This
is a list of words and terms that may be difficult to find in regular dictionaries.
Different traditions sometimes use the same word in different ways,
so I have given more than one definition for some entries.
Akashic
Records
The astral record of everything that has
ever been done.
amulet
Something that is worn for protection,
usually jewelry.
ankh
Ancient Egyptian symbol of life. It looks
like a cross with a loop at the top.
astral projection, AP
An altered state, often achieved via
trance, in which the consciousness is freed from the physical body.
athame
Ceremonial knife used in magic and
rituals. In Classical Wicca an athame is only used ritually and must have a black
handle.
aura
The bio-energy field of a living creature.
banishing
A magical working performed to remove
evil, threats, darkness, negativity or people embodying those qualities.
Book of Shadows
A witch's handwritten book of spells,
rituals and magical information.
botanica
A Santerian shop that sells herbs, charms,
candles, religious statues, etc.
bruja/brujo
Spanish for witch. (j is pronounced like
h)
the Burning Times
The
historical period in Europe when Christians persecuted and tortured witches and
alleged witches. Thousands were put to death, usually by hanging or burning at the
stake.
chakra
Any one of the seven energy nodes of the
human body.
chalice
A ceremonial goblet that represents the
element of Water.
charm
A magical object, action, or incantation
that effects magic, averts evil or danger.
Circle
A group, less formal than a coven, of
witches who practice, worship, celebrate or study together.
clairvoyance
The psychic ability to know things beyond
your immediate knowledge (also called ESP and the second sight).
coming out of the broom closet
Living openly as a witch.
consecration
A ceremony that dedicates a thing or place
for sacred use.
corn spirit
The spirit of a grain crop, embodied in an
entity, person or animal.
coven
An organized
group of witches who practice, worship and/or celebrate together. Covens
traditionally consist of no more than 13 members, and are lead by a High Priestess
with High Priest.
Covenstead
A place where a coven of witches usually
meets, often the home of the High Priest/ess.
the Craft
Witchcraft.
Croning
A ceremony
held to mark a woman's transition from Mother to Crone, the final phase of a woman's
life.
crystallomancy
Divination by crystals, usually a crystal
ball.
dedicant
A new witch
in the period of study and apprenticeship before initiation. The traditional period
for this is a year and a day.
deosil
Clockwise.
divination
Any practice
that reveals the future or unknown things. Tarot cards, runes and crystal balls are
all means of divination.
eclectic
A witch who works
with deities from or worships within more than one culture or mythological system.
Elder
1. A witch who has attained a position of
respect in the Craft.
2. A coven member who has attained an
advanced degree of initiation.
Esbat
1. Coven meetings held at the full moon.
2. A Lesser
Sabbat, celebrating Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, Autumn Equinox or Winter Solstice.
evocation
Calling upon spirits, elementals or other
entities.
faery
Alternative spelling for fairy, to
distinguish it as a belief system.
familiar
An animal, usually a cat, with whom a
witch establishes a special psychic/magical relationship.
Familiars offer help, companionship, protection, and
usually unconditional love as well.
Five-fold Bond
A ritual tie that links wrists, neck and
ankles.
Fivefold Kiss
A ritual greeting of eight kisses between
witches of opposite genders in Classical Wicca, on the feet, knees, pelvis, breast
and lips.
flying ointment
A paste, usually containing herbs, that is
applied to the skin to aid in astral projection.
folk magic
A culture's traditional magical practices.
Gardnerian
1. Of or relating to Gerald Gardner, who
is credited with reviving Wicca in modern times.
2. Any formal Wiccan tradition that
follows Gerald Gardner's system.
grimoire
Book of Shadows, a handwritten book of
spells and magical information.
granny woman
A female shaman, usually of the
Appalachian Mountain region of the U.S.
hex
1. n. A spell, usually negative; the evil
eye; a curse.
2. v. To cast such a spell.
hedgewitch
A walker-between-worlds, a non-Wiccan
witch with a shamanistic path.
Hidden Children
Witches, who must often keep their
religion secret, are the hidden children of the Goddess.
High Priest/ess
A witch who has attained a tradition's
highest degrees of initiation and leads a coven.
hoodoo
African-American folk magic tradition.
HP/HPS
High Priest/High Priestess.
I Ching; The Book of Changes
Chinese system of divination that uses
yarrow stalks or coins inscribed with hexagrams.
incubus (pl. incubi)
A malevolent male entity that takes sexual
possession of sleeping women.
invocation
Calling upon a god/dess, such as for help
or to empower a spell.
juju
West African word for magick.
karma
That which
accrues and is carried over from one lifetime to the next one. Karma can be positive
or negative, according to what sort of lives you have led.
kitchen witch
A witch who mainly uses practical magic
centering on the home, hearth and family.
kundalini
Dormant
bio-energy resident in the base of the human spine, in the root chakra. Kundalini
energy is released through yoga and other practices for enlightenment, intelligence
and spiritual insights.
mage, magus (pl. magi)
1. Someone who is adept at magic but not a
witch.
2. In some Wiccan traditions, a male witch
who has attained more than the first level of initiation.
magick
1. Ceremonial or ritual magic; high
magick.
2. A spelling for magic used by some
witches and other practitioners to distinguish it from the illusions and
prestidigitation of stage magicians.
Maiden
1. The stage of a woman's life between
menarche and motherhood or mentoring.
2. The assistant High Priestess in a
traditional coven.
Matrix
I use this word to describe the Universe
as the Goddess-web-of-life.
medicine bag
A Native American shaman's pouch, usually
containing herbs, stones, feathers, etc.
medium
A person who is able to channel spirits or
other entities.
mojo
An African-American word for magic.
mojo bag
A small bag, usually containing charms or
talismans, that is worn around the neck for power, protection, etc.
necromancy
Divination via the spirits of the dead.
novice
Someone who has just begun studying the
Craft.
