Proper pronunciation and definitions of Pagan, Celtic,
Gaelic, old Irish, Asatru, Wiccan and other Witchcraft terms.
All
terms listed in alphabetical order. If you would like to know the definition of a word or term not listed here, please email us at info@LotusOm.com
Altar: An area or surface built
or designed exclusively for magickal or religous workings and ritual.
Amulet: A natural object, often
of stone or fossil used as a protection device to the holder.
Ankh (Angk): The most famous Egyptian
hieroglyphic, the Ankh symbolizes life, love and reincarnation.
It is often worn around the neck and is shaped like a cross with a loop
on top.
Arcana: Half of a tarot
deck which is divided into two aracanas: the major arcana
consisting of the 22 trumps of importance and the lesser arcana of 56
suit cards that help to divinate the trump cards to a lesser degree.
Astrology: The belief and study of
the effects of the movements and placements of planets and other
heavenly bodies have on the lives and behavior of human beings.
Athame (AH-tha-may): The ritual knife often
associated with the element of air and the direction of east, thought
some traditions attribute it to fire and the south. The handle is
traditionally black or of natural wood.
Balefire: A synonymous word of
'Bonfire', a balefire is a communal bonfire of the sabbats, most
notably used at Beltane, Litha and Lughnassadh.
Bane: A negative force or
energy. Another word for bad, negative, or in
opposition.
Banish: The removal of negative
energy or force. To rid the presence of unwanted entities.
Bealtaine (Bee-Al-tin-aye): The old Irish word for
'Beltain'.
Beltain (Bell-tain): A grand sabbat also known
as Walpurgis night, May eve, Roodmas, celebrates the symbolic union and
mating of the goddess and the god. Often celebrated April 30 or
May 1, the true occurrence is more often May 5-7th. A time of fertility
and growth. A very important day to most Pagan paths.
Besom (Beh-som): A witches broom
used to sweep a sacred area and in effect, purify the sacred
space. Legend comes from early fertility rites where besoms were
'ridden' over crops to enhance the coming bounty.
Bind: Restraining one's self or
someone, using magick.
Bolline (Bowl-in): A curved knife, often
white hilted, used for the magickal gathering of herbs and other
natural reagents. Where as the athame is a religious knife, the
bolline is it's practical working sister.
Book
of
Shadows: A witches book of
reference where all magickal date, information, times, aspects,
formulas and spells are enscribed. One of the most important
tools as recorded happenings cannot be forgotten. Also
known as a grimoire.
The
Burning
Times: A reference of time
between approximately 1500 B.C.E. and the 1600's where many
millions of people were murdered by the Christian church simply because
they were 'non-believers'. Their possessions and assets seized at
death, the Christian church often profited on the killings of
witches.
Cauldron: Often replaced by the cup
or chalice in ritual, this tool is used for making brews or magickal
potions. Its symbolizes the womb of the Goddess.
Celtic (Kel-tik): Of or for the old
subfamily of the Indo-European language family comprised of the peoples
of England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany and some teutonic lands.
Censer: A ritual tool
used for burning incense during spellwork or ritual.
Chalice: A ritual tool used in
libation, this feminine principle tool represents the element water and
the west.
Chakra: One of the seven major
energy centers in the human body. These are at the third eye,
head, throat, chest, navel, abdomen and groin.
Circle: Sacred space where all
magickal rituals and workings are performed. The circle not
only protects the practitioner from outside energies but contains the
working energies within.
Consecration: Blessing an object
(usually a ritual tool) to purify it and empowering it with positive
energy.
Coven (Kuhv-en): A group of witches who
work and rite together utilizing the greater empowerment of the sum of
its members, as opposed to the power of those members added
individually. Containing both male and female members,
traditionally a coven has 13 members but may contain any number of
members.
Dedication: The acceptance of the
craft (of any way), as one's path and religion, followed by intense
study to gain the necessary knowledge and preparation to be adept at
this tradition.
Deity: Synonymous with a god,
goddess or godhead.
Deosil (Jesh-il): The working act usually
in ritual or song of moving or dancing in a clockwise
motion. This is used for positive works and is also known
as
"Sunwise".
Divination: Any method used to
foretell or inform of the future. Many popular forms include
Astrology, Runes, Tarot, tea leaves, the pendulum, scrying, meditation
and many more. A common practice in one form or another with
Pagans of any path.
Dowsing: A divination method using
a pendulum or stick to answer questions similar to the popular "Ouija"
board. Some forms of this include water finding where a dowser
uses a forked stick or the like to find water underground.
Drawing
down the moon: Used primarily during an
esbat to draw down the powers of the moon into a female witch.
Very powerful when a sabbat and esbat conjuct.
Drawing
down the sun: Used to draw down
the powers of the sun into a male witch. Very powerful on
the Equinoxes and Solstices.
Element: The primary elements are
earth, air, fire, water and spirit. Each of these 5 represents a
point on the pentagram. The elements and their directions
are extremely important in Pagan ritual.
Esbat (Es-bat): From the french word,
esbattre, meaning to frolic, the esbat is the powerful ritual time of
the full moon. There are 13 esbats in a year, all known by moon
names.
Evocation: The act of summoning the
presence of spirits, dieties or elementals to your sacred space.
