A Dictionary of Pagan Terms

Altar: A special surface or place set aside for magical workings and/or religious acknowledgement

Amulet: An object charged by magick for use like a charm. Usually for protection.

Ankh: (pronounced "ahnk") The Egyptian symbol for life, love and reincarnation.

Athame: (pronounced "Ah-tham-ee" or "Ath-ah-may") A black handled, double-edged blade knife used in Wiccan Rituals. It is used for directing personal powers and is rarely ever used to cut anything in the physical plane.

Balefire: An outdoor fire that is lit for magical purposes and celebrations.

Bane: Evil, destructive, poisonous. That which is dangerous.

Banish: To send away or end something magically.

Beltane: See "Days of Power"

Besom: Broom

Bind: To restrain something or someone magically.

Bolline: A curved, white-handled knife. The bolline is used in magical workings for cutting herbs, inscribing candles, etc.

Book of Shadows: A special book of spells, magical lore, dreams and rituals etc. A magical journal kept by a witch. Each one different from another as they are all relevant to their users.

Censer: An incense burner. A heat-proof container where incense is burned. It symbolizes the element of air.

Charge, To: To fill something with personal power or energies.

Chakras: The Base (red), Sacral (orange), Solar Plexus (yellow), Heart (green), Throat (blue), Brow (indigo) and the Crown (violet) chakras all together form the seven major energy centres found in the human body.

Cleansing: The act of removing negative energies from an object, person or place.

Consecration: The act of blessing an object by filling it with positive energies. Usually so that it may be used within the magick circle.

Coven: A closely formed group of witches that may come together to perform rituals. Usually consisting of 3 to 13 individuals however nowadays covens can be known to be larger.

Dedication: A ritual in which a person dedicates themselves to their chosen path.

Deity: A Goddess or God chosen to worship.

Deosil: (pronounced "Jess-ill" or "Dee-o-sill") Clockwise. To walk 'deosil' around the circle. In the direction of the sun's motion in the sky. The opposite to "widdershins"

Divination: A magical art of using tools, symbols, patterns etc to collect information about a person - be it their past, present or future. Some forms of divination are Tarot, Dowsing, reading Tea-leaves etc.

Earth Magic: Magic where the powers and energies of the Mother Earth are used. (The energies within the stones, flames, the wind, herbs etc)

Elder: Experienced individuals who oversee the goings on in a coven.

Elements: Earth, Air, Fire, Water and the fifth element Spirit or 'Akasha'. Everything that exists contains at least one of these. Together they are used to create change via magick.

Esbat: See "Days of Power"

Evocation: To call something (spirits or deities) out from within, to form a visible appearance or an invisible attendance.

Familiar: An animal that has a spiritual bond with a witch. Often seen fictionally as a cat, however it can be any creature, even one from the astral plane.

Green Man: A God aspect, the Lord of the Woodlands. The Green Man is the very familiar face of the man's face with leaves and twigs for his hair. (Usually Oak leaves)

Grimoire: The Grimoire is a magical workbook. It contains all sorts of information a witch may wish to keep, like ritual information, herbal information, ingredients for potions and brews. And much more. Many witches keep a Herbal Grimoire.

Handfasting: The marriage ceremony of a Wiccan, Pagan or Gypsy.

Imbolc: See "Days of Power"

Initiation: The process of introducing a new individual to a group or coven. (Which might I add does not usually happen immediately. Covens are very closely packed and it takes time before the members and the individual are ready to make this step.)

Invocation: To invite a higher power, usually that of the Elements, the God or the Goddess. When we invoke the Goddess and the God at the beginning of a ritual. We invite them to join us, to lend us their energies and powers.

Karma: "What goes around comes around" Karma is a belief system that you get what you give. 

Litha: See "Days of Power"

Lughnassadh: See "Days of Power"

Mabon: See "Days of Power"

Magic / Magick: The art of focusing our emotions and will, gathering and using natural energies, giving them a purpose, and releasing them to create needed change.

Magical Circle: The sacred place in which rituals are usually held.  The term "Magical Circle" is actually incorrectly labeled, as the sacred space actually extends both above and below the ground in a full sphere.

