Waking Dreams: Dreams that occur at the moment of waking. A person’s vibration is at its highest point during these times, and messages can be shared from otherworldly sorts, transferring to a person in the form of a dream. These communications can often hold significance, and so one should pay attention and write the experience down so it is not forgotten.
Waking Hypnosis: A state where an individual is under hypnosis but appears to be fully awake and functional. With the prompting of a hypnotherapist, the person can display odd mannerisms, yet they believe that their behavior is normal. An excellent example of this is when celebrity hypnotherapists perform shows in front of auditoriums and select individuals from the crowd to take part. When the person hears a trigger command from the hypnotherapist, they might cluck like a chicken or jump out of their seat because it feels too hot to sit on. These people appear fully compos mentis but, in fact, are in a trance.
Walk-in: (See also Possession and Vacated Body.) An otherworldly entity entering the body of a human being. This can occur when the individual’s soul leaves the physical body when astral traveling. The soul of a dead spirit can occupy and take over the human, leaving the original soul in limbo.
Wand: Represents the Wiccan symbol for air. A staff made from wood or crystal used by witches, magicians, or practitioners for religious ceremonies. This typically long, thin instrument is held in one hand to project and transfer powerful energy in a chosen direction. A witch’s wand was traditionally made from ash, apple, hazelwood, hawthorn, willow, and yew. For ceremonial purposes, it should measure from the elbow to the tip of the fingers. Spell casters often cast a circle over an altar before a ritual commences to enclose the items in a circular, positive energy.
Warlock: A folkloric term no longer referred to by modern-day practitioners. A man who performs magic for both good and evil intent. The male equivalent to a witch.
Warning Dream: To dream of something that might spell danger. Usually, these sleeping prophecies are sent from otherworldly entities, forewarning the individual of events that are likely to take place. The dreamer might be able to change their course of action, avoiding any problematic situations that may occur. An example of this could be a dream that one’s partner is unfaithful or that a person associated with a family member is not as lovely as they appear. (Shields, 2017.)
Wart Charmer: An individual who possesses the ability to rid a person of warts. Ancient folklore reports that “wise women” of the day would purchase someone’s wart by pointing at it and saying, “I will buy this wart from you.” She would then offer a coin to the sufferer, and soon after, the wart would disappear. Often, the charmer would end up with the wart they purchased. Others would rub red meat on the affected area before burying the meat in the ground.
Weather Witch: Witches who worship the elements and collect rain or stormwater and snow to use in their spells. They will often pull on the magic of lightening to enhance their magic.
Wendigo: In Algonquian folklore, the wendigo is described as a fifteen-foot monster with some characteristics of a human being. Descriptions vary, but many legends refer to it as a cannibalistic human who has transformed into a giant skeletal monster, which devours the flesh of human beings. (DHWTY, 2016.)
Werewolf: Occasionally referred to as “lycanthropy.” A person who can shape-shift into a wolf during a full moon. The werewolf appears in many legends throughout the world, from Greek mythology to European folklore and spreading as far as Asia. Folklore tells us that these creatures become monsterlike through being bitten by a werewolf or from drinking contaminated water. In the early fifteenth century, belief in werewolves spread throughout Europe and played a small part in the medieval witch hunts. Belief in werewolves subsided in the eighteenth century.
Werzelya: Ethiopia. Sister of Saint Susenyos who, unlike her brother, was a vampirelike demon. She married Satan and gave birth to a daughter. Believing her child might possess magical abilities, Werzelya slaughtered her and drank her blood. Werzelya became a shape-shifter and spent her life causing illness and suffering to others through mind control.
Whammy: Staring intently into the eyes of an individual, influencing their thoughts, mindset, and actions.
White Light: A spiritual light, pure in its principle, containing only love and perfection. This light is often seen by those who have had near-death experiences.
White Magic: Using magic and spell casting with selfless intent. People who practice white magic will only ever work for the greater good. They will not indulge in any self-centered behavior or cast spells for personal gain or to harm and hinder others.
White Noise: A noise that contains several frequencies with corresponding forces. Psychics and mediums often meditate while listening to white noise and will detect voices and messages from the spirit world.
