T

Talisman An object (stone, metal, paper, etc.) which is meant to attract, channel, or act as a battery for some type of force or energy in order to perform a specific function. A formally made talisman is created and “charged” ritually, often under special conditions (time of day, astrological influence, and so forth). However, a talisman can be any object, which has assumed special significance or seems to produce miraculous results. Many talismans are said to function by the power of a spirit (often bound to the talisman) or the beneficence of a deity. An amulet is a talisman that is hung from a necklace.

Tan-Tien (CHI) A series of cavities where (internal) alchemical operations are performed in the development of Chi-Kung. See Chi-Kung; Wai Tai.

Tantra (SKT) Rgyud (TIB), “continuity”.

1. In general, tantra may refer to different kings of texts describing ritual or codified practices. In specific, tantras refer to various texts relating to the practice of laya yoga detailing ritual worship of deities with an emphasis on developing magical powers and abilities.

2. Tantra also refers to continuity of practice while on a path of enlightenment. The seeker must realize that the basic nature, the Suchness which give birth to samsara, is also the cause of the path of Buddhahood. Everything is part of this continuity. For the seeker, this means that body, speech, mind—indeed, everything, however seemingly impure or confused—is included in the path. This is why tantric practices span every conceivable form of human endeavor.

The word tantra originally meant a loom, or the long threads on it. In the West, tantra is usually associated with sexual yoga. Most sexual yoga consists of techniques for retaining and channeling sexual energies (related in most cultures to health, regeneration, and longevity). These primary physical techniques may also be combined with various practices used to consecrate the sexual act and to aid in viewing one’s sexual partner as a god or goddess, transforming sex into a conscious embodiment of cosmic process. See Magick; Sexual Magick; Yoga.

Tao (CHI) Literally “way.” The Absolute, or noumenal reality. The One which brought forth the Ten Thousand Things. The union of yin and yang. Beyond attribute, the Tao is described, at best, in mysterious terms. Leo Tze (a possibly mythical Chinese sage) is credited with writing the main text of Taoism, the Tao Ti Ching, or “Way of Changes.” In the Tao Te Ching it is written, “The Tao which can be spoken is not the true Tao.”

Tao Shu (CHI) The essence of Tao. The point at which all attributes and distinctions (the Ten Thousand Things) disappear.

Tarot A mantic system of divination using cards. The “standard” tarot deck consists of 22 trump cards, each card being attributed to one of the 22 Hebrew letters, and 72 cards divided into four suits. Each suit corresponds to one of the four elements, the four-qabalistic worlds, and the four letters of the Tetragrammaton. The 72 cards as a whole are also attributed to the 72 quinqnces of the Zodiac. The pictorial interpretations differ greatly, as do the order and meanings assigned to various cards. Though tarot cannot be traced with certainty until towards the end of the Middle Ages, many authorities (Crowley among them) believe the tarot to be a remnant of the Egyptian Book of Thoth. The term “tarot” is now used informally to refer any deck of cards used for divination. There are many new decks available using every conceivable mythos and cultural context. Many of these decks have no relation to traditional tarot structure, being without trump cards or suits. Others differ in the number of cards or suits.

Tasseography A form of divination by reading tea leaves.

Tathagatas (SKT) De-bzhin-gshegs-pa (TIB), “thus come” or “thus gone.” In general, “tathagata” is a term for Buddha. Often used to refer to the five tathagatas, or the five Buddhas who are attributed to the five worlds and states of enlightenment. In some systems, each of these Buddhas is pictured in eternal union (yab-yum) with a female counterpart. See Ascended Mater; Boddhisatva.

Tattwas (SKT) Literally “That-nes.” Usually used to refer to the five elements Prithivi (Earth), Apas (Water), Vayu (Air), Tejas or Agni (Fire), and Akasha (ether). However, in samkhya yoga, there are 25 tattwas (or categories) which arise out of the gunas and comprise a cycle of evolution.

