someone who is considered highly proficient in a particular magickal system or area after serious study and accomplishments
Altar:
a special surface or place set aside for magickal workings and/or religious acknowledgement
Amulet:
an object that is charged for protection or for charm-like use (i.e. love, money, etc)
Ankh:
the Egyptian symbol which represents life, love, and reincarnation
Arcane:
the two halves of the Tarot deck. The Major Arcane consists of 22 cards that depict dominant occurrences in our lives, while the Minor Arcane consists of 56 "suit" cards that depict smaller occurrences or factors in our lives
Astral Plane:
another plane or dimension of reality.
Astral Projection:
the process of separating your astral (psychic) body from your physical body in order to travel to the Astral Plane.
Athame:
a double-bladed knife used for ritual magick, it is never used to cut anything in the physical plane
Balefire:
a large bonfire celebration. Bane, evil, destructive.
Banish:
to magickally end something or to send away.
Bind:
to magickally restrain someone or something.
Blood of the Moon:
a woman's menstrual cycle. A woman's time of greatest energy or power is during the peak of her ovulations.
Book of Shadows:
a magickal journal that a witch keeps... they usually contain his/her notes of magickal workings, dreams, spells, rituals, etc.
Boline:
a curved, white-handled knife used for harvesting herbs, inscribing candles, etc.
Burning Times:
refers to a historical time roughly from 1000 to 1700. During this time it is said that over 9 million people we killed and tortured because they were accused of being "witches". Many of these people were not even pagan, and most were women and children.
Cakes and Ale:
the wiccan communion that consists of a natural beverage and cake offered to each participant on a ritual.
Charkas:
the seven major energy vortexes found in the human body.
Charm:
an object that is charged and instilled for a specific task
Cone of Power:
a mass of psychic energy that is raised and focused by a person or a group of people (coven) to achieve a purpose or goal.
Cleansing:
removing any negative energy, vibrations, or images from a person, object, or place.
Consecration:
blessing an object or place by instilling it with positive energy.
Coven:
a group of 4 to 13 witches that practice magick and perform rituals together.
Dedication:
a ritual in which the person accepts Wicca / paganism as their spiritual path and in which the person vows to study and learn as much as they possibly about their new path.
Deity:
a god or goddess (usually refers to the god and goddess pair in which a wiccan chooses to honor or call upon).
Desoil:
clockwise movement.
Divination:
the art of using tools and/or symbols to gather information about a person, place, the past, the present, the future, etc. (e.g. tarot cards, tea leaves, etc)
Dowsing:
the art of using a pendulum or stick to find the location of a person, place, or object. This technique can also be used to answer yes or no questions.
Drawing Down the Moon:
a ritual during a full moon in which energy and the essence of the Goddess are drawn into the witch's body.
Earth Magick:
a form of magick wherein the powers and energies of Mother Earth are used in magickal workings and rituals.
Elder:
a group of experienced individuals who oversee the operations of a church or coven.
Elements:
the four elements of nature; Earth, Air, Fire, Water; plus Spirit (or Akasha for elemental magick).
Equinox:
either of the two times each year (as about March 21 and September 23) when the sun crosses the equator and day and night are everywhere of equal length.
Evocation:
to call something out from within.
Familiar:
an animal that has a spiritual bond with a witch... usually a family pet, it can also be a creature from the astral plane.
Full Moon:
a moon phase in which the moon full face of the moon is visible (when the moon is round).
Green Man:
another name for the God; referring to his aspect of Lord of the Woodlands.
Guardians:
the creatures or angels that protect the four corners (the elements).
Hand fasting:
a pagan marriage ceremony.
Herb:
a plant or plant part valued for its medicinal, savory, or aromatic qualities.
Initiation:
a system of degrees achieved through different levels of spiritual learning within a coven setting.
Invocation:
to bring something in from without.
Karma:
a belief system that is similar to the saying "what goes around, comes around". Karma can be either good or bad. What you do in this life will determine whether you are rewarded or punished in the next life.
Macrocosm:
the world around us.
Microcosm:
the world within us.
Magick:
the art of focusing your will and emotions to effect change in the world around you and the world within you. It is important to remember that magick is neutral, it is neither good or bad... only our intentions are good or bad. Magick will only take the path of least resistance.
