Candlelight Spells: The Modern Witch's Book of Spellcasting, Feasting, and Healing - Gerina Dunwich 2000

Lexicon of Witchcraft

ABRACADABRA: a cabalistic word derived from the name Abraxas, a mighty Gnostic deity whose name means “hurt me not.” The word abracadabra is said to possess the magickal power to ward off illness and to cure fever when its letters are arranged in an inverted pyramid (a holy figure and symbol of trinity) and worn around the neck as a talisman.

ABRAMELIN MAGICK: a semi-Gnostic form of magick that depends heavily on word-magick and palindromic magick squares.

AEROMANCY: divination from the sky and the air, extending beyond the range of weather prognostications and concentrating more upon spectral formations, shapes of clouds, comets and other phenomena of the heavens.

AIR: one of the four elemental signs.

AIR SIGNS: the astrological signs attributed to the element of air are Aquarius, Gemini and Libra.

ALCHEMIST: one who practices the occult science of alchemy.

ALCHEMY: the ancient occult science of transmutation of base metals into gold by both chemical and spiritual processes.

ALECTRYOMANCY: divination whereby a bird, usually a black hen, is allowed to pick up grains of corn from a circle of letters to form names or words containing prophetic significance.

AMULET: a consecrated nature-made object (usually a small stone, gem or piece of metal inscribed with runes or magickal symbols) that possesses the power to protect a person or thing from threatening evil influences and to attract good luck. A four-leaf clover and a rabbit’s foot are two examples of popular amulets.

ANIMISM: the spiritual belief that every thing in nature, animate as well as inanimate, possesses an innate soul as well as a body.

APPARITION: the appearance of the phantom of a person, living or dead, seen in a dream or in the waking state.

ASTRAL BODY: the double of the physical body, but made of a much finer substance with a shining and luminous appearance. The astral body is connected to the physical body by an elastic umbilical-like cord and is able to pass through solid obstructions and float about unhindered by gravity, space or time.

ASTRAL PLANE: the third plane of existence on which life takes place.

ASTRAL PROJECTION: an out-of-body experience; the separation of the consciousness from the physical body.

ASTROLOGY: an ancient occult art and science, dating back to the Third Century B.C., that judges the influence of the planets in the solar system upon the course of human affairs. In astrology, a planet’s influence varies according to which section of the zodiac it is in.

ATHAME: a knife used by witches to draw the magick circle and to store and direct energy. A witch’s athame has either a black or white handle (depending on the type of magick practiced) and various magickal symbols inscribed on its blade. (also spelled ARTHAME)

AUGUR: a sign or omen. Also a person who interprets the omens of birds.

AURA: a colored light produced by heat energy and electromagnetic energy that emanates from the bodies of all living things.

AUTOMATIC WRITING: a method of spirit communication by which a medium enters a dreamlike state and allows a spirit guide to control his or her hand to write messages.

AXIOMANCY: divination by an ax or hatchet. When properly interpreted, the quivers of the ax when driven into a post are said to reveal answers to questions. The way in which the ax handle falls to the ground is an old method used to point out the direction taken by a thief.

BANISH: to release and drive away a conjured spirit from the power of the magick circle.

BANSHEE: in Gaelic lore, a female spirit who presages a death in the family by wailing a mournful tune that sounds like the melancholy moaning of the wind. As a herald of death, the banshee is usually heard at night under the window of the person who is about to die.

BESOM: a straw broom used by witches in certain Wiccan ceremonies such as Handfasting and Candlemas. Although the broom has always been associated with witches, it was never actually used for flying. Witches practicing sympathetic magick would straddle the besom and jump up and down in order to show the crops how high to grow.

BIGGHES: a set of ceremonial jewelry consisting of a leather garter, silver crown with crescent moon, bracelet and necklace worn by a Witch Queen or a High Priestess of a coven.

BLACK ARTS: the practice of black magick.

BLACK MAGIC: the form that signifies the destructive element, devoted to causing injury or death to others.

BOKOR: a sorcerer who practices voodoo black magick.

