Magickal Dictionary

I have collected these definitions from many different resources: websites, and the large number of books collecting in my room in order to provide the largest collection of terms for you to use.

adept - It refers to the person who is considered highly proficient in a particular magickal system after undergoing serious studies and accomplishments.

Akasha - It is the omnipresent spiritual power that permeates the universe. (the fifth element)

Akashic records- Psychic Edgar Cayce brought the thought that the mind of the psychic or Witch can access a giant data base for information on subjects (past lives, healing, and other magickal/spiritual practices) through Universal connections.

Astral Progjection: The act of separating the consciousness from the physical body and moving it about at will.

amulet - An object of protection that has been magickally charged to repel or defect specific negative energies and thought forms.

animism - It is the belief that natural objects, and Nature itself, are alive and conscious.

aspect - A form, facet, or persona of Deity.

aspergering - To sprinkle water mixed with salt for purification purposes.

astral - It is another dimension of reality.

astral travel - It is the process of separating your astral body from your physical one in order to travel in the astral plane.

attunement - An activity which brings the mind, emotion and psyche of an individual into harmony.

balefire - A fire lit outdoors for magickal purposes. It is traditional on Yule, Beltane and Midsummer.

bane - It is another word for bad, evil, dangerous, destructive. from Earth, Air, Fire & Water by Scott Cunningham: That which destorys life: poisonous, dangerous, destructive, evil. The term also includes negative habits as well as threats of all kinds.

banish - It is the act of magickally ending something or exorcising unwanted entities.

B.C.E. - Before Common Era. This is the non-religious equivalent to B.C. C.E. - Common Era, which is the equivalent to A.D.

bind - It is the act of magickally restrain something or someone.

blessed be - An all purpose greeting, response and farewell among Witches. It reminds us that everything and everyone is sacred.

Blood of the Moon - Basically it refers to a woman's menstrual circle. If the woman's menstrual circle occurs over a New or Full Moon, she is more powerful than during other times of the month.

call - It is the act of invoking divine forces.

cakes and ales - This is the ritual meal shared with the Goddess and God near the end of a religious ritual.

channeling - You allow an entity to "borrow" your body to speak to others either through writing or verbally.

charge, to - It is the act of magick in which you infuse an object with your personal power.

charms - They can be amulets or talismans charged by saying incantations over them to instil it with energy for a specific purpose.

centering - It is the process of moving one's consciousness to one's spiritual center.

Cone of Power - Psychic energy is raised or focused by either an individual or group mind to achieve a specific purpose.

Conscious Mind: The analytical, societally controlled, materialistic half of human consciousness. The Concious mind is at work when we add or subtract numbers, study a map, or struggle with ideas. Compare with Psychic Mind

cleasing - It is the act of removing any negative energy from an object or place by using positive, psychic energy.

consecration - It is the act of blessing an object or place by instilling it with positive energy.

coven - It is a group of 13 or fewer Witches that work together in an organized fashion for magickal purposes or to perform rites.

covenstead - It refers to the meeting place of the Witches. It can be a place or a building where the witch feels safe or at home.

cowan - Anyone who is not a Witch.

craft, the - Another word for Wicca or Witchcraft.

curse: a conscious direction of negative Energy toward a person, place or thing. Contrary to popular belief, curses are rare and usually have no effect. Also known as a psychic attack.

Days of Power - It refers to Sabbats, days triggered by astrological occurrences, your birthday, Blood of the Moon, and your dedication/initiation anniversary.

dedication - The process in which the Witch accepts the Craft as their path and vows to study and learn all the necessary to reach adeptship in a given tradition. This can be for a year and a day.

deosil - It is the clockwise movement. This movement is symbolic of life, positive energies, and good.widdershins refers to the counterclockwise movement. It is usually used for negative magick purposes or for dispersing negative energies.

divination - It is the art of using magickal tools and symbols to gather information from the Collective Unconcious on the nature of people, places, things, and events in the past, present, and future.

divine power - It is the pure energy that exists within the Goddess and God.

dowsing - The use of a pendulum or stick to find the actual location of a person, place, thing, or element.

Earth Magic: see natural magic

Earth power: That Energy existent within stones, herbs, flames, wind, streams, and other natural objects. In magic, Earth power is combined with Personal power

Elements, The: Earth Air, Fire, Water. These are the four energies of our planet. Everything that exists (of that has potential to exist) contains one or more of these enerygies. The elements hum within ourselves and are also "at large" in the world. They can be utilixed to cause changes through magic. The four elements are formed from the primal universal power--Akasha.

empowering - (See charge, to)

enchantment - A magickal object that must be kept absolutely secret and hidden from all human eyes and affects a hidden aura.

energy - It refers to the (yet immeasureable) power that exists within all natural objects and beings (including the human body).

earthing - To send excess energy into the Earth.

evocation - It is to call up spirits and other non-physical entities to appear either visible or invisible.invocation is to appeal or petition to a higher power (such as the Goddess and God).

fascination (mind-bending) - It is the mental effort to control an animal or another person's mind.

goal - Synonym of intent

Grounding: The process of temporarily shutting down Pyschic Awareness and reorienting the Concsious Mind to the material world. (Not my favorite deffinition...)

handfasting - A Wiccan or Pagan marriage ceremony (wedding).

immanence - It is the belief that Deity exists within all things, including people, and cannot be separated from them.

initiation - An experience that transforms the individual in such way that his/hers concept of personal and wordly reality are altered.

intent - It is the goal of the magickal work.

left-hand path - Those individuals who justify their use of magick for purposes that are not constructive. right-hand path is considered positive in nature.

