Athame    Boline The Athame is a witches ceremonial knife. In many traditions it is black handled, with a double sided blade around 9 inches long. Some covens and high priest(esses) have a white handled decorative ceremonial Athame and a black handled secondary one for cutting fruit and herbs, carving symbols etc, and each member has their own black handled athame. In some traditions this is reversed and the black handled athame is ceremonial and the white handled work knife is known as a Boline. While some traditions hold that the athame is a work knife for cutting and preparing items used including herbs fruit etc, other traditions say that it should only be used to cut air and the wedding cake at a handfasting (witches wedding). It also represents the male element in some ceremonies. It functions similar to a wand as a means of channeling energy and is often used for invoking and banishing elements, entities and other energies.

Besom. A traditional broomstick made of a wooden handle and twigs. It is often used for ceremonial of sweeping ie of a circle, but is also used in some ceremonies such as handfasting (witches wedding) where the jump over the besom as a symbolic leap into the next stage of their life together. In many traditions it is also a symbol connected with fertility. In older times when witchcraft was illegal, many witches used their besom as a wand, and the end covered in twigs in some cases would have been covered with hidden symbols.

Book of shadows. A journal recording the experience, experiments, spells, and knowledge you acquire. In most cases it is a personal journal, but some covens also maintain a coven book of shadows built over generations. In some family traditions the book of shadows is handed down and each generation extends it. The important point is that it is the recorded experiences, not copied out sections of other publications, although where relevant you can include knowledge from elsewhere, including books, sections of this web site and this course, but avoid the temptation to build just a scrap book of others ideas, in which you have no experience or involvement. You should not create a book of shadows unless you are sure you can keep it secret and out of the hands of others.

Thurible or censer. A container that is fireproof and will hold hot charcoal and incense. Often it can be swung on a chain.

Chalice. A container used in ceremonies, it can be made of anything, metal, glass, wood, stone etc. It can be plain or ornate, purchased or made yourself. It could be a simple drinking glass. In some traditions it is made by taking a cut glass vase or glass similar to a brandy glass and painting it with paint that will allow light to pass through. It is used to contain water and wine (or a substitute ie fruit juice). It is used in ceremonies to become the essence of the goddess and symbolical female in some ceremonies. If you are using it outside it needs to be tough enough to stand handling, dropping etc.

Circle. A circle is created as required by a witch or coven, it marks the enclosed sacred or protected space in which rites, ceremonies and some spells are cast. It can be created by words and moving deosil (sunwise or clockwise) while marking the circle with the hand, athane (knife), wand, sword or besom (broom). It can also be marked physically either with chalk, salt, or with a rope. In some situation the circle becomes the outer rim of a cone of power generated. In some coven traditions the circle is 9 feet across, but most adjust it to suit the number of people contained. It does not need to be geometrically exact. The circle has no beginning or end, and no corners.

Craft Witchcraft is described as both an art and a craft. Within witchcraft circles it is often referred to as 'the craft'. An earlier definition of witchcraft was 'the craft of the wise', reflecting the respect in which the village witch was held and the acquired knowledge and expertise of the witch.

Deity. Deities are gods or goddesses. However in most traditions they are not separate, but the many faces of the single power.

Deosil & Widershines   Deosil is a term meaning to move in a sunwise or clockwise direction. Generally when doing something or creating something ie a circle you work deosil, to undo it you work widershines, anticlockwise. In modern life everything except explosive or dangerous gases, from nuts and bolts and screws to bottle tops does up clockwise, and undoes anti clockwise. In British prisons, prisoners are only allowed to walk anti clockwise around the exercise yard even today, and get into trouble and sometimes beaten up by officers if they walk clockwise, one assumes to stop them working magic.

Divination & Scrying. This is a collection of techniques that displays information that would otherwise appear to be hidden from us. methods include tarot, Crystal ball, dark mirror, astrology, tea leaves, runes, pendulums, dowsing and others. Witches tend to break this up into divination and scrying, where they are viewing in some form, actually or in some other way, such as dark mirror, looking in fire flames, looking into a cauldron of water, wher divination might be considered the pre defined in some way such as using tarrot, astrology etc. However it should not be forgotten that a good witch uses these divination methods more as a counseling aid that as an absolute prediction.

