Theosophical Society,
St
Lythans / Llwyneliddon
Chambered
Tomb,
Pagan Glossary
Absorption:
An antipsi talent for absorbing the power out of psychic
energy fields, including those around other beings. See Tapping and Vampire,
Psychic.
Achromatics:
The “colors” black, grey and white; used occasionally to refer to
moralistic schools of occultism.
Active
Ritual:
One in
which those persons raising and focussing the psychic
energies are not the main targets intended to be changed.
Active Talent:
A psychic talent that involves the discharge of energy or data from
the agent to the target.
Adept:
One who is
very skilled in magic or mysticism.
Agent:
The person or animal exercising a psychic talent.
Air:
One of the
main “elements” in occultism; associated in the West with thought, knowledge,
yellow, blue, swords, activity, daring, light, communication, heat, dampness,
etc.
Akasa or
Akasha:
One of the “elements” in Indian and Tantric occultism, equivalent
in most ways to the
“ether” concept and/or that of “astral”
matter.
Akasic
Records:
A concept
in Indian metaphysics, of a gigantic repository of all the memories of every
incarnation of every being; some gifted ones are said to be able to “read”
these records (possibly through retrocognition or the
clair senses) and to gain
data about past events. See Switchboard.
Amplification:
A psi or antipsi talent for
boosting the power levels of psychic energy fields.
Anachronism:
Something
that appears to be from a time period other than the one in which it is
perceived; as in medieval knights and ladies in modern America or astronomical
computers in the Stone Age.
Angel:
A
personification of what we consider good or pleasant. In theoilogy, a being just below the main god(s) in power for
good. In some
magical systems, a sort of “psychic robot.”
Angelology:
Medieval science of studying angels. Question: how many angels can dance on the
head of a photon? Answer: give the physicists who are working on quantizing
consciousness another decade or two.
Animal-Psi or Anpsi:
A little-used term for psychic phenomena involving the interactions
of animals with humans, each other and the environment.
Animism:
The belief that everything is alive. The Law of Personification taken as a
statement of universal reality rather than as one of psychic convenience.
Anthropomancy:
Divination from human entrails.
Anti-Psi or Antipsi:
A
categorical term for several genuine psychic talents that (for the most part)
serve to frustrate, avoid, confuse, destroy or otherwise interfere with the
operation of normal psi; they can affect the power
and/or information content and/or vector of psi
fields within range.
APK:
See Atomic
Psychokinesis.
Apopsi or
Avoidance:
An antipsi power that appears to generate an energy field into
which no external psi field can penetrate; may work
through transmutation, retuning or aportation; may
interfere with internal psi fields as well.
Aportation:
Archetype:
(1) Original astral form of a phenomenon; (2) In
the psychology of C. G. Jung, an inherited idea or mode of thought derived from
the experiences of the species and present in the unconscious of the individual
who picks it up from the collective unconscious of the species.
Asceticism:
A method of
altering the state of one’s consciousness through the avoidance of comfort and
pleasure; when extreme, may become masochism.
Aspect,
Astrological:
An angle
formed between two items on an astrological chart.
Assimilation:
A technique
of psychic healing involving the picking up of a patient’s pain and/or illness
by the healer, who experiences it personally for a short time, after which it
is supposed to vanish in both patient and healer; may also be done
accidentally.
Association:
Connection or correlation between two or more objects, ideas or
beings; thus forming a pattern.
Association,
Law of:
“If any two
or more patterns have elements in common, the patterns interact ‘through’ those
common elements and control of one pattern facilitates control over the
other(s), depending (among other factors) upon the number of common elements
involved.”
Astral
Planes:
Subjectively
real “places” where some astral projectors perceive themselves as traveling;
said to be multiple “levels” of (a) material density in the same space, and/or
(b) awareness and concentration.
Astral
Projection:
An OOBE or Psi talent that may involve
traveling GESP with the image of a body and/or the separation of a “less dense”
body from the normal physical one.
Astrology:
Divination through the correlation of earthly events with celestial
patterns.
Athame:
Ritual
dagger used by Neopagan Witches, borrowed by Gerald
Gardner from medieval grimoires. Probably was
originally “athane.” May be pronounced as
“ATH-ah-may” or “ah-THUH-may” (it’s all “ah-THAYM” to me).
Atomic Psychokinesis or APK:
Psychokinesis done upon the molecular,
atomic or subatomic levels; a subcategory of PK.
Augury:
Divination
by means of whatever is most handy at the time.
Aura:
One or more
energy fields supposedly generated by and surrounding all beings and many
objects; those persons blessed with clairvoyance or other psychic talents can
“read” the patterns of energy and determine information about the person or
object. See Kirlian Photography.
Belle
Indifference:
Lack of interest or concern on the part of a “hysteric” or RSPKer towards unusual events occurring in or around him or
her.
Beltane:
Celtic fire
festival beginning the summer half of the year; starts at sunset on May 4th
and is also known as Bealtaine, Galan-
Mai, Roodmas, Walpurgistag,
St. Pierre’s Day, Red Square Day, etc. Celebrated by most Neopagans and many
Marxists as a major religious holiday.
Bibliomancy:
Divination through the random selection of words or phrases taken
out of books, especially the Bible.
Biocurrents:
Electrochemical
energy currents generated by living cells.
Biological
Radio:
One Russian term for telepathy.
Biophysics:
The physics of biological phenomena.
Bit:
From
“binary digit,” a unit of data equal to the result of a choice between two
equally probably alternatives, used in computer technology. Eight bits usually
equals one “byte.”
Black
Magic:
A racist,
sexist, creedist and classist
term used to refer to magic being done for “evil” purposes or by people of whom
the user of the term disapproves.
Blessing:
The use of magic to benefit an object or being.
Bon:
The native
Tibetan religion that later merged with Buddhism and Tantrism.
Bonding
Control:
Boomerang
Curse:
Spell
designed to make an attacker suffer the effects of whatever hostile magic they
may have launched at the user; a variation of the “mirror effect,” probably
operates through reddopsi.
Buddhism
A variety
of religions founded by a man named Gautama
Siddhartha, the Buddha (“Enlightened One”). An outgrowth of Vedic Paleopagan mysticism, rooted in the “Four Noble Truths:”
(1) Existence is suffering, (2) Suffering is caused by desire, (3) Desire can
be overcome, (4) by following the Eightfold Path (right belief, right thought,
right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness
and right meditation).
Cabala:
See
Kabbalah.
Cartomancy:
Divination through the use of cards, especially Tarot Cards.
Casting
Runes:
(1) Divination through the use of small objects
which have been inscribed with runic letters. (2) A method of focusing or
firing a spell through the carving or writing of runes.
Catapsi:
An antipsi talent for the generation of strong fields of
psychic static, frequently at such high intensity that all other psi fields within range are disrupted and/or drowned out,
usually with the information content of those fields collapsing first.
Cause and
Effect, Law of:
“If exactly
the same actions are done under exactly the same conditions, they will usually be
associated with exactly the same ‘results’.” Good luck with those “exactlies!”
Cellular Psychokinesis or CPK:
A
subcategory of PK, involving the use of what is
probably several different APK talents in order to psychically affect the
structure and behavior of living organisms, working primarily on the cellular
level.
Centre or
Center, The:
Point of intersection of various planes or modes of existence,
including space and time, and which can be used for (at least subjective)
transportation between them.
Ceremonial
Magic:
Schools or
methods of magic which place their emphasis upon long and complex rituals,
especially of the Medieval and later European traditions; often degenerates
into ritualism.
Chakras:
Several
psychic centers of power associated with different parts of the human body in Tantric systems of anatomy.
Chalice:
Cup used in
rituals and usually associated in western occultism with “element” of Water
(though it often contains more potent fluids).
Circuit:
A pattern
or connection between whole or partial metapatterns
within the Switchboard; often may be (or be associated with) an archetype,
deity or other spirit.
Clairaudience:
ESP input
as if it were normal hearing, without the medium of another mind.
Clairempathy:
A term I
once tried to get people to use instead of “psychometry,”
but which I am no longer using myself.
Clairgustance:
ESP input
as if it were normal tasting, without the medium of another mind.
Clairolfaction:
ESP input as
if it were normal smelling, without the medium of another mind or of a
cosmetics company.
Clair
Senses:
General term for all the forms of ESP that start with the prefix
“Clair-.”
Clairtangency:
ESP input
as if it were normal touching, without the medium of another mind.
Clairvoyance:
ESP input
as if it were normal seeing, without the medium of another mind; often used as
a term for clair senses, psychometry and/or precognition. See Remote Viewing.
Classification:
Association of some phenomenon into a predetermined pattern or
class of phenomena.
Cleric:
A person who uses both passive and active talents and rites for
both thaumaturgical and theurgical
purposes, for personal and public benefit.
Cold
Control:
The use of temperature control to freeze or thaw objects or beings.
Color:
An interpretation of the ways in which photons hit your eyes; one
way to see the difference between two objects of identical size, shape,
distance and illumination.
Color
Classifications:
Sets of associations between various colors and particular
concepts, interests or acts.
Computer:
A network
of electronic gates and memories that processes data; an unimaginative but very
logical problem solving machine; a magnificent slave and miserable ruler; a
great tool and toy for any technologically oriented occultist.
Cone of
Power:
Term for
the focusing of a group’s magical energies, visualized as a cone of psychic
power based upon a ritual circle containing the participants (who are usually Neopagan or Feminist Witches). There is some confusion
among various groups as to what exactly should be done with the energies at the
moment of “firing.”
