, and releasing it. Magick is a natural, not supernatural, practice.

Magick Circle, The: A sphere constructed of Personal Power in which Wiccan rituals are usually enacted.

Magick Knife: See Athame.

Meditation: Reflection, contemplation, turning inward toward the self or outward toward Deity or nature.

Megalith: A huge stone monument or structure. (i.e. Stonehenge).


Menhir: A standing stone probably lifted by early peoples for religious, spiritual or magickal reasons.

Merry Meet:A greeting commonly used by Wiccans and pagans. It basically means "Greetings". Abbreviated as MM.

Merry Part:A friendly phrase that basically means "Goodbye", used by Wiccans and pagans. Abbreviated as MP.

Midsummer: The summer solstice, usually on or near June 21st, one of the Wiccan festivals and an excellent night for Magick. Midsummer marks the point of the year when the Sun is symbolically at the height of its powers, and so too the God. The longest day of the year..
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Mighty Ones, The: Beings, deities or presences often Invoked during Wiccan ceremony to witness or guard the rituals. The Mighty Ones are thought to be either spiritually evolved beings, once human, or spiritual entities created by or charged by the Goddess and God to protect the Earth and to watch over the four directions. They are sometimes linked with the Elements.


Necronomicon:A pseudo-grimoire. An unknown author wrote it and some people today still believe it is a valid source of occult information.

Neo-Pagan: Literally, new-Pagan. A member, follower or sympathizer of one of the newly formed Pagan religions now spreading throughout the world. All Wiccans are Pagan, but not all Pagans are Wiccan.


Old Religion:This is a term often used for Wicca and Witchcraft. It was used because witchcraft is believed to descend from ancient paganism. However, it is misleading when used in relation to Wicca, which is a fairly young and modern religion based on witchcraft.

Old Ones, The: A Wiccan term often used to encompass all aspects of the Goddess and God. Some Wiccans view it as an alternative of the Mighty Ones.

Ostara: Occurring at the spring equinox, around March 21st, Ostara marks the beginning of true, astronomical spring, when snow and ice make way for green. As such, it is a fire and fertility festival, celebrating the return of the Sun, the God and the fertility of the Earth (the Goddess)..
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Pagan: From the Latin paganus, country-dweller. Today used as a general term for followers of Wicca and other magickal, shamanistic and polytheistic religions.

Pendulum: A divinatory device consisting of a string attached to a heavy object, such as a quartz crystal, root or ring. The free end of the string is held in the hand, the elbow steadied against a flat surface, and a question is asked. The movement of the heavy object’s swings determines the answer. A rotation indicates yes or positive energy. A back and forth swing signals the opposite. (There are many methods of deciphering the pendulum’s movements; use those that work best for you.) It is a tool which contacts the Psychic Mind.

Pentacle: A ritual object (usually a circular piece of wood, metal, clay, etc.) upon which a five-pointed star (Pentagram) is inscribed, painted or engraved. It represents the Element of Earth. The words “pentagram” or “pentacle” are not interchangeable.

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Personal Power: That energy which sustains our bodies. It ultimately originates form the Goddess and God (or, rather, the power behind Them). We first absorb it from our biological mothers within the womb and, later, from food, water, the Moon and Sun and other natural objects. We release personal power during stress, exercise, sex, conception and childbirth. Magick is often a movement of personal power for a specific goal.

Polarity: The concept of equal, opposite energies. The Eastern yin/yang is a perfect example. Yin is cold; yang is hot. Other examples of polarity: Goddess/God, night/day, Moon/Sun, birth/death, dark/light, Psychic Mind/Conscious Mind. Universal balance.

Projective Hand, The: The hand that is normally used for manual activities such as writing, peeling apples and dialing telephones is symbolically thought to be the point at which Personal Power is sent from the body. In ritual, personal power is visualized as streaming out from the palm or fingers of the hand for various magickal goals. This is also the hand in which tools such as the Athame and wand are held. Ambidextrous persons simply choose which hand to utilize for this purpose.

Psychic Mind: The subconscious or unconscious mind, in which we receive psychic impulses. The psychic mind is at work when we sleep, dream and meditate. It is our direct link with the Goddess and God and with the larger, non-physical world around us. Intuition is a term used to describe psychic information which unexpectedly reaches the conscious mind.