BOOK OF SHADOWS: a secret diary of magick spells and potions kept by a witch. It is a Wiccan tradition that a witch’s Book of Shadows be burned in the event of his or her death in order to protect the secrets of the craft.

BURIN: an engraving tool used by witches to mark names or symbols ritually on athames, swords, bells and other magickal tools.

CANDLE MAGICK: a form of sympathetic magick that uses colored candles to represent the people and things at which its spells are directed. The color of the candle is very important as each color symbolizes a different attribute, influence and emotion, as there are different astral colors for each of the 12 zodiac signs.

CELTIC CROSS: a tarot card reading method.

CENSER: an incense burner used in magick rituals.

CEREMONIAL MAGICK: the art and practice of summoning and commanding spirits through words of power.

CHAKRA: one of the seven special points of psychic energy located within the human body that begin at the genital region and end at the top of the skull.

CHARM: a highly magickal object that not only works like an amulet or talisman to counteract misfortune, but also can be used to bewitch others.

CHEIROGNOMY: the study of the shapes of hands and fingers and what they reveal about an individual’s personality and physical health.

CHEIROMANCY: (PALMISTRY, PALM-READING)—the study of the lines of the palm to disclose an individual’s past and to predict his or her future. There are seven important lines on the palm of the hand and seven lesser lines. The important, (or main) lines are: the line of life, the line of head, the line of heart, the girdle of Venus, the line of health, the sun line and the line of destiny. The seven lesser lines are: the line of Mars, the Via Lasciva, the line of intuition, the marriage line and the three bracelet lines on the wrist.

CINGULUM: a consecrated cord, red and nine feet long used by witches when dancing to raise power. Nine knots on the cord are used for storing built up power for future magickal use. To release the power, the knots must be untied in the exact order in which they were tied.

CLAIRAUDIENCE: an auditory form of E.S.P.

CLAIRVOYANCE: the extrasensory power to perceive objects or events that are out of the range of average human senses.

CLAIRVOYANT: a person gifted with the power of clairvoyance.

CONE OF POWER: power from a coven of witches or a solitary witch that generates and collects in the form of a cone.

CONSECRATION: the art, process or ceremony of making something sacred.

CONTACT TELEPATHY: the ability to read another person’s mind through physical contact and intense concentration.

CONTROL: a spirit who speaks through a medium in trance, usually on a regular basis, and acts as an intermediary with other spirits who wish to communicate with the living.

COUNTERCHARM: a powerful magickal charm that is used to neutralize or reverse the effects of another charm or spell.

COUNTERSPELL: a powerful magickal spell that neutralizes or reverses the effects of another spell or charm.

COVEN: a group of witches led by a priest and a priestess.

COVENER: a witch, male or female, who is a member of a coven.

COVENSTEAD: the place where a coven meets.

COWAN: among witches, a person who is not a witch.

CURSE: a deliberate concentration of destructive negative energy aimed at a person, thing or place

DACTYLOMANCY: an early form of radiesthesia with a dangling ring indicating numbers and/or words by its swinging motion.

DEMIGOD: the semidivine offspring of a mortal and a deity.

DEMONIC POSSESSION: a condition whereby a person’s physical body is invaded and taken over by evil spirits or demons who cause the sufferer to behave strangely.

DIANIC: a type of coven that worships only the Goddess or accords the Horned God secondary status to the Goddess. Dianic feminist Wicca encourages female leadership and involves its practitioners in feminist issues. Although some covens of the Dianic tradition include both female and male members, most exclude men and some are explicitly lesbian.

DIRECT WRITING: messages written by spirits without the agency of mediums or other living persons.

DIVINATION: the esoteric science, art and practice of foretelling future events. Throughout the years, different religions and cultures have devised various forms of divination, such as:

Aeromancy: divination from the sky and air.

Alectryomancy: divination from a black hen.

Aleuromancy: divination by fortune cookies.

Alomancy: divination by salt.

Apantomancy: divination from chance meetings with animals or birds.

Arithmancy: divination through numbers and letter values, an ancient form of numerology.

Astraglomancy: divination with dice.

Augury: divination by the flight of birds. Also the art, ability or practice of divination in general.

See also AUGUR.

Austromancy: divination by wine.