Contagion,
Law of:
“Objects
or beings in physical or psychic contact with each other continue to interact
after spacial or temporal separation.”
CPK:
See
Cellular Psychokinesis.
Craft,
The:
(1) Old term used by Freemasons to refer to their
activities and beliefs. (2) Current term used by Neopagan,
Feminist and some other modern Witches to refer to their activities and
beliefs.
Critique:
A calm and unbiased evaluation of the structure and performance of
a ritual, not usually done in American occult groups thanks to internal
politics and delicate egos.
Crystallomancy:
Divination through the use of (usually) spheres of quartz crystal,
glass or plastic as focussing devices.
Cult:
Any
secretive religious, magical, philosophical or therapeutic group of which the
user of this term does not approve. See the Advanced Bonewits
Cult Danger Evaluation Frame.
Curse:
The use of magic to harm an object or being.
Cybernetics:
Comparative study of the autonomic control system formed by the
brains and nervous systems of human and other animals, as well as
electro-chemical-mechanical devices and communications systems.
Dactylogy:
Finger
signaling system of language (such as Ameslan) used
by deaf and mute persons; can also be used as powerful mudras
in rituals.
Dactylomancy:
Divination
by means of finger movements upon tripods, planchettes,
pendulums, Oui-Ja Boards, etc., or through the use of finger
rings.
Daemon:
A
“supernatural” spirit or being in ancient Greek religion and philosophy, far
below the Gods in power for good, evil or neutral purposes; probably the actual
sort of “demon” conjured by Goetic magicians.
Dagger:
A ritual
knife used for severing psychic bonds, exorcising, cursing and/or initiating.
Damping:
A psi or antipsi talent for
lowering the power levels of psychic energy fields.
Data:
Information or concepts of any sort.
Definition:
The meaning of a word; the classification pattern that it fits into
during the time period and for the given population involved.
Deflection
or Bouncing:
An antipsi talent for altering the force vectors of incoming psi broadcasts, thus “bouncing” them away.
Deity:
(1) The most powerful sort of “supernatural”
being. (2) A powerful pattern in the Switchboard. (3) The memory of a dead hero(ine) or magician. (4) An
ancient visitor from outer space. (5) An ancient visitor from inner space. (6) All
of the above?
Demon:
(1) A personification of what we consider to be
evil or unpleasant (often repressed guilt feelings). (2) A nonphysical entity
of a destructive and evil nature opposed to the will of the God(s), such as
Maxwell’s.
Demonology:
Medieval science of studying demons.
Density
Control:
Devil:
A minor
spirit perceived as a force for evil.
Devil, The:
“Heir of
Man,” originally the Evil God of the Zoroastrians; later a creation of
Christian and Islamic theologians (who called him Satan and Shaitan)
consisting of old fertility gods, wisdom spirits and nature elementals combined
with Ahriman into a figure of terror and malevolence
fully equal to that of that Good God (Jehovah or Allah); the deity worshiped by
Neogothic Witches.
Dharanis:
One phrase
creeds or statements of belief, often used as mantras, such as “E = mc2.”
Dhyana:
Tantric trance, possibly a form
of hypnosis.
Difficult
Passage:
A common mythological motif involving a hard transition or journey
from one state or location to another through impossibly dangerous or
paradoxical territory.
Discipline:
Training or
experience that corrects, molds, strengthens, or perfects (especially) the mental
faculties or moral character; noted primarily by its absence in American occult
groups.
Disk of
Shadows:
A grimoire or other magical text (especially one of
witchcraft rituals) kept on a computer memory disk.
Divination:
The art and science of finding out hidden information about the
past, present or future through the use of psychic talents.
Diviner:
Obviously,
one who does divination.
Dowsing:
See Rhabdomancy.
Druids,
Ancient:
From the
root “dru-,” meaning “oak tree, firm, strong;” the entire
intelligentsia of the Celtic peoples, including doctors, judges, historians,
musicians, poets, priests and magicians; 99.9% of what has been written about
them is pure hogwash.
Druids,
Masonic:
Members of
several Masonic and Rosicrucian fraternal orders founded in the 1700’s (and
since) in
Druids,
Reformed:
Members of
several branches of a movement founded in 1963 c.e. at
Dualism:
A religious
doctrine that states that all the spiritual forces of
the
universe(s) are split into Good Guys and Bad Guys (white and
black, male
and female, etc.) who are eternally at war with each
other
Dualistic
Polytheism:
A style of
religion in which the Good Guys and Bad Guys include several major and minor
deities (though they may not always be called that by the official theologians);
what most so- called “monotheisms” really are. Examples would be
Zoroastrianism, Catholicism, and Christian Fundamentalism.
Duotheism:
A style of
religion in which there are two deities accepted by the polytheologians,
usually of opposite gender; all other deities worshiped are considered to be
“faces” or aspects of the two main figures.
Dynamic
Balance, Law of:
“In order
to survive, let alone to become a powerful magician, one must keep every aspect
of one’s universe(s) in a state of dynamic balance with every other one.”
Earth:
One of the
main “elements” in occultism; associated in the West with matter, brown, black,
pentacles, passivity, inertness, silence, food fertility, wealth, practicality,
cold, dryness, etc.
Earth-Mother:
Female personification of the Life force, fertility of the Earth
and its inhabitants.
One of the most widespread deity concepts in the world (though far from
universal); She is now worshiped in the West as Mother Nature.
Electric
Control:
An APK talent involving the control of electricity and other
electron phenomena. See
Picachu.
Electrochemical:
Having to do with the interchanges between electrical and chemical
energy, especially (in this text) those taking place in the body.
Electroencephalograph
or EEG:
A machine that records electromagnetic activity in the brain (the
so-called “brain waves”), usually upon a moving roll of paper.
Electromagnetic
Spectrum:
The entire range of frequencies or wave-lengths of electromagnetic
radiation from the longest radio waves to the shortest gamma rays.
Visible light is only a tiny part of this range.
Elementals:
Personifications
of the four or five “elements” of Western or Eastern occultism; in the West these
are “Gnomes” for Earth, “Undines” for Water, “Sylphs” for Air, “Salamanders”
for Fire, and “Sprites” for Spirit.
Elementals,
Artificial:
Term used by
some Western occultists to refer to spiritual
entities
“created” by magicians, usually to perform specific
tasks.
Elementals,
Nature:
Term used
by some to refer to various minor spirits inhabiting or associated with various
natural phenomena such as trees, streams, rocks, dust storms, etc.
Elements,
The:
A
classification system based upon the division of all phenomena into four or
five categories; in Western occultism there are Earth, Water, Air, Fire and
sometimes Spirit or Ether (or in India, Akasha); in Chinese occultism these are
Earth, Water, Metal, Fire and Wood.
Empath:
One who
can use the psi talent of empathy.
Empath,
Controlled:
Someone who uses psychometry and/or
empathy and/or absorption, occasionally to the point of draining others of
their psychic energy.
Empath,
Total:
One who
has trouble controlling their empathic and/or other passive psychic talents,
and subsequently gets “overloaded” with data and power.
Empathy:
As I now
use it, a type of telepathic reception limited to the perception of emotions;
obviously this talent would tie in nicely with absorption.
Energy
Control:
In Tantra, the control of biocurrents and their movements through the body; otherwise
the control of energy in general.
Energy
Field:
A continuously distributed something in space that accounts for actions
at a distance; an area where energy does something. Don’t blame me for the vagueness of this
definition; it’s a standard one used in modern physics.
Entity:
A being, spirit, living creature or personification.
ESP:
See
Extrasensory Perception.
Ether:
A
hypothetical “substance” filling all space and conveying waves of energy. See
Space-Time Continuum.
Ethics:
(1) That part of philosophy and theoilogy dealing with matters of “right and wrong,” “good
and evil,” etc. (2) A set or system of moral values. (3) Principles of conduct
governing an individual or profession.
Ethnography:
Part of
social and cultural anthropology emphasizing descriptions of individual
cultures rather than cross-cultural comparisons; when engaged in by the
untrained, often degenerates into scrapbooking.
Evocation,
Law of:
“It is
possible to establish external communication with entities from either inside
or outside of oneself, said entities seeming to be outside of oneself during
the communication process.”
Exorcism:
The severing or disruption of all unwanted psychic circuits and
circuit potentials within a specific object, person or place; hence the
dismissal of ghosts and spirits.
Exorcist:
(1) One who performs exorcisms.
(2) A magician or psychic (often very religious) with strong talents for CPK, antipsi and the clair senses, who
specializes in forcing or persuading unwanted psychic energies (including
spirits) to depart from objects, persons or places.
Experiment:
A test of an idea or guess.
Experimental
Design:
The way the
test is put together, hopefully for maximum output of useful data.
Exponential
Decay Function:
A
“decaying” or “falling apart” function in which an independent variable appears
as one of the mathematical exponents.
Extrasensory
Perception or ESP:
The categorical term for several psi
talents involving the reception of (usually) external data through other than
the commonly recognized sensory means.
Faith
Healing:
CPK and/or
other psi talents interpreted as religious phenomena
in curing.
False:
That which is improbable, unpleasant or inconvenient to believe.
Familiars:
Animals
supposedly used by Gothic Witches and others to help them with their magic;
often believed to be incarnated spirits or the messengers of noncarnate ones.
