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PAGANS/NEO-PAGANS: Follower of a nature-based religion. The term
Neo-Pagan
means "new Pagan" and is not a popular term. It seems to be a
direct result of the New Age lingo.
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PANTHEON: A Collection or group of Gods and Goddesses in a particular
religious or mythical structure. Example are: Greek pantheon, Roman
pantheon, Egyptian pantheon, Teutonic pantheon, etc.
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PENDULUM: A divinatory
device consisting of a string attached to a heavy object,
such as a quartz crystal, root or ring. The free end of the string
is held in the hand, the elbow steadied against a flat surface, and a
question is asked. The movement of the heavy object's swings
determines the answer. A rotation indicates yes or positive
energy. A back and forth swing signals the opposite.
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PENTACLE: A circle surrounding a five-pointed, upright star (known as
a pentagram). Worn as a symbol of a Witch's belief and used in magickal
workings and ceremonies. Each point on the star has a specific meaning:
Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit. Pentacles are never worn inverted in
the Craft. Witches consider this blasphemy of their faith. However, an
inverted pentagram is used in some second degree initiations, not to
indicate evil, but to fulfill a function of growth.
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PERSONAL POWER: That energy
which sustains our bodies. It ultimately originates from the Goddess and
God, rather the power behind Them. We first absorb it from our
biological mothers within the womb and, later, from food, water, the
Moon and Sun and other natural objects. We release personal power during
stress, exercise, sex, conception and childbirth. Magic is often a
movement of personal power for a specific goal.
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POLARITY: The
concept of equal, opposite energies. The Eastern ying/yang is a perfect
example. Ying is cold; yang is hot. Other examples of polarity:
Goddess/God, night/day, Moon/Sun, birth/death, dark/light, Psychic
Mind/Conscious Mind.
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PRECOGNITION: Knowing that an event will take place
before it actually occurs.
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PRIESTESS: A female dedicated to both the service of her chosen
Deity(ies) and humankind. a High Priestess is the feminine leader of a
coven or Wiccan organization and plays the role of Goddess in certain
ceremonies. A solitary Witch can be a Priestess by dedicating herself to
a particular God or Goddess.
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PROJECTIVE HAND, The:
The hand that is normally used for manual activities
such as writing, peeling apples and dialing telephones is symbolically
thought to be the point at which Personal Power is sent from the body.
In ritual, personal power is visualized as streaming out from the palm
or fingers of the hand for various magickal goals. This is also
the hand in which tools such as the Athame and Wand are held.
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PROPHECY: Predicting future events.
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PRIEST: A male dedicated to both the service of his chosen
Deity(ies)
and humankind. a High Priest is the male leader of a coven or Wiccan
organization and plays the role of the God in certain ceremonies.
Note: Neither male nor female has dominion over the other in the
Craft. The High Priest and High Priestess in a coven environment should
work as a balanced team. On occasion they draw the energy of the God and
Goddess respective to their sex in order to further a positive magickal
working or celebrate a holiday. These people must be skilled in magick
and ceremony, but they also need maturity, wisdom and a great deal of
humility. They are required to be diplomatic and merciful when the
situation demands. Their job is not an easy one. You will hear reference
to the Great Rite, wherein the High Priest and High Priestess magickally
draw the energy of the God and Goddess through sexual interaction,
either simulated or real. However, if intercourse actually takes place,
it is almost always done in privacy, out of sight of the other coven
members. In the 1970s sexual intercourse among coven members was
prominent in some traditions. In the 1990s with the threat of the AIDS
virus and society's shift to more conservative views on sexuality,
actual intercourse is not as widely practiced. Sex magick is NOT a
requirement for any individual to practice Witchcraft.
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PROJECTIVE ENERGY: That which is electrical, forward-moving, active.
Projective energy is protective. See also Receptive Energy.
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PSYCHIC ATTACK:
To be attacked by astral entities, by
another human who is astral traveling or by another human who is using
negative thought or magick against you.
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PSYCHIC CENTRES:
The chakras.
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PSYCHIC MIND: The
subconscious or unconscious mind, in which we receive psychic impulses.
The psychic mind is at work when we sleep, dream and meditate. It is our
direct link with the Goddess and God and with the larger, non-physical
world around us.
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PSYCHISM: The act of being
consciously psychic, in which the Psychic Mind and Conscious Mind are
linked and working in harmony. Ritual Consciousness is a form of
psychism.
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PSYCHOMETRY: Reading the vibrations of an object in
order to divine things about its owner or of the objects history.
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RECEPTIVE ENERGY:
The
opposite of Projective Energy; magnetic, soothing, attracting
energy often used for meditation, promoting love, calm and
quiet.
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RECEPTIVE
HAND:
The left hand in right-handed
persons, the reverse for left-handed persons. This is the
hand through which energy is received into the body.
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REINCARNATION:
The doctrine of rebirth. The process of
repeated incarnations in human form to allow evolution of the
sexless, ageless soul.
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RITUAL:
Ceremony. A specific form of movement,
manipulation of objects or inner processes designed to produce
desired effects. In religion, ritual is geared toward
union with the divine. In Magick it produces a specific
state of consciousness which allows one to move energy toward
needed goals.
