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Akasha:
The fifth element, the omnipresent spiritual power that permeates the universe.
It is the energy out of which the Elements formed.
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Amulet:
A magickally charged object which deflects specific, usually negative energies.
Generally, a protective object.
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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. When worn or
carried, the ankh brings good health, promotes fertility, and strengthens the
psychic powers.
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Asperger:
A bundle of fresh herbs or a perforated object used to sprinkle water during or
preceding ritual, for purificatory purposes.
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Athame:
"ah-THAW-may".
A Wiccan ritual knife. It usually has a double-edged blade and a dark handle.
The athame is used to direct personal power during ritual workings.
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Balefire:
A fire lit for magickal purposes, usually outdoors. Balefires are traditional on
Yule, Beltane and Midsummer.
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Bane:
That which destroys life, which is poisonous, destructive, evil, dangerous.
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Beltane:
A Wiccan festival celebrated on April 30th or May 1st. Baltane is also known as
May Eve, Roodmas. Beltane celebrates the symbolic union, mating or marriage of
the Goddess and God, and links in with the approaching summer months.
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Besom:
Broom
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Bolline:
The white-handled knife, used in magick and Wiccan ritual for practical purposes
such as cutting herbs.
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Book of Shadows:
A Wiccan book of rituals, spells and magickal lore. Once hand copied upon
initiation, the BOS is now photocopied or typed in some covens. No one
"true" BOS exists; all are relevant to their respective users.
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Censer:
A heat-proof container in which incense is smouldered. An incense burner. It
symbolized the Element of Air.
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Charge, To:
To infuse an object with personal power. "Charging" is an act of
Magick.
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Conscious Mind:
The analytical, materially-based, rational half or our consciousness. The mind
at work when we compute our taxes, theorize or struggle with ideas.
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Coven:
A group of Wiccans, usually initiatory and led by one or two leaders.
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Craft, The:
Wicca. Witchcraft. Folk magick.
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Deosil:
Clockwise, the direction of the Sun's apparent motion in the sky.
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Divination:
The magickal art of discovering the unknown by interpreting random patterns or
symbols through the use of tools such as clouds, tarot cards, flames, smoke.
Divination contacts the psychic mind by tricking or drowsing the conscious mind
through ritual and observation or of manipulation of tools. Divination isn't
necessary for those who can easily attain communication with the psychic mind,
though they may practice it.
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Divine Power:
The unmanifested, pure energy that exists within the Goddess and God. The life
force, the ultimate source of all things.
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Earth Power:
That energy which exists within stones, herbs, flames, wind and other natural
objects. It is manifested divine power and can be utilized during magick to
create needed change.
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Elements:
The: Earth, Air, Fire, Water. These four essences are the building blocks of the
universe. Everything that exists (or that has potential to exist) contains one
or more of these energies. The elements hum within ourselves and are also
"at large" in the world. They can be utilized to cause change through
magick. The four elements formed from the primal essence of power- Akasha.
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Esbat:
A Wiccan ritual, usually occurring on the Full Moon.
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Evocation:
Calling up spirits or other non-physical entities, either to visible appearence
or invisible attendance.
·
Grimoire:
A magickal workbook containing ritual information, formulae, magickal properties
of natural objects and preparation of ritual equipment.
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Handfasting:
A Wiccan, Pagan or Gypsy wedding.
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Imbolc:
A Wiccan festival celebrated on February 2nd, also known as Candlemas, Feast of
Pan and many other names. Imbolc celebrates the first stirrings of spring and
recovery of the Goddess from giving birth to the Sun (the God) at Yule.
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Initiation:
A process whereby an individual is introduced or admitted into a group,
interest, skill or religion. Initiations may be ritual occasions but can also
occur spontaneously.
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Invocation:
An appeal or petition to a higher power (or powers), such as the Goddess and
God. A prayer. Invocation is actually a method of establishing conscious ties
with those aspects of the Goddess and God that dwell within us. In essence,
then, we seemingly cause them to appear or make themselves known by becoming
aware of them.
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Kahuna:
A practitioner of the old Hawaiian philosophical, scientific and magickal
system.
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Labrys:
A double-headed axe which symbolized the Goddess in ancient Crete, still used by
some Wiccans for this same purpose. The labrys may be placed on or leaned
against the left side of the altar.
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Lughnasadh:
A Wiccan festival celebrated on August 1st, also known as August Eve, Lammas.
Lughnasadh marks the first harvest, when the fruits of the Earth are cut and
stored for the dark winter months, when the God also mysteriously weakens as the
days grow shorter.
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Mabon:
On or around September 21st, the autumn equinox, Wiccans celebrate the second
harvest. Nature is preparing for winter. Mabon is a vestige of ancient harvest
festivals which, in some form or another, were once nearly universal among
peoples of the Earth.
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Magick:
The movement of natural energies 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, though it is little
understood.
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Magick Circle, The:
A sphere constructed of personal power in which Wiccan rituals are usually
enacted. The term refers ti the circle that marks the sphere's penetration of
the ground, for it extends both above and below it. It is created through
visualization and magick.
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Meditation:
Reflection, contemplation, turning inward toward the self or outward toward
Deity or nature. A quiet time in which the practitioner may dwell upon
particular thoughts or symbols, or allow them to come unbidden.
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Megalith:
A huge stone monument or structure. Stonehenge is perhaps the best-known example
of megalithic construction.
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Menhir:
A standing stone probably lifted by early peoples for religious, spiritual or
magickal reasons.
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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:
Being, 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.
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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.
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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.
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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, and 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.
Naturally, Christians have their own peculiar definition of this word. It can be
interchanged with Neo-Pagan.
