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

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PACT-- A magickal agreement, generally between a person and a God.

PAGAN-- One who does not belong to any modern religion but chooses to venerate nature as divinity. Pagans can be paleo-pagan, neo-pagan or meso-pagan. All Witches are pagan but not all pagans are Witches.

PAGAN REDE-- An obscure term for The Wiccan Rede.

PAGANING-- A form of baptism of children used by pagans which is similar to the Witches Wiccaning.

PALEO-PAGAN-- The ancient original versions of the modern neo-pagan religions.

PALM-- A measure of length equal to the width of your hand without the thumb. About 3 1/2". See measurements.

PALMESTRY-- See chiromancy.

PAN-- The early Nature God worshipped by the Greeks before the Mycenian invasions. At that time, the conquerors imposed their Olympian religion upon the Greeks and Pan, along with the Titans, was relegated to a demi-God. His worship was centered in Arcadia and He was the God of nature, sex, parties and music and dance. He is the Greek version of the Horned God of the Witches and many modern Witches honor Him by calling the Horned God 'Pan' in public.
As an aside, Delia (one of DHC's HPS') Morgan (a use name) saw a statue of Pan in a fountain store one day. She loved the statue but was broke and so asked for a sign before she spent $125 that she couldn't spare. The store turned out to be on the corner of Speedway and Arcadia streets (see above). She still hesitated and asked for another sign and found an old uncashed check in her purse for exactly $125. Sometimes the Gods answer and when They do, you had better listen.

PANTACLE-- The older and more accurate term for Pentacle.

PANTHEISM-- Literally 'all gods', this is the idea that Divinity can and does manifest as a multitude of Gods and Goddesses, generally within nature.

PANTHEON-- That set of Gods and Goddesses that your religion worships.

PARENT COVEN-- A Coven which has allowed some of it's members to leave and form their own Coven, generally under the wing of the Parent Coven for a certain amount of time. The leaders of a Parent cven are giventhe honorary titles Witch Queen and Witch King (Magus).

PARTING OF THE WAYS-- This refers to a person who belongs to a Coven deciding that they no longer wish to be a member of that Coven for some reason. It also refers to the Coven removing that person from their Coven's membership rolls. This has no moral connotations. It generally means that this person may simply dislike someone in his/her Coven and feels that they cannot Circle with them and so chooses to leave. Or it may men that this person refuses to work Skyclad in a Coven which requires that practice. All attempts to resolve the problem have failed and so they simply resign and seek elsewhere. The Witch is still a member of the Craft and Tradition and retains all of the benefits and ranks to which they have attained.
This does not refer to them leaving the Tradition either, if they were Gardnerian, they still are. They simply are no longer a member of that particular Coven. They may even guest and socialize with their former Coven at times. Refer to Shunning for other referances.

PARTY PAGAN-- A person who is attracted to Wicca and paganaism for the sole purpose and desire to rebel and show off. Party pagans are those who last month were into D&D, this month are witches and next month will be into the SCA. Party pagans are identified by their refusal to study the Craft, their desire to form a coven as the HP/S after reading one book and by wearing 'witchy' clothes like black, tons of 'occult' jewelry and having their bodies pierced and tattoo'd. Party pagans brag constantly about how powerful they are but when it comes down to dedication, party pagans leave for another fad.

PASSING RITE-- A Wiccan funeral where the purpose is to do a spell to ensure that the soul of the dead will be reborn among his/her loved ones in the next life.

PATEN-- The proper term for the pentacle. Specifically, the Tool which resides on the Altar.

PATHWORKING-- See guided meditiation.

PATRIARCHAL-- A society that is ruled by men and gives women no power. Most islamic societies are patriarchal. Compare with matriarchal.

PATRIFOCAL-- Those societies where men have the majority of power and women have some. America is patrifocal. Compare with matrifocal.

PATRILINEAL-- Societies where descent is traced through the father and where children and often the wives take the father's name. European and American societies are patrilineal. Compare with matrilineal.

PEN OF ART-- A Tool used to write spells and sigils.

