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

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HALLOWEEN-- See Samhain.

HALLOWE'EN-- See Samhain

HALLOWMAS-- See Samhain.

HALLOWS-- See Samhain.

HALLUCINOGEN-- Any herb that causes a mind altering and unreliable 'vision'. They are occasionally used ritually to teach the student to drop their preconceived notions of reality. In modern times, they are used for recreational purposes and therefore tend to harm magickal abilities.

HAND-- A measure of distance equal to the width of your hand with the thumb and fingers closed. About 4".

HANDFASTING-- 1) The Witches marriage which lasts for a year-and-a-day or as long as love lasts. Some, but not all Wiccan HP & HPS' are legally allowed to perform a legal marriage. The couple may repeat their Handfast vows each year. If the couple chooses to part at the end of that year, they return to the place where they were Handfasted with the HP and HPS who did the ceremony and Handpart by walking away from each other in opposite directions.
Some common themes for a Handfasting include the tieing together of the hands of the Bride and groom, the jumping of the broom and the consummation of the wedding during the rite.
In Tucson, it is very common for Witches to have a private Handfasting for the Coven only and then a public Handfasting for friends and relatives.
2) (Gardnerian) A trial marriage that lasts for a year and a day. If they had children or she was pregnant, then they usually married. The woman in a Handfasting was always considered to be respectible as opposed to people who simply lived together.

HANDMAIDEN-- See Maiden.

HAND OF GLORY-- An old magickal talisman that consists of the hand of an executed man turned into a candle. It was used by criminals who would light it and carry it into a home in the hope that it would keep the occupants asleep while they were robbed.

HARD-GARDS-- ( c 1970+) Those Gardnerian Witches who follow the Gardnerian rules to such a literal extent that they allow no deviation or variation either from themselves or others. Almost all Hard-Gards are American Gardnerians and insist that rules that are specific to their own Lineages must be obeyed by all Gardnerians everywhere. If another Gardnerian comes from a Lineage that pre-dates or simply does not possess their specific rule (such as Initiation Circles being drawn by only a Third Degree High Priestess which is specific to post-Buckland American Gardnerians), then the Hard-Gard has a tendency to 'invalidate' that Gardnerian who does not follow their rule.
Hard-Gards are the closest Witchcraft has to a fundamentalist Witch and have been known to arbitrarily attack and destroy the reputations of other Gardnerians over these perceived violations of Hard-Gard rules.

HARUSPICY-- Divination through the inspection of entrails.

HARVEST DOLL-- See corn dolly.

HARVEST HOME-- See Mabon.

HEAL, HEALING-- To repair damage or ilness through the use of psychic or magickal means. Most Witches are taught healing.

HEATHEN-- One who lives in the meadows, a pagan. To a christian, an insult.

HEATING CHAIR-- A metal chair with numerous spikes which was used by the inquisition. The suspect was strapped tothe chair naked and a fire built beneath. The chair would become red hot and the heat would be transmitted tothe suspect via the hundreds of spikes that theywere forced to sit on.

HECATE-- The patron Goddess of Witchcraft in Greece. Modern Witches see in Her the Crone Goddess and some emphasise Her worship over the other Aspects of the Goddess. See Triple Goddess.

HEDGE-- (Gardnerian) Not real. Generally refers to a fake priest who performs ceremonies for money. These ceremonies have no legal standing. Currently refers to a non-initiated wiccan who claims Lineage and position. A fake.

HEDGE-WITCH-- (Eclectic Wicca)

HELL BROTH-- (xian) A mythical concoction supposedly made by Witches in their cauldrons for some evil purpose. Read the opening scene of Macbeth for one formula. Witches do not make this.

HENGE-- Literally a Circle dug into the earth to delineate a holy spot. The term has been Confused with Stone Circle due to the popularity of Stonehenge which many people think means 'a stone circle' but really means 'a circular ditch with a stone circle inside'.
In modern Traditional Wicca, this is remembered outdoors when the HPS draws the Circle with the Sword by dragging it along the ground at the Circles boundary, thus creating a small ditch or henge in the ground.

HENOTHEISM-- (Wiccan) The belief that all gods and goddesses are aspects of a single underlying source. This allows some pagans to accept the existance of multiple divinities without completly casting out their xian belief in monotheism as they can rationalize that the one 'source' for all gods is the (xian) god. Most Traditionals don't subscribe to that theory, preferring to believe that The Goddess was the prime divinity who created the Horned God and then They, together, gave birth to all other gods and goddesses..

HERALDRY-- The science of describing a 'coat of arms' in such a manner that anyone who understands the language can draw that design. Witches often use a simpler from of herladry that ignors the rules to produce logos for their covens.
When Desert Henge Coven existed, we had as our Coven logo the following: Azure, a pentagram, argent, surrounded by a circle of 13 stones, natural (grey) and upright, the top two topped by a lintel, all surmounted by a crescent, argent.
My family, being Irish and direct descendants of Brian Boru, can claim the right to the O'Brien Coat of Arms. But my ex-wife, also an O'Brien, cannot despite the name because she isn't a descendent but a commoner with no such Arms. Many companies make a lot of money from selling "Coats of Arms" to people with a similar name regardless of relations or rights.

HERB-- Any plant used for magickal or healing purposes.
Many pharmacutical companies will hire someone whose only job is to travel the world to find the local Witches to learn their herbal cures. These would then be taken back, refined and processed and made into a new miracle drug. An example of this is the old witche's potion made from foxglove (digitalis purpurea) which was given to cure chest pains. Some chemist examined the plant and discovered digitalis.
There are many different names for the same herb or plant. Some of these are regional dialect, some are chosen to scare off or impress the gullible and some were descriptive of their magickal or medical use. Because of the differences in naming a plant, herbalists should write on the jar and lid the common name and the scientific name of each herb. Refer to mandrake (mandragora officinalis) for an idea of this confusion.