Wicca: Wicca is a specific type of witchcraft that is nature-based and works with natural forces.
Wiccaning: A neopagan ceremony similar to that of a christening or baptism. Blessings are bestowed upon infants with a promise that the child will be raised in the Wiccan faith.
Wise Woman: A woman who possesses excellent psychic skills and is adept at making potions and healing medicines from herbs and plants. These women were often the midwives of medieval Europe or the person in the village whom everyone would go to in times of emotional or physical need. Today, many clairvoyants and psychics are considered “wise women,” helping and counseling their clients through difficulties in life. The term wise one is more commonly used today and depicts all genders.
Wish Boxes: Boxes of any size containing magical objects and trinkets that represent a person’s need. These boxes are assembled during a ritual while candles are burned. For each situation, the contents will be different. For example, to create a wish box to invoke romance, one would put in items such as glass hearts, pink feathers, lovage root, and written details about the partner they wish to summon. The boxes are kept in the home and opened daily with an incantation spoken over their contents.
Wishing: A belief that a thought is a living thing, and if one’s desires are sent out to the universe with the right intent, the wish will be granted.
Witch: A person who practices witchcraft or the ancient pagan religions. In modern-day terms, the word witch traditionally leans toward the female sex, depicting women on broomsticks with pointy hats, but witch can be a word for all genders. Those who profess to be witches usually have an interest in the supernatural and occult and perform rituals. They celebrate the eight Wiccan/pagan sabbats and practice either in a solitary fashion or in a group known as a “coven.”
Witch Bottle: A bottle made from glass containing items such as nail clippings, urine, and pins. In medieval times, these bottles were made to remove hexes and even placed inside the chimneys and brickwork of houses to ward off evil spirits.
Witch Doctor: The term witch doctor is used in a wide range of cultures across the world. In Africa, witch doctors can be highly revered members of a tribe. In Nepal and Northeast India, the Jhakri, whose practices are influenced by Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism, are the practitioners of Nepali Shamanism. The Jhakri treat illness and disease and perform rituals at funerals, weddings, and harvests.
Witch Types: (See also Angelic Witch, Blood Witch, Celtic Witchcraft, Druid, Eclectic Witch, Green Witchcraft, Hedge Witch, Kitchen Witch, Lunar Witch, Shamanism, Solitary Witch, and Weather Witch.) One who follows a specific type of witchcraft.
Witch’s Hat: A cone-shaped hat worn by witches that is usually black. The origin of the witch’s hat is not certain, but history tells us that in ancient times, people believed in the power of shapes, and these hats might have been designed to symbolize one reaching out to a higher intelligence. The hat was never favored by the church, which gave way to the hats being portrayed as some form of wickedness, representing the devil’s horn.
Witch’s Teat: A raised mole or skin tag on the body. In the British Isles during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Catholic and Protestant courts believed that these moles were associated with witchcraft, and so they condemned nearly one hundred thousand innocent people who had these moles to death. The marks were thought to be an extra nipple to feed the witch’s familiar, imp, or devil with the blood of the witch. Sadly, the people killed (hanged or burned at the stake) often consisted of the elderly, the poor, and the weak. (Andrews, 2019.)
White Sage: (See Sage.)
Wizard: Also called “mage” or “warlock.” A psychic person who performs magic and practices the ancient pagan traditions.
World Soul: A soul believed to be shared by all. It is the fundamental connection between all living things on the planet.
Wraith: An apparition of a ghost or spirit who shows themself to a person just before or after death.
Wow! Signal: In 1973, Ohio State University started using its radio observatory, known as “Big Ear,” to search for extraterrestrial radio transmissions. This was an early part of the SETI project (the search for extraterrestrial intelligence). On August 15, 1977, the observatory picked up a seventy-two-second burst of sound from the region of Sagittarius that seemed to bare the signs of an extraterrestrial communication. An astronomer named Jerry Ehman viewed the printed message, circled it, and wrote Wow! next to it, giving the message the name it has today. (Krulwich, 2010.)