B

by: Rick Johnson
PO Box 40451
Tucson, Az.
85717
RikJohnson@juno.com

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B.C.E.-- Before the common era. A method of dating that is used by Pagans, non-xian nations and scientists to avoid using the christian term 'before christ' {B.C.} because much of the world dislikes using a dating system based upon a god in whom they do not believe. Compare to C.E.

BABD-- (Gaelic) The Irish word for Witch. Not to be confused with witta which is a new word made up by one popular author who claims to be an Irish Witch.

BABYLON-- See 666.

BACULUM-- See Wand

BAN-- 1) To curse. Generally referred towards a person who has committed a crime agains society and the Craft that would harm the Craft as a whole.
2) (Gardnerian) A summons.
3) (Gardnerian) Forbidden.

BANE-- 1) A poisonous herb. 2) (Wicca) Evil or bad. That which destroys life.

BANEFUL-- See bane.

BANEFUL MAGICK-- Any spell that is used for a morally improper goal. An example of good magick would be doing a love spell to attract someone into your life to love and love you. That same spell done on a specific person such as a neighbor is baneful. The difference is that in the former, you allow the universe to choose the proper person, in the latter, you are controlling someone's free will.
See Black Magick.

BANISH-- 1) To exile from the Coven and Craft for criminal or extreme anti- craft behavior. Most Traditional Witches will have nothing to do with a person who has been Banished because of the extreme measure that this is. To Banish shows that the Coven and HP/S feel that the crime comitted is so henious that the person must be punished severely and they have little or no hope that the person will ever be able to repair the damage they caused or that person will continually repeat their evil acts. Banishment is forever and is similar to the Amish Shunning or the catholic excommunication. It is the ultimate punishment in modern Wicca. In civil terms, Banishment would be equalivilant to life imprisonment without parole. A Coven can only banish it's own members. Refer to Shunning for other referances.
There isa saying that if the catholic church excommunicated as often as certain High Priestess' Banish, hell would be full to overflowing.
2) To cast out a non-material entity through ritual means. Many stupid and ignorant fundies have performed 'exorcisms' on people undergoing voluntary hysterical 'possession' (i.e. schizophrenia of a mild sort brought on by a method similar to implanted memories) for the sole purpose of reinforcing some mythical devil worship or for the greed of fame and money. Having been involved in a number of exorcisms, I have found that the Linda Blair type simply doesn't exist. True, people can be taken over by non-material entities, but most of these are voluntary or hysterical. Those few 'real possessions' follow certain basic patterns that are absent in the publicized exorcisms and thus can be considered fake.
3) Another term for Closing a Circle. This refers to the eliminating of the remaining energy which was raised during the Rite.

BANISHING-- The action of causing something to depart from the Wicca Circle. Often used to release elemental spirits at the end of a Ritual. Sometimes refers to Closing the Circle at the end of a Rite.

BAPHOMET-- According to Eliphas Levi, a human-like entity with the breasts of a woman and genitals of a man and the head of a goat. Also called the Goat of Mendes, it was said that the Knights Templar worshipped Baphomet. As the Templars spent a lot of time in Palestine during the Crusades and they appear to have brought back to France at least some islamic practices and so the name 'baphomet' may be a corruption of 'mohammed'.
Witches were also said to worship Baphomet because of the superficial resemblance to the Horned God. Compare the images of Baphomet with those of Cerne on the Gunderstrap Cauldron.

BARD-- (Celt) In Celtic and Druidic lore, a musician, a poet and a story teller and one of the three levels of priesthood. They traveled the country passing news and telling moral tales to people. They were so powerful that no king could deny them entrance and if the king was bad, the Bard would make a satirical song about him which would essentially destroy the person socially and politically.

BARROW-- (old English for hill) A pre-Celtic burial ground, specifically a mound of earth over a Dolmen. A holy place. See Tumulus.

BASQUE-- A region between France and Spain which is modern times is characterized by a certain amount of terrorism caused by Basque who wish their own country. Michael Harrison states that some of the Gardnerian chants are in the Basque language. The Basque, like the Romney, are said to be heavily involved in Witchcraft though the same is said about any group that disassociates themselves from society.
Pierre de Lancre was sent by the King to the Basque region of france to hunt Witches in 1612. His most famous quote is

"... questioning a suspect about what he has done is merely a trick to trap him into confessing."

BELL-- A Wiccan Tool. Considered to be the voice of the Goddess and therefore used during invocations, exorcisms and purifications. It often represents the union of the Goddess (the bell) and the God (the clapper) and is a strong purifier.

