Hand Fasting: A Pagan wedding.
Herbalism: Art of using herbs to facilitate human needs both magickally and medicinally.
Higher Self: That part of us which connects our corporeal minds to the Collective Unconscious and with the divine knowledge of the universe.
Hiving Off: This term is used for a small coven which splits off from a larger one. Sometimes this is done to keep the gatherings of a manageable size, other times covens split over philosophical differences.
Horned God: One of the most prevalent God-images in Paganism. NOT Satan or the Devil!
Initiation: A process whereby an individual is introduced or admitted into a coven. Usually a ritual occasion. Not to be confused with dedication.
Incense: Ritual burning of herbs, oils, or other aromatic items to scent the air during acts of magick and ritual, and to better help the witch attune to the goal of the working.
Invocation: To bring something in from without.
Jew-itch: Name coined by some Pagans of Jewish origin who are actively seeking out the pagan roots of their birth religion.
Karma: The belief that one's thoughts and deeds can either be counted against them or added to their spiritual path across several life times.
Kabbala: Mystical teaching from the Jewish-Gnostic tradition. Ceremonial Magick and the Alexandrian traditions are based in these teachings. Also, Qabala.
Labrys: A double-headed ax which symbolizes the Goddess in Her Lunar aspect. Has roots in ancient Crete.
Left-Hand Path: Refers to the practice of using magick to control others, to change the will of others, for personal gain. Generally frowned upon by true Wiccans and Witch's. Dark Magick.
Libation: Ritually given portion of food or drink to a deity, nature spirit, or ghost.
Macrocosm: The world around us.
Magick: The projection of natural energies (such as personal power) to being about needed change. Energy exists in all things: us, plants, stones, colors, sounds, movements, words. Magick is the process of raising this energy, giving it purpose, and releasing it. Magick is a natural, not supernatural, practice, but is little understood. Magick is neither black nor white. It simply is. What the magician decides to do with the magick is another matter.
Magick Circle: A sphere constructed of personal power in which rituals are usually performed. Within it the witch is protected from outside forces. The sphere extends both above and below the surface of the ground.
Magickal System: The basic set of guidelines relating to the worship of specific Gods and Goddesses or cultural traditions.
Male Mysteries: Pagan study which attempts to reclaim the power and mystery of the old Gods for today's Pagan males.
Matrifocal: Term used to denote pre-patriarchal life when family clans centered around and lived near or on clan matriarch.
May Pole: Sexual symbol of Beltane representing the phallus.
Meditation: Reflection, contemplation- turning inward toward the self, or outward toward Deity or nature. A quiet time in which the practitioner may either dwell upon particular thoughts or symbols, or allow them to come unbidden.
Megalith: A huge stone monument or structure. Stonehenge is the best-known example of a megalith.
Menhir: A huge stone probably erected by early peoples for religious, spiritual, or magickal reasons.
Microcosm: The world within us.
Monotheism: Belief in one supreme deity who has no other forms and/of displays no other aspects.
Mother: The aspect of the Goddess representing motherhood, mid-life, and fertility. She is represented by the full moon, the egg, the colors red and green. Her Sabbats are Midsummer and Lughnasadh.
Myth: Cycles Body of lore about any land or people that makes up their mythology.
New Age: The mixing of metaphysical practices with a structured religion.
New Religion: Pagan term used in reference to Christianity.
Nursery Rhyme: Cute doggerel or poems supposedly written for the amusement of children. Much Pagan lore was hidden in these ditties during the years of witch persecutions.
Occult: Literal meaning is ''hidden'' and is broadly applied to a wide range of metaphysical topics which lie outside the accepted realm of mainstream theologies.
Occultist: One who practices and or studies a variety of occult subjects.
Ogham: Celtic equivalent of the Teutonic runes. The ancient alphabet of the Celtic people.
Old Ones: The A term which refers to all aspects of the Goddess and God.
Old Religion: A name for Paganism as it pre-dates Christianity by at least 20,000 years.
