How to Become a Witch (37 page)

Appendix B

Glossary

Affirmation:
A statement designed as a message to younger self, which, repeated at frequent intervals, aids in self-transformation.

Air: One of the classic four elements; represents the mind, intellect, or imagination; it frequently corresponds to the east and the colors light blue and yellow.

Amulet: A small item of natural material, such as wood, stone, or shell, charged for a magickal purpose, such as protection, and either carried or worn as a pendant.

Animals: Present in magick as familiars (companions and helpers), power animals (animal spirits that guide, protect, and empower individuals), and totem animals (those spirits that guide, protect, and empower clans or tribes).

Aspect: Usually, to invoke an aspect of Deity into yourself; to invite a god or goddess to become incarnate in your body. Also known as “assuming the god-form,” or “Drawing Down the Moon” in the case of a lunar deity. One can also aspect an animal, tree, or other entity.

Aspects: Forms, facets, or personas of Deity, deities: for example, Artemis, Persephone, and Kore are deities, aspects of the Maiden, and the Maiden is an aspect of the Goddess. Helios, Ra, and Apollo are all solar aspects of the God. “All goddesses are one Goddess, all gods are one God; God and Goddess are One.”

Asperge: To cleanse and purify the ritual space prior to ritual. Often done with saltwater, incense, or a besom.

Astrology: The study of the relationships and movements of the planets as they relate to human qualities and events.

Athame: (
a-thay’-me or AH-tha-may
) A ritual tool with a double-edged blade and usually a black handle, used for casting the circle and other magickal operations.

Attunement: An activity that brings the minds, emotions, and psyches of a group into harmony prior to ritual; chanting, singing, guided meditation, and breathing exercises are common ways to attune.

Aura: The energy field of the human body, especially that radiant portion visible to the third eye, or psychic vision, which can reveal information about an individual’s health and emotional state.

Banishing: Causing to depart; used by some traditions as the procedure for releasing the elemental spirits of the quarters at the end of a ritual.

Beltane: A sabbat celebrating the burgeoning of spring; also called May Eve or May Day.

BNP: “Big Name Pagan,” slang term for a Pagan celebrity, usually an author or leader.

Bolline: A white-handled knife used by Witches for cutting, carving, or inscribing things in the course of a ritual—candles, talismans, cords, etc. It is usually single-edged and sometimes has a sickle-shaped blade.

Book of Shadows: A magickal journal kept by each Wiccan dedicant and initiate, in which spells, invocations, ritual notes, herbal recipes, dreams, divination results, and material from the coven book can be recorded. Some people write it in Theban Script or in other alphabets for privacy.

Broom (also called a Besom): Sometimes used to ritually cleanse an area.

Burning Times: The era in European and American history when accused Witches, heretics, gay people, and others were oppressed and often tortured and killed for their supposed beliefs. Roughly 1400 to 1700 CE.

Cakes and Wine (or “Cakes and Ale”): After the magickal work and before the circle is opened, Wiccans and some other groups share food and drink. This custom is a sacrament of thanks for the gifts of Mother Earth, and a way of earthing excess psychic energy.

Calling the Quarters: Invitation for the spirits of air, fire, water, and earth (from the east, south, west, and north, respectively) to attend a ritual and lend their powers to its success. It is a means of fully engaging the mind, will, emotions, and body in the magickal working.

Candlemas: See
Imbolc
.

Casting: In divination, tossing the stones, runes, or sticks on the ground or on a special board or cloth, and gaining insights from their patterns and relationships.

Casting the Circle: The psychic creation of a sphere of energy around the area where ritual is to be performed, both to concentrate and focus the power raised and to keep out unwanted influences and distractions. The space enclosed exists outside ordinary space and time.

Cauldron: In ritual, a symbol of rebirth from Celtic mythology; sometimes used to heat herbal healing preparations or cook food for a sabbat feast.

Centering: The process of moving one’s consciousness to one’s spiritual or psychic center, leading to a feeling of great peace, calmness, strength, clarity, and stability.

Chalice: A goblet or cup, usually holding wine, which is shared around the circle in Wiccan ritual. It is both a female and a water symbol, and it can also be used for scrying or crystal gazing.

Charge: To intentionally imbue with energy, as “to charge a talisman with healing energy.”

Charge of the Goddess: The primary sacred text of the Craft. The original version was recorded by Charles Leland in
Aradia
; Doreen Valiente, Starhawk, and others have rewritten popular versions.

Circle: An ongoing group of Pagans, such as a Druid grove or Witches’ coven. Also the space created for ritual. See also
Casting the Circle
.

Cone of Power: The energy raised during magick is imaged as a cone, which at its peak of power is released toward a specific goal.

Congregation:
Until rather recently, Witches were either solitary or gathered in covens of priestesses and priests. Now, some covens have organized congregations, or groves, of Wiccan/Pagan laity, loose-knit spiritual communities who meet to celebrate the sabbats.

Consecration: To solemnly dedicate or devote someone or something to a sacred purpose and/or to the service of a deity; for example, to consecrate a ritual tool to the purpose of protection, or to consecrate a priestess to the service of Artemis.

Cord: Either a heavy string used in binding and releasing magick or the piece of apparel circling the magician’s waist (also called a “girdle”). In many covens and magickal lodges, the color of the cord indicates the wearer’s degree of attainment or initiation.

Correspondences: The magickal energies associated with symbols, herbs, colors, elements, etc. The symbolic language of magick.