Fam-Trad:
Short term for “Familial Tradition.” See Witchcraft, Familial and Tradition.
Feedback:
Data
returned as a reply or result, containing corrections and additions.
Filtering:
An antipsi ability to use apopsi, reddopsi or deflection selectively, thus
stopping part of a psi broadcast or field
while letting the desired remainder (usually part of the information content)
through.
Finite
Senses, Law of:
“Every
sense mechanism of every entity is limited by both range and type of data perceived,
and many real phenomena exist which may be outside the sensory scanning ability
of any given entity.” The Supreme Being(s) may be excepted
from this law.
Fire:
One of the
main “elements” in occultism; associated in the West with flames, red, orange,
wands or staves, activity, light, will, animals, energy, assertiveness, heat,
dryness, etc.
Firing:
The discharge of psychic energy in a ritual, the timing of which is
frequently critical.
Folklore:
The study of folktales and legends, a subject overlapping that of
mythology.
Folktale:
Story
handed down among a people, such as “Cinderella,” “Rumpelstiltskin”
or “Our Leader Knows Best.”
Geller
Effect:
One or more
psi talents (probably including bonding control) that
enable the user to bend metal objects without touching them, named after this
century’s best known user, Uri Geller. The effect is real and has been done by
Geller and others under impeccable laboratory controls, regardless of the tales
told by Geller’s supporters and detractors.
General
Extrasensory Perception or GESP:
A term used
when two or more forms of ESP are operating at the same time.
Germ
Theory:
(1) In Tantra, the
theory that every entity has a germinal or root sound, the repetition of which
can create that entity. (2) In the West, a folk belief that all diseases are
caused by miniature demons called “germs” or “viruses.”
Ghost:
Personification
of data received as the result of a plug-in to an individual metapattern within the Switchboard, and/or the spirit of a
dead person or animal, still existing in a nonphysical manner, and/or
something(s) else entirely.
Goal:
The general
result one actually wishes to accomplish with a particular magical or psychic
act. Compare with Target.
God or
Goddess, A:
See Deity.
God or Goddess,
The:
The
particular masculine or feminine deity worshiped by a particular mono-, heno-, or duotheist.
“God
or Goddess, Thou Art:”
A statement of divine immanence common among Neopagans,
originally from Robert Heinlein’s book, Stranger in a
Godling:
A young or minor deity.
Goetia:
From words
meaning “howling or crying,” the medieval books of ceremonial magic, such as
The Greater and Lesser Keys of Solomon.
Golem:
An artificial person given life by the carving of a Sacred Name upon
his or her forehead and usually used as a slave. Has deeper meanings
in real Hebrew Mysticism, in which we are all golems in some sense.
Graphology:
(1) An officially nonpsychic
method of personality assessment based upon the study of handwriting samples.
(2) A method of divination based upon the use of such samples as contagion
links.
Gravity
Control:
A psychic talent for altering the gravitational fields in a
particular location, such as in a room or around an object or being.
Gray Magic:
Magic that
is neither “black” nor “white,” hence morally neutral, at least according to
those who use these quaint terms.
Grimoires:
So-called “Black Books” of (usually Goetic)
magic, consisting of recipe collections, scrapbooks of magical customs, Who’s Who’s of the spirit worlds and phone directories for
contacting various entities. Fairly useless unless you know enough Hebrew,
Greek and Latin to correct all the mistakes.
Group mind:
A section
of the Switchboard consisting of two or more metapatterns
linked into an identity circuit. Term is used for those formed telepathically
in rituals but can also be used to refer to mobs or other cases of crowd
hysteria.
Gymnastics,
Metaphysical
The fine art of leaping from an unverified assumption to a foregone
conclusion, without traversing the logical space in between. See Theology.
Hallucination:
(1) Perception of objects or beings with no
reality or not present within normal sensory scanning range. (2) Experience of
sensations with no exterior cause, usually as a result of nervous dysfunction.
(3) Perceptions not in accord with consensus reality.
Hallucination,
Veridical:
One in
which the content is essentially factual.
Hallucinogen:
A chemical or biochemical substance capable of inducing
hallucinations when introduced into the human metabolism.
Hauntings:
Recurrent plug-ins to the Switchboard and/or perceptions of ghostly
entities associated with a particular location or being.
Heathenism:
The religion of those who live on the heath (where heather grows).
See
Paganism.
Hedonism:
A method
for altering the state of one’s consciousness through the experience of intense
pleasures; when extreme, may become tiring.
Henotheism:
A polytheistic religion where one deity is the official Ruler and is
supposed to be the prime focus of attention.
Hepatoscopy:
Divination through the use of animal innards (see Anthropomancy), especially livers. When done with French hens, usually
indicates cowardice.
Heat
Control:
The use of
temperature control to start or stop fires and other heating phenomena, also
called “psychopyresis.”
Hinayana (aka “Lesser Vehicle”)
Buddhism
The oldest
or most “orthodox” form of Buddhism, with deities demoted to very minor roles
or completely absent.
Hixson’s
Law:
“All
possible universes that can be constructed out of all possible interactions of
all existing subatomic particles through all points in space-time,
must exist.”
Horoscope:
A
two-dimensional chart of the way “important” parts of the sky look at a particular
time and location, especially at birth, used in astrology.
Hyperapotheosis:
The promotion of one’s tribal deity to the rank of Supreme Being,
as in Judaism, Christianity or Islam.
Hypercognition:
A
categorical term for those psi talents consisting of superfast thinking, usually at a subconscious level, often
using data received via ESP, which then reveals all or part of the “gestalt”
(whole pattern) of a situation; this is then presented to the conscious mind as
a sudden awareness of knowledge (or “a hunch”), without a pseudo-sensory
experience. See Retrocognition and Precognition.
Hyperesthesia:
Excessive or pathological sensitivity of the skin or other senses;
heightened perception or responsiveness to the environment; often mistaken for real
ESP.
Hypnosis:
(1) As used in this book, an altered state of
consciousness within which the following can occur at will: increase in bodily
and sensory control, in suggestibility, in ability to concentrate and eliminate
distractions, and probably in psychic abilities as well.
(2) A useful word and tool for those who cannot
conceive of nor practice real mesmerism.
Hypothesis:
Scientific term for wild guess, hunch, tentative explanation or
possibility to be tested.
Iatromancy:
The divination of medical problems and solutions.
I Ching:
Chinese “Book of Changes;” key to sortilege system.
Identification,
Law of:
“It is
possible through maximum association of the elements of one’s own metapattern and those of another being’s
to actually become that being, at least to the point of sharing its knowledge
and wielding its power.”
Imaging or
To Image:
Term for strong visualization of a concept being used for focusing.
Imbolg or Imelc:
Celtic
fire festival beginning the second quarter of the year (or spring); starts at
sunset on February 3rd and is also known as Candlemas,
St. Bridget’s Day, Bride’s Day, Lady Day, etc.
Celebrated by most Neopagans
as a major religious holiday.
Impossible:
Unlikely, difficult, implausible, uncomfortable, new.
Incantation:
Words used
in a ritual or spell, should always be chanted or sung.
Infinite
Data, Law of:
“The
number of phenomena to be known is infinite and one will never run out of
things to learn.”
Infinite
Universes, Law of:
“The total
number of universes into which all possible combinations of existing phenomena
could be organized is infinite.” See Hixson’s Law and Personal Universes, Law
of.
Information
Theory:
Study of communication.
Information
Transfer:
Communication.
Initiation:
An intense personal experience, often of a death and rebirth sort,
resulting in a higher state of personal development and/or admission to a
magical or religious organization.
Input:
The way
incoming data is interpreted or classified.
Instrumental
Act:
One which is useful, even if for no other purpose than to relieve
stress.
Interdisciplinary
Approach:
The use of data and techniques from more than one art or science in
order to analyze phenomena.
Invocation,
Law of:
“It is
possible to establish internal communications with entities from either inside
or outside of oneself, said entities seeming to be inside of oneself during the
communication process.”
Jargon:
Any technical terminology or characteristic idiom of specialists or
workers in a particular activity or area of knowledge; often pretentious or
unnecessarily obscure.
Kabbalah:
(1) A Hebrew word for “collected teachings,”
referring to several different lists of books and manuscripts on various occult
and mundane topics. Sloppy translations of a handful of texts in the Kabbalah
of Mysticism, with Christian names and concepts forcibly inserted, are
responsible for much of what is now called “Cabala” by western metaphysicians.
If you can’t think fluently in Hebrew, you have no business trying to do
Kabbalistic magic. (2) A general term for collections of magical and mystical
texts from various cultures, thus “Greek Kabbalah,” “Arabic Cabala,” etc.
Kachina:
A (usually
benevolent) supernatural being in Hopi religion; may be a personification of an
aspect of nature, an ancestor, or something revealed in a dream.
Kama-kali:
Ritual sexual intercourse in Tantra.
Karma:
In many
eastern religions, the load of guilt or innocence carried from one incarnation
to the next, determining one’s lot in the next life; often used by American
occultists as a general term for moral responsibility, as in “You can do that
if you want to, but it’s your karma.”
Karma
Dumping Run:
American
occult slang for a ritual process of visiting someone’s “just deserts” upon
them, by “concentrating the karma” they may have earned in their life (or
recent past) and delivering it back to them in one brief period of time;
usually done when someone is suspected of evil doing but proof is lacking,
since it is considered a morally neutral way of stopping them.
