| Alchemy |
1.n. A formula-based system of magic. 2.n. A theosophical approach to spiritual enlightenment by means of symbolically creating chemical experiments in the physical plane. 3.n. The imbuing of mystical properties into normal devices without using personal energies. |
| Alter |
1.n. A special flat surface set aside to hold ritual tools and symbols for magic or religious observance. |
| Ankh |
1.n. An ancient Egyptian symbol described as a cross with a loop at the top. Was used to denote love, life, and the power over life. Egyptian deities were frequently depicted carrying an ankh. |
| Athame |
1.n. In Wiccan practice, a cleansed and consecrated dagger used to project energy. This is usually a black handled, double bladed dagger. |
| Bane |
1.n. A fate or fated connection that will lead inevitably to the destruction of the named person or thing. 2.n. something which is destructive. |
| Besom |
1.n. In Wiccan practice, a broom used to cleanse an area of unwanted energies. |
| Bolline |
1.n. In Wiccan practice, a sacred knife used for practical applications. This is usually a white handled, single edged knife. |
| Book of Shadows |
1.n. A term coined by Alestair Crowley for a collection of information on magic and religion in book form kept by a witch. |
| Cakes and Ale |
1.n. In Wiccan practice, a sharing of food and drink after magical practice used as a thanksgiving and a means of grounding. |
| Caledonii Tradition |
1.n. A Scottish denomination of witchcraft. |
| Call |
1.v. To invoke or evoke. 2.n. an invocation or evocation. |
| Cauldron |
1.n. A pot, usually iron, used in modern Celtic Wiccan practice as a symbol of rebirth. |
| Centering |
1.v. Placing oneself in rapport with the center of one’s magical universe, which is also the center of one’s magical being, thus promoting detachment from unbalanced passion and forging a link to the energies of the universe. |
| Ceremonial |
1.adj. involving rather complex high-liturgical rituals and elaborate tools, apparel, and/or temple decoration and specifically associated to n occasion or specific time and place, and the arrangement in which the ritual is to be conducted. |
| Chakras |
1.n. Seven major energy vortices or focal points in the human aura. Also denotes smaller, similar vortices elsewhere on the body. |
| Channeling |
1.v. Moving your astral self aside to allow another entity complete or partial control over your body. |
| Charge |
1.n. A sacred trust. 2.v. To imbue with magical power. 3.n. A prayer of invocation. 4.n. An order or command. |
| Consecretion |
1.v. The act of blessing an object or place by instilling it with positive energy with the intent of dedicating that object or place to a deity. |
| Coven |
1.n. A group of witches that work together in an organized fashion for magical and religious purposes. |
| Deity |
1.n. A religious or philosophical source of inspiration and control, possessing of an independent personality, which may or may not be an archetype |
| Deosil |
1.adv. Sunwise (Clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, Counterclockwise in the Southern). Believed by Wiccans to be a motion useful in constructive workings |
| Drawing Down the Moon |
1.v. In Wiccan practice, a ritual used to empower the practitioner with the power of a lunar goddess. |
| Dryad |
1.n. In Greek lore, a wood nymph or spirit of the woods. |
| Elemental System |
1.n. Any system which attempts to explain all matter as a mixture of basic component parts. |
| Evocation |
1.v. Calling an archetype, spirit, or deity into manifestation outside one’s own body. 2.n. Work with external entities, either naturally occurring or manufactured. 3.v. To call an entity into existence, whether within or without one’s own body, where the caller is in a position of equal or superior power to the called. |
| Familiar |
1.n. An animal or spiritual ally who has a bond with the practitioner, and who aids the practitioner in magical workings. |
| Gnome |
1.n. In Greek lore, an earth elemental holding secrets of metallurgy and of the treasures of the Earth. Usually appearing in the form of a short, squat humanoid with a gnarled, leathery skin.. |
| Golden Dawn |
1.n. Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, A magical order which began in the late 19th century dedicated to Hermetic Magic. |
| Grimoire |