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RITUAL
CONSCIOUSNESS: A specific,
alternate state of awareness necessary to the successful
practice of magick. One achieves this through the use of
Visualization and Ritual. It denotes a state in which the
Conscious Mind and Psychic Mind are attuned, in which one senses
energies, gives them purpose and releases them toward the
magickal goal. It is a heightening of the senses, an
awareness-expansion of the seemingly non-physical world, a
linking with nature and with the forces behind all conceptions
of Deity.
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RUNES: A set of symbols that are used both in divination and
magickal workings. There are several types of runes with
different origins. A few are the Norse, Scandinavian and
Germanic runes. Unlike the Tarot, they are an integral part of
the magickal system with its own pantheon, should you care to
use it. They can function as an alphabet and are useful in
vision questing, dream recall and controlling your environment.
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SABBAT: A
Pagan festival.
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SAMHAIN:
("sOW-wen" or
"sOW-een"
or
"SAH-win").
A
Pagan festival celebrated on October 31st, also known as November Eve,
Halloween, All Hallows Eve, Feast of Souls, Feast of the Dead, Feast of
Apples. Samhain
marks the symbolic death of the Sun God and his passing into the
"Land of the Young", where
he awaits rebirth of the Mother
Goddess at Yule.
For a more indepth
explanation, please refer to my "Sabbats" page.
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SCRYING: To
gaze at or into an object (a quartz crystal sphere, pool of water,
reflections, a candle flame) to still the Conscious Mind and to contact
the Psychic Mind. This allows the scryer to become aware of
possible events prior to their actual occurrence, as well as of previous
or distant, simultaneous events through other than the normally accepted
senses. A form of Divination.
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SCOURGE:
A tool of discipline, the scourge may be used to generate
energy through scourging (flogging) of the back and buttocks, to
stimulate the muladhara chakra and bloodflow.
A symbol of mental discipline.
Scourges or flails are part of the standard Craft ritual tool but little
is said about its use. It is most often seen held in the "Osiris"
position by the priestess. It is used when blessing/welcoming people
into the circle as well as during ritual to help increase power. It is
said that power seems to exude from the body via the skin and so use of
the scourge stimulates and excites this release of power while still
retaining control.
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SHAMAN: A
man or woman who has obtained knowledge of the subtler dimensions of the
Earth, usually through periods of alternate states of consciousness.
Various types of Ritual allow the shaman to pierce the veil of the
physical world and to experience the realm of energies. This knowledge
lends the shaman the power to change her or his world through Magick.
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SHAMANISM:
The practice of shamans, usually ritualistic or magickal in nature,
sometimes religious.
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SICKLE
OR KERFAN/SCYTH/CURVED BLADE:
Commonly used as a cutting implement, with the action one of releasing
and freeing trapped energy (such as when a plant is cut... the energy is
sent to the Gods or blessed upon the assembly). Used for harvesting
particular plants and herbs at particular parts of the year. Shaped like
the cresent moon. In mythology, it's made of gold. This is impractical
for anything except ritual use because of how soft gold is.
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SIGIL: A magickally oriented seal, sign, glyph, or other
device used in a magickal working. The most powerful sigils are
those that you create yourself. Sigils can be used on letters,
packages, clothing, on paper tucked in your pocket, etc.
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SIMPLE FEAST, The:
A Ritual meal shared with the Goddess and God.
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SKY FATHER: Assigning deification to the sky as a male entity.
Although shamanistic in its origin, it compliments Earth Mother
perfectly. Sky Father is also used by several Native American
belief systems.
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SKYCLAD: In some traditions, for example the Alexandrian, it
is the act of celebrating or doing a magickal working in the
nude. This should not be misconstrued with sexual contact. There
are many solitaries that prefer to work sky clad, feeling that he
absence of clothing leaves their energy unhindered during the
ceremony.
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SOLSTICE:
One day in December and the other day in June, the
Earth's axis is tilted most directly toward (and away from) the sun.
Around June 21 and December 22 (on or about),
when the North pole is pointed sun ward, people in the northern
hemisphere experience the longest day and shortest night of the year.
This day is the summer solstice. The word solstice is Latin in origin
and solstice means, that the sun stood still. A little before and during
the winter and summer solstices, the sun appears to rise and set at
almost exactly the same places.
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SUMMER SOLSTICE/MIDSUMMER:
A Pagan holiday...
June 21st marks the
longest day of the year. Midsummer is a classic time for magick of all
kinds. A celebration of passion and success.
From the moment of Midsummer, the Sun begins immediately to wane. The
journey into the harvest season has begun.
For a more indepth explanation, please refer to
my "Sabbats" page.
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SPELL: Extended mental and emotional energy spoken aloud,
written, spoken to oneself, drawn or even danced. To work, it
should be clear, concise, focused and emotional. The need must
be present to bring any spell to a successful culmination.
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SILVER CORD: The connecting line of energy between the
astral and physical bodies.
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SPIRITS OF THE
STONES, THE: The
elemental energies naturally inherent at the four directions of the
Magic Circle, personified within the Standing Stones Tradition as the
"Spirits of the Stones." They are linked with the Elements.
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SUCCUBUS/SUCCUBI:
Female astral entities who try to
engage in sexual activities with humans.
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Midi
"Butterfly"
is
used with permission
and is copyright © 2001 Bruce
DeBoer
Magick
- Whispers©2001
- All Rights Reserved
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