Kinesis:
Physical
movement including quantitative, qualitative, and positional change; sometimes
movement caused by stimulation but not directional or aimed.
Kinetic
Energy:
Energy
associated with motion.
Kirlian Photography:
A lenseless electrical photographic technique invented by
Russian parapsychologists S. D. and V. Kirlian in
1939 and which can be used to record energy fields around living or once living
objects and beings. Although the “Kirlian auras” vary
with emotional excitement and intent, there is as yet no proof that they are
the same as the “psychic auras” traditionally seen by clairvoyants. Time will tell.
Klutzokinesis:
Term
invented by Arlynde d’Loughlan
to describe the use of CPK to make people more clumsy (or agile) through
interference with neuron or muscle activities.
Knowledge,
Law of:
“Understanding
brings control; the more that is known about a phenomenon, the easier it is to
exercise control over it.”
Koran:
The sacred book of Islam.
Ksana:
The “favorable moment;” a temporal Centre.
Law:
A statement
of the ways phenomena seem to work.
Law of
Magic:
A statement
of the ways magical phenomena seem to work.
Laws, Law
of:
“The more
evidence one looks for to support a given law, the more one finds.”
Law,
Sturgeon’s:
From
science fiction writer Theodore Sturgeon: “90% of everything is crud.”
Left-Hand
Path:
(1) The people we don’t like who are doing magic.
(2) Occultists who spend their time being destructive, manipulative and “evil”
— or at least annoying.
Levitation:
A psi talent involving the combination of
PK proper with Gravity Control and/or Mass Control in order to produce floating
effects.
Light
Control:
An APK talent for the control of photons.
Linguistics:
The study of human speech, including the units, nature, structure
and development of language(s).
Litany:
Long prayer or incantation with constantly repeating refrain.
Lodges:
Groups of
magical and mystical workers similar to (1) the old European guild systems,
with apprentices, journeypeople and masters, or (2)
church organizations with rank based upon goodness or evilness. In
Lughnasadh:
Celtic fire
festival beginning the third quarter of the year (or fall); starts at sunset on
August 6th or 7th and is also known as Lammas, Apple Day,
etc. Celebrated by most Neopagans
as a major religious holiday.
Mage:
A general term for anyone doing magic, especially of the active
kinds; often used as synonym for “magus.”
Magi:
Zoroastrian priests. Later used for powerful magicians of any sort.
Magic:
(1) A general term for arts, sciences, philosophies
and technologies concerned with (a) understanding and using various altered
states of consciousness within which it is possible to have access to and
control over one’s psychic talents, and (b) the uses and abuses of those
psychic talents to change interior and/or exterior realities. (2) A science and
an art comprising a system of concepts and methods for the build-up of human
emotions, altering the electrochemical balance of the metabolism, using
associational techniques and devices to concentrate and focus this emotional
energy, thus modulating the energies broadcast by the human body, usually to
affect other energy patterns whether animate or inanimate, but occasionally to
affect the personal energy pattern. (3) A collection of rule-of-thumb techniques
designed to get one’s psychic talents to do more or less what one wants, more
often than not, one hopes. It should be obvious that these are thaumaturgical definitions.
Magic
Circle:
A mandala-mudra-mantra combination used around
an area where all or part of a ritual is to take place, so that an individual
or group can more easily control the energies generated.
Magician:
(1) As a general term, anyone who does any sort of
magic at all.
(2) More specifically, someone who uses mostly
active talents and rites for mostly thaumaturgical
purposes.
Magician, Goetic:
A magician
and psychic who frequently “summons up” various nonhuman entities (good, bad or
ugly) in order to gain both occult and mundane knowledge, which is then used
for thaumaturgical, theurgical
and nonmagical purposes.
Magister:
Master, teacher or magician.
Magnetic
Control:
An APK talent involving the control of magnetic, diamagnetic and
paramagnetic lines of force and other magnetic phenomena.
Magos:
Greek word for “magi.”
Magus:
Originally, the singular form of “magi.” Later, a powerful
magician.
Mahayana
(or “Greater Vehicle”) Buddhism
A later, “heterodox” version of Buddhism which incorporates many Paleopagan deities from throughout
Mana:
Polynesian word for psychic energy.
Mandala:
Sights
(especially drawings, paintings and carvings) used primarily as associational
and/or trance inducing devices.
Mantic
Arts:
The various methods of divination.
Mantis:
A diviner or seer.
Mantra:
Sounds
used primarily as associational and/or trance inducing devices.
Mass:
The
property of a body that is a measure of its inertia, that causes it to have
weight (in a gravitational field), and that is a measure of the amount of
material it contains.
Mass
Control:
An APK talent for increasing or decreasing the mass of an object or
being.
Maya:
(1) Sanscrit for
“illusion.” (2) A tribe of Central American Indians.
Mayin:
One who
controls the worlds of illusion, a magician or mystic.
Mechanistic:
A word used
(usually as an insult) to refer to those who prefer to analyze even supposedly
nonphysical phenomena in terms of physical or mechanical patterns of behavior.
Medicine
Person:
A tribal official
who combines the modes of magician, psychic and cleric, using her or his
talents for personal and tribal benefit; especially in such matters as healing,
hunting, fertility, weather and war magic.
Medium:
A psychic
(and frequently cleric as well) who specializes in being possessed by or
otherwise communicating with, various spirits especially those of dead humans;
someone who knows how to plug-in to the metapatterns
of the recently dead, or can arrange such plug-ins for others. See Necromancer.
Mental
Projection:
An OOBE or psi talent that may involve
traveling GESP without the image of an “astral body” being brought along.
Mesmerism:
From Franz Mesmer, a form of telepathic sending in which the data sent
consists of suggestions backed by the insistent power of the sender.
Mesopaganism
or Meso-Paganism:
A general
term for a variety of movements both organized and nonorganized,
started as attempts to recreate, revive or continue what their founders thought
were the best aspects of the Paleopagan ways of their
ancestors (or predecessors), but which were heavily influenced (accidentally,
deliberately and/or involuntarily) by concepts and practices from the
monotheistic, dualistic, or nontheistic worldviews of
Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, or early Buddhism. Examples of Mesopagan belief systems would include Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, Theosophy, Spiritualism, etc., as well as
those forms of Druidism influenced by those movements, the many Afro-Diasporatic faiths (such as Voudoun,
Santeria, Candomble, etc.), Sikhism, several sects of
Hinduism that have been influenced by Islam and Christianity, Mahayana
Buddhism, Aleister Crowley’s religion/philosophy of Thelema, Odinism (most Norse
Paganism), most “Family Traditions” of Witchcraft (those that aren’t completely
fake), and most orthodox (aka “British
Traditionalist”) denominations of Wicca. Some Mesopagan
belief systems may be racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. There are at least a
billion Mesopagans living and worshiping their
deities today. See Paleopaganism and Neopaganism.
Metabolism:
The sum or gestalt of the processes going on inside your body.
Metamorphosis:
Change,
especially of the outward appearance. See Werewolf, or your local politicians.
Metapattern:
As used in
this text, the sum and gestalt of all the interlocking patterns that make up an
individual, including the body (or bodies), the various levels of mind or
awareness, the psychic and artistic abilities, memory and intellectual
capacities, and perhaps whatever it is that is usually called “the soul.”
Metaphysics:
Philosophy of the relations between “underlying reality” and its
manifestations.
Miracle:
A
paranormal act or occurrence done by or for someone who belongs to a religion that
you approve of, usually credited to divine intervention.
Miracle,
Counterfeit:
A paranormal act or occurrence done by or for someone who belongs
to a religion that you do not approve of; usually credited to demonic
intervention.
Monotheism:
A style of
religion in which the theologians (or thealogians)
claim that there is only one deity (theirs of course) and that all other
spirits claiming (or claimed) to be deities are “actually” demons in disguise.
If other deities have cults that can be made to support the One Deity, they are
kept on as “angels” or “saints.” See Hyperapotheosis.
Moon Sign:
In
astrology, the zodiacal sign that the moon appeared to be in at the time and
location for which the chart is cast.
Motif:
A common pattern running through stories, folktales or myths.
Motion:
The act or process of a body passing from one place or position to
another. Completely relative.
Mudra:
Physical
gestures, positions or postures (including dance movements) used primarily as
associational and/or trance inducing devices.
Mundane:
Worldly, ordinary, common, simple; pertaining to “the earth plane.”
Mysteries:
Secret
rituals usually involving the display of sacred mandalas
and other objects to, and the performance of various mudras
with and in front of, and the chanting of mantras and dharanis
in the hearing of, properly initiated worshipers, for theurgical
purposes in this life and the next.
Mystery
Cult:
A group of people who get together regularly to perform sacred
mysteries and to study their meanings.
In theory, a group of magicians and/or mystics who have gathered
together to share their wisdom and secrets with each other and with new
seekers. In practice, usually a group of would-be “enlightened masters” who are
primarily interested in impressing each other and in fleecing the gullible.
After all, “there’s a seeker born every minute!”
Mystic:
(1) One who practices mysticism.
(2) A person who uses mostly passive talents and rites for mostly theurgical purposes.
Mysticism:
(1) The doctrine or belief that direct knowledge
of the God(s), o spiritual truth, of ultimate reality, or of comparable matters
is attainable through immediate intuition, insight or illumination and in a way
differing from ordinary sense perception or conscious thought. (2) The concepts
and theories behind the theurgical approach to
occultism.
