Some of the words in here may have only been touched upon briefly in the text. However, they are words which are in common use in the Craft and may well crop up in other books you have read or will read. Other words are also in common usage but have a particular meaning within the Craft, and that is the meaning I have given here.
| Asperger | A small bundle of (twigs tied together to form a mini-brush. An Asperger is used to sprinkle water, and sometimes oil, around an area. |
| Aspirant | A person who has joined that the Coven and has taken their Coven Oath, but has yet to take their First Degree Initiation, These are sometimes referred to as Neophytes. |
| Athame | The Witches’ knife or blade. Traditionally a black-handled knife with a double-edged blade nine inches long, the Athame is used when invoking and banishing the elements and other energies. The only thing an Athame should cut is air, or the wedding cake at a Handfasting. Some traditions hold that iron should not he taken into the Circle and hence, if they have an Athame it will not lie made with that metal. |
| Besom | The traditional Witches’ broomstick. This symbol of fertility is literally jumped during a Handfasting to signify the leap from one ‘life’ to the next. The Besom is also used to symbolically sweep the circle. |
| Boline | The white-handled knife. This is the working knife of the Witch and is used whenever any cutting, say of herbs, or carving of symbols is required. |
| Book of shadows | A personal record or journal of all your magical workings, and the thoughts, feelings and results that come from them. Gardnerian Witches refer to The Book of Shadows, which was written by Gerald Gardner together with some of his senior Coven members. |
| Candidate | A person who wishes to join the Coven, about whom the High Priestess has yet to make a decision. Some Candidates may be Initiates space of others Covens. |
| Censer | A heat-proof container for burning incense. A censer usually has a perforated lid, to the heat and vapours out, and chains so that it can be hung from a convenient hook, or even swung so that you can circulate the perfume. |
| Chalice | The Chalice is a symbol of the Goddess and can be made from wood, stone, glass or metal. It can be plain or ornate; what is important is that is contains the wine used in the Rite of Wine and Cakes, or in the Great Rite. |
| Circle | This defines the Sacred Space of the Witch. It is created whenever and wherever it is needed. Casting the Circle is just one part of creating the Sacred Space. A Coven would traditionally cast a Circle nine feet across, however, when working on your own it should be as small or large as your needs. |
| Coven | A group of three or more Witches (two would be a partnership). Coven size varies considerably, although some consider that a ‘proper’ Coven should be made up of six men, six women and the High Priestess.The Coven is the family group of the Witches. |
| Covenor | Any member of the Coven who has taken their Coven Oath, from Aspirant to High Priestess. |
| Covenstead | The home of the Coven, where most of the indoor meetings and Rituals will take place. The Covenstead is usually the High Priestess’s house. |
| Craft | One of the terms for Witchcraft, which has been rightly described as both an Art and a Craft. |
| Daughter Coven | The term used for a Coven which has been formed by a member of the original Coven, and is hence directly descended from the Mother Coven. |
| Deity | A Goddess or a God. The term ‘Deities’ is often used generically for all Goddesses and Gods, wherever they have come from. |
| Deosil | Clockwise or Sunwise. When setting up and working in your Sacred Space you should always move Deosil, unless you are undoing something |
| Divination | The techniques and ability to discover that which might otherwise remain hidden to us. The Tarot, Crystal Ball, Astrology, reading tea leaves, and many others are all forms of Divination. Witches tend to use the term Scrying, although strictly speaking this refers to the Dark Mirror, Cauldron, Fire or Witches’ Runes. |
| Divine | A broader term than Deity, the Divine encompasses both the Goddess and the God and includes those aspects which do not have a gender or a name. |
| Elements | The term Elements is often used to refer to Earth, Air, Fire and Water. However, it is important that the fifth element, that of Spirit, which we ourselves bring to the Circle, is not forgotten. The Elements are the keystones of the Craft and also refer to aspects of ourselves as well as energies around us. |
| Esbat | The Witches’ term for Full Moon meetings or workings. |
| Fith-fath | An image, usually created from wax or clay, of a person, made so as to direct magic towards that person. |