OBE
Out-of-body experience; astral projection;
lucid dreaming.
Ogham
Any ancient Celtic magical alphabet.
Old Soul
A person who has been reincarnated several
times.
omen
Anything which may be interpreted as a
sign, positive or negative, from the Universe.
oracle
A place or
method for divination by means of deities, as interpreted by a priest/ess. Methods
include the flight of birds, the sound of splashing water or rustling leaves. The
most famous oracle of the ancient world was that of Apollo at Delphi.
orisha
Any deity in the Santerian religion.
Ouija board
A board printed with letters and simple
words that is used for communicating with spirits. It is operated by two or more
people touching a paten that moves around the board pointing to letters
or words.
pentacle
1. A 5-pointed star inside a circle.
2. One of the suits of a Tarot deck.
pentagram
1. A pentacle that is written, printed or drawn.
2. A 5-pointed star
inside a circle.
postulant; neophyte
A new member of a coven, someone who has not yet
been initiated.
praņa
The Hindu word for
bio-energy, the vital force shared by every living creature.
poppet
A humanoid figure
that is used to represent someone for a spell or other magical working.
psychometry
Drawing psychic
impressions from objects while handling them.
psychopomp
A god/dess who
guides souls to the Underworld or afterlife.
reincarnation
Transmigration
of the soul; metempsychosis; rebirth in another body after death.
runes
1. The ancient
Nordic alphabet, marked on stones or sticks and used for divination.
2. Magical chants or
songs.
3. Any magical
alphabet; the stones, cards or sticks on which it is printed.
Sabbats
The eight annual
Wiccan festivals.
Sands of Time
Sand taken from
between the paws of the Great Sphinx in Egypt, used to make spells and charms
permanent.
Santeria
An Afro-Caribbean
earth religion that joins Yoruban god/desses with Catholic saints.
scrying
Divination by means
of gazing, such as into water, a dark mirror, a crystal ball or a bowl of black ink.
Seance
A gathering of
people, usually seated around a table, for the purpose of communicating with spirits.
shaman
A priest and
medicine man, usually of Native American or Siberian peoples. Shamanic practice
includes magic, healing, shapeshifting, communication with ancestral spirits and
divination.
shamanka, shamaness
Words sometimes used
for female shamans.
shapeshifting/skinwalking
The shamanic
practice, often aided by drugs, drumming and/or dance, of mentally assuming animal
form.
sheikh/sheikha
Modern Egyptian
Arabic words for magical adepts.
sigil
An occult or
mystical sign, a paper talisman.
skyclad
Ritual nudity. Some
Wiccan traditions insist on skyclad worship.
solitary; solitaire
A witch who
practices alone, without a coven.
sorcerer/sorceress
1. (traditional) A
person who practices black magic, usually by aid of malevolent spirits.
2. (modern) Term
used by some magic-users to differentiate themselves from witches.
succubus (pl. succubi)
A malevolent female
entity that takes sexual possession of sleeping men.
Strega; Stregheria
An Italian magical
tradition.
Summerlands
The place where we
rest after death, between incarnations.
synchronicity
A meaningful
coincidence.
talisman
A magical object,
usually one made or carved at an astrological moment suitable to its purpose.
Tantra
A Hindu path based
on kundalini yoga and sex magic as ways to enlightenment.
the Tarot
An ancient system of
cards used for divination.
telekinesis
The ability to move
objects with your mind (also called psychokinesis, PK). Telekinesis is a very rare
gift that usually manifests accidentally when a person is angry or upset. It is most
often seen in adolescents and fades with age.
third eye
The chakra in the
middle of the forehead.
totem animal
An animal which
represents a person, tribe or other group.
voodoo; Voudoun; Voudu
Afro-Caribbean faith
with both right- and left-hand paths. Like witches they worship various god/desses, use
magick as part of their religion, and are the subject of superstitions and misinformation.
warlock
An old term for a
male witch that no one uses any more. Warlocks were men who pretended to be witches in
order to penetrate covens and betray witches during the Burning Terms.
Wheel of the Year
The annual cycle of
the sun, the moon, the seasons and the zodiac.
white witch
A witch on a right-hand
path.
widdershins
Counter-clockwise
witch doctor
African shaman.
witch's ball; witch ball
1. A mass of dried
entwined herbs blown about by the wind; any small tumbleweed.
2. A glass ball with
a mottled surface that is hung in a window to thwart witches and trap their spells.
3. A fancy dress
party attended by witches.
witch's bottle
A sealed bottle
placed in the house or buried on the property for protection. There are many ways to
make a witch's bottle. Some witches use the detritus of the year: broken pottery,
rusted nails, junk mail, etc. Witches sometimes add something personal like their
hair, nail clippings, urine, a bloody bandage or tampon. This sort of bottle
is always buried, usually at Samhain (for the new year).
Another type
is a bottle filled with salt and sugar, and/or herbs for blessings like protection,
happiness, prosperity, and charms to avert specific threats. This type of bottle is
secreted somewhere in the home.
witch's ladder
1. A type of
knot magic in which charms are knotted or braided with specific magical intention
into cords, making a powerful talisman.
2. A cord
with 40 knots in it or a string of 40 beads, used as a meditation device or aid
to concentration.
Witch Queen
A High
Priestess whose coven has hived off two or more new covens.
wizard
Someone who
practices magic but is not a witch.
wort; wortcraft
Herb;
herbalism.
yin/yang
The opposite but
balancing male and female principles. Yin is female (Moon) energy, negative and
passive. Yang is male (Sun) energy, positive and active.
Yoni
The female genitalia
as a sacred symbol of life, creation, fertility, sexuality, the Goddess, etc.