by: Rick Johnson 
PO Box 40451
Tucson, Az.
85717
RikJohnson@juno.com
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A YEAR AND A DAY-- An expression of time that is used in Wicca. It is based on the comparison between the Lunar Year (364 days) and the Solar Year (365 days). Traditionally, the time between Initiations or the length of time of a 'contract'. For example, many Handfastings last for a year and a day and are renewed yearly unless the couple Handpart. Also, it is traditional to wait a year and a day between asking for Initiation and actually being Initiated.
ABBOT MELITIUS-- See Melitius, Abbot.
ABRACADABRA-- (Sumerian) An old magickal square that wards off illness. The idea is that as the word fades away, so will the sickness.
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ABSENT HEALING-- The ability to heal a person without their being
present. As magick works under a specific formula; E{s}=1/d(d)*, the closer you are to
the target of the healing, the more energy that person will receive, absent healing is not as
effective as other forms.
*The energy of the spell received by the target is equal to one over the square of
the distance between the Witch and the target.
Please note that I don't have a program to do actual math formulae here so I have to
wing it.
ACA THREADS-- (Hawaiian) Etheric 'threads' that attach you to everything that you touch. This is vital in an understanding of the Law of Contagion in magick and allows for the use of object links to aid absent healing..
ADEPT-- Someone experienced in magick. A person who has studied and worked hard enough to be proficient in a particular magickal system.
AEROMANCY-- Divination by the air.
AETIOLOGICAL MYTHS-- A story found in religion that is designed to
describe an action that is or was common practice but no one today remembers why it is
still being done. In Judaism, the Menorah and the story of Abraham are Aetiological
myths in that they attempt to explain in the first case why the Jewish people burn a
Bonfire on Yule (the practice was changed and a miracle invented to explain it) and in
the latter to explain the early Israelite practice of sacrificing their first born son to
jehovah.
In today's world, TV is attempting to do the same by inventing a myth of Santa
Claus and the xmas tree.
AFTERWORLD-- Any of the many concepts of what happens when a person dies. The Wiccan Summerland is the one appropriate to this work.
AIR-- One of the Four Elements in Magick. It represents Gas, mind, the past. and the color blue. Its magickal Tool is the Wand and not the knife as stated by the Golden Dawn's Outer Court.. See Elements.
AKA THREAD-- See aca thread
AKASHA-- The fifth Element, spirit or a combination of the other four Elements.
AKASHIC RECORDS-- The 'library' that contains the sum total of all actions and knowledge. It exists on the Astral or spiritual plane and some people can 'read' them.
ALCHEMY-- A system of magick that seeks two primary goals, the elixir of life that gives immortality and the philosophers stone that transforms materials to gold. Alchemy is the father of chemistry. Modern alchemists tend to emphasise the transformation of the soul/self into a higher being.
ALECTRYOMANCY-- Divination by cocks or other poultry. This is not to be confused with priapomancy which is divination by the size and shape of the penis.
ALEXANDRIAN WITCHES-- (c 1960) Those Witches who follow the Craft
as interpreted by Alexander Sanders in the 1960's. It combines judeo-christian
ceremonial magick with Gardnerian Wicca and his claimed Heriditary Wicca.
There is an argument as to whether the Tradition is named after it's founder or
after the city of Alexandria in Egypt.
ALGARD WITCHES-- (c1965) This is a Tradition formed by Mary N. in the 1970's who was both an Alexandrian and Gardnerian Witch. She realized that there was so much common ground between the Alexandrian and Gardnerian Traditions, she formed a new Trad that encompasses them both.
ALL FATHER-- (Eclectic) The Horned God. Probably taken from asatru who calles their primary god, Odin, the All Father.
ALL HEAL-- (viscum album). Mistletoe. So named by the druids for it's
medical properties. Modern people should remember that mistletoe is toxic and should
never be ingested even though many old lust and love potions require the use of mistletoe
berries.
Mistletoe is ideally harvested on Yule with a golden sickle by a virgin or Priest
and NEVER allowed to touch the ground. A white cloth under the tree works nicely. It
is then tied with a red string or ribbon and placed over the bed or Altar as a lust charm.
Christians kiss under mistletoe, pagans fuck. Beware the Witch who sets mistletoe into
their belt buckle.
ALL HALLOWS-- See Samhain.
ALL HALLOWS EVE-- See Samhain.
ALL MOTHER-- (Eclectic) The Goddess.
ALMADEL-- (Ceremonial magick) A talisman fashioned from white wax and inscribed with various sigils and names of angels.
