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A

Adept  An individual who is considered highly proficient in a magickal system through a lot of study and accomplishment

Akashic records  Brought to knowledge by Edgar Cayce, a large collection of information on past lives, healing, other magickal/spiritual practices that can be accessed through the mind

Altar  Area for magickal work or religious purposes<

Amulet  Object of protection charged to deflect negative energies

Ankh  Egyptian hieroglyphic for life and reincarnation, looks like a cross with a loop at the top

Arcana  The Major and Minor Arcana complete a Tarot Deck

Astral  Higher plane of reality; also known as the "Dream Time" by Aborgines of Australia

Astral travel/projection  Separating your astral body from your physical body to travel in the astral plane

Athame  Consecrated ceremonial knife used in ritual, never used to draw blood

B

Bane  Bad, evil, destructive

Banish  Magickally end something or rid the presence unwanted beings

Bi-location  A type of astral projection to travel in reality by keeping the capability to be aware of your present surroundings, also known as mind-travel

Bind  Magickally restrain something/someone

Blood of the Moon  Woman's menstrual cycle; if it occurs over a Full or New Moon, she is more powerful

Book of Shadows  Book of information collected, also called a grimoire

Bolline  Curved, white-handled knife used for practical magickal purposes like cutting and harvesting

Burning Times  1000 C.E. to 1600s when millions of people were tortured and burned by the church because they thought they were Witches

C

Cabala  Ancient Hebrew magickal system, also Kabbalah and Qabala

Call  Invoking Divine forces

Chakras  7 major energy areas in the human body, each associated with a color, they are: crown- white, forehead (3rd eye)- purple, throat- blue, chest- pink or green, navel- yellow, abdomen- orange, groin- red

Channeling  One allows an entity from the other side or plane to use your body to speak to others either verbally or through writing

Charms  Can be an amulet or talisman that has been charmed with an incantation and given energy

Cone of Power  Psychic energy raised and focused by either an individual or group to achieve a purpose

Cleansing  Act of removing negative energy, vibrations, or images from an object or place by using positive, psychic energy

Consecration  Act of blessing an object or place by filling it with positive energy

Coven  Group of 13 or a number of Witches that work together for magickal endeavors or perform religious ceremonies

Covenstead  Meeting place of a coven

D

Days of Power  Also called Sabbats

Dedication  Process where an individual accepts the Craft as their path and vows to study and learn all that is necessary to reach adeptship in a given tradition

Deosil  Clockwise movement

Divination  Art of using magickal tools and symbols to gather information from the Collective Unconscious on the nature of people, places, things, and events in the past, present, and future

Dowsing  Art or science of using a pendulum or shick to find the location of a person, place, ting, or element, can be used to answer yes or no questions

Drawing Down the Moon  A ritual used during the Full Moon by Witches to empower themselves and unite their essence with a particular deity, usually the Goddess

E

Earth magick  Practical form of magick in which the powers and forces of Earth Mother are used to conduct magickal workings or celebrations

Elder  Person who has gained a high position n a Wiccan organization

Elements  Earth, air, water, and fire, some add Spirit or Akasha

Enchantment  A magickal object that must be kept absolutely secret and hidden from human eyes and affects a hidden aura, must be charmed first, gems and magickal writing are good items to use

Evocation  To call something out from within

F

Familiar  An animal who has a spiritual bond with someone, could be an entity created from the astral

Fascination  A mental effort to control another animal or person's mind, also called mind- bending

G

Grimoire  Book of information collected, also called a Book of Shadows

Guardians  Ceremonial magicians use the Guardians of the Watchtowers or of the Four Quarters

H

Handfasting  A Wiccan or Pagan marriage ceremony

High Priest  A male leader of a coven or Wiccan group and plays the role of the God in some ceremonies

High Priestess  Feminine leader of a coven or Wiccan group and plays the role of the Goddess in some ceremonies

I

Invocation  To bring something in from without

K

Kabbalah  Ancient Hebrew magickal system, also Cabala and Qabala

Karma  Belief that one's thoughts and deeds can be either counted against them or added to their spiritual path during several life times, whatever one does will return to them

L

Left-hand path  One who uses magick to serve them alone

M

Macrocosm  The world around us

Microcosm  The world within us

Magick  Art and science of focusing your will and emotions to effect change both in the world around you and within you

Magick circle  Circular boundary drawn to protect one from outside forces while conducting ritual magick, must be opened and closed when one enters or departs, considered to be the doorway between the worlds and allows us to move between the two

Magickal systems  Can be Traditions, denominations, sects, or pantheons, basic set of guidelines

Magickal working  Process of using magick to reach a desired positive goal

N

Neopagan  Pagan of the current times. Sprung up in the mid-late 1900s.

New Age  Mixing metaphysical practices with a structured religion

P

Pagan  Follower of a nature-based religion

Pantheon  Group of deities in a religious or mythical structure, can be Greek, Egyptian, etc…

Pentacle  A five-pointed upright star within a circle, worn as a symbol of a Witch's belief and used in magickal workings and ceremonies, each point represents Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit

Pentagram  A five-pointed star, each point represents Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit

Priest  A male dedicated to both the service of his deities and humankind

Priestess  A female dedicated to both the service of his deities and humankind

R

Reincarnation  Belief that one lived before in another lifetime and will live again

Ritual  Focused mental/physical ceremony to either honor ones deities or to perform a specific magickal working

Runes  Set of symbols used for divination and magickal work, can be an alphabet and are useful in vision questing, dream recall, or controlling one's environment

S

Sabbats  Days of Power, the 8 holidays

Scrying  Divination method using specific tools like a bowl of inked water, a crystal ball, or mirror

Sigil  Magickally oriented seal or sign used in magickal working

Skyclad  Nude

Spell  Extended mental and emotional energy spoken aloud, written, spoken, drawn, or danced

Spiral  Sacred spiral is the symbol of coming into being

T

Talisman  A magickally charged object used to bring something to the bearer

Tarot cards  78 cards with pictures and symbols used for divination

Tarologist  One who adept in working with Tarot

V

Vision questing  Using astral projection, bi-location, or dreamtime to accomplish a goal, also called pathworking

W

Webweaving  Networking with other magickal people through conversation, writing, or the computer to gather and share information

Wheel of the Year  One full cycle of the seasonal year, beginning with Samhain

Widdershins  Counterclockwise motion used in some magickal workings or ceremonies

 

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Some common and not so common terms found in Witchcraft.

 

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