PENN, WILLIAM-- ( 17th century) The Governor of Pennsylvania (he named the state after his father) and a Quaker in the late 1680's. He is only mentioned here because some people brought to him an old lady, insisting that she be tried as a witch. When Penn asked her crime, the people said that she flew on a broom. Penn then replied that if they showed him a law that made it illegal to fly on a broom, he would arrest the witch, but until then, she was innocent and he ordered her release. I've always liked that story.
It is said that Quakers and Witches would help each other in times of need.

PENTACLE-- 1) The five-pointed star worn by Witches as a protection or as a sign of their religion. h
2) The Tool which represents Earth. It is Traditionally made of wax or clay so that it can be easily destroyed when the inquisitors kicked down the door. In modern Wicca, it is made of copper, though I have seen them made of etched glass and I, myself, have made them of carved and inlaid wood. They have a specific pattern of designs engraved on them. Pentacles represent earth and are a reservoir of power and a protection against almost everything non-material.

PENTACLE POSITION-- See Goddess position.

PENTAGRAM-- The five-pointed star as drawn or marked. The difference between the Pentacle and Pentagram is that the former is worn, the latter is drawn.
When shown with one point upwards, it represents the Goddess as well as Spirit above and more important than the material world. When shown with two points up, it represents the Horned God and our ties to the Earth of which we and He are a part.
Modern Witches are suffering from the modern satanists who have adopted the reversed Pentagram (two points up) to replace the reversed cross which is the traditional satanic symbol.
The pentagram is a complex symbol to draw and children are quite proud when they master the technique of drawing a star. Unfortunately, among fundies, the parents 'freak out' and denigrade the childs accomplishments under the guise that their devil is possessing their child.

PEOTL, PEOTE-- A hallucinagenic root that is used in the ceremonies of the Native American Church. It is under attack by the christians who see nothing wrong with making young children drink alcohol in their own ceremonies.

PERFECT LOVE AND PERFECT TRUST-- A term used by Witches to mean that you give to your Brothers and Sisters of the Art Love and Trust without fear or greed. This does NOT mean absolute gullibility and uncontrolled lust.

PHILTRE-- A potion made to produce a magickal effect. Generally referring to a love potion.

PHRENOLOGY-- Divination by using the shape of the head to indicate personality traits. Nazi Germany used phrenology to show that the Jews were not intelligent at all.

PHYLACTERY-- A talisman for good luck that consists of a leather box containing parchment with magickal symbols and worn around the neck.

PISCEAN AGE-- The last two-thousand years when the earth was ruled by materialism, greed and central authority as characterized by xianity.

PLANE-- 1) A state of consciousness or matter.
2) A dimension or subworld within the macrocosm.

PLANETARY DAYS-- Each hour of the week cooresponds to a specific planet such as Sunday relates the the Sun. This is useful in magick.

PLANETARY HOURS-- Each hour of the day cooresponds to a specific planet such as 6 am on Sunday is the hour of Jupiter and is a good time for magick that relates to a powerful person such as a boss.

PODOMANCY-- Divination by the feet.

POETRY-- Most of the time we, as humans, operate with the left side of our brain which is logical and speaks in literal prose very much as I am now writing. This also allows us to operate in beta which is a fast active brain frequency.
Unfortunately, religion, magick and psychics don't work well in the left brain or in beta, they operate best in the right brain which speaks in poetry and symbols and in alpha which is slower. As a result, most Wiccan spells and rituals are performed in simple rhymes and elaborate poems that are filled with allegory and symbolism. This allows us to free our mundane mind and fly freely into the realms of the Gods and so, enhance our spirituality.
To do this, Gardner introduced a number of arcaic terms and words into the religious vocabulary, many of which are still in use today simply because they work. Unfortunately, few people today actually know what a 'pege' is and so we never use these terms in our everyday lives and rarely in our ritual lives as well.
This is unfortunate as poetry speaks to the soul and that is where spirituality resides. (see arcahic terms)

POLARITY-- Two opposites which combine to form a greater whole such as male-female or microcosm/macrocosm.
Some gay witches are known for ignoring the physical in favor of the emotional and confuse 'working partners' with 'polarity'. The former is any couple who do magickand ritual together as a team. The latter refers to two opposites that combine to form a greater whole. If you mention the definition of polarity, you are branded a homophobic racist.
Most working partners in British Traditional Witchcraft require a polarized couple of one man and one woman.