ALN-- A measurement from the elbow to the tip of your index finger with your arm bent at a 90 degree angle. About 18". The Wand is traditionally one aln in length. See ell and cubit. See also measurements.
ALPHA-- That condition where the mind slows and magick and psychics become possible. The brain cycles at about 8 - 12 cycles per second while in alpha.
ALPHITOMANCY-- Divination by meal, flour or bran.
ALRAUN-- A magickal talisman that is made from Rowan wood though one referance says that it is made from mandrake or bryony. The Alraun is generally human shaped and must be dressed and fed and treated with respect. If so, it will protect your home, if not it will bring bad luck. The name Alraun comes from the name of the Germanic sorceresss called Alrunes (or All Runes) and so it may be a Saxon charm that was adopted by Witches.
ALTAR-- A Wiccan Tool. The 'High Place' in a Wiccan Temple. An area or
table generally within the center or north of the Circle upon which are placed the Tools
of the Craft. Many Rituals revolve around the Altar and its exact location in the Circle
shows not only what the Coven actually knows about magick and ritual, but it also tells
what is being done in that Circle.
In some Rituals, the High Priestess sits upon the Altar during certain parts of the
Rite. Thus a strongly built low Altar is necessary in these Covens. In other Covens
where the members mostly stand, the Altar is a table of normal height.
AMERICAN GARDNERIANS-- (c 1964) Any Gardnerian Witch who is descended from Gerald Gardner via Raymond and Rosemary Buckland. American Gardnerians are identified by a more rigid structure and a few extra rules regarding Initiations and Lineage than are British Gardnerians. Not all Gardnerians who are American are American Gardnerian. The author is an American of Irish descent who follows a British Gardnerian Tradition. Obviously I'm avoided by both my family and other Gardnerians.
AMULET-- A passive defensive bit of magickal jewelry or other object lucky
charm that is generally found and not made, though it may be considered to have been
blessed by the God/dess. Stones with a natural hole in them are extremely powerful
Amulets.
I once had a stone with a natural crescent-shaped hole which I set into a ring. The
stone fell out one night when I was visiting an Alexandrian HPS to help her do a spell. It
appears that the Gods didn't like the magick she planned that night.
ANAPHRODISIAC-- Any herb or herbal mixture that reduces sexual desire or ability. The military and various boys schools use salt peter as an anaphrodisiac which they used to hide in the mashed potatos. The opposite of aphrodisiac.
ANATHEMA-- A curse or condemnation placed upon another Witch. A Witch who has betrayed the Craft or their vows but not to the christians and therefore is not a warlock.
ANCYREA, COUNCIL OF-- (xian) In 314 c.e. a council of early church elders was held to codify the xian bible by deciding what would go in and what would be deleted and to determine what was proper behaviour for xians... Thus the xian bible contains a number of writings by people who had never met jesus to the exclusion of writers who had known the man personally. Among the things they ordered were:
ANGEL-- A demi-god that is considered to be good. Compare with demon. See complements.
ANIMA-- The feminine part of a man's unconscious.
ANIMISM-- The belief that all natural phenomena such as water, trees, rocks, etc are alive and have a soul and/or a deva and/or a god in control.
ANIMUS-- The masculine part of a woman's unconscious.
ANKH-- The Egyptian symbol of life. The symbol represents the male ( T ) and the female ( o ) and is often worn by Witches as an affirmation of the basic pro- life/nature aspect of Wicca and as a symbol of their religion when they cannot safely wear a Pentacle..
ANKH-KA-- The Egyptian symbol for 'soul life . It is sometimes used by Witches to represent the Great Rite.
ANOINT-- To purify in a Wiccan Ritual by rubbing with blessed oil or holy
salt-water or a number of other specific materials. It can be done to an object or a
person.
One can anoint a person in two different ways depending on if you want to purify
them or do magick with them.
ANTHROPOLOGISTS-- The field of social studies that attempts to make
some sense out of humanity and how we are. Anthropology students love to study
Witches and the number of term papers on the religion are legion.
Anthropologists make one major mistake, however. They are woefully ignorant
about the subjects that they are studying. To an old-style anthropologist, a Berdache is a
person who cross-dresses, is gay and wants a sex-change operation. They see no
difference between these three extremely different people. To an anthropologist, a witch
is anyone who does any form of magickal or psychic work, including your aunt Matilda
who likes to cast horoscopes for fun. As a result, the professional data regarding Wicca
is generally innacurate and misleading.
ANTINOPOMANCY-- (Roman) Divination by the entrails of women and children. This is NOT a Wiccan practice but was used by the Romans. I am unaware of the name for divination by the entrails of men and politicians.