Axiomancy: divination by an ax or hatchet.

Belomancy: divination by the tossing or balancing of arrows; one of the most ancient types of divination.

Bibliomancy: divination by books.

Botanomancy: divination by the burning of tree branches and leaves.

Capnomancy: divination through the study of smoke rising up from a fire.

Cartomancy: divination with cards.

Catoptromancy: divination using a mirror turned to the moon to catch lunar rays.

Causimomancy: divination from objects placed in a fire.

Cephalomancy: divination from the head or skull of a goat.

Caraunoscopy: divination from thunder and lightning.

Ceroscopy: divination with wax.

Cheiromancy: divination through the study of the lines of the palm.

Cleidomancy: divination by dangling a key.

Cleromancy: divination using pebbles.

Critomancy: divination from barley cakes.

Cromniomancy: divination from onion sprouts.

Cyclomancy: divination by a turning wheel.

Dactylomancy: divination by a dangling ring.

Daphnomancy: divination from the crackling laurel branches in an open fire.

Demonomancy: divination through the aid of demons.

Fire Scrying: divination by scrying (or gazing) into the burning embers of a fire.

Geomancy: divination from drawings.

Hieromancy: divination from objects of ancient sacrifice.

Hippomancy: divination from horses.

Hydromancy: divination by water.

Ichthyomancy: divination from fish.

Libanomancy: divination by incense.

Lithomancy: divination by the color of stones or beads.

Margaritomancy: divination with pearls.

Metagnomy: divination while under a hypnotic trance.

Meteoromancy: divination from meteors and similar phenomena.

Myomancy: divination from rats or mice.

Necromancy: divination through communication with spirits of the dead.

Numerology: divination using numbers.

Oculomancy: divination by the reading of eyes.

Oinomancy: divination from the wind.

Oneiromancy: divination by dreams.

Onomatomancy: divination by proper names.

Oomantia: divination using eggs.

Ophiomancy: divination by serpents.

Ornithomancy: divination by birds.

Pegomancy: divination using bubbling fountains of water.

Pessomancy: divination through pebbles.

Psychomancy: divination by men’s souls and affections.

Pyromancy: divination by fire.

Rabdomancy: divination using a wand or stick.

Rhapsodomancy: divination through books of poetry.

Roadomancy: divination by the stars.

Saxon Wands: divination using seven wands made from wood dowels.

Sciomancy: divination by shadows.

Scrying: divination from images seen in a crystal ball or gazing mirror; crystal-gazing; mirror-gazing.

Sideromancy: divination by burning straws on a hot iron.

Sortilege: divination by casting lots.

Spodomancy: divination from cinders or soot.

Tasseography: divination by reading tea leaves.

Tephramancy: divination from the ashes of a burned tree trunk.

Theomancy: divination by spirits.

Theriomancy: divination by beasts.

Tuphramancy: divination by ashes.

Typomancy: divination by coagulation of cheese.

Xylomancy: divination from wood.

DIVINING ROD: a forked stick or branch used to find subterranean water or hidden buried treasure by bending downward when held over the source.

DIVINITY: a god or goddess.

DIVINIZE: to regard or worship as a god or goddess.

DJINNI: see JINNI

DOWSE: to use a divining rod.

EARTH: one of the four elemental signs.

EARTH SIGNS: the astrological signs attributed to the element of earth are Capricorn, Taurus and Virgo.

ECTOPLASM: a mysterious white substance which emanates from some spiritualist mediums when in a trance.

ELDER: a witch who has graduated to the Third Degree of Witchcraft.

ELEMENTAL SIGNS: the signs of air, earth, fire and water. Air is the symbol of the mind and the reaching beyond of oneself. Earth is the symbol of strength, fertility and the emotions. Fire is the symbol of energy, individuality and identity. Water is the symbol of life and the spirit.

ENOCH: a seer or adept of the Secret Wisdom.

ENOCHIAN MAGICK: a powerful system of magick, similar to the Kabbalah and Yoga.

ESBAT: a regular meeting of a coven that is held during the full moon at least 13 times a year. (For further information, see Chapter II—The Esbat.)

E.S.P.: extrasensory perception.