	1. Purusha 2. Prakriti 3. Mahat, or Buddhi 4. Ahankara	Pure consciousness Basic substance (the undifferentiated Gunas) Cosmic consciousness resulting from the action of purusha upon the gunas The “I” maker, archetypal ego
The Six Senses	5. Sight 6. Hearing 7. Smell 8. Taste 9. Touch 10. Manas (mind as organizing faculty)	Dominated by Sattva-Guna
The Five Motor Organs>	11. Hnads 12. Feet 13. Speech organs 14. Excretory organs 15. Generative organs	Dominated by Rajas-Guna
The Five Potentials (Tanmatras)	16. Light 17. Sound 18. Smell 19. Taste 20. Touch	Dominated by Tamas-Guna
The Five Atoms	21. Earth 22. Water 23. Fire 24. Air 25. Ether	The reflection of the tanmatras in matter

See Guna

Telekinesis A form of psychokinesis, which involves moving objects with the mind without ever physically coming in contact with them.

Telepathy Unspoken (psychic) communication between two minds.

Temurah (HEB) Permutation. The practice in qabalah of using pre-established codes and tables for the permutation of the letters of words or names in order to find meaning in the relationship of one word to another. This is most often practiced upon Hebrew scripture. The Aiq Bekar is an example of one of the tables used for temurah. Temurah is considered part of the “literal qabalah.” See Aiq Bekar; Qabalah.

Tetragrammaton The Holy Ineffable Name of God, YHWH, or Yahweh (the divine name which was mistranslated by the King Jmaes translators as “Jehovah”). The name YHWH means literally “He is.” The term Tetragrammaton means “the name of four letters.” The term was used, except during ritual, so as not to profane the Name. The title Adonai, meaning Lord, is substituted for YHWH by devout Jews. Various concepts have been attributed to the four letters:

Letter	Element	World	Personification
Yod	Fire	Atziluth (origination)	Father
He	Water	Briah (creation)	Mother
Vau	Air	Yetzirah (formation)	Son
He	Earth	Assiah (materialization)	Daughter

See Ineffable Name; Logos; Lost Word.

Thaumaturgy Miracle working. Magick used to make overt changes in the material world. See Kischuph; Magick.

Thelema A Religious belief that is founded on magic within the Christian pantheon.

Themis The daughter of Uranus (the heavens) and Gaea (earth), and the mother of the Three Fates in Greek Mythology. Themis was one of the 12 Titans. See Moerae; Titans.

Theurgy From the Greek words theos, “god,” and ergon, “work.” Magick words used to grow closer to God or become more godlike, to make changes for personal evolution and spiritual growth. The sacrament of the host could be considered a form of theurgy. See Magick

Third Eye The organ of spiritual perception. The brow center or ajna chakra. Above and behind the eyes, the third eye is frequently thought to be or to be part of the pineal gland. The pineal gland is connected to the visual cortex. See Ajna; Chakra.

Thought-form A mental image solidified in astral substance by will applied to visualization. Supposedly, an adept may build an objective image through intense concentration, producing seeming actualities. A thought-form may also be made into a “magickal body” as a vehicle for the consciousness during astral projection. Some say that thought-forms can also embody the collective will of a magickal group. See Astral Projection; Egrigor; Phastasmata; Simulacrum.

Three-fold Law A Wiccan principle which originated from the teachings of Gerald Gardner. It states that any action made by a person will be returned back to them three times as powerfully, whether the action is good or bad. By this law, you are encouraged to do good things so that you will be rewarded later on with three times the benevolence, as opposed to bad things which result in thrice the consequence. Similar to The Universal Law of Justice.

Thunderbolt of Jupiter The Fire of the Philosophers. See Ignis Leonis

Tiamat The Babylonian goddess of the primeval chaos ocean, usually described as an immense dragon. She was eventually slain by Marduk and split in two, one half becoming heaven and the other half becoming earth. This myth is reflected in the Norse myth of Odin and the giant Ymir, and the Christian traditon of Michael’s defeat of the Great Serpent. Cthulhu, the elder god of H. P. Lovecraft’s fiction, is based on the archetype of Tiamat. See Cthulhu Mythos; Ouroboros.