APHRODITE-- Originally a Goddess from the eastern Mediterranian region,
Her original aspects were those of love and sex and fertility similar to the Maiden aspect
of the Goddess. She was free from entanglements and did as She desired. However, as
Her worship moved westward into Greece, the patriarchial Greeks who had replaced the
Goddess centered Titan worship with the God centered Olympian religion couldn't accept
a goddess who was free. So they married her to the crippled god, Hephaestus, in an effort
to slow her down. Her original worship was designed to encourage women to freedom
and independence so the Greeks tried to convert that into a promiscious adultry in an
effort to keep their women in the harem.
Remember that the Greeks believed that if a woman was not kept pregnant, her
uterus would break free, migrate up and strangle her heart. They also believed that
homosexuality was good but lesbianism was evil.
APOLLONIAN-- An obscure and possibly outdated term that refers to those religions that are highly organized, structured and hierarchical with little or no free thinking allowed. Christianity is an appollonian religion. Compare with Dionysian.
APPARITION-- A ghost or spirit or vision.
APPRENTICE-- A person who is studying with a master of a subject.
Generally in Magick or Wicca, it refers to a particularly close relationship where the
apprentice does menial chores to pay for the teachings, in many of which are hidden the
lessons that the master wishes the chores to be done. I had one student, who filed papers
for a living, run her finger down the cover of the closed file and stop at random. She
would then open the file to see if her finger had stopped at the next blank line in the
index.
I have had a number of people ask to study under me in this fashion but none
actually were willing to do the exercises, much less the written homework.
An excellent training manual for a Wiccan apprentice is to watch the movie,
The Karate Kid. The biggest problem for the teacher of an apprentice is to find
ways to teach the apprentice. This is difficult because the apprentice is NOT the teacher
and what worked for the teacher may not work for the apprentice.
AQUARIUS, AQUARIAN AGE-- The new time in earth's history associated with the constellation of Aquarius. This age is said to usher in a more decentralized government and religion. Many Witches see it as a new age of freedom and the death of xianity. The age of Aquarius will begin anywhere between the year 1900-2100 c.e.
ARADIA-- 1) (Italian) A female 'messiah' who brought about a revival of
Wicca in Italy in the 1353 c.e. only to be crushed by the catholic church. Aradia was
arrested and escaped a number of times until she eventually disappeared. She returned a
couple of centuries later and again in the 1920's to start another revival of Wicca in Italy
but this time it was crushed by the catholic church and Benito Mussolini who banded
together during the Second World War under the deal that the church would support
Benito if Mussolini would outlaw all other religions and make catholicism the only legal
religion in Italy. If you don't believe this, I refer you to the documented aid that the
catholic church and the German Nazi Party gave to each other before, during and after
that same war as an example of strange bedfellows.
2) (Alexandrian) The public name of the Goddess.
3) In Traditional and Italian Wicca, the name of the Daughter of the Horned God
and the Great Goddess who was sent to Earth to teach people about magick and religion
and to free them from slavery.
4) One of the names of the Goddess in Italy.
ARCANE-- Refers to any secret and occult knowledge.
ARCHAIC TERMS-- When Gerald Gardner started his own Wiccan Reform
in the 1950's, he sought to make the Rituals more poetic and pleasing to the ear and so he
spent a great deal of time perusing old dictionaries for old words and terms that struck a
'cord' in his soul. These terms were then added to the rites to give them not only an
ancient flavor but also to sound more poetical when used. As a result, Gardner
introduced a number of words into Witchcraft, many of which are still in use today.
In addition to this is the fact that most of our modern sciences are directly derived
from ancient fields such as astronomy comes directly from astrology (modern
astronomers hate the idea that Galleleo made his living as an astrologer) and so the
definitions changed as the new field took over. Thus, a lot of words retain, in magick,
their older meanings. Many though, are retained because they sound beautiful. (see
poetry)
ARCHTYPES-- Symbols that are represented in the mind of mankind as a whole. I refer you to the excellent works of Dr. Carl Jung for more info on this.
ARITHMANCY-- Divination by numbers.
ARROW POSITION-- A Ritual stance in Wicca where one's feet are together and the arms are raised above the head with the palms touching. It is not so much as a position as a transition from one position into another.
THE ART-- (Gardnerian) Magickal practices conducted by the superconscious using intuitive and automatic abilities. Also a term for the technical aspects of magick within the frame of Wicca.
ART AND CRAFT-- The term for Wicca in Goddess Religion.