Pagan/Neo-Pagan: General term for followers of Wicca and other magickal, shamanistic, and polytheistic Earth-based religions. Also used to refer to pre-Christian religious and magickal systems.
Paganing: When a baby is presented in circle to the Goddess and God, and given a craft name which s/he will keep until about 13 and can choose their own at their Coming of Age celebration.
Pantheon: A collection or group of Gods and Goddesses in a particular religious or mythical structure.
Pantheism: Belief in many deities who are really one because they are all merely aspects of the single creative life source. Paganism is pantheistic.
Passion Over Ritual: Ritual observed when a loved one has dies.
Past-Life Regression: Act of using meditation or guided meditation to pass through the veil of linear time and perceive experiences encountered in a previous existence.
Path Working: Using astral projection, bi-location, or dream time to accomplish a specific goal. Also called vision questing.
Patriarchal: Term used to apply to the world since the matrifocal clans that worshipped Goddesses were supplanted by codified religions that honor all-male deity(s).
Pendulum: A divinatory device consisting of a string attached to a heavy object, such as a quartz crystal, root, or ring. The free end of the string is held in the hand, the elbows steadied against a flat surface, and a question is asked. The movement of the heavy object's swings determines the answer. It is a tool which contacts the psychic mind.
Pentacle: A circle surrounding a five-pointed, upright star (pentagram). Worn as a symbol of a witch's beliefs. Many witches consider wearing it inverted to be blasphemy of their faith and is commonly associated with Satanism.
Pentagram: The basic interlaces five-pointed star, visualized with one point up. It represents the five elements: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit. It is a symbol of power and protection.
Personal Power: The energy which sustains our bodies. It originates within the Goddess and God. We first absorb it from our biological mother within the womb, and later from food, water, the Moon and Sun, and other natural objects.
Polarity: The concept of equal, opposite energies. The Eastern Yin Yang is a perfect example. Yin is cold; yang is hot. Other examples: Goddess/God, night/day, Moon/Sun, birth/death, dark/light, psychic mind/unconscious mind. Universal balance.
Polytheism: Belief in the existence of many unrelated deities each with their own dominion and interests who have no spiritual or familial relationships to one another.
Poppets: Anthropomorphic dolls used to represent certain human beings in magick spells.
Projective Hand: The hand thought to be the point through which personal power is sent from the body. Normally the hand used for manual activities such as writing, dialing the phone, etc. It is also the hand in which tools such as the athame and wand are held.
Psychic Mind: The subconscious, or unconscious mind, in which we receive psychic impressions. It is at work when we sleep, dream, and meditate. It is our direct link with the Divine, and with the larger, nonphysical world around us.
Psychism: The act of being consciously psychic, in which the psychic mind and conscious mind are linked and working in harmony. Also known as psychic awareness.
Quabala: See Kabbala
Receptive Hand: The hand through which energy is received into the body. The left hand in right-handed persons, the reverse for left-handed persons.
Rede: The Basic tenet of witchcraft. ''An it harm none, do what thou will.
Reincarnation: The process of repeated incarnations in human form to allow evolution of the sexless, ageless soul.
Ritual Ceremony:
A specific form of movement, a manipulation of objects or inner processes designed to produce desired effects. In religion ritual is geared toward union with the Divine. In magickal works it produces a specific state of consciousness that allows the magician to move energy toward needed goals.
Ritual Consciousness: A specific, alternate state of awareness necessary to the successful practice of magick. This state is achieved through the use of visualization and ritual. The conscious mind becomes attuned with the psychic mind, a state in which the magician senses energies, gives them purpose, and releases them toward a specific goal. It is a heightening of senses, an expanded awareness of the nonphysical world, a linking with nature and with Deity.
Ritual Tools: General name for magickal tools used by a witch or magician. They vary by tradition and usually represent one of the elements.
Runes: A set of symbols used both in divination and magickal work. There are several types will different origins- Scandinavian, Norse, Germanic.