| Goddess and God | The female and male aspects of the Divine. However, the term ‘the Gods’ is often used to denote both. |
| Great Rite | This is the symbolic union of the Goddess and the God. Generally it is performed with the Chalice and Athame; the exceptions to this are between working partners and in some forms of initiation. |
| Handfasting | One of many Rites of Passage, Handfasting is the name for the Witches’ wedding. It differs from most ‘orthodox’ kinds of wedding in that both parties enter as equals and make their own individual vows to each other. Handfasting can be of different prearranged durations. |
| High Priestess/High Priest | The leader of a Coven is usually the High Priestess. She may lead jointly with her High Priest, but holds ultimate authority and responsibility. Some groups are run by the High Priest alone, usually where there is no female of sufficient experience to take this role. |
| Hive Off | The process by which one or more Witches from the Mother Coven set up their own group, with the blessing of the High Priestess of the Mother Coven. |
| Initiate | An Initiate of any degree, including the High Priestess. |
| Initiation | Initiation literally means ‘to begin’. However, in the Craft Initiation is seen as the permanent declaration an individual makes to their Gods. Many of the paths within the Craft refer to three degrees of initiation, each denoting a different level of attainment and ability. |
| Love | knowledge handed down from generation to generation. Originally oral tradition, a lot of the old lore is now finding its way into books. Much ancient lore was thought, in our scientific age, to be superstition, is now being proven and accepted. |
| Magic | The ability to create change by force of will. It is worth remembering that many things we take for granted, like electricity, would have been considered magic by our ancestors. |
| Mother Coven | The Coven that the High Priestess came from and/or the Coven from which the new Coven descends. |
| Occult | Literally the word means ‘hidden’. In medicine, ‘occult blood’ simply means blood that has been found through testing because it cannot be seen with the naked eye. Today, Occult is often used as a semi-derogatory term for anything which is not understood and is therefore feared. |
| Orthodox | A term I have used to identify those beliefs which people tend to think of as older than the supposedly new age beliefs, when in fact the reverse can be said to true. For example, people tend to think that Christianity is an older belief system than the modern Pagan beliefs, when in fact the origins of Paganism (including Witchcraft) vastly predate it. |
| Pagan | This is a generic term for a number of pre-Christian religions – Druids, Witches and Heathens to name a few, ‘Pagan’ probably comes from the work paganus, referring to those who didn’t live in the towns, a version of country-bumpkin if you like! Alternatively, it could come from the work pagus, being an administrative unit used by the occupying government. Either way, it was originally used as an insult, now it is a ‘label’ worn by many with pride. |
| Partnership | Two Witches who work together, They are frequently, but not always, a couple who are partners in daily life too. |
| Pathworking | A form of guided meditation in which you take a journey, which leads to an opportunity to discover more than you already know. Sometime also referred to as ‘interactive guided meditation’. |
| Pentacle | This is a five-pointed star with the points touching but not overlapping a circle. It symbolizes the five Elements together with the Circle of power. The Pentacle is worn by many Witches, but is also currently very fashionable, so you cannot be sure whether the wearer is of the Craft or not. |
| Pentagram | This is five-pointed star not enclosed in a circle, which also symbolizes the five Elements and, like the Pentacle (above), can also be worn. However, the main uses of the Pentagram are in invoking and banishing Pentagrams for each of the elements the most commonly used is the invoking Pentagram of Earth which is drawn by starting at the top point and moving deosil and continuously around the whole 5 points. As the invoking Pentagram must be complete, six lines are drawn, the last being a repeat of the first. |
| Priest and/or Priestess | In the Craft we are each our own Priest or Priestess, and need no one to intercede with or interpret our Gods for us. |
| Quarters | The four cardinal points of the compass – north, south, east and west – which are linked to the directions of the Elements. |
| Reincarnation | To believe in reincarnation is to believe that we return to this world many times, as many different individuals. |