BELL, BOOK AND CANDLE-- 1) Refers to the closing act of exorcism "ring the bell, close the book and snuff the candle." It is used by some Witches to indicate the closing of a ritual.
2) A movie starring Kim Novak and Jimmy Stewart. The film concerns 'witches' in modern day Manhattan. It is not at all accurate but almost every Wiccan loves it anyway.

BELTANE-- {bee-yel-TUNE-ah} One of the Four Greater Sabbats of Witchcraft. It was originally dedicated to the Celtic God Bel or Belinus, but now a fertility festival that celebrates the coming of Summer, the union of the God and Goddess and rampant sexuality. Generally, it is celebrated with Bonfire jumping, Maypole dances and Love chases.
In some Traditions, it is THE most important Sabbat, in others it is the Second Most Important. For Traditionals, it is, however, the most enjoyable with requests for invitations by Eclectics and Traditionals from prudish Covens made to the more outgoing Traditional Covens.
Also called: Walpurgisnacht, May Day, Roodmas, Cethsamhain and in Ireland it is called Bealtaine (b'Yol-tinna which means Summer). It is held on May 1st or May 5th depending on which calendar you follow. Some Traditions start their yearly calendar at Beltane.

BERDACHE-- (Anthropological) A term used to describe any of a variety of people who cross-dress or change gender roles within a society. The reason may be magickal or social or economic or psychological.
If only a woman can own a house (as in Navajo society), then the only way a man can own his own home is to put on a dress and act like a woman in that society.
If there aren't enough men or women in society, then it is uesful for some of those of the more numerous gender to dress as the opposite sex and 'marry' others of their biological gender.
If a culture specifies certain magickal skills to specific genders, the berdache then possess both skills.
If a person is physically male but feels like a woman inside, he may dress and act as a woman to express hwat he feels is his true gender.
In some cultures the Berdache was accepted as having magickal powers, in others, they were killed outright as perverts.

BESOM-- A Wiccan Tool. The original term for the Broom. See Broom.

BETA-- That condition that exists when the mind is active and intense concentration occurs. It is characterized by the mind operating at 12-60 cps. I always hope that my Coveners and students are in beta when classes are held then I hope that they switch to alpha during magick and ritual.

BETWEEN THE WORLDS-- The place that you travel when inside the Magick Circle. It is neither wholly of the Material Plane or the Divine Plane, but 'between' both.

BEWITCH-- See fascinate.

BEWITCHMENT-- See fascinate.

BEYOND THE VEIL-- A way of referring to death by those who wish to avoid the 'D' word. One Law of Magick states that if you mention a name, that entity will answer. Thus, this is a way to avoid Death answering His call.

BIBLE-- (xian) The holy book of the christian religion. It was assembled by the Council of Ancyrea in 314 c.e. from the numerous writings by and about christianity. Those writings by Mary Magdalene and Thomas the Doubter (who knew jesus personally) were deleted in favor of the writings of Paul (who never met jesus at all) and many of the works included were never written by the authors at all or were written long after their 'authors' were dead. If truth be known, the christian bible would be condemned for obscenity by any court were the standards that banned other works applied to this book.
Many radical christians love to quote exodus as proof of the evil of Witchcraft, "Thou shalt not suffer a kaskagh (witch) to live. Unfortunatly, kaskagh means someone who kills with poison and has no connotation to either magick or religion. The word was ordered to be translated as 'Witch' by King James of Scotland who hated Witches and catholics and ordered his translators to create an anti-witch pro-protestant version of the bible. As an aside, when the scholars gave James his book, he refused to pay them for their work. In reality NOWHERE in the christian bible does it say that Witches worship the devil or even describe satan as anything other than the most beautiful of angels.
To those who argue the literality of this 'holy book' I mention that the bible requires the death sentence for : touching a holy thing (numbers 9:13), breaking the sabbath (exodus 32:12-15) and making a fire on the sabbath (exodus 35:2- 3). If you would demand my death for being a Witch, I would suggest that you first clean your own house and execute all those people who bar-b-que on Sunday or wear a cross.

BI-LOCATION-- Possibly a form of astral projection where the astral body has an apparant physical form. Generally, both bodies are conscious and can operate independently of each other.

BIND-- 1) (Wiccan) To cast a spell that prevents the target from doing a certain action.
2) (Gardnerian) To tie up as during Initiation and Purifications.

BINDRUNE-- (Norse) Two or more Runes that are placed on a talisman or house for protection or another magickal goal. Often these runes overlapped or were set into an artistic design.

BIO-PLASMA-- See aura.

