Thunder's Little Plastic World - the priest's the teachers

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Glossary Of Terms "A to O"

Altar	A table, stand, or demarcated space upon which ritual tools are arranged and around which members of a Circle sit or stand during celebration. A table, stone, or other surface used in Wiccan rituals on which the ritual tools are placed. Originally it was thought that this derived simply from the Latin word altus (high), but this is no longer generally accepted. Altar first appeared in Old English around 1000 C.E. It came from the Latin altaria and altare, which in turn relates to the Sanskrit alata-m (firebrand). Its root word is the proto-Indo-European *al (burn). This is in reference to the candles or offerings found burning on an altar.
Amulet	An object worn as a protective charm against evil. (see talisman)
Ankh	The crux ansata or looped cross, Egyptian hieroglyph for 'life'. Widely used as an occult symbol of the Life Principle.
Astral Body	The psychic 'double' of the physical body, consisting of substance more tenuous than matter, but grosser than mind or spirit.
Astral Plane	The level of reality intermediate between the physical and the mental. It is the level of the emotions and instincts.
Astral Projection	The transferring of consciousness from the physical to the astral body, so that one perceives and moves about on the astral plane while the physical body remains inert. It may be involuntary or deliberate.
Athame	A knife used in ritual; should be newly forged and never have been used in hunting or combat. The witch's black handled knife. It's use is purely ritual (for which purposes it is interchangeable with the Sword) and it is never used for actual cutting. It is always a personal tool, belonging to one witch. The closest word that has been found in English is the Middle Englis anlace or anelace, also known as an anglas in Welsh, which was a broad, tapering knife or dagger, from 18 to 24 inches in length and which was worn at the waist.
Aura	The force field which surrounds the human body, the inner bands at least of which are Etheric in substance. The aura is visible to sensitives, who can learn from its color, size and structure much about the person's health, emotional state and spiritual development.
Bell	A small hand bell is often used during the casting and closing of a Circle and during rituals.
Besom	A broom, particularly hand made with twigs tied to a central rod.
Black Mass	A deliberate and obscene travesty of the Christian Mass for black magic purposes, which strictly speaking can only be performed by an unfrocked or corrupt priest. It has never been a part of genuine witchcraft.
Bolline	A sickle or knife used for cutting herbs, engraving, etc. Often has a white handle. Traditionally it is only used for ritual purposes and often is not used outside of a Circle. The term bolline first appeared in the Greater Key of Solomon.
Book of Shadows	A traditional book of rituals and instructions, copied by hand by each new witch from that of his initiator. Different forms are passed on by the various Wiccan traditions, the Gardnerian Book of Shadows has been most widely and publicly quoted and misquoted.
Burning Time	A term used by some witches for the period of persecution of witches (actual or alleged) which reached it height in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Used in reference to England it is in fact a misnomer. English witches were customarily hanged, not burned, though they were burned in Scotland and on the Continent.
Cauldron	In Wicca the cauldron is a large, iron pot, which is an ancient symbol of the Celtic Goddess Cerridwen or the Celtic God Dagda. To the Celts the cauldron was an ancient symbol of rebirth and regeneration. Many ancient Celtic myths refer to the cauldron as a sort of cornucopia which contains whatever food a person desires and is never empty.
Chalice	A goblet or drinking cup. One of four Elemental tools, representing the Water element.
Circle	1) The area in which Pagans meet for worship. 2) A group of people bound together by their common interest in and their celebration of spirituality. 3) A group of Witches who have not yet taken Covenstead. 4) (verb) to Circle: the act of meeting together for worship.
Clairvoyance	The ability to be aware of events, facts or phenomena by psychic means. The term clairvoyance is loosely used to cover all forms of this, but strictly speaking it is clairsentience when they are felt as bodily sensations and clairaudience when they are heard as words, music or other sounds.
Consecrate	To make sacred by use of a ceremony; in Wicca, items are consecrated when they have been blessed by or immersed in the Four Elements and presented to the Gods in Circle.
Coven	A group of Wiccans/Witches who have met together for at least a year-and-a-day and who have declared themselves a group practicing the Craft.
Covenstead	A ceremony or celebration in which a group of Wiccans/Witches formally declare themselves to be a working Coven: a group will take Covenstead at the end of at least a year-and-a-day together.
Cowan	Taken from Freemasonry - without having been properly initiated or a person not of the brotherhood of Freemasonry. It is now generally a benign term for an outsider or non-initiate.
Crone	A woman who has achieved both age (generally 60+) and wisdom in her Craft life; also refers to the Goddess in her aspects as the Dark Moon, the Hag, the Reaper.
Cult	In modern usage, a group which imposes its will upon its individual members to the detriment of their personal freedom.
Dedication	A ceremony or vow to study the path to which one is called; in many Pagan traditions a dedication is a formal ceremony in which an individual agrees to learn and a teacher agrees to teach.
Deosil	In a clockwise or sunwise direction.