AS ABOVE, SO BELOW-- (Gardnerian) A method of explaining the interaction between the Gods and humanity, the compact between us and the idea that even the Gods must follow the Laws of Nature. Thus, whatever happens on the Divine Plane, also is reflected upon the Material Plane. This is very important to Wicca and magick.
ASPECTS-- The forms which a God/dess will take when They are called upon. Each Aspect will emphasise a specific area of Influence, such as The Goddess in Her aspect of the Great Mother will emphasise maternity and fertility as opposed to Her aspect of the Crone which emphasises wisdom and age.
ASPERGILLUM-- A Ritual 'sprinkler' used in Wicca and many other religions for charging or to scatter holy water about in blessing. In Wicca it is often made of herbs or twigs.
ASPERGE-- To sprinkle with an Aspergillum in order to purify someone or something.
ASPERGER-- A common term for a tool used to asperge. The proper term is aspergillum.
ASTAROTH-- A jewish demon derived from the Goddess Ishtar and Astarte whom the Israelites hated. It is said that the gods of the old religion become the devils of the new religion.
ASTARTE-- (Phoenicia) A fertility Goddess and a latter version of the
Sumerian Ishtar.
She is an excellent example of the phrase, "the gods of the old religion become
the demons of the new." As Ishtar, She was a supreme and vital Goddess. As Astarte,
She became a less important but still vital fertility Goddess, and under the latter Israelites
She was demoted from the wife of jehova to the male demon of lust ashtoroth.
ASTRAGALOMANCY-- Divination by dice.
ASTRAL-- The astral plane, a spirit.
ASTRAL BLEEDING-- An involuntary loss of astral 'matter', generally from the solar plexis. This is dangerous and should be fixed asap.
ASTRAL BODY-- The psychic 'double' of the body weighing about 1/8 oz. It is capable of passing through any matter and teleporting anywhere instantly. Also called the astral vehicle.
ASTRAL PLANE-- A series of 'worlds' in which the astral body travels. The
lower planes are similar to the physical and in some cases may be travelled upon while
awake in and without knowing that you are there (maybe there are things on a person
going through the DT's and we simply cannot see them while we are in beta), though the
higher ones are mental and shape themselves to whatever you wish them to be. The xian
heaven and hell are on the higher Astral Planes. Thus if you believe heaven to be clouds
and angels with robes and harps, then your soul will go to this Astral Plane during a near
death experience (which is common), and you will experienc a heaven that is exactly
what you want it to be. This makes it extremely difficult to convince the person that it
wasn't real and they may attempt suicide in an effort to return or murder to send others to
this wonderful place.
In reality, an Astral Plane is simply another 'dimension' and has no relation to
what happens to the soul when the person dies. It is, however, a useful place to visit
when searching out knowledge or helping people.
ASTRAL PROJECTION-- The art and ability of sending the astral body out of the physical body at will.
ASTRAL TEMPLE-- A place created on the astral plane by an individual or group. It is a place of spiritual refuge when alone and a physical place is not availiable.
ASTRAL TRAVEL-- See astral projection.
ASTRAL VEHICLE-- See astral body.
ASTROLOGY-- The science of describing personality traits and probable
future events through the observations of planetary bodies. It is based upon the theory
that the energy fields of these planets and their physical relationship with each other and
with the stars will become locked in at the moment of birth and will influence the
individual for life. There are a number of systems such as the Tropical, the Sidreal, the
Chaldean and the Celtic.
In all cases, knowledge of the exact moment and place of birth is vital. In my
case, as an example, I spent much of my life believing that I was born on August 24,
1952 at Westover AFB, Chicoppee Falls, Mass at 11:30 p.m. and so all of my Natal
Charts were based on that time and the location of that city. When I finally purchased
my birth certificate from Mass, I discovered that my birth time was 12:30 a.m. and that
Westover AFB where I was born (42.12 N by 72.33 W) may be legally near Chicoppee
Falls (42.10 N by 72.36 W) but is actually closer to Holyoke (41.12 N by 72.37 W). These
two facts completely change my natal chart. If you want to send me an updated chart,
feel free to do so.
In all cases, I was an eleven-month baby to be certain that I would be born a
Virgo. I suspect that around June, my mother would rather I had been a nine month
preemie.
ASTROMANCY-- To divine through the use of stars.
ATHAME-- The black-handled dagger that is THE most important Tool of the
Witch. It is used to direct personal power and in most Traditions, it is never used to cut.
It is a symbol of fire. Traditionally, the Athame has a black colored natural handle and a
straight double-edged iron-based blade one spann long. Athame's generally have a set of
symbols on the handle which have meaning to those who can read them.