BLACK ARTS-- (xian) A term incorrectly used to refer to any of the methaphysical sciences.

BLACK BOOK-- The original term in Witchcraft for the Book of Shadows (which was introduced by Gardner in 1949). It is the vogue for insecure people trying to con others (like the guy who broke up my marriage) by claiming to belong to an 800 year old family tradition of witchcraft. These people always refer to possessing an 800-year-old Book of Shadows which shows that they are liers.

BLACK MAGICK-- Magick that is meant to cause harm or evil.
I personally never use the term as I find it to be racist. I agree with the Martello argument that if you label evil magick as 'black', you are placing an evil connotation on a color that will inevetably extend over into other areas. If black magick is evil and the old western villin wears a black hat, can we not also infer that anything black is evil? And by implication, the black man is also evil? Magick and Witches work in the subconscious so I dislike this term and prefer to use the term 'Baleful Magick', 'baneful magick' or 'evil magick' instead.

BLACK MASS-- (xian) Originally any mass done by the catholic church in France for the purpose of doing magick in opposition to king or 'official' church policy. It was invented by the priest to one of the mistresses of King Phillip to ensure that he wouldn't dump her in favor of a younger woman.
By the 17th century, sacrifices were added with the priest baptising the baby to ensure that it would go to heaven and carry the message to god. Eventually, it came to be considered a reversal of a christian service. Only christians can do a black mass.

BLESSED BE-- The traditional greeting, parting and blessing used by Witches.

BLESSING-- The act of conferring energy upon a person or object so as to do good.

BLUE MOON-- Full moons occur every 28 days. If the Full Moon occurs on or near the first of the month, then around the 28th of that month there will be a second Full Moon. It is this second Full moon in a calendar month that is called the Blue Moon. This happens every dozen years or so and so is a rare event. Thus the expression "Once in a blue moon" refers to something that happens very rarely.

BODKIN-- 1) An instrunent of torture resembling an ice pick with a double curve in the middle. The idea was that when the 'witch' sold their soul to the xian devil, that entity kissed them somewhere on their body. Said place then became insensitive and unable to bleed, thus giving proof of the pact.
It was used by the inquisitor stripping the 'suspect.' naked and tieing them to a post or ring in the roof. The bodkin was then plunged into the 'suspect' up to the bent part. If the 'suspect screamed or bled, it indicated that this was not the spot and the inquisitor moved over an inch and stabbed again. This continued until the 'suspect' could no longer bleed or scream at which point the 'devils mark' was said to be found and guilt was established. Favorite spots for pricking were the breasts and genitals and any scar, mole or birthmark that could be found. A confession given after being pricked like this was said to have been given 'without torture'.
Perverts love to prick their suspects. See False Bodkin and Without Torture.

BODY DOUBLE-- See astral body.

BOGGLE-- To confuse the mind by magick. Also Bogle.

BOGLE-- See Boggle.

BOLLINE-- (Gardnerian) A Wiccan Tool. Incorrectly used by far too many Wiccans to refer to the White-Hilted Knife, but actually is a specific curved blade with the edge inside the curve that is used to harvest herbs.
Some feel that the Bolline's blade must be made of wood or bone because it is antithical to herbalism to cut a herb with metal. Also Boleen, Bolleen.

BONFIRE-- A ritual fire used in many Wiccan Rituals for a number of reasons. At Yule it was built to give strength to the new-born Sun-God, at Imbolc it was for purification, at Beltane it was for Fertility and at Litha it was to heal the wounded Sun-God. In all cases the fire was jumped by the Coven for strength, luck, fertility, etc.
Traditionally, the Bonfire was made of either three, seven or nine woods chosen for their coorespondences and the reason for the fire. Your author (Rick Johnson) and Lee L. of Desert Henge Coven did a paper on each fire Sabbat, its bonfire meaning and the Traditional woods used, then we determined which native Arizona woods would work as substitutions for the European trees. This paper can be found elsewhere on this site.
Some bonfires are small and if made indoors, are generally built within a small Cauldron. Others are quite large and difficult to jump. At one Grand Sabbat at Litha, we made a bonfire so large that only a few people like myself were able or willing to attempt to jump it. In this case, we made it in the shape of an oval for those who could not broad/high jump a fire 4 feet across and 'x' feet high. The more sensible people contented themselves with jumping the smaller section.
Anyone who has jumped a bonfire knows why Traditional Witches worship Skyclad. Having jumped Bonfires in America and in Germany, I can attest that the psychological and spiritual benefits, not to mention the magickal ones, are well worth the hair I lost.
One of the best referances I have seen to Skyclad bonfire jumping is in the movie, The Wicker Man. I suggest that you see it for yourself. Also Bonefire.