Familiar: Most commonly an animal,
a familiar is a witch's working helper. Often advantageous
to ritual, they can also become a liability and much thought should be
given to taking a familiar.
God: The aspect of a masculine
deity..
Goddess:The aspect of a feminine
deity.
Handfasting: A Pagan or Wiccan
marriage ceremony which traditionally takes place at a specified period
of time depending on one's tradition.
Herbalism:The magickal and
medicinal art of using herbs for the practitioner's use or benefit.
Imbolc (Im-Bolc): Observed on February 2nd,
Imbolc is the early spring sabbat which honors the virgin goddess as
the young bride of the returning sun god.
Initiation: The transformation of ones
ideals and values into the ideals and values of a particular
path. Please note one can be in dedication but is not yet
initiated whilst an initiated is always in dedication.
Invocation: The drawing of an aspect
of a diety into one's self using magickal ritual.
Karma: Karma follows the law of
cause an effect. It is the belief that what one's actions
do in this life, will carry over to the next life and lives to come.
Libation: Drink or sometimes food,
given to a deity, or spirit during magickal ritual.
Litha (Lith-ah): Also known as Midsummer,
Litha is the summer solstice which honors the sun god at his peak
power.
Lughnassadh (Loo-nuh-sa): The Pagan first harvest,
or harvest of corn. Lughnassadh usually falls on August
1st. It is the first of the harvests.
Mabon (May-bun): The Pagan Thanksgiving,
or second harvest. Mabon falls on the autumnal equinox, when the
light of the year shifts toward darkness. It is a traditional
time for feasting.
Magick: Aleister Crowley said it
best: "Magick is the science and art of causing change to occur
in conformity to will"
Neo-Pagan: Applies to the various
movements incepted since the 1950's, when the British anti-witchcraft
laws were finally repealed.
Ostara (Oh-star-ah): Observed at the vernal
equinox, Ostara represents life and balance.
Pagan (Pay-gun): One who follows or
practices an earth-based or nature religion.
Pagan
Rede: Summed up as "An ye harm
none, do what thou will".
Pendulum: A divination device
consisting of a string attached to a heavy object such as a crystal or
the like. Questions are divined by noting the motion of the
pendulum during divination.
Pentacle: A pentagram surrounded by
a circle and fashioned usually into a pendant. The pentacle
is used in some covens to represent the element of earth.
Pentagram: Always seen with the apex
(point) upwards, the pentagram is the five pointed star symbolizing
western Paganism. It represents the elements of earth, air,
fire, water and spirit and also creative principle over all creation.
Polytheism: The belief in the
existence of multiple deites or godheads, as opposed to monotheism,
where only a single god or godhead is revered.
Reincarnation: The belief that we all
return, after death, to the earth in the form of another human
body. A result of a major Pagan principle that energy never
dies.
Ritual:A mental ceremony using a
prescribed set of rites and tools to perform magickal acts or workings.
Runes: Both an alphabet and a
divination tool, runes are a set of symbols used similiarly to tarot,
although they can be used in a much broader spectrum of
divination.
Sabbat (Sabb-at): One of the days of
Power. These are comprised of the eight solar festivals
that celebrate the wheel of the year.
Samhain (Sow-in): October 31, is the grand
sabbat marking the beginning of winter and the Celtic new year. It
is also a time strongly believed where the veil between the living and
the dead is at its thinnest.
Scrying: A form of divination
using mirror and bowls where the user "sees" images, pictures of
thoughts themselves.
Sidhe (Shee): The name generally
applied to all the faery races of Ireland and Scotland.
Skyclad: Nudity in ritual is said
to be done "skyclad".
Solitary: The practicing lone witch
who worships without a coven.
Spell: A specific ritual
designed to change one condition or thing. Also known as
spinning, weaving, casting and spellcraft.
Talisman: An object empowered to
protect its wearer. Note this differs from the amulet as it is
empowered, not naturally protective as is the amulet.
Tarot (Tair-oh): Divination using a set of
78 tarot cards which are laid out in such a fashion that the diviner
interprets them to answer the question at hand.
Triple
Goddess:The 3 aspects of
the mother goddess in one, maiden, mother and crone. A
symbol widely found throughout the civilized world. The
representation of the triple goddess is the waxing, full and waning
moon. )O(
Wheel
of the
Year: The never ending seasonal
shift throughout the 8 sabbats or days of power. In Pagan
mythos, the goddess turns the wheel bringing everything to season.
Wicca (Wik-uh): Wicca represents an
ancient religion of love for life and nature. Wicca is easily one of
the most irrepressible religions in the world because it stimulates the
intellect, promotes a simple, practical way of life and, most
importantly, is emotionally satisfying. Brought
into the public eye in the 1950's by Gerald Gardner after the repeal of
British anti-witchcraft laws, Wicca is now a strong, healthy and
popular religion and movement.
Widdershins (Widd-er-shins): The working act usually
in ritual or song of moving or dancing in a counter-clockwise
motion. This is used for banishing or negative
works. This is the opposite of deosil.
Witch: A general word for Pagans
worlwide although traditionally those of Anglo-Celtic, Celtic or
Teutonic tradtions.
Yule (Yool): The winter solstice and
the shortest day of the year, Yule is when the goddess gives birth to
the god. This is also the Norse New Year.