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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,
and the elbow steadied against a flat surface, and a question is asked. The
movement of the heavy object's swing 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 movement; use those that work best
for you.) It is a tool which contacts the psychic mind.
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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 "pentagam" and "pentacle"
are not interchangeable, though they understandable cause some confusion.
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Personal Power:
That energy which sustains our bodies. It ultimately originates from 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.
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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.
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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 form the palm or fingers of the hand for various magickal goals.
This is also the hand in which tool such as the athame and wand are held.
Ambidextrous persons simply choose which hand to utilize for this purpose.
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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 up.
Other related terms: Divination is a ritual process which utilizes the Conscious
Mind to contact the psychic mind. Intuition is a term used to describe psychic
information which unexpectedly reaches the conscious mind.
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Psychism:
The act of being consciously psychic, in which the psychic mind and conscious
mind are linked and working in harmony. Ritual consciousness is a form of
psychism.
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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.
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Reincarnation:
The doctrine of rebirth. The process of repeated incarnations in human form to
allow evolution of the sexless, ageless soul.
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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.
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Ritual Consciousness:
A specific, alternate state of awareness necessary to the successful practice of
magick. The magician achieves this through the use of visualization and ritual.
It denotes a state in which the conscious mind and psychic mind are attuned, in
which the magician sense energies, gives them purpose and released them toward
the magickal goal. It is a heightening of the senses, an awareness-expansion of
the seemingly non-physical world, a linking with nature and with for forces
behind all conceptions of Deity.
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Runes:
Stick-like figures, some of which are remnants of the old Teutonic alphabets.
Others are pictographs. These symbols are once again widely being used in magick
and divination.
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Sabbat:
A Wiccan festival. See Beltane, Imbolc, Lughnasadh, Mabon, Midsummer, Ostara,
Samhain and Yule for specific descriptions.
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Samhain:
A Wiccan festival celebrated on October 31st, also known as November Eve,
Hallowmas, Halloween, Feast of Souls. Samhain marks the symbolic death of the
Sun God and His passing into the "land of the young," where He awaits
rebirth of the Mother Goddess at Yule. This Celtic word is pronounced by Wiccan
as: SOW-wen; SEW-wen; SAHM-hain; SAHM-ain; SAV-een and other ways. The first
seems to be the one preferred among most Wiccans.
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Scry, To:
To gaze at or into an object (a quartz crystal sphere, pool of water,
reflection, a candle flame) to still the conscious mind and to contact the
psychic mind. This allows the scryer to become aware of possible events prior to
their actual occurrence, as well as of previous or distant, simultaneous events
through other than the normally accepted senses. A form of divination.
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Shaman:
A man or woman who has obtained knowledge of the subtler dimensions of the
Earth, usually through periods of alternate states of consciousness. Various
types of ritual allow the shaman to pierce the veil of the physical world and to
experience the realm of energies. This knowledge lends the shaman the power to
change her or his world through magick.
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Shamanism:
The practice of shamans, usually ritualistic or magickal in nature, sometimes
religous.
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Simple
Feast, The:
A ritual meal shared with the Goddess and God.
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Spell:
A magickal ritual, usually non-religious in nature and often accompanied by
spoken words.
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Spirits
of the Stones, The:
The elemental emergies naturally inherent at the four directions of the magick
circle, personified within the standing stones tradition as the "Spirits of
the Stones." They are linked with the Elements
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Talisman:
An object, such as an amethyst crystal, ritually charged with power to attract a
specific force or energy to its bearer.
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Tradition,
Wiccan:
An organized, structured, specific Wiccan subgroup, usually initiatory, with
often unique ritual practices. Many traditions have their own book of shadows
and may or may not recognize members of other traditions as Wiccan. Most
traditions are composed of a number of covens as well as solitary practitioners.
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Trilithon:
A stone arch made from two upright slabs with one lying atop these. Trilithons
are featured in Stonehenge as well as the circle visualization in The Standing
Stones Book of Shadows.
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Visualization:
The process of forming mental images. Magical visualization consists of forming
images of needed goals during ritual. Visualization is also used to direct
personal power and natural energies during magick for various purposes,
including charging and forming the magick circle. It is a function of the
conscious mind.
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White-Handled
Knife:
A normal cutting knife, with a sharp blade and white handle. It is used within
Wicca to cut herbs and fruits, to slice bread during the simple feast and for
other functions. Sometimes called the bolline.
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Wicca:
A contemporary Pagan religion with spiritual roots in Shamanism and the earliest
expressions of reverence of nature. Among its major motifs are: reverence for
the Goddess and God; reincarnation; magick; ritual observances of the Full Moon,
astronomical and agricultural phenomena; spheroid temples, created with personal
power, in which rituals occur.
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Widdershins:
Anti-clockwise motion, usually used in the Northen Hemisphere for negative
magickal purposes or for dispersing negative energies or conditions such as
disease.
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Witch:
Anciently, a European practitioner of the remnants of pre-Christian folk magick,
particularly that relating to herbs, healing, wells, rivers and stones. One who
practiced Witchcraft. Later, this term's meaning was deliberately altered to
denote demented, dangerous, supernatural beings who practiced destructive magick
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. This later, erroneous meaning is still accepted by many non-Witches. It
is also, somewhat surprisingly, used by some members of Wicca to describe
themselves.
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Witchcraft:
The craft of the Witch-magick, especially magick 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. However, some followers of Wicca use this word to
denote their religion.
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Yule:
A Wiccan festival celebrate on or about December 21st, marking the rebirth of
the Sun God from the Earth Goddess. A time of joy and celebration during the
miseries of winter. Yule occurs on the winter solstice.
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