Elements. Water, Fire, Earth, Air and Spirit. the four elements are Water, Fire, Air and Earth, and we place them at the four compass points of the circle. Into the circle we bring with us one more that of spirit. The elements are more than corner stones of the craft, they are the basis of everything to do with witchcraft. Elements are not gods, but may sometimes be connected with spirits of some type or aspects of the divine. There were originally way back witches devoted to each element, they would concentrate more on one than the rest, so you had those who dealt more with healing wells, stream and water, others more into standing stones, stone circles etc, and some as keepers of the flame, later to become vestal virgins and eventually nun's. The Christian church is built on the foundations of primarily the groups of witchcraft originally connected with fire and stones. We know little about the original group(s) devoted to air, but far more about two distinct groups that were devoted to water, both of which have survived until at least recent times.

Esbat. A witches meeting at the full moon, usually a working session. Some lone witches also use the term to define the working session they have at the full moon.

Great rite. A part of a ceremony involving two witches, one acting the male and one the female role. It can be performed symbolically with the chalice (cup) and athame (dagger), or by two people, one of each sex, who have been handfasted, or are partners. If carried out by people as part of a coven ceremony, others would either leave the scene while this occurred or would turn to form an outward facing circle. The significance of the rite is the god and goddess coming together. It is most often found in more advanced initiations, or involved in spells using special ingredients. It is only done where  those involved are witches who fully understand what it is all about, and choose to participate.

Handfasting is a rite of passage, the equivalent to a witches wedding. Both parties are equal and they agree in advance how long a term it is for, the default being a year and a day, meaning they need to reconfirmed their vows annually, making it a more meaningful wedding anniversary. Other term lengths commonly used are a day, a moon cycle, a life time or all life times. Handfasting is normally one male  to one female but can also be by both's agreement any other arrangement, including two of the same sex or have other special arrangements, often this is necessary as most covens attract more women than men, or where special initiations are to be involved. These promises can by agreement be changed if it is subsequently necessary in a further ceremony. the importance is that whatever arrangements exist have been agreed by all parties involved. In some covens the high priestess has to agree changes, but this is usually just to check that no one is being coerced into any change against their will.

High Priest(ess) & High King/Queen  Covens are run by either a high priest or priestess, or the two working together. Some put the high priestess above the high priest, and their are more high priestesses as their are far more women than men involved in covens. The high refers to the third level, one starts by joining, then becomes a witch who is a priest or priestess, and then some move on to the third stage. Some covens put HP in front of their witch name to mark this elevation. You can have more than one high priestess in a coven, and in this case the top one is sometimes referred to as the queen. In some groups the queen or king is one that runs a number of covens. 

Initiation. means to begin, in witchcraft this means to choose to begin which is slightly different. There are various types of initiation including handfasting (similar to marriage), most involve a choice of a path to follow. In most cases within the craft we talk about initiation as the choice to proceed and make vows or commitments to the spirit or god, and the fellow members of your coven. This may be part of joining, moving between levels or taking on a special roll. These can be life long or for a set period or until a special condition is met. Most initiations are a part of a ceremony, but who else is present varies between different groups.

Lore. Lore is more than legends, it includes knowledge handed down  or passed on from one witch to another, traditions, plays, and parts of ceremonies involving stories. Within families and traditions it is important that all legends and all forms of information is handed down, even that which is not currently being used, although some has now been published.

Magic is the ability to use your will to change a force of some type, or change in time, event, emotion or physical item. Often it is better understood by most as a change of some type, or an event, that we don't have a scientific explanation for at this time. Some traditions use Magik or Magick to differentiate magic from conjuring tricks, others do not differentiate between the two and point out that a lot of what we now understand used to be considered magic in the past, and perhaps more of the witches abilities will continue to be explained by science over the next few generations.

Occult means hidden or secret. As people fear what they don't understand, to many it has a negative aspect. It tends to be used as a derogatory term by people to cover other beliefs than their own. Witchcraft has needed to be secret due to persecution historically and the concern about persecution or misunderstanding now, fuelled by people who are not always peaceful or open to the belief that we should all be able to choose or own path through life.

Orthodox, means older or first established. As most traditions are a mixture of beliefs and rites collected over time, it is always difficult to identify which is the oldest. Christianity for example is far younger by thousands of years than pagan beliefs however it has taken over or incorporated so many pagan rituals, routines, places, calendar events etc that its parts is as old as the pagan beliefs.

