Theosophical Society,
St
Lythans / Llwyneliddon
Chambered
Tomb,
Pagan Glossary & Pronunciation
Guide
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. Please see our Astrology section.
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. Please see our tools page.
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.
Please see
our Sabbats page.
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. Please see our Besom page.
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. Please see our tools page.
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. Please see our tools page.
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. Vast information can be found in our Burning
Times section.
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.
Please see
our tools page.
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.
Please see
our tools page.
Chalice
A ritual
tool used in libation, this feminine principle tool represents the element
water and the west. Please see our tools
page.
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. Please see our Ritual page.
Consecration
Blessing
an object (usually a ritual tool) to purify it and empowering it with positive
energy. Please see our Ritual page.
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. Please see our
Ritual page.
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.
Please see our divination page.
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. Please see our Ritual page.
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. Please see our Ritual page.
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. Please see our Moon page.
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 tranformation 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”. Please see our Wicca section for more
information.
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
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. Please see our Wicca section
for more information.
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.
Theosophical Society,