Myth:
(1) Technically, a traditional story with its
emphasis upon the actions of deities; (2) commonly, a false or simplistic
belief.
Mythology:
The study of myths, and thus a field overlapping folklore;
sometimes used to refer to a specific body of myths pertaining to a given
culture or motif. The study of someone else’s religious stories.
Mythos:
A system of myths within a society or culture.
Names, Law
of:
“Knowing
the complete and true name of an object, being or process gives one complete
control over it.”
Necromancer:
(1) A magician and psychic who specializes in
“summoning” the spirits of dead persons, usually without possession, in order
to gain both occult and mundane knowledge, which is then used for thaumaturgical, theurgical and nonmagical purposes. (2) Generally, anyone who does any
form of divination involving the dead. See Medium.
Negapsi or
Reversing:
An antipsi ability to reverse all or part
of the information content of a psi broadcast or
field.
Neopaganism
or Neo-Paganism:
A general
term for a variety of movements both organized and (usually) nonorganized, started since 1960 c.e.
or so (though they had literary roots going back to the mid-1800’s), as
attempts to recreate, revive or continue what their founders thought were the
best aspects of the Paleopagan ways of their
ancestors (or predecessors), blended with modern humanistic, pluralist and inclusionary ideals, while consciously striving to
eliminate as much as possible of the traditional Western monotheism, dualism,
and puritanism. The core Neopagan
beliefs include a multiplicity of deities of all genders, a perception of those
deities as both immanent and transcendent, a commitment to environmental
awareness, and a willingness to perform magical as well as spiritual rituals to
help both ourselves and others. Examples of Neopaganism
would include the
Neotarot
Cards:
A
collection of divination cards designed to be used in the same general ways as
regular Tarot Cards, but which have different (non-Tarot) archetypal images as
their main contents. Examples would include “Morgan’s Tarot,” “The Illuminated
Tarot,” etc.
Nervous
System:
The bodily
system made up of nerves, senses, and brain, including all connectors such as
the spinal cord.
Numerology:
Divination by means of numbers and numerical “values” of letters.
Objective:
“Reality”
as it supposedly is “in itself,” instead of as it may be perceived.
Observation:
A part of the scientific method that involves a careful cataloging
of perceptions involving any particular phenomenon.
Obsession:
Being
besieged or impelled by an outside force (often perceived as demonic) to
entertain thoughts or perform actions of an unpleasant, malign, pathological or
unprofitable nature; thus causing anxiety and fear to be experienced by the
person involved and/or observers. See Possession.
Occam’s Razor:
A
philosophical axiom credited to William of Occam:
“Entities
should not
be multiplied without reason.” Or as I put it, “Don’t
complicate
theories unnecessarily, but beware of being
simplistic.”
Occult:
That which is hidden or known only to a few.
Occultism:
The study and or practice of that which is occult, especially (in
this century) in reference to the powers of the mind.
Onieromancy:
Divination by means of dream interpretations.
OOBE:
See Out of
the Body Experience.
Oui-Ja
Board:
A flat board with letters, numbers and/or words upon it, used with
a planchette or pendulum for divination.
Out of the
Body Experience:
A perception of one’s consciousness as being outside of one’s
physical body and usually as movable. See Astral Projection and Mental Projection.
Pagan,
Paganism:
Originally from the Latin “paganus,”
meaning “villager,” “country dweller,” or “hick.” The Roman army used it to refer to
civilians. Early Roman Christians used
“pagan” to refer to everyone who preferred to worship pre-Christian divinities
and who were unwilling to enroll in “the Army of the Lord.” Eventually, “pagan”
became simply an insult, with the connotation of “a false religion and its
followers.” By the beginning of the twentieth century, the word’s primary
meanings became a blend of “atheist,” “agnostic,” “hedonist,” “religionless,” etc., (when referring to an educated, white,
male, heterosexual, non-Celtic European) and “ignorant savage and/or pervert”
(when referring to everyone else on the planet). “Paganism” is now a general
term for polytheistic, nature-centered religions, old and new, with “Pagan”
used as the adjective as well as the membership term. It should always be
capitalized just as other religious noun/adjective combinations are, such as
“Buddhist,” “Hindu,” “Christian,” etc. See Paleopaganism,
Mesopaganism, Neopaganism.
Paleopaganism or Paleo-Paganism:
A general
term for the original polytheistic, nature-centered faiths of tribal
Palmistry:
Divination by means of the folds and other features of the hands.
Pantheon:
The organization of deities and lesser spirits in any given
religion.
Para-anthropology:
The study of paranormal phenomena in tribal, traditional and/or nonliterate cultures.
Paranoia:
Slang term
taken from psychology, used to refer to general terror or anxiety, usually with
associated feelings of persecution.
Paranormal:
Unusual or “supernatural.”
Paraphysics:
(1) The physics of paranormal phenomena. (2) The
study of PK.
Parapsychology:
(1) The general and interdisciplinary study of
paranormal phenomena. (2) The study of that which is “beyond” the field of
“normal” psychology. (3) The scientific branch of occultism.
Passive
Ritual:
One in
which those persons raising and focusing the psychic energies are the main
targets intended to be changed.
Passive
Talent:
A psychic talent that involves the reception of energy or data by
the agent from the target.
Path:
A method,
system or approach to magical or mystical knowledge.
Path, The:
The
One-True-Right-And-Only-Way followed by the user of the term.
Pendulum:
Any small object on a string or chain, the movements of which can
be used for divination.
See Rhabdomancy.
Pentalpha:
A five
pointed star made by interweaving five letter A’s.
Pentacle:
Originally a talisman of a five pointed star, now used as a general
term for talismans in general. When made of clay, glass, metal or wood, often used in western
occultism as a symbol of the “element” of Earth.
Pentagram:
Another word for a five pointed star, used as a symbol for the
occult in general and Neopagan and Feminist
Witchcraft in particular.
Perception:
The process of classifying sensations.
Personal
Universes, Law of:
“Every
sentient being lives in and quite possibly creates a unique universe which can
never be 100% identical to that lived in by another.” See Hixson’s Law and
Infinite Universes, Law of.
Personification,
Law of:
“Any
phenomenon may be considered to be alive and to have a personality, and may be
effectively dealt with as such.”
Perversity,
Law of:
“If
anything can go wrong, it will — and in the most annoying manner possible.” Also known as “Murphy’s Law.”
Perversion:
(1) A variation in a process that effectively negates
or contradicts what the user of this term considers to be
the original purpose of the process. (2) Using the entire chicken.
Phrenology:
Divination by means of the features of the head (exterior).
Physiology:
The study of the living body.
PK:
See Psychokinesis.
Placebo
Effect:
(1) Term used to refer to the process by which the
belief of a target may cause results (physical or psychic) to occur with no
known effort being made by the supposed agent. (2) The most powerful, cheapest,
and therefore least researched method of healing.
Placebo
Spell:
Obviously, a spell that works by the placebo effect.
Planchette:
A
triangular object with short legs used as a divination tool, usually by moving
it over a Oui-Ja Board.
Plant-Psi or Plantpsi:
A little-used term for psychic phenomena involving the interaction
of plants with humans, each other and the environment.
Plug-in:
To “close a circuit” or otherwise make a connection with a part of
the Switchboard or a smaller group mind.
Poet:
(1) One who fashions words artistically. (2) One
who can control the power of words and is thus a magician. (3) To the ancient
Greeks, one who is a specialist in retrocognition.
Polarism:
A religious doctrine that states that all the spiritual forces of
the universe(s) are split into Guys and Gals, (good, weird, horny, scary,
whimsical, etc.) who are eternally in bed with each other.
Polarity,
Law of:
“Any
pattern of data can be split into (at least) two patterns with ‘opposing’
characteristics, and each will contain the essence of the other within itself.”
Poltergeist:
From the German, meaning “noisy spirit;” an old term for RSPK,
resulting from a personification of the phenomena.
Polytheism:
A style of
religion in which the polytheologians claim that
there are many deities, of varying power, and many lesser spirits as well, all
of whom are considered to be “real” and to be worthy of respect and/or worship.
Polytheology:
Intellectual
speculations concerning the natures of the Gods and Goddesses and Their
relations to the world in general and humans in particular; etc., etc., etc.:
see Thealogy, Theology. I’m now using this term
instead of Theoilogy.
Possession:
The process
or experience of having another being (divine, demonic or other) inside of one’s
own body, usually as the result of a conscious or unconscious invocation. See
Obsession.
Pragmatism,
Law of:
“If a
pattern of belief or behavior enables a being to survive and to accomplish
chosen goals, then that belief or behavior is ‘true,’ ‘realistic,’ and/or
‘sensible’.”
Precognition:
Hypercognition done about future
phenomena.
Priest or
Priestess:
A cleric
who is an official representative of a given religion, sect or cult, and who is
responsible for leading other people in rituals.
Prophet:
(1) A person (usually a cleric) who “speaks out
for” a deity or other powerful spirit, usually about future events. (2) A
diviner of the future.
Prop:
Tools,
physical emblems and other objects used primarily as associational and/or
trance inducing devices.
Psi:
Short for “psychic.”
Psi Corps:
Organizations
set up by governments in order to use psychic talents for the benefit of the
governments involved, especially in matters of espionage, sabotage and
assassination.
Psionics:
A scientistic way to get around using the dirty word “magic;”
probably coined by John Campbell, the word is usually used to refer to
technologically oriented parapsychology.