EVIL EYE: the supernatural power to cause harm, misfortune or death to others by an angry or venomous glance.

EVOCATION: to call out, to bring forth from within to the outside, or to summon up a deity or demon from a position of equality. It is practiced in ceremonies primarily to bring out from within the magickal qualities of the magician.

EXORCISM: the expulsion of an evil spirit or demon from a person by a command, ritual or special prayer.

FAMILIAR: an attendant spirit that appears in the form of a cat, lizard, hare, toad or other small animal to aid a witch in the practice of magick. According to legend, the witch must prick her finger every time the familiar performs a service and feed it a drop of her blood.

FAUSTIAN MAGICK: the evocation of demons.

FETISH: a material object that is believed to possess magickal or supernatural powers.

FIRE: one of the four elemental signs.

FIRE OF AZRAEL: a scrying fire.

FIRE SIGNS: the astrological signs attributed to the element of fire are Aries, Leo and Sagittarius.

FORECAST: a prediction concerning future events; to predict the future.

GENETHLIALOGY: the esoteric science, art and practice of calculating the future from the influence of the stars at the time of a person’s birth.

GENIE: same as JINNI

GNOMES: elemental spirits of the earth.

GRAPHOLOGY: the analysis of character from handwriting.

GRIMOIRE: a text book of magick.

GRIS-GRIS: a powerful voodoo charm, prepared at the time of a full moon and filled with various offerings to a loa or voodoo spirit.

HAGGING: the act of projecting the astral body or “changing the skin” by means of singing a special charm song, according to the magicians of the West Indies.

HANDFASTING: a beautiful Wiccan ceremony that joins a man and a woman “for as long as love shall last” and allows them to freely go their separate ways if they should ever fall out of love with each other. The ceremony is performed during the waxing moon by the priest and priestess of the coven. White robes and flowers are usually worn by all attending, although some covens prefer to work skyclad. Rings of gold or silver with the names of the bride and groom inscribed on them in runes are traditionally exchanged in addition to their love vows.

HANDPARTING: a ceremony that dissolves the Wiccan marriage partnership of a man and a woman.

HATHA YOGA: the practice of physical postures and breathing exercises to attain spiritual integration.

HERMETIC MAGICK: a form of white magick, dating back to the First Century A.D., that combines Egyptian magickal knowledge with other traditions.

HEXAGRAM: a powerful occult symbol made up of two triangles, one superimposed on the other, used to master spirits and banish influences of evil. The two triangles, one pointing up and the other pointing down, are a symbol of man as God. The triangles also symbolize the elements of fire and water. In alchemy, the hexagram stands for distillation and the philosophers’ stone, which is said to be composed of fire and water.

HIGH MAGICK: the transformation of the self to the higher self. Some aspects of high magick involve detailed and elaborate spirit-conjuring rites.

HOODOO HANDS: magick charms used to bring the wearer good luck, or to bring illness or death if directed against an enemy.

HORARY ASTROLOGY: an astrological method that uses charts for answering questions and/or solving problems.

HOROSCOPE: an astrological chart of the heavenly bodies that shows the relative positions of the planets at a certain moment in time. Given the exact time and place of birth, an astrologer can cast a person’s horoscope from which he or she can define the subject’s character and advise future courses of action.

HOROSCOPY: the art and practice of casting astrological horoscopes.

HOUNFOR: a clearing on which peristyle sanctuaries for voodoo loas have been erected.

HOUNGAN: a voodoo priest. The word derives from the Fon language of Dahomey and Togo, meaning literally “the master of a god.”

HOUNSIS: a voodoo initiate.

I CHING (THE BOOK OF CHANGES): an ancient Chinese science of synchronicity, dating back to the very beginning of Chinese civilization, which is based on a group of 64 six-line drawings called hexagrams that describe the patterns of change and transformation. I Ching (pronounced ee-jing) teaches that the womb of the universe is a limited, imperceptible void—T’ai Chi, the Absolute. In it, everything has its being and each owes its individuality to a particular combination of Yin (negative) and Yang (positive). For I Ching to be consulted for advice or answers to questions, three coins are tossed or a counting game with 50 yarrow sticks is played so that one of the hexagrams, comes up randomly. When properly interpreted, the hexagrams reveal either fortune or misfortune that can be used in divination and for personal consultation.