1.n. A magical text devoted to teaching a particular strain of magic spells and rituals. |
| Grounding |
1.v. Making a connection to any element (but esp. Earth) through which energy may be taken or given. |
| Handfasting |
1.n. A Wiccan or neopagan marriage ceremony. 2.n. The process of becoming married for a trial period, often of a year, by means of pagan or neo-pagan ceremony. |
| Incantation |
1.n. The spoken part of a spell. 2.n. A verse that is, by nature of its tone and sound, possessing of power. |
| Initiation |
1.n. (L initare = to enter upon) A profound spiritual experience which sets one on the path of enlightenment. 2.n. A ceremony by which such an event is celebrated, and/or one becomes a member of a particular magical or religious group. |
| Invocation |
1.v. Calling an archetype, spirit, or deity into one’s own body. 2.v. The creation of an independent entity for the achievement of a specific purpose. 3.v. Attunement. 4.v. Causing a spiritual entity to manifest in a physical, or at least tangible, form. 5.n. Prayer used as a petition for assistance or guidance, as opposed to one whose only purpose is worship. 6.n. The ritual accomplishing one of the preceding goals. |
| Law of Three |
1.n. A variation of the Law of Return believed by some groups which states that the return is threefold for any action you take. |
| Magic, Black |
1.n. Magic which , either as a means of building power or as the goal, intentionally harms another being. 2.n. A magical ideology which states that the practitioner and his/her pursuit of pure knowledge and/or physical well-being are more important than any other concerns, theological or ethical. |
| Magic, Blood |
1.n. Magic which involves the use of blood, from the mage or from a sacrifice, as a focus of power. |
| Magic, Ceremonial |
1.n. (Originally) Magical practice which is ceremonial in nature and in purpose. 2.n. (Contemporary) Ritual magic |
| Magic Circle |
1.n. A boundary or barrier, usually circular, spherical, or cone-shaped, that is used as a barrier, territory, refuge, containment field, power conduit, power storage unit, and/or other purposes involved in magical practices. |
| Magic, Earth |
1.n. Using powers and forces of nature in magical workings and celebrations. |
| Magic, Fold |
1.n. An eclectic collection of herbalism, faith healing, curses and hexes, candle magic, etc. that has thrived in rural areas that still practice old religions, or forms of them. |
| Magic, Green: |
1.n. Magic that is very Earth oriented, where the practitioner attempts to attune his/herself to the needs of nature, and tries to fulfill those needs. |
| Magic, White |
1.n. magic where the practitioner attempts to attune him/herself to the needs of human society, and attempts to meet those needs. |
| Neo-Pagan |
1.n. Follower of an Earth-based religion (re)discovered since the Enlightenment. 2.adj. Referring to neo-paganism. |
| Nymph |
1.n. In Mediterranean Mythology, A nature spirit, usually in the form of a humanoid female, to include: Oreads (spirits of mountains and grottoes), Napaeae, Auloniads, Hylaeorae, Alsaeds (spirits of woods and valleys), Dryads and Hamadryads. |
| Ogham |
1.n. A writing system and sign language used by the ancient Celts, dating from the third or fourth century CE, each character representing a species of tree considered holy |
| Pantheon |
1.n. The deities observed by a particular cultural group. |
| Pecti-Wita |
1.n. A Scottish Wiccan tradition made for solitary practitioners. |
| Pentacle |
1.A five sided symbol consisting of five lines interlaced in the form of a star. 2.n. (contemporary) An engraved medallion used as a shield in the astral. May be inscribed with a pentagram, a Seal of Solomon, or other arcane symbols. 3.n. In Wiccan and other western ritual magical practice, a symbol for the element of Earth. |
| Pentagram |
1.Any five-sided figure, of which a pentacle is one representation. 2.n. (contemporary) A 5-pointed, upright star. The five points correspond to the western elements, to include Spirit on the top to represent the power of Spirit over the elements. It was also used in many early Christian groups as a symbol for the five wounds of Christ. Used also as a symbol of the first degree of initiation in many Wiccan groups. |
| Pentagram, Inverted |