Pseudo:
Fake,
deceptive, erroneous or otherwise “unreal.”
Psychic:
As used in
this text, a word referring to rare or seldom-used powers of the (usually)
human mind, which are capable of causing effects that appear to contradict the
mainstream worldview of western science and philosophy.
Psychic, A:
Anyone who uses mostly passive talents and rites for mostly thaumaturgical purposes.
Psychoenergetics:
A fashionable term for parapsychology in
Psychokinesis or PK:
A categorical term for those psi talents
that involve the movement of matter and energy through space-time.
Psychokinesis Proper:
A specific
term for the psychically induced movement of objects (including the physical
bodies of beings) through normal space-time.
Psychology:
Divination by means of the features of the head (interior).
Psycholuminescence:
See Light
Control.
Psychometry:
(1) The science of statistical measurements in the
field of psychology. (2) An undefeatable term for a psychic talent involving
the reception of data “from” objects or surroundings about events and/or
persons connected to those objects or surroundings; quite possibly the ability
to use objects or places as contagion links for telepathic reception, the clair senses, and/or retrocognition.
Psychopyresis:
See Heat
Control.
Psychotronics:
Another new way to avoid saying “magic;” the popular term in
Radiation
Control:
An APK
talent for speeding up and slowing down the decay rates of radioactive
materials.
Radio
Waves:
Waves on
the electromagnetic spectrum between infrared radiation (less than 1 cm from
crest to crest) and those called “Very Low Frequency” (over 10,000 km); only a
tiny portion of this wavespread is used for common
radio and television broadcasting.
Reality:
(1) The result of consensus opinion. (2) That which
is most comfortable and convenient to believe. (3) My universe.
Reality,
Levels of:
The concept
(resulting from the Law of True Falsehoods) that a given idea may be “true” in
some situations and “false” in others, depending upon the aspects, sections,
areas or other subsets of the personal or consensus universes involved; such
subsets may be considered “levels” of reality.
Recurrent
Spontaneous Psychokinesis or RSPK:
Term coined
by William Roll. Refers to the unconscious use of PK and APK
talents (usually by adolescents) as a release for frustration and means of
obtaining attention.
Reddopsi or
Returning:
An antipsi talent for reversing the force vectors of incoming psi broadcasts, thus returning them to their senders. Probably a variation of deflection.
Reincarnation:
A belief
concerning the supposed process by which souls reinhabit
body after body, life after life. The mathematics are
implausible and most of the evidence has other possible explanations.
Religion:
(1) The body of institutionalized expressions of
sacred beliefs, observances and practices found within a given cultural
context.
(2) A magical system combined with a philosophical
and ethical system, usually oriented towards “supernatural” beings. (3) A
psychic structure composed of the shared beliefs, experiences and related
habits of all members (not just the theologians) of any group calling itself “a
religion.”
Remote
Viewing:
The currently fashionable term being used by parapsychologists in
the
Repeatability:
The ability
of a phenomenon to be repeated at will, especially as the result of a
scientific experiment; one of the major dogmas of scientism is that an
unrepeatable experiment is not a valid one.
Retrocognition:
Hypercognition done about past
phenomena.
Rhabdomancy:
Divination by means of wands, sticks, rods and pendulums, usually when
searching for water, minerals or other valuable items. Sometimes called “dowsing” or “water witching.”
Right Hand
Path:
(1) The people we like who are doing magic. (2)
Occultists who spend their time being constructive, manipulative and “good.”
Rising
Sign:
In Astrology, the zodiacal sign that was coming over the eastern
horizon at the time and location for which the chart is cast.
Ritual:
Any ordered
sequence of events, actions and/or directed thoughts, especially one that is
repeated in the “same” manner each time, that is designed to produce a
predictable altered state of consciousness within which certain magical or
religious (or artistic or scientific?) results may be obtained.
Ritual
Cannibalism:
The eating
of all or part of the physical or symbolic body of a given person or
personified entity in hopes of gaining one or more of their desirable
attributes.
Ritualism:
Devotion to
the use of rituals and ceremonies above and beyond the call of sanity; often,
an uncritical acceptance of rituals constructed in the past.
Role
Playing:
(1) A flavor of “modern” psychology, discovered by
Aeschylus and Shakespeare, saying that we all wear masks and play various roles
as conditions seem to require, even when alone. (2) A type of game in which the
participants cooperate in the creation of a living fantasy novel.
Runes:
Letters in
the old Celtic, Teutonic and Scandinavian alphabets; the word is based on roots
meaning “secret” or “occult.” If you try to practice any form of magic within
these cultural contexts, especially for deceptive purposes, then your career
will lie in runes.
Samhain:
Celtic fire
festival beginning the winter half of the year and being the Day Between Years; starts at sunset on November 7th
and is also known as La Samhna, Nos
Galen-gaeof, All Hallow’s
Eve and Halloween. Celebrated by most Neopagans
as a major religious holiday.
Satan:
See Devil,
The.
Satya-vacana:
In Tantra, the solemn uttering of a Great
Truth, used as a mantra for magical or religious effects such as exorcisms.
Schemhampheres:
One of
several spellings of a word from Christian Cabala, meaning “the expository” or
“the 72 Names of God and His Angels;” originally the title of a collection of
magical names, now used as a magical word itself.
Science:
Accumulated
and accepted knowledge that has been systematized and formulated with reference
to the discovery of general truths or the operation of general laws; knowledge
classified and made available in work, life or the search for truth;
comprehensive, profound or philosophical knowledge, especially knowledge
obtained and tested through the use of the scientific method.
Scientific
Method:
The
principles and procedures used in the systematic pursuit of intersubjectively
(consensus reality) accessible knowledge and involving as necessary conditions
the recognition and formulation of a problem, the collection of data through
observation and if possible experiment, the formulation of hypotheses, and the
testing and confirmation of the hypotheses formulated.
Seer:
One who can see the hidden, a diviner.
Self-Knowledge,
Law of:
“The most
important kind of knowledge is about oneself; a magician must be familiar with
her or his own strengths and weaknesses.”
Sensation:
The noticing of a change in the internal or external environment;
the activity of a sense before classification.
Sense:
A mechanism that notices or causes sensation.
Shaman:
A medicine person
and medium who frequently uses astral and/or mental projection to fly into “the
spirit world,” in order to represent his or her tribe to the spirits there and
who is often possessed by them as well.
Shield:
An area
around a being or object within which one or more forms of (usually) antipsi energies are operating in order to defend the being
or object from unwanted psychic intrusions; the process of setting up and
maintaining such an antipsi field.
Sign:
A pattern of sensory stimuli which is intended to communicate data.
Signs of
the Zodiac:
In
astrology, twelve approximately equal segments of the Ecliptic (the belt of sky
through which the planets appear to move “around the Earth”); in many systems
of astrology, these no longer occupy the same space as the constellations for
which they were originally named.
Silver
Cord:
Supposed umbilical cord connecting an astral projector to her or
his body.
Silver
Dagger:
A traditional weapon for destroying various monsters.
Similarity,
Law of:
“Effects
are liable to have one or more outward physical or inward mental appearances
similar to one or more of said appearances of their causes.”
Sorcerer
or Sorceress:
Indiscriminate
terms for those who use (or are suspected of using) magic, especially when acting
as independent agents and/or using their magic for “evil” purposes.
Sortilege:
Divination
by means of sticks, coins, bones, dice, lots, beans, yarrow stalks, stones or
any other small objects.
Space:
A three-dimensional something that extends without bounds in all
directions (this week) and is the field of physical objects and events and
their order and relationships.
Space-Time
or Space-Time Continuum:
The
four-dimensional system consisting of three coordinate axes for spacial location and one axis for temporal location, upon
which any physical event may be determined by citing its four coordinates;
also, the four dimensional space formed by these four axes.
Spell:
(1) A magical act designed with an emphasis upon
the use of mantras and the literal spelling of words. (2) Any magical ritual.
Spiritualism:
A religion
based upon the belief in life after death and the experiences of various
mediums over the last hundred years; organized primarily to provide legal
protection for the mediums and their followers.
Splodging
or Yelling:
An antipsi talent for the generation of specific psi broadcasts (usually of emotions) so strong that all
other psi signals in range are drowned out or
disrupted, with the information content of those signals collapsing first; may
be a form of reversed empathy or of single-content telepathic sending.
Sprites:
Disembodied
spirits, elves, fairies or daemons; often the term used for the Air elemental
known as “sylphs,” or as the name of the elementals of Spirit.
Statistics,
Three Magical Laws of:
“Once is
dumb luck, twice is coincidence and three times is Somebody Trying to Tell You
Something.”
Stimuli:
Those things that arouse sensations; energy fluctuations.
Subject:
In science,
someone or something being observed and/or experimented upon.
Subjective:
“Reality”
as it is perceived, instead of as it may be “in itself.”
Sun Sign:
In
astrology, the zodiacal sign that the sun appeared to be in at the time and location
for which the chart is cast. In isolation, the sun sign reveals very little
data.
Supernatural:
Rare, unusual, beyond the common, extraordinary, unexplainable at
the time, paranormal; usually input as “religious” phenomena.
Superstitions:
(1) Fixed irrational notions held stubbornly in
the face of evidence to the contrary; beliefs, practices, concepts or acts
resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, morbid scrupulosity, erroneous
concepts of causality, etc., as in the words and actions of many critics of
parapsychology and the occult. (2) “A belief not founded in any coherent
worldview” (J.