Titan The “first race” to rule earth in Greek mythology, before the rise of the 12 great Olympians. The 12 Titans represented the primeval forces of nature. They can be grouped roughly into male and female pairs:

Male	Female	Aspect
Oceanus	Tethys	The Sea
Hyperion	Thia	The Sun
Crius	Eurybia (Mnemosyne)	Memory
Coeus	Phoebe	The Moon
Kronos	Rhea	Time and Harvests
Iapetus	Themis	Fate and Justice

See Elder God

Totem An animal, mythic creature, or object that symbolizes or embodies the unity of a clan or family group, and is considered sacred. See Icon; Idol.

Traditions Sects or groups which practice various paths of pagamism. Each tradition has a different set of rules and guidelines by which it follows, so when one chooses a tradition, one much be aware of the facets of the tradition and believe that the system suit them best. Some examples of traditions are Druidism, Gardnerian, Alexandrian, Celtic, Faery, and Strega.

Transmutation The work of alchemy, changing base metals and elements into precious things.

Tree Calendar A Druidic/Celtic system that recognizes 13 lunar months, each represented by a sacred tree.

Tribindu (SKT) The three seeds or essences:

Bindu	Shonabindu	Sitabindu	Misrabindu
Color	Red	White	Mixed
Guna	Rajas	Tamas	Sattva
Western Alchemical Principle	Sulfur	Salt	Mercury

See Guna

Trigrams Eight figures representing mixtures of the archetypal opposites, yin and yang, each comprised of three broken or unbroken lines. The figures are used in the Chinese work, I Ching, to form that basis of the 64 hexagrams. See I Ching; Hexagram.

Triple Goddess The three faces of the goddess- Maiden, Mother, and Crone. These are represented by the symbol of the triple goddess, which resembles a crescent moon facing left (maiden), a full moon (mother), and a crescent moon fact right (crone).

True Will A term used by Aleister Crowley for the quality of being in harmony with the will of the Higher Self. In other terms, it could be said that your true will is that which combines your will with the will of God. One can also think of true will in terms of destiny. The place or task in life which one is born most fitted to. This does not necessarily mean the task you have been trained the most for, or the social place others see as most appropriate. True will transcends fear, hesitancy, indecision, impedance, and even morality. One who does their true will may seem good or may seem evil, but will have the quality of momentum and seeming inevitability to their actions. See Augoeides; Higher Self; Dharma.

Tselem (HEB) The astral body. In some systems, the tselem has a divine half or duplicate in the archetypal world, Atziluth. Through application of the magical will the lower tselem may be transmuted into the higher and eternal tselem. See Adam Kadmon; Augoeides.

Tulku (TIB) A Tulku is an incarnation (manifesting the spiritual qualities) of a previous enlightened being or teacher. Power over the circumatances of rebirth is thought to be one of the attainments of a Bodhisattva upon reaching the eighth bhumi (stage). The most common form of tulku is said to be a “blessed” tulku. This occurs when a realized being transfers their spiritual energy to the karmic stream of another advanced but not yet enlightened individual. However, the energy of a previous teacher may supposedly be divided into multiple incarnations. The five tulkus of Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye were said to embody that teacher’s body, speech, mind, quality, and action. See Avatara; Reincarnation.

Tumo gTum.Mo (TIB); Candali (SKT). A meditation technique used by the Tibetan Buddhists to channel the secret fire or heat produced in the navel center. Mastery of tumo enables the adept to remain warm without fire or clothing. Milarepa was one of the Tibetan masters most famous for use of tumo. The Tibetan word repa means “cotton clad” and refers to the small amount of plain cotton clothing worn by the sage, even in winter. Supposedly, a tumo practitioner can melt snow within a ten-foot circle. See Candali

Tun Wu (CHI) A Ch’an Buddhists term for satori. See Satori

Tzu Hua (CHI) The following of a thing’s own principle of being. Harmony. The Tao. See Tao

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