V

Vac (SKT) Literally “speech” or “word.” Cosmic reason or pattern, somewhat similar to the Greek idea of Logos. See Logos

Vajrayana (SKT) Rdo-r je-theg-pa (TIB). The Diamond Vehicle. Also called the Indestructable or Thunderbolt Vehicle. One of the purest of the Buddhist lines of transmission. See Yana

Vampirism The practice of subsisting on the vitality of another. Commonly this is blood; other times it is life force (sapped psychically). See Vapmirism page.

Varna (SKT) The principle that vibration is eternal and alive; hence, each letter of the alphabet is a deity (or can be viewed as one). See Mantra; Mantrika-Shakti.

Vayu (SKT) Vital airs. These are the forces which flow through the nadis of the subtle body and are channeled through the chakras to vitalize various automatic functions of the physical body. These life forces flow between the dense body and the etheric double. The etheric body stores the habits (sanskaras), which control the unconscious functions of the dense body. The vital airs flow most strongly when there is harmony between the various organs and their counterparts in the etheric double.
The Five Major Vital Airs

Vayu	Function	Center	Color
Prana	Strength and circulation	Heart	Yellow or coral
Apana	Elimination of waste	Anus	Red or orange
Samana	Digestion	Navel	Green or clouded milk
Udana	Respiration	Throat	Whitish-blue
Uyana	General health and vitality	Genitals	Pale rose

The Five Minor Airs

Vayu	Function
Naga	Vomiting
Kurma	Blinking
Krikala	Gastric secretion
Devadatta	Yawning
Dhanajaya	Distributing nourishment

Vayu is also the word for the airy tattwa, or elemental Air. See Chakra; Kosha; Nadi; Prana.

Vedanta (SKT) Literally “the end of the Vedas,” meaning the highest point or end development of the teachings of the Vedas. Vedantic philosophy is based on the concept that the physical universe is an illusion (maya) and that the only true reality is Brahma, the Absolute. The teachings of the Vedanta are drawn primarily from the Upanishads. See Vedas

Vedas (SKT) Veda means “knowledge.” The Vedas are the main source books of Hinduism. They consist primarily of five works:

Rig-Veda	Prayers and hymns in verse praising the soma-fire-nature deities
Yajur-Veda	Prayers in prose and various sacrificial formulas
Sama-Veda	Songs and prayers for chanting
Athara-Veda	Formulas for consecration, purification, spells, and assorted divination methods
The Upanishads	Mystical and philosophical commentary

The Brahmanas (rules and explanations of the ritual sacrifices) are also usually considered part of the Vedas. The Vedas form the basis of Vedantic jnana yoga and bhakti yoga practices. See Vedanta; Yoga.

Veil of Unknowing The boundary between the manifest and the unmanifest.

Virtues Magickal properties of objects such as herbs, stones, and creatures that was assigned to them during their divine creation.

Vishuddha Chakra (SKT) The throat center. The vishuddha chakra has 16 petals of violet color (some say the color of fire seen through smoke), each containing one of the 16 Sanskrit vowels. The center governs creativity and intellectual thought. It is attributed to ether, or spirit. See Chakra

Visualization

1.) Forming clear mental images often-used in magick to focus and direct energy to a visualized goal.
2.) Imagining a scene, a person, or an object with intense clarity. This is often done through a meditation with a written "visualization journey" which allows the practitioner to enter an imagined place to make personal discoveries.

Vitriol Any of certain metallic sulfates of glassy appearance, as of copper (blue vitriol), of iron (green vitriol), or of zinc (white vitriol). Sulfuric acid is sometimes called oil of vitriol. Oil of vitriol is traditionally used to etch divine names or symbols into ritual weapons (such as the anthame or sword) because of its alchemical associations. The word “vitriol” has also been made into this alchemical example of notariqon:

Visita Interiora Terrae, Recificando Invenies Occultem Lapidem
or
Visit the interior parts of the earth; by rectification thou shalt find the hidden stone.

Vodou Polytheistic religion derived from worship of gods in African systems and the beliefs of Catholicism combined. Practiced mainly by the West Indians.

Voodoo Alternate spelling of Vodou.

Vril A mysterious, universal force responsible for evolution and spiritual transformation. The fire of the gods. Bulwer-Lytton used the term in some of his occult novels. The concept influenced Wagner’s operas and eventually was used in the quasi-Masonic lodges, which flourished in Germany just prior to the rise of Nazism. Vril was part of the doctrine of Aryan superiority and was the force supposed to create the New Man, the Übermensch. Aspects of these doctrines still survive in the present-day German revival of Pranasophie, a cult mixing Odinism and Aryan Sun worship. See Elan Vital; Prana.

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