POLTERGEIST-- German for 'noisy ghost' because of their habit of haunting a person and tossing objects around, these are not ghosts at all. In reality once the movements of the 'hauntings were charted, they were found to move in a spiral path around the target of the 'haunting'. Upon closer investigation, the target was almost always a pre-pubescent girl who was undergoing puberty and being pressured to 'be a good girl -vs- be a bad girl'. This contradiction in sexual desires combined with the new hormones flowing through her body caused her subconscious to lash out in frustration by telekinetically or psychokinetically levitating objects and tossing them around her as if she were the eye of a hurricane.
Although most poltergeist activity centers around teen-aged girls, men going through a mid-life crisis can manifest the activity as well.
Although many victims spend great deals of money on exorcisms, the only solution the the poltergeist is to solve the frustration that causes it. Get the girl to come to terms with her sex drives, have the man get a new job or a temporary mistress.

POLYAMORITY-- A concept accepted by a certain percentage of the pagan population and making inroads into Wicca. It is based on the general idea that humans are not swans, we don't mate with one person for life. These people establish a large 'group' marriage with a number of sexual partners similar to the old-style communes. The idea is far more complex than this and requires a great deal of personal security to make it work.

POLYTHIESM-- The concept that divinity is multiple and cannot be separated from nature. In reality this means that any and every God/ess that has ever been worshipped does, in fact, exist. Thus no Witch will ever tell you that your god is a fraud because we KNOW that s/he exists. The problem comes from the fact that there are simply too many of them to worship, so Witches state that it is better to worship the Horned God and Mother Goddess as the primal Dieties. Then, individual Witches will add to their personal pantheon, whatever God/dess that they happen to perfer this month. Thus, a Witch will generally have the Main Altar to the God and Gddess and a secondary Altar dedicated to Aphrodite in order to get a date or to Hermes in order for a safe journey for a friend or to Mannannan ap Lyr for help in a swim meet.

POOKA-- (Irish) A nature spirit that took the form oa a horse. Although more of a prankster than an evil force, Druids feared it. Any crops not gathered by Samhain were given to the Pooka because it would spit on them and poison them to human use.

POPPET-- A doll or image resembling the target of a spell used to focus the will and power. They may be made of clay, wax or in Gardnerianism, cloth and filled with herbs.
Although they have a bad reputation because of old 'voo-doo' movies, in reality they may be used to heal as well as curse. If you find one with a pin stuck through it's heart, be certain of what the poppet is for before you remove the pin. That pin may be preventing a heart attack and by removing it, you may kill the target. Also called a fith- fath or mommet.

PORTAL-- A door into another perception of reality or another dimension.

POSSESSION-- The act of a non-material entity entering into and taking over a human body. The most famous case is actually a fiction, I refer you to Linda blair in The Exorcist. In reality, most possessions fit very well into a Johari window where they can be actual or hysterical, voluntary or involuntary:
As you can see, the vast majority of cases of possession are simple mental illness brough on by an outside agency. The actual incidence of a real possession is so rare that I have only known of a couple of cases in my life.

POTION-- An herbal mixture made to produce a magickal effect like healing or love.

POW WOW-- (Pennsylvania Dutch) Magick.

PRACTICE-- The actual way a Witch will work their rituals and magick. Within a Tradition, the Practices are similar, but each person will place into that Practice their own interpretation of that Practice. Few are wrong, most are simply different. (ex. Drawing the Circle with Incense before you draw with the Athame is wrong! but invoking the Guardians instead of the Lords is simply different as is drawing the Circle with the Wand at times.)
Beware of people like one of my students who one day stated that only he and I knew how to draw the Circle properly. Everyone else, including his HPS did it wrong! His argument was that I carry the incense around the Circle, pause at each Quarter, and draw a Celtic Cross with the Censer at each point thus: up, down, center right, left, circle, then move to the next Quarter. His wife, also a Coven member, did the same but she drew that cross, up, down, center left, right, then around. The HPS simply exhibited the Censer to the Quarters. This small difference in Practice, in his mind, invalidated the entire Circle.
This shows an unnatural (for Wicca) focus upon one person as the 'fount of all knowledge' which will harm that person in the future. It also shows that the student never really paid attention to the lessons (preferring rote memorization to actual conceptual thinking) and I wasn't attentative enough to catch and cure this problem early enough.

