Glossary

biddie: An old woman, but one who has the power of “bidding” animals and people (and possibly spirits) to do her will.

black witch: A practitioner of malevolent witchcraft, bringing evil on others.

bor: East Anglian expression meaning “friend, farmer, comrade, or neighbor.”

cardinal directions: North, east, south, and west. Between each are the intercardinal directions (q.v.).

charter: An unwritten code of conduct, such as the Fenman’s Charter or the Old Charter, concerning the license for Plough Monday.

Devil’s Plantation: A piece of uncultivated ground at the corner of a field or road, like a no-man’s-land (q.v.), belonging to the otherworld. Also (in Scotland) Gudeman’s Croft, the Old Guidman’s Ground, the Halyman’s Rig, the Halieman’s Ley, the Black Faulie, or Clootie’s Croft and (in England) Gallitrap or the Devil’s Holt.

doctor: To doctor something is either to lay a spell on it or to add some substance to food or drink without the knowledge of the recipient; to fix up (q.v.).

electional astrology: Working out the optimal inceptional horoscope for a project in advance and founding the venture at that moment; punctual time (q.v.).

fane: A pagan sanctuary.

farthest beacon: Distant landmark, used in lining up the first rig in ploughing and shepherds’ (witches’) dials.

fix up: To alter an object magically, either to lay a spell on it or to add some substance to food or drink without the knowledge of the recipient; to doctor (q.v.).

foundation: The act of marking the beginning of a building by laying a stone with rites and ceremonies.

gallitrap: A magical circle made by a conjuring parson to entrap spirits or a criminal. Also, when used to refer to land, it can be the entrance to the underworld or an uncultivated plot of land given over to spirits or the devil.

gast: A piece of ground bound magically to be unproductive; a piece of land from which all the spirits have been banished.

geomancy: The art of location for buildings and other structures holistically in recognition of the site and the prevailing conditions—physical and spiritual.

gray witch: A witch who uses her power for ill or good.

hokkiben: Romani term meaning “deception or confidence trick.

hoodoo: African American folk magic.

inceptional horoscope: The horoscope of a project at its beginning (q.v., electional astrology).

instruments of Obeah: The materia magica (q.v.) of West Indian Obeah as defined by Jamaican antiwitchcraft laws.

intercardinal directions: The directions lying at 45 degrees to the cardinal ones: northeast, southeast, southwest, and northeast.

invultation (invultuation): The practice of making and using images or effigies of people or animals for magical purposes.

lock: The interlocking pattern of swords used by traditional sword dancers.

materia magica: The materials, paraphernalia, and such used in the performance of magic.

mell: A hammer.

nail down his (or her) track, to: To hammer a nail into a footprint made by an ill-wisher to nullify his or her magic.

no-man’s-land: A triangle of ground at a trifinium (q.v.) belonging to no individual but rather to the spirit world, sometimes called a Cocked Hat. Closely related to the Devil’s Plantation (q.v.) and other such terms.

Obeah: The West Indian equivalent of witchcraft, combining African and European elements.

obi: A magical object empowered by Obeah.

omphalos: Navel of the World, spiritual center point, depicted as an egg-stone.

orientation: The alignment of a building toward the east.

pentacle/pentagram : A five-pointed equal-sided star.

plumpendicular: Vertically perpendicular as verified by a plumb line.

punctual time: The exact moment for a foundation according to electional astrology (q.v.).

puss-skin wallet: A receptacle for the “instruments of obeah.”

trifinium: Junction of three roads.

put a pin in for someone, to: To stick a pin into an image, a pincushion, an onion, or other similar object to magically harm someone.

put the toad on, to: To use toad magic to affect someone.

rempham: An alternative name for a pentagram.

rig: A straight line, as in ploughing.

teir nos ysbrydion: Welsh term meaning “a three-spirit night.”

three holy names, the: Many traditional spells in British witchcraft use the three epithets of God from the Christian trinity as names of power—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

trifinium or trivium: A junction of three roads, sometimes enclosing a triangular piece of ground that is a no-man’s-land (q.v.).

witch men: Guisers or mummers who go about on Plough Monday with their faces darkened.

witches’ church: In the Cambridgeshire Fens, an outside toilet.

white witch: Witch who employs countermagic against black witchcraft, charging clients money so to do.