Dianic	A tradition of Paganism in which Deity is perceived as purely feminine, or in which only the female aspects of Deity are worshipped on a regular basis, or in which only women come together for worship.
Divination	The art of obtaining psychic information with the help of physical accessories such as Tarot cards, a crystal ball or a pendulum. It might be called 'clairvoyance using tools'.
Drumming	A celebration or meeting in which drums and other instruments are played by all members in attendance.
Eclectic	A belief system or practice drawn from many different sources or traditions. A Pagan/Wiccan/Witch may be referred to as an Eclectic if she/he uses many different pantheons or systems for her/his practice of the Craft.
Ego	The conscious part of the human psyche.
Elders	The third degree and second degree members of a coven.
Elemental	A primitive non-human and non-material entity, of the nature of one of the four Elements. The term is also used for a human thought form which, spontaneously by strong emotion or deliberately by mental effort, is split off from its human originator and acquires temporary quasi-independent existence. 'Created elementals' of the latter kind can be given healing work to do, they are also sometimes used maliciously for psychic persecution.
Elements	Earth, air, fire and water plus Spirit which includes and integrates them all. These are regarded as realms or categories of Nature, the basic modes of existence and action.
Exorcism	The expulsion, by psychic means, of an unwelcomed entity from a person or place which it is influencing or possessing.
Fam Trad (Family Tradition)	Refers to a belief system said to have been handed down from generation to generation and to be closer to authentic Craft practices, a hereditary Witch is said to be one who practices the Fam Trad to which she/he was born or initiated.
Familiar	An animal kept by a witch for the psychic help it can give, cats, dogs, and horses in particular react very sensitively to negative influences, supplying early warning or corroborative evidence. Their human owners (or rather partners) are careful to give them psychic protection in return. Certain kinds of deliberately created and maintained thought forms may also be called familiars.
Gnome	The traditional name for an Elemental spirit of the nature of the Earth Element.
Grimoire	A usually mediaeval book or 'grammar' of magical procedures. The most famous is The Greater Key of Solomon the King, generally known as The Key of Solomon.
Handmaiden	Generally the youngest female in the Circle whose responsibilities include sweeping the Circle and assisting the Priestess throughout the ritual.
Hereditary	Term referring to an individual who practices a tradition of the Craft which has been handed down in their family from generation to generation.
Hexagram	1) A six pointed star, formed by two interlaced equilateral triangles. Its is generally called the Star of David in non-occult circles; but its use as an occult symbol is far older than its use as a badge of Judaism. It signifies the Hermetic principle of 'as above, so below' 2) Any one of the six line figures of the I Ching.
High Priest	1) The male leader of a coven, partner of the High Priestess who is the overall leader. 2) Any second degree or third degree male witch. (the distinction is between a coven function and a personal rank).
High Priestess	1) The female leader (and overall leader) of a coven. 2) Any second degree or third degree female witch. (the distinction is between a coven function and a personal rank).
I Ching	A Chinese system of divination involving sixty four hexagrams or six line combinations of unbroken (yang) and broken (yin) lines. It is one of the few categories of Eastern esoteric learning which transfer wholly satisfactorily to the West, without risk of cross cultural confusion and it is widely used here.
Invocation	A formal prayer or request for the Gods and the Elements to be present in the worship space.
Karma	The spiritual bank balance carried by the Individuality from one Incarnation to the next. The literal meaning of the word is 'action' or 'cause and effect'.
Magic(k)	The power to manifest change at will to bring life into a state of balance and harmony. The science and art of causing change to occur in conformity with Will (Aleister Crowley) Crowley added the k to distinguish true magic from the debased, escape from reality concept of magic, and many occultists have adopted this usage.
Magus	In general a male occult adept. In Wiccan usage, a second degree or third degree witch.
Maid	A young woman who has not yet had a child and/or is not yet married; also refers to the Goddess as the New and Waxing Moon, the Nymph, the Virgin, and the Bride.
Maiden	In a coven, the Assistant High Priestess for ritual purposes, who may or may not be the High Priestess's deputy in leadership. In earlier times, the title of Maiden was sometimes applied to the leader whom we would now call the High Priestess.
Moon Lodge	A group or Circle which meets for worship on the Full and New Moons, generally a name associated with Dianic groups, refers to the menstrual hut of many ancient societies in which all women of a given village or area would reside during their menses.
Mother	A woman who has had children or who is a maternal figure in the Circle or Coven (prior to the time of Croning) also refers to the Goddess in her aspects of motherhood: the Full or Pregnant Moon, the Hearth Keeper, the Nurturer and Caregiver.
Neophyte, Postulant	A newcomer to the coven, awaiting initiation.
Occult	Literally, hidden or concealed, has come to designate any and all esoteric arts, sciences and studies.

Glossary cont'd "P to Z"

Reference material:
Creating Circles of Power and Magic. By Caitlin Libera.
A Witches' Bible by Janet and Stewart Farrar
The Law Enforcement Guide to Wicca by Kerr Cuhulain

Where shall you Journey? What shall you discover?

This page was last updated 4/27/2005