Magic: The movement of natural Energies (such as personal power) to create needed change. Magic is the practice of "rousing"

Magical Voice, The: That which is used in pronouncing words during a spell. This is a strong, sure voice, free of doubt and insecurity. In some cases, the magical voice may also be a forced, powerful whisper.

Magick: And alternative spelling of magic. (The one I prefer, because it shows a difference, at least to me, between my magick, and stage magic.)

meditation - Another word for reflection, contemplation, turning inward toward the self or outward toward Deity.

Natrual magic: The practice of using Personal Power in conjunction with Earth Power to cause the needed change. Magic is a positive, loving, transforming process.

Neo-pagan - Literally it means "new pagan."

Need, the: The purpose of a Spell or Ritual; a vacuum or unhappy condition in the magician's life. The need may be love, health, happiness, peave, the banishment of harmful habits or thoughts, or one of many other changes.

Old Ones, the - A term used to emcompass the Goddess and God in all their aspects.

pagan - The individual is a follower of a nature-based religion.

pantheon - A collection or group of Gods and Goddesses in a particular religion or mythical structure.

Pentacle: A tool of magic, consisting of a disc inscribed with a five-pointed star.

Pentagram: A five pointed star, always drawn with one point upward. The pentagram is rich in symbolism: the five senses, the Elemtents combined with Akasha; the hand, the human body, the Element of earth and money, among other things. It has been used in magic, usually for protection, for at least 2,000 years. Today, it's often also frequently associated with Wicca. Through misinformation or the transmission of outright lies, the pentagram is sometimes believed to be a symbol of satansim. It has never possessed this symbolism and still doesn't, save in the mids of those that would twist and pervert its true meaning for their own benefit.

personal power - That energy that sustains our bodies. We first absorb it from our biological mother within the womb, and later from food, water, sunlight, and other natrual objects and sources. We release personal power during physical movement, exercise, sex, conception, childberth, emotion, thought, and Magic.

projective hand - The hand that is normally used for manual things (such as writing). receptive hand is the opposite. That is, if you are right-handed, then your receptive hand will be your left.

Psychic Awareness: The human state in which information from the Psychic Mind is available to the conscious Mind.

Psychic mind: The subconcious, unconscious or deep conscious mind in which we receice psychic impulses. The psychic mind is at work when we sleep, dream, meditate or look into the future. When the psychic mind and conscious mind are linked, we have access to information we couldn't otherwise obtain.

Receptive Hand: The opposite of the Projective hand, through which outside energies are absorbed into the body during magic.

rite - Another word for ritual.

ritual - Ceremony.

Scrying: The process of gazing at or into an object (a pool of water, flames, reflections) to still the Conscious mind and to contact the Psychic mind, to create psychic awareness.

simple feast - It is the ritual meal shared with the Goddess and God.

skyclad - It is the act of celebrating or doing magickal working in the nude. This is common in some traditions like Alexandrian and Gardnerian. Many solitaries prefer to work skyclad as well for they feel that clothes hinder their energies. However, I must warn you that this should not be misconstrued with sexual contact.

So Mote it Be or So Must It Be: An affermation that ends many chants and magical rhymes. This has been in common usage among folk magicians for many years. A transliteration might be: "So must it be," (though this isn't linguistically correct).

Spell: A magical Ritual usually involving spoken words.

talisman - It is an object that has been magickally charged to bring something to the bearer.

vision quest (pathworking) - It is the use of astral projection to accomplish a specific goal.

visualization - The process of forming mental images. Magical visualization consists of forming images of the magician's Need during Ritual. Visualization is also used to direct Personal Power and other forms of Energy for various purposes during Magic. Visualization is a function of the Conscious Mind.

webweaving - Networking with other magickal people through conversation, in writing, or by computer to gather information to mutually assist each other in their studies and life goals.

Wicca: A contemporary polytheistic religion with spiritual roots in the earliest expressions of reverence for nature as a manifestation of the divine. In other words, wicca is a modern relgion built around reverence for a Goddess and a God, which created all that exists, including the Earth. Wicca also embraces the practice of magic as a tool of personal and global transformation, and usually teaches the doctrine of reincarnation. Many wiccans identify with the word Witch.

Witch: Anciently, a European practitioner of the remnants of pre-Christian Natural Magic. One who practiced Witchcraft. This term's meaning was later deliberately altered to denote demented, dangerous, supernatural beings who practiced destruvtive magic and who threatened christianity. This was a political , financial, and sexist move on the part of the organized religion. Though this negative meaning is still currently accepted by many non-witches, it doesn't describe witches themselves, who simply practice non-threatening, living Natural Magic. The term Witch is also used by some members of Wicca to describe themselves.

Witchcraft: The craft of the witch. This is magic, especially magic that utilixes personal power in conjunction with earth power. From this definition, witchcraft isn't a religion. However, many followers of the religion of Wicca interchangeably use both terms to describe their religion.

taken from "The Working Witch" which is mantained by Raven Dance.