1.n. (contemporary) 5-pointed, inverted star. The five points correspond to the western elements, to include Spirit at the bottom to represent the power of the elements over Spirit. Used as a symbol of the second degree of initiation in some Wiccan groups. Also used as a symbol of Satanism, representing the head of a goat. |
| Rite |
1.n. Ritual. 2.n. An elaborate and focused ceremonial celebration, organized for a specific purpose. 3.n. Individual processes making up a ritual. |
| Ritual |
1.n. A proscribed set of activities used as worship, part of a ceremony, or as a part of magical operations. 2.adj. Involving rather complex high-liturgical rituals and elaborate tools, apparel, and/or temple decoration. 3.n. A proscribed series of rites. |
| Ritual, Banishing |
1.n. A ritual used to rid oneself of unwanted feelings, thoughts, influences, or entities. 2.n. A rite used to dismiss any entities called to participate in a ceremony or magical working. 3.n. A rite used to mark off sections in a particularly long ceremony. |
| Rune |
1.n. Any character of several writing systems used by the ancient Germanic and Anglo-Saxon peoples. 2.n. Any similar mark or character having some mystical or magical powers attributed to it. |
| Scrying |
1.v. (Ofr descrier = to proclaim) Divination by means of gazing into a complex, changing pattern, such as a fire, ink in water, cracked ice, etc. |
| Seax-Wicca |
1.n. A denomination of Wicca founded in 1973 by Raymond Buckland, designed primarily for solitary practitioners. |
| Shaman |
1.n. A practitioner of shamanism who also fills the role of a healer, priest, and/or sage for his/her society. |
| Shamanism |
1.n. A theosophy and magical practice involving travel to otherworlds and communication with otherworldly beings through a trance-state, in many cultures brought on by ecstatic dance or psychoactive drugs. Shamanism is also typified by a belief that every living (and sometimes unliving) being has a spirit, which is expressed as an archetype (or totem) in the otherworlds. |
| Skyclad |
1.adj. Clad only in the sky, that is to say, nude. |
| Spell |
1.n. Any method used to concentrate magical energy in a coherent and useful manner through force of will. 2.n. (contemporary) As def 1., but specifically without using external entities or specifically empowered components. 3.v. (archaic) To cast a spell |
| Wheel of the Year |
1.n. A full cycle of seasons |
| Wicca |
1.n. An Earth-oriented religion, steeped in folk magic, which came about as a revival of extinct or nearly extinct old world religions. Characterized by a belief in the dual nature of the divine in male and female forms. |
| Wicca, Alexandrian |
1.n. A Wiccan denomination founded in England in the 1960s by Alex Sanders |
| Wicca, British Traditional |
1.n. A Wiccan tradition based upon the works of Gerald Gardner and Anglo-Saxon and Celtic lore. 2.n. The theoretical coven-oriented form of witchcraft practiced in the British isles before the coming of Gardner. |
| Wicca, Celtic |
1.n. A form of Wicca incorporating a generic Celtic pantheon and some Gardnerian ritual. |
| Wicca, Gardnerian |
1.n. A denomination of Wicca founded by Gerald Gardner in the 1950s |
| Wiccan |
1.n. A practitioner of Wicca. |
| Widdershins |
1.adv. Against the sun (clockwise in the Southern hemisphere, counterclockwise in the North). Believed by Wiccans and some other Northern European magical systems to be a motion useful in destructive workings. |
| Witch |
1.n. A Wiccan. 2.n. A Practitioner of Witchcraft. |
| Witchcraft |
1.n. Folk Magic. 2.n. (contemporary) The practice of Wicca. |
| Witchcraft, Ceremonial |
1.n. Witchcraft incorporating elements of the various traditions of ceremonial magic. |
| Witchcraft, Dianic |
1.n. One of several Neo-Pagan traditions whose main (and sometimes only) focus is a goddess figure. |
| Witchcraft, Teutonic |
1.n. A Northern European tradition of witchcraft |
| Witch, Eclectic |
1.n. A witch who uses no tradition or teaching of the craft save for a combination of teachings and traditions researched by them for their own use. |
| Witch, Hereditary |
1.n. One who , before formal training, exhibits magical talents which were likewise exhibited by their ancestors. 2.n. One who follows a tradition of witchcraft that has been transmitted from generation to generation within that person’s family. |
| Witch, Solitary |
1.n. A witch who practices alone, without a coven. |
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