Meditation: Relaxing one's body and focusing one's mind on a specific target or goal. Meditation is also a quiet time when one can reflect on one's thought's and needs.

Magical Correspondences: Objects, items, days, colors, moon phases, oils, angels, and herbs used in a ritual or magical working.

Midsummer: See "Days of Power"

Neo_Pagan: A New Pagan. One who follows one of the newer Pagan paths. 

Ostara: See "Days of Power"

Pagan: A follower of Nature based religion. Pagan comes from the Latin "Paganus", meaning "Country Dweller". Pagan is a term used to describe Shamans,  Druids, Wiccans, Heathens and other polytheistic religions. However, the Christian Holy Bible terms (quite incorrectly) all that do not worship their God, a Pagan.

Pentacle: A ritual object. Usually a stone or a piece of wood with a pentagram (See "Pentagram") inside a circle carved on it. Many Pagans wear the Pentacle as a symbol of their beliefs. (see also " The Pentacle")

Pentagram: Often confused with the Pentacle, the pentagram is a five pointed star (without the circle around it.) Upright, the Pentagram symbolizes the five elements Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit. Inverted (pointing down,) it was originally the symbol of the God as a goat's head. Not at all a Satanic Symbol! The official symbol of the Church of Satan is actually the Sigil of Baphomet, not the simple inverted pentacle. (see also " The Pentacle")

Priestess: A Priestess is a female dedicated to both the service of her chosen deity and humankind. All female Wiccans are priestesses. In a coven setting there may be a High Priestess, a female witch within a coven who has been initiated into the 3rd degree, who acts as a chair person for the coven and the female leader in rituals. She also plays the role of the Goddess in certain ceremonies. 

Priest: As for "Priestess" but a male. In a coven setting there may be a High Priestess, a male witch within a coven who has been initiated into the 3rd degree, he is the male leader and acts as the God in certain ceremonies.

Reincarnation: Many Wiccans believe in reincarnation. It is the process of the soul repeating the process of life. A belief system that one's soul lives many life times in order to grow and learn.

Ritual: A ceremony, a specific for of movement, manipulation of objects, or inner process taken to create desired effects. In Wicca, the ritual is the ceremony in which the God and Goddess are honored, a sabbat is celebrated, or energy is focused towards a specific goal. 

Runes: A set of symbols that are used for divination and magical purposes. Runes from different origins have different symbols and meanings. They are mainly remnants of old Teutonic alphabets. Many Wiccans write a copy of their Book of Shadows in Runes.

Sabbat: Wiccan festival. See "Days of Power"  

Samhain: See "Days of Power"

Scrying: A divination method that uses tools such as a crystal ball, mirror, etc. By gazing into the object, the individual is able to "see" images or gain information about a specific person, place, or object.

Skyclad: Working rituals or performing magic in the nude.

Spell: The extension of mental and emotional energy in order to accomplish a specific goal. A spell can be written, spoken, drawn, etc. (See also "Magic")

Talisman: An object that has been ritually charged with power in order to bring something to the bearer.

Tarot Cards: (Pronounced without the "t" at the end.) A form of divination. A set of 78 cards with symbols and pictures on them. The cards are divided into sets. Usually Swords, Cups, Wands, Pentacles together make the Minor Arcana. There are also 22 Major Arcana cards all with their own numbers which don't belong to any suit. The cards are used to connect the user with the collective unconscious in order to get information about a person or situation.

Visualization: Forming mental images using the conscious mind. These images can be to direct personal power and natural energies during magical purposes. 

Wheel of the Year: The story of Pagan year.  See "Days of Power"

Widdershins: Anticlockwise motion. The opposite to "Deosil" 

Witch: A witch is quite literally someone who practices magic. This is easily confused with Wiccans. But not all Wiccans practice magic and are therefore not Witches. And vice versa, not all Witches worship deities and are not Wiccans. Although having said that, most Wiccans are Witches.

Witchcraft: Magic: The craft of the Witch. Witchcraft is NOT a religion, - It is a practice.