| Rite | A small piece of Ritual which, although complete in itself, is not generally performed on its own, such as the Rite of Wine and Cakes. A series of Rites put together are a Ritual. |
| Rites of Passage | These rites are specific to marking the change from one stage of life to another, such as birth, marriage and death. Their names in the Craft – Wiccaning, Handfasting and Withdrawal – are different from those in current use, which reflects the different emphasis that Witches place on these events. There are other Rites of Passage but they are less common even in the Craft today. |
| Ritual | A series of Rites put together to achieve a specific result. |
| Sabbat | A seasonal festival. There are eight Sabbats in the Witches’ calendar, which together are often referred to as the Wheel of the Year, Sabbats are traditionally times of great celebration and festivity. Many of the old Sabbats are still celebrate, under more modern names, for example, Yule is known as Christmas, Samhain as Halloween, and many more. |
| Sacred Space | For many religions their place of worship, or religious centre, is a building. Witches create their Sacred Space wherever and whenever they need it, and their magical workings, and some of their celebrations, take place within its boundaries. |
| Scrying | The Witches’ term for Divination, especially when carried out using a Dark Mirror or the Witches’ Runes. |
| Sigil | A symbol devised to indicate someone or something. A Sigil can contain a lot of information, for example two people’ names and their Sun signs, It is better to devise you own Sigils rather than to use those made by others. |
| Solitary | A Witch who works on her or his own. |
| Soul mate | This is a term used to describe a person with whom you have continuing links which persist from one lifetime to another. It does not, as is commonly misconstrued, imply that these two people will always he lovers or romantic partners through different lifetimes. A Soul male could just as easily be found in a parent, relative or even a really close friend. |
| Spells and Spellcraft | A spell is a set of actions and/or words designed to bring about a specific magical intent. Spellcraft is the ability, knowledge and wisdom to know when, as well as how, to perform such actions. |
| Strong Hand | For a person who is right handed this will be their right hand, for someone who is left handed it is their left. The strong hand is sometimes called the ‘giving hand’. |
| Sun sign | The sign of the Zodiac under which a person is born. It is the Zodiacal house that the Sun was in at the time of birth and therefore their Sun sign. Other planets will be in other houses and can there fore be thought of as Moon sing, Mars sign, and so on. The Witches’ name for the place our spirit goes to between incarnations, where we rest and meet with those who have gone before us, and where we choose the lessons we will learn in our next life. |
| Summerlands | The Witches’ name, for the place our spirit goes to between incarnations, where we rest and meet with those who have gone before us, and where we choose the lessons we will learn in our next life. |
| Thurible | Also sometimes called a Censer, this is a fireproof container designed to hold burning charcoal and loose incense. Unlike a censer, it does not have to have either a lid or chains, as it is intended to sit on the Altar. |
| Training Coven | A Coven which will take on newcomers, including those with no experience of the Craft, and actively encourage them to learn, grow and develop in the Craft. |
| Visualization | This is seeing with the mind’s eye, so strongly that it appears no different from ‘reality’. Visualization is not just about seeing though; when you are skilled at it, all your senses will be involved. For example, when visualizing the Element of Air you will feel the wind touch your hair and skin, hear its passage through the trees and smell the scents of Spring. Visualization is one of the key factors in working the Craft and performing magic. |
| Wand | A piece of wood the length of its owner’s forearm. In some traditions the Wand is only used where the Athame is not; in others the Wand and Athame can be interchanged. |
| Wheel of the Year | This is the term used to describe the Eight Sabbats as a whole and refers to the fact that they form a complete and repeating cycle. |
| Wicca and Wiccan | Wicca has been largely adopted as a more ‘user friendly’ term for Witchcraft. Personally, I do not describe myself as A Wiccan as it simply leads to the question, ‘What does that mean?’ and any explanation will sooner or later end up leading to the word Witch. There are some who consider that those who all call themselves Wiccans are less traditional than Witches. |
| Widdershins | Anticlockwise ant the opposite of Deosil. |