IDOL: an image or inanimate object representing a divine being. In certain beliefs, the idol is thought to possess power in itself and is often worshipped as though it was the actual god or goddess.

ILLUMINATI: a magickal and kabbalistic sect of occultists also known as “The Enlightened Ones.”

IMAGE MAGICK: a form of black magick that uses dolls made of clay, cloth or other material to seduce, harm or kill the person whom the doll is made to represent.

IMP: a witch’s familiar.

IMPRECATION: a curse, the act of invoking a curse.

INCANTATION: a ritual recitation of words of power or special phrases in order to produce a magickal effect.

INCUBUS: a demon or evil spirit that takes on the shape of a handsome man and seduces sleeping women in order to possess their souls.

INVOCATION: the act of summoning or conjuring a spirit, demon or deity by incantation.

JINNI: according to Moslem legend, a spirit capable of assuming human form and exercising supernatural influence over human beings.

JINX: a person or thing that attracts bad luck or misfortune; to bring bad luck or cause misfortune.

JETTATURA: a person possessed by the power of the evil eye.

JUJU: an object used as an amulet, magickal charm or fetish by the sorcerers of West Africa.

KABBALAH: a secret occult theosophy of rabbinical origin based on esoteric interpretations of the Hebrew scriptures. The kabbalah appears as an elaborate system of magick, but it is actually a tool for achieving mystic union with God. It teaches that there are 72 names of God and that the universe is made up of four planes of being. (Also spelled cabala, cabbala, kabala and qabbalah.)

KARMA: the law of cause-and-effect that applies to all of our actions and their consequences in this life or in future incarnations.

KELPIES: water spirits often taking the form of a horse.

KUNDALINI YOGA: a branch of yoga that teaches integration through the physical and mental control of dormant energy in the human body referred to as the Kundalini.

LEMURES: spirits of the dead.

LEVITATION: the rising into the air and floating of objects or persons by supernatural forces, magick or telekinetic powers.

LIBATION: wine poured on an altar, on the body of a sacrificed animal, on the ground or on a fire as an offering to the Goddess and/or the Horned God.

LITHOBOLIA: poltergeist spirits who bombard dwellings with showers of stones or rocks.

LITHOMANCY: a modern form of divination utilizing the reflections of color from precious stones or beads to draw omens. A blue reflection signifies good luck; black or gray foretells misfortune; red means love and/or marriage; yellow denotes betrayal; green is the sign of success; purple indicates sorrow.

LOAS: voodoo spirits, sometimes called gods.

LYCANTHROPE: a werewolf.

LYCANTHROPY: the magickal or supernatural ability to assume the physical form and characteristics of a wolf.

MAGE: a master magician.

MAGICIAN: a nonreligious practitioner of magick; one who summons demons or spirits to work magick but does not worship deities or follow any Wiccan tradition.

MAGICK: the art, science and practice of producing supernatural effects, causing change to occur in conformity and controlling events in nature with will. As a tool of witchcraft, the old spelling of the word with the final “K” is used to distinguish it from the magic of stage conjuring and illusion.

MAGICK SQUARES: a powerful talisman made of rows of numbers or letters of the alphabet arranged in a square.

MALEDICT: to pronounce a curse.

MALEDICTION: a curse.

MAMBO: a voodoo priestess.

MANES: spirits of the dead.

MANTRA: a chant.

MANTRA YOGA: a branch of yoga that uses the chanting of holy words to seek union with the godhead.

MEDIUM: a gifted person through whom the spirits of the dead speak and act.

METOPOSCOPY: the reading of a person’s character from the lines of the forehead.

NATAL CHART: an astrological map showing the positions of the sun, moon and planets at the exact moment of an individual’s birth.

NYMPH: a female water spirit.

OBEAH: a form of African-originated sorcery that involves the use of fetishes.

OCCULT: the spiritual sciences.

OCCULTISM: the study of occult powers, supernatural influences and other phenomena beyond the realm of ordinary human comprehension.