Coven: A group of Witches who gather regularly to celebrate their faith and work magick. Most covens limit their size to thirteen or fewer. Covens are self-governing and vary in their styles and interests. Some are affiliated with a particular tradition of the Craft, while others are eclectic.

Cowan: A person who is not a Witch. See also
Muggle
.

Craft, the: See
Wicca
and
Witchcraft
.

Crescent: A lunar symbol popular with many Wiccans and other magicians. In many traditions of Witchcraft, the high priestess wears a silver crescent on her tiara or headband as a recognition that the Moon Goddess rules magick and the moon symbolizes the powers of women.

Crone: A woman often but not always beyond childbearing age, recognized by her peers as being a leader or resource in the community. Also the elder aspect of a female deity; part of the tripartite Goddess with Maiden and Mother; that part that represents age and wisdom.

Croning Ritual: A rite of passage that marks a woman’s transition to crone status. It may occur at menopause, at age fifty-six (second Saturn Return), or whenever a woman and her peers feel it is appropriate.

Cunning Man: The male equivalent of the wise woman; knowledgeable in the ways of nature and the hunt. Frequently an expert in the use of spells, herbs, and charms. A Witch.

Dark of the Moon: Popularly, the part of the cycle during which the moon is not visible from the earth. It lasts from one and a half to three and a half days, depending on the orientation of the moon and sun. This is traditionally the best time to do divination (scrying, tarot, reading the runes, etc.).

Degree: Many, but not all, covens have a training system of three degrees of learning and skill. In general, a first-degree initiate has the essential skills of a Witch; a second-degree initiate is more advanced and is sometimes considered an elder; and a third-degree initiate is qualified to lead a coven and pass on their tradition of the Craft.

Deity: God or Goddess, or both; the unifying creative principle in the universe.

Deosil: (
jesh’-ul
) Clockwise or “sunwise.” This is the direction the priestess or priest moves when casting the circle and calling the quarters; it is the direction of attraction, creation, and growth. See
widdershins
for the opposite.

Dismissing the Quarters: Releasing or saying farewell to the spirits of the elements.

Divination: The art or practice of foreseeing future trends or discovering hidden knowledge using such tools as the tarot, the I Ching, runes, casting stones, or a showstone. Useful prior to ritual magick.

Drawing Down the Moon: A ritual in which a priestess aspects the moon goddess. See
aspect
.

Earth: The element corresponding to north, the body, the material world, health, strength, abundance, prosperity, the foundation of all things material and solid, and the colors black, brown, olive green, and yellow. Also the planet, our Mother Earth, and an aspect of Deity.

Earthing: Sending excess energy into the earth; done in ritual after power has been raised and sent to its goal.

East:
One of the directions of the elements, usually corresponding to air.

Elements: In classical magick, earth, air, fire, or water, each of which represents a class of energies within the universe, and all of which together (along with spirit) make up the reality we know. See listings in this section for each element.

Esbat: A gathering of Witches to celebrate a certain phase of the moon (usually the full moon), work magick, and socialize; from a French word meaning “to frolic.”

Familiar: An animal companion trained to assist in magickal workings.

Famtrad: A Witch who received early training through their family, sometimes passed down through generations.

Farewell to the Quarters: At the end of a ritual, thanking the quarters for their attendance at the ritual and sending them on their way.

Fire: The element corresponding to south, energy, will, passion, determination, ambition, and the colors red, red orange, and gold.

Fluffy Bunny: Slang; contemptuous term for Witches or other Pagans who are completely focused on the positive side of life—springtime, rainbows, bunnies, and white light—and pay little attention to the dark side or their shadow issues.

Full Moon: That phase in the lunar cycle when the moon is at her brightest and appears perfectly round; a high point of lunar power when Witches traditionally gather to work magick for healing and abundance and to celebrate the Goddess; the esbat celebrating the full moon.

God: God (capitalized), half of the ultimate creative force of the universe; god (lowercased), a personification or an aspect of God.

Goddess: Goddess (capitalized), half of the ultimate creative force of the universe; goddess (lowercased), a personification or an aspect of Goddess.

Great Rite: The union of Lord and Lady during a ritual, usually symbolic, celebrating the ultimate creative act.

Grimoire: A book of magickal spells and techniques. Although some of the medieval grimoires seem very mysterious and romantic, often they are merely collections of magickal “recipes” that are ineffective in the hands of anyone but a trained magician.

Grounding: Psychically reinforcing one’s connections with the earth by reopening an energy channel between your aura and the earth, often visualized as a golden cord or tree roots.

Handfasting: A celebration of commitment between two or more people, sometimes a marriage.

Herbcraft: Herbs may be used for healing in a very direct and mundane way using teas, poultices, and tinctures, or in a magickal ritual through their correspondences.

High Magick: See
Theurgy.

High Priest: Often the male leader of a coven. His duties include protecting the coven from outside harm and often the initiation of female Witches.

High Priestess: Often the female leader of a coven. Her duties include the spiritual welfare of the members of the coven and often the initiation of male Witches.

Imbolc, Imbolg, or Candlemas: One of the eight sabbats; celebrates the return of the sun’s strength and the beginning of spring. Held on or about February 2.

Initiation:
A profound spiritual experience in which one’s unity with Deity and the universe is realized; also, the ritual by which such an experience is celebrated, and/or one is welcomed as a full member of a particular religious tradition or magickal group.

Invocation: Calling on a “higher spirit,” Deity, or divine aspect to manifest; also an invocatory prayer or incantation.

Lady: A title of respect for the Great Goddess, the overarching divine female power; sometimes used for female leaders or elders in the Craft.