Blessed Be

Glossary Of Terms "P to Z"

Pagan Any person who practices any one of the religions of aboriginal peoples which have been supplanted by Christianity or a state religion.
Pantheon The Gods of a given people, i.e. the Celts, the Romans, etc. the Celtic Pantheon would be all the Gods and Goddesses worshipped by the Celts.
Pentacle A pentagram within a circle. One of the four elemental tools, an engraved disc representing the Earth's element. It is normally the centerpiece of a Wiccan altar. In Wicca the pentacle is used to distribute cakes in a ritual (spelled pantacle in this usage) It is traditionally made of wood.
Pentagram A five pointed star. An upright pentagram, with a single point uppermost represents 1) a human being astride with arms outstretched or 2) the four Elements governed by the fifth (Spirit). An inverted pentagram, with a single point downwards represents Spirit still subservient to the four Elements, is generally seen as a black magic symbol, except when it is used as the symbol of a second degree initiate, the implication there being that he or she is still on the way to full development.
Polytheism The belief in or worship of more than one God/Goddess.
Precognition Psychic awareness of future events.
Priest A man who serves as the ceremonial leader of a group gathered to worship. Every initiated witch is regarded as a priest or priestess, the priest function being seen as inherent in every human being who is prepared to activate it.
Priestess A woman who serves as the ceremonial leader of a group gathered to worship.
Psyche The total non-physical make up of a human being.
Psychometry The psychic reading of a material object and its associations and history by handling it.
Reincarnation The process, generally believed in by witches and many other, whereby each immortal human Individuality is reborn to life after life on Earth until all of its Karma is worked out and balanced, and it is sufficiently highly developed to progress to a higher stage.
Ritual The religious observance of ceremonial acts in the worship of Deity.
Rune 1) A letter or character of the earliest Teutonic alphabet traditionally regarded as being magical. 2) A magical song or chant, as the Witches' Rune. The word rune in Old Norse and Old English meant whisper, secret counsel, mystery; in Irish and Scottish Gaelic it still means secret mystery.
Sabbat Any one of the eight Wiccan holidays, the Equinoxes (Spring and Fall), the Solstices (Summer and Winter); plus Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane, and Lammas.
Salamander The traditional name for an Elemental spirit of the nature of the Fire element.
Salt Used in many magical procedures, including Wiccan, as a kind of spiritual antiseptic or purifying symbol.
Scrying Any form of divination which involves gazing at or into something (crystal ball, black mirror, pool of ink etc.) to induce psychically perceived visual images.
Shadow The buried unconscious elements of the human psyche, everything except the Ego and the Persona.
Shaman, shamaness A priest or priestess who communicates with the inner planes by self induced trance. Originally a North Asiatic tribal word, it has come to be used to describe such functionaries in other cultures.
Sigil An occult seal or sign. It should be pronounced to rhyme with 'vigil'.
Sistrum A rattle or noisemaker.
Skyclad Ritually nude; refers to being dressed appropriately for the worship of the Gods. Having left all the mundane world behind - a symbol of freedom.
Solitary An individual who practices the Craft alone, without a Circle or Coven.
Soul Mates Individuals who are continuously involved with each other in successive Incarnations, becoming rather like a pair of binary stars. Also know as twin souls.
Spell A focus of attention on a specific goal.
Summerlands A spiritualist word for the Heaven which souls enter after death. Often used by believers in Reincarnation to denote the astral stage of rest after physical death, before the Individuality withdraws from all the lower levels to prepare for its next Incarnation.
Sword One of the four elemental tools, representing the Fire element or in some traditions, the Air element.
Sylph The traditional name for an Elemental spirit of the nature of the Air element.
Talisman An object similar to an Amulet but more specific and often constructive and not merely protective. It is designed for a particular individual and purpose, making the maximum use of appropriate symbols.
Telekinesis The power of moving physical objects by purely psychic effort.
The Craft An umbrella term for all the traditions of Witchcraft; Wiccans/Witches practice the Craft. It was originally an expression used by the Freemasons.
The Left Brain Function The linear logical, word and number using, analyzing, basically masculine function of the left hemisphere of the brain, which also controls the right side of the body; it is balanced by the right brain function, the intuitive, image forming, synthesizing basically feminine function of the right hemisphere of the brain, which also controls the left side of the body.
The Wheel Generally refers to the Wheel of the Year, or the cycle of life-death-rebirth which is celebrated by the eight Wiccan Sabbats and the thirteen lunar cycles which comprise a year, the holidays themselves may represent different phases of the cycle based upon whether or not the tradition derives from a hunting or an agricultural society, one will often hear The Hunting Calendar/Wheel versus The Agricultural Calendar/Wheel.
Thurible An incense burner or brazier. Often used in ritual as a symbol of the element Air.
Tradition The particular type of Paganism or Witchcraft one practices.
Tree of Life The central glyph or diagram of the Cabala. It consists of ten interconnected spheres of Sephiroth each representing a category of cosmic being and activity.
Undine The traditional name for an Elemental spirit of the nature of the Water element.
Vampirism The draining of psychic energy from one individual by another.
Wand One of the four elemental tools, representing the Air element or, in some traditions, the Fire element. The Latin term is Baculum or Baculus for a staff or stick.
Watchtowers The four cardinal points, regarded as guardians of the Magic Circle.
White handled Knife A ritual knife for use within the Magic Circle whenever actual cutting or inscribing is called for, this being forbidden for the Athame.
Wicca The religion of modern Witches (most specifically those from the British Isles). The usual witche's name for the Craft. It derives from the Old English "wiccian," "to practice witchcraft." It is a slight mis-derivation since Wicca in Old English meant (a male witch) and wicce (a female witch). The actual Old English for witchcraft was wiccacraft, but the present usage is now long established and there is every reason why it should continue.
Wiccaning In Wicca the ritual blessing of a newly born baby, it is the witche's equivalent of a christening, except that is not intended to commit the child permanently to any one path, since that should be the individual's adult decision.
Widdershins In an anti-clockwise direction, against the sun. This is a Teutonic word (Middle High German: Widersinnes); the Gaelic equivalent is Tuathal.
Witch Any woman or man whose religion is any of the aboriginal European religions (the Old Religions).
Witch Queen A High Priestess from whose coven at least two other covens have hived off.
Witches' Rune A power raising chant accompanied by a ring dance.
Witch's Ladder A string of forty beads, or a cord with forty knots, used (like a rosary) as an aid to concentrated repetition without the need for actual counting.

Glossary cont'd "A to P"

Reference material:
Creating Circles of Power and Magic. By Caitlin Libera.
A Witches' Bible by Janet and Stewart Farrar
The Law Enforcement Guide to Wicca by Kerr Cuhulain

Where shall you Journey? What shall you discover?




This page was last updated 4/27/2005

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