OCCULTIST: a person who studies the occult.

ODIC FORCE: an energy phenomenon which emanates from magnets and crystals and is perceived by psychic sensitive persons as a blue (negative) or yellowish-red (positive) glowing light. It can be physically transferred from one substance to another and from one person to another. Odic Force, sometimes called Od for short, was discovered by German scientist Baron Karl von Reichenbach (1788—1869), who named it after the Norse god Odin.

OFFERING: a presentation made to the Goddess, Horned God or other deity as an act of religious worship or sacrifice.

THE OLD RELIGION: Wicca; witchcraft.

OMEN: any phenomenon or thing that is interpreted as a sign of good luck or misfortune.

ORACLE: a priest or transmitter of prophesies at a shrine consecrated to the worship and consultation of a prophetic deity.

OUIJA: a board with the letters of the alphabet, numbers and the words “yes” and “no” printed on it. A heart-shaped pointer called a planchette moves around the board to spell out telepathic and spirit-guided messages when touched by the fingertips of one or more persons.

PALMISTRY: see CHEIROMANCY

PARAPSYCHOLOGY: the branch of natural science that investigates extrasensory perception, psychokinesis and other psychic phenomena not explainable by known natural laws.

PE: a small stone altar used in voodoo ceremonies.

PENTAGRAM: a protective and magickal five-pointed star that symbolizes the four elements plus the spirit.

PHILOSOPHERS’ STONE: a mystical substance manufactured through long and complicated alchemical processes with the power to perfect matter and turn other materials into gold when mixed with them.

PHILTRE: a love potion.

PHRENOLOGY: the psychic science, art and practice of reading the formations of the human head.

PHYSIOGNOMY: a modern psychic science, art and practice of character analysis from the physical appearance of the facial features; face-reading.

PK: psychokinesis.

PLANCHETTE: the triangular pointer from an Ouija board that is used to spell out spirit-guided messages when touched by the fingertips of one or more persons. With a pencil attached, the planchette can also be used for automatic writing.

POPPET: a specially prepared herb-stuffed cloth doll that is used in sympathetic magick love spells and healing rituals to represent the person at whom the spell is directed.

POSSESSION: a phenomenon in which a spirit, good or evil, takes control of a spiritualist medium in trance. (See also DEMONIC POSSESSION.)

POTION: a magickal tea or brew.

PRACTICAL MAGICK: magick that is concerned with things of the earth, harmony with nature, seasons and cycles, and performed with the aid of simple, common implements.

PRANA: a powerful healing energy which emanates from the human body. It is controlled by the mind, possesses polarity and has properties similar to other forms of energy but is a distinct force unto itself.

PRECOGNITION: extrasensory perception of future events, usually through dreams; psychic awareness of the future.

PREDICTION: a foretelling of the future.

PREMONITION: a psychic sense or intuitive feeling about future events before they happen; presage.

PRESAGE: an intuitive feeling that indicates or warns of a future occurrence; to predict or foretell a future event.

PRESENTMENT: a premonition.

PROPHECY: a prediction made by a prophet.

PROPHESY: to predict the future or to speak as a prophet.

PROPHET: a gifted person who speaks as the interpreter through whom a divinity expresses its will; a soothsayer or predictor; a person who receives symbolic spiritual messages from a god or goddess.

PROPHETESS: a female prophet.

PSI: psychic phenomena.

PSYCHOKINESIS: the production of motion in inanimate objects by the exercise of psychic mind powers.

PSYCHOMETRY: the art and practice of receiving psychic impressions from physical objects.

QUERENT: a person whose fortune is being told by use of tarot cards.

RAJA YOGA: a branch of yoga that is devoted to the control of the mind.

REINCARNATION: the rebirthing of the same soul in another physical body. Reincarnation is an ancient belief that is part of many religions, including Wicca.

RETRIBUTION: a reward or punishment given in a future life based on the performance of good or evil in the present lifetime; karma (See THREE-FOLD LAW)

RUNES: letters of a secret magickal alphabet that spell words of power. Runes are written, painted or carved on ritual tools, magician’s robes, talismans, amulets, witches’ jewelry and other things to charge the object with power. There are three main categories of runes: Anglo-Saxon, Germanic and Scandinavian. Their variations and subdivisions include the Druidic Ogam Bethluisnion, Egyptian hieroglyphics, Theban Script, Pictish, Celestial, Malachim and Passing the River.