HERBAL-- A book which contains information about herbs and herbal magick or healing.

HERBALISM-- See herbcraft.

HERBCRAFT-- The use of herbs and plants in magick or medicine.

HERIDITARY WITCHES-- Those Witches who can trace their lineage from parent to child over generations. Compare with Traditional Witches.

HERMETIC MAGICK-- Magick that uses the mind instead of ritual and Tools, generally considered to be high magick and not psychics.

HEX-- A short term 'curse' that is intermediate between the curse and fix. It is generally used to cure a specific condition and dissipates when that condition no longer exists. The term is derived from the German word 'hexen'.

HIEROS GAMOS-- (Greek) See Great Rite.

HIGH MAGICK-- Ceremonial magick generally derived from one of the judeo-xian magickal systems. It is generally used for the transformation of the magickian into a god-like state. Compare with Low magick.

HIGH PRIEST-- 1) Specificaly, the male leader of the Coven.
2) Any male Witch of the Second or Third Degree

HIGH PRIESTESS-- 1) Specifically, the female leader of the Coven.
2) Any female Witch of the Second or Third Degree.

HIGHER SELF-- In many traditions, that part of the mind that relates to the spirit or superego or parent or....

HIVING OFF-- The process where some members of a Coven leave to form a Coven of their own. Generally done under pleasant circumstances because there are too many members in the original Coven, the act of Hiving makes the original HPS and HP a Witch Queen and Witch King/Magus.

HOLY-- Sacred. This can be used to refer to an object (the Athame) or a place (Avebury) or an image (The statue of Diana of the Ephesians) or a ritual (Doreen Valiente's The Charge of the Goddess) or a vision.

HOLY GRAIL-- See grial, holy

HOLY STONE-- A stone with a natural hole. Hung by a red string, they are good luck and represent The Goddess.

HOLY STREGA, THE-- (Italian) The term that refers to Aradia in Italian Wicca.

HOOD, ROBIN-- ( c 12th century) A famous outlaw who, during the Middle Ages, was supposed to have robbed from the rich and given to the poor. By Wiccan tradition, Robin Hood and Marion were the High Priest and High Priestess of a Coven of Witches who were fighting a war of survival against the christians of the time. This is born out by contemporary Witch trial records accusing Witches of meeting with Robin of the Hood, Robin Wood, Robin of the Wood and so on, all of these being euphamisms for the High Priest of the Witches. This concept was explored by the British TV series, Robin Hood which was shown on PBS and was collected by many Witches.

HOODED ONE-- (Italian) The title of the Stag-Horned God.

HOODOO-- A combination of West African Voooo with West European folk magick.

HOPKINS, MATTHEW-- (c 17th century) A 17th century English Witchfinder who was a failure as a lawyer so in 1645 turned to hunting Witches for a living. Hopkins would enter a village, claiming to have a 'black book' listing all the Witches of England, and for a fee, would capture them. He would then choose his victim and torture them into confession. He originally used swimming but had to discontinue throwing bound women into a river as this was illegal. So he resorted to modern police methods of interrogation which usually worked to elicit a false confession. His preferred method was Pricking where he would take an object similar to an ice pick and repeatedly stab the suspect until a confession was made. Hopkins was credited with inventing the false bodkin to ensure proof of witchcraft.
After executing several hundred innocent people, Hopking retired and died of TB an old man.

HORNED CROWN-- The Crown of the High Priest in Wicca worn to symbolize his position. It generally has antlers or horns.

HORNED GOD-- The primary diety that is worshipped by Witches. The earliest drawings that we have of Him are some 15,000 years old. He is always shown with horns or antlers as a sign of His divinity and ties to nature. These may be goat horns, cattle horns or stag antlers. Often He has Cloven hoofs like a goat, bull or stag and when naked, as is common among the ancients and modern Traditionals, He is shown to be ithyphallic.
Note: Ithyphallic is a term that refers to a God as being sexually erect because Traditionals see nothing wrong with this aspect. In fact one HPS I know purchased a God statue once and complained that it wasn't 'anatomically correct'. The salesperson stated that He wasn't 'aggressively masculine'. The HPS, a Gardnerian, saw nothing wrong with Old Horny being aggressively anything and would gladly have done her pleasurable duty had He approached her. But she purchased the statue anyway and made a long distance call to her ex-boyfriend in California to get an accurate description of the missing part. I asked why didn't she simply call me over to model?
See Great Mother Goddess.

HORUS-- (Egypt) The falcon-headed god of Egypt who was the God of wisdom. In Egypt His name was Hor and His primary aspect was as a Sun God. He was one of the oldest and most common of the Egyptian Gods as the word for 'god' is a drawing of a falcon on a perch.
When the early Israelites lived in Egypt, they accepted the Egyptian religion as their own (Judiasm wasn't conceived until the time of Moses and not really formalized until the 600's b.c.e. with the decrees of king Joshiah) and Horus still survives in Caballah teachings as the Solomonic spirit, Florus.

HP-- The abbreviation used by many Witches to refer to the High Priest of the Coven.

HPs, HPS-- The abbreviation used by many Witches to refer to the High Priestess of The Coven. Gardnerians often use the HPs form.

HP/S-- An epicene term to refer to the facilitator of a rite without regard for the gender of the Priest or Priestess performing that action.

HUMILITY-- In Wicca, an awareness of the greatness and smallness of oneself .

HYDROMANCY-- Divination through the use of water.
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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

Return to the Home Page.
Return to the Miscellenous Page.
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