B.
Russell). (3) Someone else’s religious or philosophical
beliefs.
Supplication:
The normal
form of prayer, that is to say, begging; occasionally, asking an entity to give
you her or his attention for a moment.
Survival
Phenomena:
Paranormal phenomena that appear to bear relevance to the questions
of survival after physical death; at one time the main area of study in
parapsychology when it was still being called “psychic research.”
Suspension
of Disbelief:
Temporary
curtailment of critical faculties for a specific time and specific purpose, it
is absolutely necessary during the performance of a ritual. Before and after
the ritual, however, the participants can and should criticize all that they
can.
Sutra:
Book or traditional collection of sayings.
Switchboard,
The:
A theory
of the author’s concerning a postulated network of interlocking metapatterns of everyone who has ever lived or who is living
now, expressed as constantly changing and infinitely subtle modifications of
current telepathic transmissions and receptions. Many phenomena interpreted as “spirits” may
actually be “circuits” within this Switchboard, as may be many other “archetypes”
of the “collective unconscious.” See Akasic Records,
Archetype, Circuit, and Unconscious, Collective.
Sword:
An archaic
weapon used in western occultism as a symbol of the “element” of Air, as well as
for fighting psychic battles, concentrating and directing energies, and for
severing psychic links or bonds.
Symbol:
A sign plus an associated concept.
Synchronicity,
Law of:
“Two or
more events happening at the ‘same’ time are likely to have more associations
in common than the merely temporal.”
Synthesis,
Law of:
“The
synthesis of two or more ‘opposing’ patterns of data will produce a new pattern
that will be ‘truer’ than either of the first ones were.”
Table
Tipping:
The use of tables for dactylomancy.
Talent:
As used in this text, an ability to use psychic energies in one or
more forms, including ESP, Hypercognition, PK and the
Antipsi powers. Talents may be active, passive or both.
Talisman:
A psychically charged mandala carried
about (or placed in a special spot), expected to work via contagion.
Talmud,
Babylonian and Palestinian:
Records of the processes by which Hebrew scholars debated and
developed their laws and rulings.
Tantra:
Indian systems of theurgical concepts and
magical training methods, easily adaptable for thaumaturgic
purposes.
Tantrism:
The
religious window dressing added to Tantra.
Tapping:
The absorption of psychic energy from the ether or from groups or individuals
who are willing (such as congregations of worshipers or various deities). See Absorption and Vampire, Psychic.
Target:
The
person, object or process one wishes to effect in order to accomplish one’s
goal.
Tarot
Cards:
Ancestors of modern playing cards, originally designed for
divination use and now used for meditational and
magical focusing as well.
Technology:
The study
of applying scientific, artistic, psychic or other knowledge to practical ends;
the use of methods, skills, crafts, arts, sciences, knowledge and beliefs to
provide the material needs of a people.
Telekinesis:
Synonym for “psychokinesis.”
Telepathy:
A type of ESP involving the communication of data from one mind to
another without the use of the normal sensory channels. Note that telepathic sending and reception
may be two different talents.
Teleportation:
Temperature
or Thermal Control:
An APK
talent for altering the speed of atoms and molecules, so as to change the
temperature of an object of being; see its two main subsets: Heat Control and
Cold Control.
Thaumaturgy:
The use of
magic for nonreligious purposes; the art and science of “wonder working;” using
magic to actually change things on the Earth Plane.
Thaumaturgical Design:
Experimental design for magic.
Thealogy:
Intellectual
speculations concerning the nature of the Goddess and
Her
relations to the world in general and humans in particular;
rational
explanations of religious doctrines, practices and
beliefs,
which may or may not bear any connection to any religion
as actually
conceived and practiced by the majority of its
members.
Theoilogy:
A term I am
no longer using for polytheistic theology or
Polytheology,
since I got tired of telling people it wasn’t a
typo.
Theology:
Intellectual
speculations concerning the nature of the God and His relations to the world in
general and humans in particular; etc., etc., etc.: see Thealogy.
Theory:
(1) A belief, policy or procedure proposed or
followed as the basis of action. (2) An ideal or hypothetical set of facts,
principles or circumstances. (3) The body of generalizations and principles
developed in association with practice in a field of activity. (4) A judgment,
conception, proposition or formula formed by speculation or deduction, or by
abstraction and generalization from facts. (5) A working hypothesis given
probability by experimental evidence or by factual or conceptual analysis but
not conclusively established or accepted as a law.
Theurgy:
The use of magic for religious and/or psychotherapeutic purposes,
in order to attain “salvation” or “personal evolution.”
Three M’s:
Mantra, mandala and mudra;
the prime associational and trance inducing devices.
Time:
A function of the ways in which humans perceive their universes, as
being composed of phenomena that occur “before,” “during” or “after” each
other.
Torah, The:
The first
five books of the Bible.
Tradition
or Trad:
A term used
by Neopagan and other Witches to refer to the exact
distinctions between each body of organized sectarian beliefs and practices,
thus some groups refer to themselves as Manx Traditional Witchcraft, Scottish Trad, English Traditional, Continental, German, etc. The
assumption or claim is usually that each “tradition” represents several
centuries’ worth of an organized system of witchcraft, though in point of fact
the overwhelming majority of trads can be easily
proven to be less than thirty years old. The term, however, seems to be
evolving to mean just a sect or flavor of modern Paganism, with no implied
claims of antiquity.
Trance:
An altered state of consciousness (at least for most people) which
is characterized by disassociation and withdrawal from the mundane environment.
Transmutation:
An APK talent for changing the atomic structure of matter, so as to
alter its elemental or molecular nature.
Treatise:
A writing
that treats a subject; specifically, one that provides in a systematic manner
and for an expository or argumentative purpose a methodical discussion of the
facts and principles involved and conclusions reached.
Tribal
Magical Systems:
All systems of magic and mysticism practiced by peoples living in
tribal cultures at any time in the past or present, anywhere in the world. True:
That which is probable, pleasant or convenient to believe.
True
Falsehoods, Law of:
“It is
possible for a concept or act to violate the truth patterns of a given personal
universe (including a single person’s part of a consensus reality) and yet to
still be ‘true,’ provided that it ‘works’ in a specific situation.” See
Pragmatism, Law of and Reality, Levels of.
Unconscious,
Collective:
A
theoretical construct of C. G. Jung, who believed that all human beings have
access to the collected mental experience of all their ancestors and that, in
essence, these memories (usually in highly symbolic forms) are carried
genetically from one generation to the next; sometimes called “racial”
unconscious, though whether the species as a whole or specific gene pools are
referred to is unclear.
Unity, Law
of:
“Every phenomenon
in existence at any point in space or time is linked, directly or indirectly,
to every other one.”
Universals,
Cultural:
Patterns of
belief or behavior that show up in all or a majority of human cultures, that are related to specific topics.
Universe:
The total
gestalt of all data patterns one may have about that which seems to be oneself
and that which seems to be not-oneself; depending upon whether or not one
believes in an objective reality, the universe can be considered to be a part
of one’s metapattern or vice versa.
Vampire:
A person who
has supposedly risen from the dead and who survives
through a
process of inducing willing or unwilling blood
donations.
Vampire,
Psychic:
A person
or institution practicing the absorption of psychic energy to the point of
actually damaging the people they attack.
See Absorption and Tapping.
Variable:
A factor,
as in an equation or experiment, that changes from situation to situation and
thus affects the outcome.
Varna:
In Tantra, the principle that sound
is eternal and that every letter of the alphabet is a deity.
Vodun or Voudoun:
(1) A West African word meaning “deity” or
“power.” (2) General term for a variety of eclectic religions and associated
magical systems practiced throughout the Americas, consisting of mixtures of
various African tribal beliefs with various Native American tribal beliefs,
Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, Spiritualism, Theosophy and other systems
(including Hinduism, Islam, Neopagan Witchcraft and
anything else that seems useful). Different names include Candomble,
Macumba, Santeria, Hoodoo, Voodoo and many others.
(3) In the United States and Canada, systems of thaumaturgic
magic and religion practiced by people who are usually poor, uneducated and
nonwhite. Therefore, see Black Magic.
Vortex
Field:
An energy field causing rapid circular movement around an axis.
Wand:
A short
stick of wood or metal, used ritually in western occultism as a symbol (usually)
of the “element” of Fire, as well as for concentrating and directing energies.
Warlock:
(1) One who bends (or bends with) words, a
magician and/or liar.
(2) Used by some to refer to male witches.
Water:
One of the
main “elements” in occultism; associated in the West with emotions, intuition,
blue, green, silver, cups, bowls, wisdom, passivity, cleansing, passive psychic
arts, cold, dampness, etc.
Water
Witching:
Rhabdomancy when done for finding
water.
Web, The:
(1) The total pattern formed by all the
interactions of all matter and all energy. (2) The current best example of the
Law of Infinite Data.
Weight:
The effect of gravity upon mass.
Weight
Control:
Mass
control and/or gravity control when done in a gravity
well (on the surface of a planet, for example).
Werewolf:
Someone who can supposedly change their body into that of a wolf’s,
as a result of deliberate intent or unfortunate curse.
White
Magic:
A racist,
sexist, creedist and classist
term used to refer to magic being done for “good” purposes or by people of whom
the user of the term approves.
Wic-:
An Old English root meaning (1) to bend, turn or twist, and (2) to
practice magic. No
significant connection to “wisdom.”