The word appears to come from the Arabic 'Ad Homme', meaning 'ritual knife' or
'lancet' and is pronounced 'ath-AH-may' though others pronounce it 'ah-THAMM-ee'
(rhymes with whammy) or 'ATH-ah-may' or 'ATH-ah-mee', or 'ath-AY-mee' (in Britain).
Most modern pagans attribute the Athame to the element air though it actually is
symbolic of fire. This problem arose when the early magickal lodges such as the Golden
Dawn decided to keep their secrets from the mundane world to prevent someone from
causing trouble, so in their 'outer court' training system, they made a number of changes
so that any spies or drop-outs wouldn't be able to accomplish anything (similar to a chef
writing down the wrong ingredients in case his recipies were stolen but he knew which
ones were wrong and would make the appropriate substitutions. Neiman Marcus
recently discovered the value of this with their cookie recipie) then when the student
learned enough and proved their dedication and loyalty, they were taught the truth and
had to unlearn all that they thought they knew.
ATLANTIS-- 1) A mythical continent in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, the
remains of which form the mid-atlantic ridge. It was believed to be the center of all
wisdom until it was destroyed by the Gods for it's evil ways. The survivors fled to
America and Europe and created the civilizations of the Aztecs, Mayans, Egyptians, and
so on. This is myth.
2) Probably the Islands of Thera and Santorini in the Mediterranian Sea. It blew
up in a volcanic eruption about 3000 years ago (give or take a few centuries) and the
shock waves from that eruption destroyed the Civilization of Crete. It is possible that the
pulling of the ocean away from a beach followed by a tidal wave during an underwater
earthquake or volcanic eruption is the basis for the Israelite legend of the crossing of the
Red Sea. In history, this may have happened but the reputed destruction of the Egyptian
army is a complete myth as were the seven plagues of Egypt which also never happened.
Myth is a powerful thing when codified into faith.
3) A story told by an obscure Egyptian Priest to Solan in the hopes of getting a
good tip by preying on the Greek ego.
4) Some mythical place from which almost every space cadet claims to have
been in a former life. These people were generally Priest-kings and can tell the most
obscure details of Atlantian civilization and religion but are unable to even build or even
describe with any accuracy something as simple as the Atlantion version of a light switch
(which any person in modern day can do). Many wanna-be wiccans claim to be Atlantion
in a past life.
ATTUNEMENT-- The action of a group balancine their personal energies and
needs to become one with the group. Properly done, it enables the group to raise more
power than any individual an possibly match. Done improperly, it reduces the power of
the group to less than one person.
The formula for attuning the coven is: E{g} > E{i} (n + 1).*
*The energy of the group when properly balanced is greater than the sum total of
the energy of the individual members when aded together.
AUGURY-- Divination by the interpretation of omens or chance phenomena.
AUGUSTINE, ST-- (xian) An important xian writer who, in 413 c.e., wrote "How can a Goddess be three persons at one and the same time?" He appears to have had no difficulty understanding the catholic trinity which preaches the same thing.
AURA-- The energy field that surrounds every object in the universe. In people
it can be used to influence or cure physical problems. One of the basic things that
Traditional Witches are required to learn is how to see the Aura. I personally find it
easier to teach how to feel the Aura first, then when the student has confidence in
themselves and the existance of the Aura, I move on the seeing. One of the best teaching
devices that I have found for learning how to see the Aura is not the standard cyan light
bulb but rather those new computer generated 3-D posters that have recently been placed
on the market.
The colors of the Aura relate to the medical and physical condition of the person,
but, unfortunately, there has been little hard research work in this area and so few people
can agree completely on meanings of the colors. Thus, within a broad perameter, the
color and meanings are open to individual interpretation. The worst problem that I have
found is the tendency for the novice aura reader to place their own interpretations on the
color instead of learning what that color means in reality. For those who wish to actually
do some real work and not play games, I would suggest that you observe and record the
auras of a thousand people then get a medical profile to see just what the aura looks like
on a woman in the early (pre-diagnosable) stages of breast cancer.
AUTUMN EQUINOX-- see Mabon.
AVALON-- The Celtic Land of the Blessed, similar to paradise. It means the Island of Apples and is where King Arthur was taken at death to await until he could be returned to England when needed. Some traditions of Wicca use it to refer to a form of Paradise similar to the Celtic Sidhe or the Summerland.
AVATAR-- Someone who has 'evolved' to such an extent that they have no more need to incarnate on earth in a physical body. They do, however, return to earth to teach.
AXINOMANCY-- Divination by saws.
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To contact me or to request topics to be covered, send to RikJohnson@juno.com
by: Rick Johnson
PO Box 40451
Tucson, Az.
85717
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