SABBAT: a joyous witches’ festival of merriment and feasting. The witches’ sabbat is a time to rejoice, sing, dance, chant, honor the God and Goddess, and give thanks. Magick is seldom performed during a sabbat unless absolutely necessary. Eight sabbats are held during the course of a year: Candlemas, Beltane, Lammas, Samhain, the Spring Equinox, the Summer Solstice, the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice, also known as Yule.

SALAMANDERS: elemental spirits of fire.

SEANCE: a gathering of persons to contact and receive messages from the spirits of the dead. Usually it is held in the dark or by candlelight at a table where all persons attending are seated with hands joined together to form a circle. At all seances, at least one medium must be present.

SEER: a male clairvoyant.

SEERESS: a female clairvoyant.

SEPHIROT: the 10 emanations of God which are meditated upon as the central part of kabbalistic doctrine. The 10 Sephirot consist of: crown, wisdom, intelligence, love, justice, beauty, firmness, splendor, foundation and kingdom.

SEX MAGICK: a potent form of magick that uses the sexual experience and orgasm to generate the power to work magick.

SHAMAN: a priest or person of psychic sensitivity who possesses arcane knowledge and the ability to control the spirit forces and communicate with the divine.

SIGNIFICATOR: a certain tarot card that is used to represent the person whose cards are being read.

SKYCLAD: a Wiccan word meaning “nude.”

SMUDGING: the burning of incense to drive away negative forces and to purify the space in which white magick will be performed.

SOLITARY: a witch, male or female, who practices any form of magick without a coven.

SOOTHSAYER: a clairvoyant.

SORCERER: a male practitioner of sorcery.

SORCERESS: a female practitioner of sorcery.

SORCERY: the use of supernatural power either for material gain or to harm others, often through the support of evil spirits or demons.

SPELL: an incantational formula.

SUCCUBUS: a demon or evil spirit that takes on the shape of a beautiful woman and seduces sleeping men in order to possess their souls; a female incubus.

SYLPHS: elemental spirits of the air.

TALISMAN: a manmade object of any shape or material charged with magickal properties to bring good luck, fertility and ward off evil. To formally charge a talisman with power, it must first be inscribed and then consecrated. Inscribing the talisman with a sun sign, moon sign, birthdate, runic name or other magickal symbol personalizes it and gives its purpose.

TAROT: a deck of 78 cards used for reading the past, the future and fortune. The deck is divided into two parts: the Minor Arcana and the Major Arcana. The Minor Arcana consists of 56 divinatory cards divided into four suits of 14 cards each: swords, pentacles, wands and cups. The Major Arcana consists of 22 highly symbolic trump cards with colorful allegorical figures. The various methods of tarot card-reading include the Celtic Cross method, the Golden Dawn method (modified by Aleister Crowley), and the Oracles of Julia Orsini, an ancient French method that uses a significator card plus 42 other cards.

TELEPATHY: the transfer of thoughts from one mind into another.

THIRD EYE: the human body’s highest source of power, supernormal sight and clairvoyant vision. The Third Eye is invisible and located in the middle of the forehead.

THREE-FOLD LAW: the Wiccan belief that if a witch does good, he or she will get it back threefold in the same lifetime. Whatever harm a witch does to others is also returned threefold.

THURIBLE: an incense vessel (or censer) used in magickal ceremonies.

TRANCE: a state in which a medium loses consciousness, thus permitting spirits to enter and speak or act through the medium’s physical body.

TREE OF LIFE: a kabbalistic diagram showing the 10 Sephirot (emanations of God) and their relationship to each other.

TRUE MAGICK: white magick, magick that is performed for good purposes, to heal or to help others.

UNDINES: elemental spirits of water.

VAMPIRISM: the practice of drinking human blood. In folklore, a vampire is the reanimated corpse of a dead person that rises from its grave at night and sucks the blood from the throats of living humans or animals.