BONEFIRE-- See Bonfire.

BOOK COLLECTORS-- A term used in the 1970's to refer to those Witches who would collect any number of Books of Shadows from different Covens and Traditions. Sometimes they were collected as an academic curiosity, other times they were collected to improve your own BOS.
As an example, my own collection contains a number of Gardnerian BOS' from various covens ranging from the one that Initiated me to a couple by Gerald Gardner and a partial one by Doreen Valiente as well as from other Traditions like: Mohsian, Aradian, Pagan Way, Outer Court, English Traditional, Saxon and other Traditions and Covens too numerous to mention here. Although my personal workings are Gardnerian, I have generally found something interesting, useful and workable in each of the others. And as a training exercise for my coven, it is useful to see how other Trads do the same thing we do.
The important thing is to be honest about your collection and not to try to pass them off as 'proof' that you are a member of said Tradition. One major BTW organization in California claims to copyright the BOS of it's members. If true, then they are required by Law to send two copies of these secret books to the Library of Congress where any person can access them. I personally suspect this organization of ulterior motives here.

BOOK OF SHADOWS-- (Gardnerian) THE Sacred Book of Witchcraft. Within its pages are kept the rituals, laws, spells and any other information that is used by the Witch or Coven. It is traditionally hand-copied by each Witch and so each Witch will have a slightly different version. The term 'Book of Shadows' was introduced by Gardner in 1949, probably after reading an article about a similar term used in Hindu magick.
Traditionally, the Book of Shadows is handwritten by its' owner and destroyed at the owner's death. Traditionally, and ideally, the Book is copied by hand by the Witch in a Circle during Cakes and Wine, thus explaining the many 'mistakes' and differences between Books of Shadows in the same Coven. It also explains the wine and candle wax found therein as well.
Kelly makes a big deal about Gardner inventing Wicca based on Gardners original BOS (Ye Boke of Ye Art Magickal) which contains ceremonial magick, early and different versions of sacred writings and material placed out of order or started on page six and finished on page 20 with other material between. However, Ye Boke is EXACTLY what an old BOS would look like. Explanation availiable upon request.
Many modern Witches type their BOS and even more modern Techno- Witches write a Disc of Shadows, though the smarter ones scan in their BOS, thus loosing many of the advantages of handwriting.

BOOMERANG EFFECT-- The Three-fold Law in practice. It means that a reletively weak defence will cause a reletively strong spell to rebound and return to strike the sender with greater effect. The action of a spell striking a magickal defence and then rebounding back to the sender with three-fold strength. See Three-Fold law.

BOS, BoS-- See Book of Shadows.

BOTANOMANCY-- To divine the future through the use of herbs.

BOTHWELL, FRANCIS STEWART, EARL OF-- (c 16th century) One of the heirs to the throne of Scotland Bothwell had only one obstruction, King James I. Were James to die without issue, then Bothwell would become King of England.
In a time when religious wars were common and people were being killed for praying in English or Latin, being a Witch placed you under the guns of catholic, protestant and puritan zealots. So Bothwell decided to stack the deck. He used his coven in North Berwick to try to kill the newly crowned James I before he could produce heirs of his own. With James dead, the throne would then go to Francis Stewart, the Earl of Bothwell and he could remove christianity and restore Britain to the Wiccan religion.
Unfortunatly, the plan failed and James survived every assassination attempt. James was eventually arrested but was released when the Horned God or His representative ordered the guards to open the cell. Francis escaped to Italy where James sent a message asking him to come home. Francis replied "You christians are all alike, you call me when you need me and cast me aside when done." He wisely refused the offer though most of his coven were arrested and burned to death.
King James, once a disbeliever, now became a fanatical Witch hunter and not only wrote Demonology but passed repressive anti-witch laws and ordered the bible to contain anti-Witch passages.

BRACELET-- A Wiccan Tool. The Metal band worn on the left wrist and bigraved with the Witches Name and Degree. The men wear one of gold ( brass or copper for those of limited financial assets) and the women wear one of silver. It is designed to allow for free energy flow along the meridians and is bigraved with the owner's name and rank.

BRIGANTIA-- See Imbolc.

BRIGID-- See Imbolc.

BRIGIT, SAINT-- The Great Mother Goddess of the Witches in Ireland. Patrick couldn't destroy Her or discredit Her so he invented a saint with Her name to steal Her worship as was common in those days. Refer to Abbot Melitius for details.