Magickal Circle:
a circular boundary that is cast with a wand, athame, hand, or other method. The circle is cast for the purpose of protecting the witch from outside forces during a ritual or spell.
Magickal Correspondences:
items, objects, days, colors, moon phases, oils, angels, and herbs used in a ritual or magickal working that match the intent or purpose of the celebration or ceremony.
Meditation:
the act relaxing the body and focusing one's mind on a specific target or goal.
New Age:
refers to the mixing of metaphysical practices with a structured religion.
New Moon:
a phase of the moon in which none of the moons face is visible (when the moon is dark).
Pagan:
a follower of a nature-based religion. It is important to remember that all wiccans are pagan, but not all pagans are wiccan. There is a very wide variety of pagan religions, Wicca is just one of them.
Pentacle:
a five pointed, upright star with a circle around it. The pentacle has many meanings, however, the most common meaning is where each of the five points represents an element and the circle representing unity. The symbol is in no way evil or Satanic.
Planetary Hours:
a system of hourly division associated with planetary energies.
Priestess:
a female dedicated to both the service of her chosen deity and humankind. All female wiccans are priestesses. In a coven setting, there may be a High Priestess who acts as a chair person for the coven and a leader in rituals.
Priest:
a male dedicated to both the service of his chosen deity and humankind. All male wiccans are priests. In a coven setting, there may be a High Priest who acts as a chair person for the coven and a leader in rituals.
Reincarnation:
a belief system that one's soul lives many life times in order to grow and learn.
Ritual:
a ceremony in which the God and Goddess are honored, a Sabbat is celebrated, or energy is focused towards a specific goal.
Runes:
a set of symbols that are used for divination and magickal purposes. Runes from different origins have different symbols and meanings.
Sabbat:
a holiday-like celebration that marks a season, time of harvest, or time of planting. There are 8 Sabbats in a year; Samhain, Yule, Imbolc, Litha, Beltane, Ostara, Lamas, and Mabon.
Scrying:
a divination method that uses tools such as a crystal ball, mirror, etc. While scrying, the individual is able to "see" images or gain information about a specific person, place, or object.
Shrine:
a sacred place that holds a collection of objects representing a deity.
Sigil:
a magicakally oriented seal, sign, or glyph that us used in magickal workings or rituals.
Sky clad:
the act of working magick or performing rituals in the nude.
Solitary:
a witch who works or practices alone.
Solstice:
the time of the sun's passing a solstice which occurs about June 22d to begin summer in the northern hemisphere and about December 22d to begin winter in the northern hemisphere.
Spell:
the extension of mental and emotional energy in order to accomplish a specific goal. A spell can be written, spoken, drawn, etc. The best spells are the ones you write yourself. Remember, a spell will not work unless true need of it is present... so don't be getting greedy. Also, magick always takes the path of least resistance... a spell can only open a "path" in which you will need to take in order to reach your goal.
Spiral:
a spiral like symbol that represents the "coming into being".
Spirit:
the overall energy that runs the universe in a harmonious way.
Summerland:
a wiccan version of Heaven, this is where the souls go after physical death to celebrate the after life and continue their spiritual education (also considered to be a resting place for souls before they are reincarnated into the next life)
Talisman:
an object that has been charged in order to bring something to the bearer.
Tarot Cards:
a set of 78 cards which have pictures and symbols on them. The cards are used to connect the user with the collective unconscious in order to get information about a person or situation.
Vision Questing:
the use of astral projection to accomplish a specific goal.
Waning Moon:
a phase of the moon in which the face of the moon is getting smaller (the time between a full moon and a new moon).
Waxing Moon:
a phase of the moon in which the face of the moon is getting larger (the time between a new moon and a full moon).
Web Weaving:
networking with other people through conversations to gather information in order to mutually assist each other in their studies.
Wheel of the Year:
the full cycle of the seasonal year beginning with the Samhain celebration (around October 31st).
Widdershins:
counter clockwise movement
Witch:
someone who practices witchcraft to help better the world and mankind. A witch is NOT someone who is ugly, worships the devil, or hurts people.
Witches' Pyramid:
a creed and a structure of learning that witches follow: "To Know, To Dare, To Will, and To Be Silent".
Wiccaning:
A "baptism into Wicca for a baby who's parents plan to raise it as a Wiccan.