PRACTITIONER-- One who performs magick.

PRECOGNITION-- The 'knowledge' of an event before it happens by means not completly understood.

PRIAPIC-- See ithyphallic.

PRIAPIC WAND-- (Gardnerian) Not a Wand at all but a riding stick or pole with a phallic tip. They are ridden as hobby-horses during certain fertility Rituals and spells.

PRIAPOMANCY-- Divination by the size and shape of the penis. There is more variation in the shape of the penis than in the shape of the face.
Note that I invented this term and system (along with labiomancy) on the spur of the moment but I suspect that someone, somewhere will be able to do it. If you want, send me photos and drawing of your penis in erect and flacced state and a complete life history and personality profile. Then when Llewellyn is ready to fork over the cash, I'll write the diffinative book on the subject. See Labiomancy.

PRIAPUS-- (Rome) The God of sexuality from which we get the term Priapism.

PRICKING-- A means of enacting a 'voluntary' confession of witchcraft during the Burning Times. The purpose was to locate the Devils Mark by the process of using a Bodkin ( similar to an icepick) to stab the 'suspect' repeatedly all over the body until the 'suspect' could o longer bleed or scream, at which time the devil's mark was said to be found and the witch determined to be guilty.

PRIEST-- 1) One who facilitates the rites of Wicca. Generally a man.
2) (Gardnerian, old) A referance to the christian priests who were seen as greedy and power-hungry who sold prayers for money.

PRIESTESS-- One who facilitates the rites of Wicca, always a female.

PROJECTION-- See astral travel.

PROJECTIVE HAND-- The hand from which energy is normally sent. In most people, even those who are left-handed, the right hand is projective. In a very few people the left is. See receptive hand.

PROMETHIAN TRADITION-- ( c 1975) One of the newer Traditions of Wicca to come out of Long Island. Developed by Rus G. it emphasises creativity among its members.

PROPHECY-- To predict future events while under the influence of the Gods.

PROPHET-- One who prophesys.

PROPHETESS-- According to the politically correct viewpoint, every term must either be gender neutral (epicene) or have a masculine and feminine version. Thus 'horse' is the epicene term, 'stallion' the masculine and 'mare' the feminine terms. In Englsh the feminine term is often derogatory such as 'bitch' or 'sow'.
This is the feminine form of prophet which I refuse to use.

PSYCHE-- The human soul, mind or spirit.

PSYCHIC ABILITY-- Any of varous paranormal skills possessed by lmost every person.

PSYCHIC ATTACK-- An attack by another person that uses non-material abilities.

PUCK-- I have to refer you to Shakesphere's A Midsummer's Night's Dream for this one. Although I have difficulty with heroic pentameter, the story is good. Also, Puck is a generic name for a mischevious sprite in Great Britain.

PURIFY-- In Wicca, to ritually remove all evil or unwanted influences.

PURSEWARDEN-- That Witch within the Coven who handles any money that the Coven may have. Considering that Wicca does not pass the collection plate or accept donations, this person really does not exist and I have no idea of where the term came from.
In one of my eraly public Wicca classes, there was one man who looked uncomfortable after class. I asked what was wrong and he said that he thought that he had missed the money collection that was common in xian classes and rituals. I asked him if he knew what would happen if a Witch passed the hat? He expressed the desire to know so I took my hat, passed it to Sue who was my co-instructor at that time and she, quite naturally, put it on her own head.

PROSPECT-- One who wishes to join a Coven but has not been accepted as a Novice.

PSYCHIC-- A sense other than the normally accented dozen. Also called 'the sixth sense.'

PSYCHOMANCY-- Divination by the soul, affection, will and/or religious and moral disposition.

PSYCHOMETRY-- The ability to mentally receive impressions from an inanimate object.

PYROMANCY-- Divination by fire.
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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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