BRITISH GARDNERIANS-- (c 1952) Those Gardnerian Witches who are descended from any of Gerald Gardner's High Priestess except for Monique Wilson's descendants via Raymond and Rosemary Buckland. These latter are referred to as American Gardnerians.

BRITISH LINE-- (c 1960+) A term to describe the linear descendents of Sally T. who was an Alexandrian Witch in Britain. Another term for this is Old Line.

BROCKEN-- See Mount Brocken.

BROOM-- A Wiccan Tool that is symbolic of the female principle and the hearth.
There are many uses for the Broom. In Olden Days it was a walking stick, a weapon to defend the woman who was walking in the woods, and Witches even jumped the Broom during their Handfastings. They were also ridden as a hobby horse in the spring and summer as a spell to make the crops grow higher and better. Christians misunderstood this magickal spell and labelled it as Witches flying through the air on their Brooms. Of course, everyone knows that that is rediculous. Without a tail and rudders, the Broom has no lateral or vertical stability and riding upon the shaft is somewhat uncomfortable which is why old Brooms had a phallic tip. Most old brooms had a round brush instead of the modern flat one and were usually made of specific materials.

BRUJA-- (Mexican) A Mexican magickian who curses. This has been incorrectly translated as 'witch' but the two are nothing alike.

BUBASTIS-- (Egypt) A city in Egypt which is the center for the worship of Bast, the cat-Goddess.
Bast is the beloved of Witches, most of whom love cats, and by anyone who is bothered by rats. I personally think that the Bubonic Plague (Black Death) which wiped out a quarter of the population of Europe and half the population of the Middle-East was revenge by Bast because the christians would burn and drown cats by the thousands each Summer simply because they were beloved by Witches and the Horned God. So the church killed the cats and the plague went unchecked, spread by rats. Had Europe venerated the Witch and Bast and the Cat, the plague would never have been a much of a problem.

BUCKET-- A measurement between the thumb and little finger with the fingers spread. It is about 8 inches. See spann and measurements.

BULL GOD-- (Wiccan) That aspect of the Horned God which was worshipped in areas where the wild Bull was the primary meat source.
In some traditions of Wicca such as the Welsh Trads, the Bull and Stag are different aspects of the same Horned God and they fight themselves/each other on the Solstices to symbolize the Turning of the Wheel/year. See Goat God and Stag God.

BURIN-- An awl with a short point used to bigrave signs on talismans and jewelry.

BURNING TIMES-- The name Witches use for the Inquisition, a time from the 12th century to the 18th century (roughly) when christianity tortured and killed between 50,000 and nine million people (statistics differ but all agree that they were mostly women) in an attempt to stamp out Wicca.
Some feel that the Burning Times ended with the 17th Century, others point out that they are still happening today and refer to the last public witch Burning in America occuring in New Mexico in 1925 and in Mexico in 1959 and other instances of the government arresting Witches for little or no reason as an example.
When I teach Wiccan history, I always pass around a few instruments of torture used by the xian churches in those days. The explanations of their use and the ability to handle something like an eye gouge or bodkin is viscerally effective, not to mention the major reason for drop-outs that week.
If we do not remember the past, we will be condemned to repeat it. And even the best people will do the most evil deeds for what they perceive to be a good reason. Remember Mai Lai? How about the biological warfare that the US waged against the American Indian less than a hundred years ago? Or, how about the US government repressing info on AIDS because it only hit homosexuals and so was perceived as a solution to that problem (Patti, my ex-wife was taught by her catholic church and believed that AIDS was god's way of punishing homosexuals for being immoral)? And how about ... the list is endless as is our ability to kill and maim those we perceive as different. And if your religion states that you, alone, are right, then all other religions become, by definition, wrong and wrong equals evil and evil must be destroyed.
There is no difference between the xian Inquisition, the Nazi death camps, the McCarthy trials, the Iranian hostage situation and the modern police attacks on anything new-age (satanic).

BUZZ WORDS -- (Sue B.) A term that refers to any word that initiates a visceral or emotional reaction without conscious thought. Most Buzz Words are perceived by the individual to be evil and therefore the person reacts immediately and negetively. Some common Buzz Words are: Nazi, fuck, faggot, Witch.

BYTE-- 1) (Gardnerian) To cut or slash with a knife or sword.
2) (mundane) The smallest part of data in a computer. Each letter is composed of 2 bytes. Computer memory is measured in Mega-bytes (million) or now Giga-bytes (billion) which shows the total amount of information that can be possessed. A 5 1/2" floppy comtains 1.2 megabytes of memory. My personal BOS covers over a dozen floppys which is why I am putting it on CD..
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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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