Psychism: The act of being consciously psychic, in which the Psychic mind and the Conscious Mind are linked and working in harmony. Ritual Consciousness is a form of psychism.


Receptive Hand: The left hand in right-handed persons, the reverse for left-handed persons. This is the hand through which energy is received into the body.

Reincarnation: The doctrine of rebirth. The process of repeated incarnations in human form to allow evolution of the sexless, ageless soul.

Ritual: Ceremony. A specific form of movement, manipulation of objects or inner processes designed to produce desired effects. In religion, ritual is geared toward union with the divine. In Magick it produces a specific state of consciousness which allows the magician to move energy toward needed goals. A Spell is a magickal ritual.

Runes: Stick like figures, some of which are remnants of Old Teutonic alphabets, others are pictographs. Used in Magick and Divination


Sabbats: Wiccan festivals and celebration. There are 8 celebrations of Wicca all called Sabbats.

THE FOUR GREATER SABBATS
Imbolc, Beltaine, Lughnasadh, and Samhain

THE FOUR LESSER SABBATS
Mabon, Litha (Midsummer), Ostara, and Yule

Samhain: A Wiccan festival celebrated on Oct 31. See Samhain in Main index
.
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Scry, To: Gaze at or into an object (a quartz, flame, pool, crystal ball) to still the conscious mind. This allows the scryer to become aware of events before their actual happening. A type of divination..


Simple Feast: Ritual meal shared with the Goddess and Gods also called Cakes and Ale.

Skyclad: a term meaning nude

Solitary:A witch who practices alone instead of within a coven.


Solstice: Twice a year, midway between the equinox, there are two days, one of the longest light hours, the other of the longest dark hours.

Spell: A Magickal ritual, usually non-religious in nature and often accompanied by spoken words.

Staff: a magickal tool made of well-seasoned hardwood.

Summerland: The Wiccan concept of 'heaven', a land where it is always summer and where the soul goes for a period of rest before reincarnation.


Talisman: An object Charged with power to attract a specific force or energy.

Trilithon: Stone Arch made from 2 upright slabs with one laying atop these.

Triple Goddess:The three faces of the goddess- Maiden, Mother, and Crone. These are repesented by the symbol of the triple goddess, which looks like a crescent moon facing left (maiden), a full moon (mother), and a cresent moon fact right (crone)..


Threefold: This refers to something happening three times over its original intentions. (good or bad)


Waning:The lunar phase when the moon is getting "smaller" (more crescent-like). This is the time when magick that involves banishing things, breaking habits, and getting rid of things is to be performed. Opposite of waxing.

Waxing: The lunar phase when the moon is getting "larger" (nearing the full moon). This is the time when magick that involves growth and bringing things to you is best performed. Opposite of waning.

Watchtowers: Gaurdians, they are used to call and protect the Elementals, each having their own special attributes.

North - Earth
East - Air
South - Fire
West - Water
They are invoked during rituals as protectors of our Circle of Power

Warlock: This is NOT the word for "Male Witch". It is a word meaning untrustworthy or oathbreaker.

Wheel of the Year:One full cycle of the seasons, in pagan beliefs in begins on Samhain as opposed to in January
.

White handled knife: The working knife of a Wiccan, usually white handled. This is the knife used for actual working as compared to the athame which is a ritual knife. (Bolline)

Wicca: a religion influenced by pre-Christian beliefs and practices of western Europe that affirms the existence of supernatural power (as magic) and of both male and female deities who inhere in nature, and that emphasizes ritual observance of seasonal and life cycles

Wiccaning: the act of parents, promising to rear their children in the Wiccan culture.

Witch: One who practices witchcraft. A practitioner of the remnants of pre-Christian folk magic, particularly that relating to herbs, healing, wells, rivers and stones. This term was deliberately altered to denote demented, dangerous, supernatural beings who practiced destructive magic and who threatened Christianity. This change was a political, monetary and sexist move on the part of organized religion, not a change in the practices of witches.

Witchcraft: The craft of the witch - magic, especially magic utilizing personal power in conjunction with the energies within stones, herbs, colors and other natural objects. While this may have spiritual overtones, witchcraft, using this definition, isn't a religion.


Yule: A festival celebrated on or about December 21st marking the rebirth of the Sun God from the Earth Goddess. Yule occurs on Winter Solstice..
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Written with guidance from "Wicca A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner"
by Scott Cunningham





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