VEVES: intricate symbolic voodoo emblems that are drawn on the ground with flour or ashes to invoke the various loas, or voodoo spirits, which they represent.

VOODOO: a primitive system of Magick, brought to Haiti and the Caribbean by African slaves. It involves the use of both black and white magick and is characterized by fetish worship, animal sacrifices, frenzied drum dances and zombies.

VOODOOISM: the practice of voodoo as well as the view of life and death embodied in the voodoo cult.

WARLOCK; a word stemming from the Old English WAERLOGA meaning an “oath breaker” and used derogatorily by the Church as a name for a male Witch. In Wicca, the word Warlock is seldom, if ever, used. Both male and female practitioners of the Craft are called Witches.

WATER: one of the four elemental signs.

WATER SIGNS: the astrological signs attributed to the element of water are Cancer, Pisces and Scorpio.

WEREWOLF: a man transformed into a wolf through supernatural power or black magick; a lycanthrope.

WHITE MAGICK: positive magick that is practiced for good purposes or as a counter to evil. Love spells and healing rituals are two examples of white magick; true magick.

WICCA: the religion of witchcraft.

WICCAN: a witch.

WICCANING: a Wiccan birth rite by which a baby is given a name by its parents, anointed on the forehead with salted water by the coven priestess, and then passed through the smoke of incense by its mother as a gesture of purification.

WICCAN REDE: a simple and benevolent moral code of witches that is as follows: “An it harm none, do what thou wilt.”

WIDDERSHINS: a Wiccan word meaning “counterclockwise.”

WITCH: a person, male or female, who practices the ancient art and science of magick; a follower of the Old Religion; a Wiccan. According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, the word WITCH stems from the Old English “WICCE” (feminine) meaning a witch, and “WICCA” (masculine) meaning a wizard. Many modern witches and writers of the occult argue however that the word WICCA is Anglo-Saxon meaning “the wise one” or “a magician who weakens the power of evil.”

WITCHCRAFT: Wicca; a pre-Christian religion having one main tenet, the Wiccan Rede. Witchcraft includes the practice of various forms of magick, as well as the rites attuning oneself with the natural rhythm of life forces marked by the phases of the moon and the seasons. The Mother Goddess of Fertility and the Horned God are the two main deities honored and worshipped in witchcraft rites. Their names vary from one Wiccan tradition to the next.

WITCHES’ LADDER: a special string with nine knots used by black magick witches as a powerful magickal weapon to harm or kill enemies.

WITCHES’ SABBAT: see SABBAT

WIZARD: a male magician or witch. The word WIZARD derives from the Middle English WIS, meaning “wise.”

WIZARDRY: the art, skill or practice of a magician.

XYLOMANCY: the occult science, art and practice of drawing omens from pieces of wood by interpreting their shapes and formations or by the way they burn when placed upon a fire.

YOGA: the practice of a special series of physical postures, breathing exercises and meditations to achieve spiritual insight and tranquility.

ZAZEN: a form of Zen meditation.

ZOBOP: a group of voodoo sorcerers who band together for power.

ZODIAC: a circular band in the sky through which the planets are seen to move. It is divided into 12 equal sections called zodiac signs, each 30 degrees wide, bearing the name of a constellation for which it was originally named but with which it no longer coincides due to the precession of the vernal and autumnal equinoxes. The 12 signs of the zodiac are: Aries the ram, Taurus the bull, Gemini the twins, Cancer the crab, Leo the lion, Virgo the virgin, Libra the balance, Scorpio the scorpion, Sagittarius the archer, Capricorn the goat, Aquarius the water-bearer and Pisces the fish.

THE ZOHAR: the Bible of Mysticism. First published in the 13th century, it is believed to be the composition of Rabbi Simon ben Yochai, a 2nd century Jewish luminary renowned as a great mystic. The Zohar deals with nearly every aspect and theme of the occult, and its teachings have exerted a great influence on the kabbalah as well as the world of the occult.

ZOMBIE: a “living” corpse without mind, feeling or will of its own, reanimated by the occult power of a voodoo sorcerer-priest and used mainly as a slave.