Wicca and Wicce:
The male and
female terms, respectively, in Old English that eventually became “witch” in
Modern English.
Wiccan:
(1) The original plural form for “wicca/wicce” or “witch.” (2) An adjective used to describe
their religion by the followers of Neopagan
Witchcraft.
Wiccian or Wigle:
The Old
English words for the activities of a “wicca/wicce.”
Window
Dressing:
The scenery
and passive props used to provoke and reinforce specific moods and
associations.
Witch:
Anyone who calls themself a “witch” or is
called such by others; an utterly useless term without a qualifying adjective
in front of it. The
only thing the definitions of “witch” have in common is the idea of magic or
other techniques of change being practiced.
Witchcraft:
From “wiccecraeft,” the craft of being a
witch. Notice that
“craft” has no specifically religious connotation.
Witchcraft,
Alexandrian:
A variety
of Gardnerian Witchcraft founded by British magician
Alex Sanders.
Witchcraft,
Anthropologic:
Anything
called “witchcraft” by an anthropologist, usually referring to (a) the
practices of independent (real or supposed) magic users who are suspected of at
least sometimes using their magic outside of their society’s accepted cultural
norms, and/or (b) a perceived state, often involuntary, of being a monster who
can curse people with the “evil eye.” Definition (a) is what the word “wicce” probably originally referred to, annoying as that
may be to modern Wiccans.
Witchcraft,
Classic:
The practices
of the persons often called “witches” (if seldom to their faces) in
pre-medieval Europe, to wit: midwifery; healing with magic, herbs and other
folk remedies; providing abortions, love potions and poisons; divination;
casting curses and blessings, etc. A Classic Witch’s religion may well have
been irrelevant to his or her techniques. After the monotheistic conquests,
most survivors were — at least officially — Christians (or Moslems in Spain and
Portugal). Some may have retained a certain amount of pre-Christian/Islamic
magical and religious tradition. Classic Witches have continued to exist to
this very day, in ever dwindling numbers, mostly in the remotest villages and
among the Romany or other Traveling Peoples.
Witchcraft,
Dianic:
(1) A postulated medieval cult of Diana and/or Dianus worshipers.
(2) Term used by some henotheistic Neopagan Witches to refer to their concentration on the
Goddess.
(3) Term used by some Feminist separatist Witches
to describe their practices and beliefs.
Witchcraft,
Ethnic:
The
practices of various non-English-speaking people who use magic, religion and
alternative healing methods in their own communities, and who are called
“witches” by English speakers who don’t know any better.
Witchcraft,
Familial or “Fam-Trad:”
The practices and beliefs of those who claim to belong to (or have
been taught by members of) families that supposedly have been underground Paleopagans for several centuries in
Witchcraft,
Fairy or Faery or Faerie Trad:
(1) Any of several traditions of Mesopagan and/or Neopagan
Witchcraft started by the blind poet and scoundrel guru Victor Anderson since
the 1970s, mixing British and Celtic folklore about the fairies, Gardnerianism, Voodoo, Hawaiian Huna (itself a Mesopagan invention of Max Freedom Long), Tantra, Gypsy magic, Native American beliefs, and anything
else he was thinking about at the time he was training the founders of each trad. (2) Varieties of Neopagan
Witchcraft focused around homosexual or bisexual images and magical techniques
rather than the heterosexual (and often homophobic) ones used in most Wiccan traditions. (3) Other sects of Neopagan
Witchcraft focused around real or made-up fairy lore, often taken from romantic
poems, plays, and novels about the fairies. In most of these traditions, there
is usually an assumption that the ancient associations between fairies and
witches were true, and that the fairies were originally the Paleopagan
nature spirits and/or deities.
Witchcraft,
Feminist:
Several new
monotheistic religions started since the early 1970s by women in the feminist
community who belonged to the women’s spirituality movement and/or who had
contact with Neopagan Witches. It is partially an
outgrowth of Neopagan Witchcraft, with male deities
booted unceremoniously(!) out of the religion
entirely, and partially a conglomeration of independent and eclectic
do-it-yourself covens of spiritually-inclined feminists. The religions usually involve worshiping only
the syncretic Goddess and using Her
as a source of inspiration, magical power and psychological growth. Their scholarship
is generally abysmal and men are usually not allowed to join or participate.
Witchcraft,
Gardnerian:
The
originally Mesopagan source of what has now become Neopagan Witchcraft, founded by Gerald Gardner and friends
in the late 1940s and 1950s, based upon his alleged contacts with British Fam-Trads. After he finished inventing, expanding and/or
reconstructing the rites, laws and other materials, copies were stolen by
numerous others who then claimed Fam-Trad status and
started new religions of their own. (See Ronald Hutton’s Triumph of the Moon
for all the messy details.) Though Gardnerians are
sometimes called “the scourge of the Craft,” together with the Alexandrians and
members of some other British Traditions, they may be considered simply the
orthodox branch of Neopagan Witchcraft.
Witchcraft,
Genetic:
See
Witchcraft, Familial and Grandmotherly.
Witchcraft,
Gothic:
A
postulated cult of devil worshipers invented by the medieval Church, used as the
excuse for raping, torturing and killing scores of thousands of women, children
and men. The cult was said to consist of people who worshiped the Christian
Devil in exchange for magical powers then used to benefit themselves and harm
others.
Witchcraft,
Grandmotherly:
Refers to
the habit common among modern Witches of claiming to have been initiated at an
early age by a mother or grandmother who belonged to a Fam-Trad
but who is conveniently dead, doesn’t speak English, and/or is otherwise
unavailable for questioning.
Witchcraft,
Hereditary:
See
Witchcraft, Familial and Grandmotherly.
Witchcraft, Immigrant or “Imm-Trad:”
Refers to
the customs and beliefs of Mesopagan peasants and
supposed Fam-Trad members who immigrated to the
Witchcraft,
Neoclassic:
The
current practices of those who are consciously or unconsciously duplicating
some or many of the activities of the Classic Witches and who call themselves
(or are called by others) witches.
Witchcraft,
Neogothic:
The
beliefs and practices of modern Satanists, most of whom work very hard to be
everything that the medieval Church and current Fundamentalists say they should
be. Some of them perform Black Masses, commit blasphemy and sacrilege, hold (or
long to hold) orgies, etc. There is some small overlap with the Goth subculture
of the 1980s.
Witchcraft,
Neopagan:
Several
new duotheistic religions founded since the 1960s,
most of which are variations of Gardnerian Witchcraft
but some of which are independent inventions and/or reconstructions based on
real or supposed Family Traditions, Immigrant Traditions, literary creations,
etc. — just like Gardner’s! Most groups who call what they do “Wicca” are Neopagan Witches.
Witchcraft,
Neoshamanic:
(1) The beliefs and practices of those modern
persons who are attempting to rediscover, duplicate and/or expand upon the
practices of the original (postulated) Shamanic Witches.
(2) Neopagan Witchcraft
with feathers, drums, crystals, and other New Age additions of a vaguely Shamanic flavor. Most use drums and chanting rather than
drugs to achieve their desired trance states.
Witchcraft,
Shamanic:
(1) Originally, the beliefs and practices of
members of postulated independent belladonna/Moon Goddess cults throughout
pre-medieval
Ages.
(2)Currently, Neoshamanic
Witchcraft done by those who do not use the Neo- prefix.
Witchcraft,
Traditional:
See
Tradition and Witchcraft, Familial.
Witch Cult
of Western Europe:
A European-wide
cult of underground Pagans postulated, in a book of that name, by Margaret
Murray as having been the actual cause or spark of the medieval persecutions,
but which is not believed in by most of the historians, linguists, folklorists
or anthropologists who have examined her arguments. Also known as the
“Unitarian Universalist White Witch Cult of Western
Theosophical Brittany.”
Witchdoctor:
A medicine person or shaman who hunts down and fights “evil”
Anthropologic Witches.
Witchfinder:
A cleric or
other person who seeks out and tortures alleged Gothic Witches.
Witchmark:
Blemish
supposedly placed upon a Gothic Witch by The Devil as a sort of membership card
or identification device.
Wizard:
From the
Old English “wys-ard,” meaning “wise one.” Originally
may have referred to anyone whose wisdom was respected; later came to mean a
male witch; now used to mean a powerful and wise magician.
Words of
Power, Law of:
“There exist
certain words that are able to alter the internal and
external
realities of those uttering them, and their power may
rest in the
very sounds of the words as much as in their
meanings.”
Xenophobia:
A morbid fear of that which is new, different or strange; common among
professional debunkers of minority belief systems and other fundamentalists.
Yantra:
A Tantric diagram or chart.
Yin-Yang:
Chinese symbol for the Laws of Polarity and Synthesis.
Yoga:
Literally
means “yoke” or discipline. With no qualifying adjective, usually refers to Hatha Yoga (discipline of the body).
Yule:
The feast of the Winter Solstice, Birth of the Sun, etc.
Zener
Cards:
Cards used
in most of the early ESP experiments, developed in the Parapsychology
Laboratory at
Zombie:
(1) Someone supposedly raised
from the dead by a Vodun magician, possibly never
really dead at all but rather drugged, who is used as a slave. (2) Someone who
has joined a repressive “cult” movement, lost their own personality and other
intellectual faculties, and is used as a slave. Easily identified by the
characteristic “glazed eye” look and inability to continue their conversation
if interrupted several times in mid-partyline.
Theosophical Society,