Pagan, a word that probably came from Pagus, which is a sort of administrative unit used by an occupying force. Pagan was also thought to have been a term used for people from the country by those who lived in towns. Either way it was originally an insult by people who felt they were in some way superior. Now it is a term that covers older religions than Christianity, or the earth type of religions. It includes Witchcraft, druidism, voodoo,  and many other smaller specialist  beliefs such as those who follow the ways of the early Egyptians. Today pagans all get on well together, and believe that we should all be able to have our own path to the supreme power whatever form it takes. Pagans do not seek to convert the world to their beliefs and do not count souls saved in any sense.

Pathworking is a guided form of meditation. It often takes the form of a journey using knowledge that you already have leading you to discover new knowledge or a new experience. You can do this on your own or can be guided by someone else. The form of meditation is similar to self hypnosis, and you can make audio tapes or get others to make them for you to help you to achieve this, or just use quiet and a routine pattern, clouds, smoke or a crystal ball, or cauldron full of water to escape from your conscious mind.

Pentacle,  Pentagram. A pentacle is a five pointed star that can be formed by a continuous line where the points touch a circle. The circle and star together form the pentacle. Without a circle it is a pentagram.  Most witches can draw a pentacle on demand, and some witches wear one or use one on their alter. Pentacles have become quite fashionable and you will also see them formed in car wheels and in many other places. A pentacles five points symbolizes the four elements plus spirit, or four elements plus cone of power that is generated by a circle.

Reincarnation, Summerlands. Reincarnation is in theory a central part of most belief systems and involves coming back from the dead in some form. Witches believe that when we die our spirit goes to the Summerland's, from where it in whole or part is used to be born again into another baby. We therefore have each been on the earth many times throughout history, as different individuals. By hypnotic re-regression it is possible to prove this, and prove that the people recovered did exist. Some young children also remember parts of their previous life. We do not believe that the old body will be reincarnated, so the day when all bodies climb back out the ground, or the need to be buried etc do not form a part of our beliefs, as it does with some Christian/Jewish ones. Some traditions believe that while in the summerlands we get to choose the lessons we want to learn in our next earth life and also get to meet others who have gone before.

Ritual. Rite, is usually a section of a ritual, with a set purpose. You could have a rite on a card and shuffle the pack and create with a number of cards a full ritual, but in most cases a ritual involves an opening rite, some rites for specific purposes and then a closing rite. Rites can be passed down, or created for an occasion, the best ones are those that are clear, can be fully understood by everyone present and not open to misinterpretation. Some have them in riming language like a poem, the language is not important but this allows them to be more easily remembered and passed down, and cuts down the need during rituals to have a book of shadows open all the time. A ritual is a collection of rites put together with a definite objective.

Rites of Passage form the change from one path or stage of life to another. Important ones are Wicanning (birth), Handfasting (marriage), and withdrawal (death). These can be absolute as in life or in relation to the craft so a new recruit may go through a wicanning rite, similar to being born again as a witch. some old stone circles have wicanning stones, large stones with a hole through which babies and converts would be pasted. In olden days there were many more rites of passage, such as reaching the ages of 7, 14 and 21, or physical stages in development. but these are not used so much today, as most covens now do not except people under 18. Some traditions have their own collection of rites of passage.

See rite above.

Sabbat is a celebration or festival and there are 8 sabbats equally spread throughout the year. In different traditions some have different names but they are Samain (Halloween), winter solstice (yule or Christmas), imbolg (Easter), spring equinox, beltane (may day), summer solstice, Lughnasa (harvest festival), autumn equinox. You will see they form two groups the 4 sabbats to do with fertility or the farming year shown in italic and the 4 connected with the sun. Some traditions place a greater importance on one set than the other.

Sacred Space. Most religions have a form of sacred or holly space, be it a church, stone circle or other special space. Witches don't have special buildings or places but create sacred space when they want it and close it down afterwards. To do this they create a circle, which allows energy while carrying out rituals or magical working to be concentrated and eliminates other energy from other sources that we wish to avoid. Sometimes this sacred space will be established where there are natural sympathies with the intent, such as in an orchard under trees, or by water.

Divination & Scrying. This is a collection of techniques that displays information that would otherwise appear to be hidden from us. methods include tarot, Crystal ball, dark mirror, astrology, tea leaves, runes, pendulums, dowsing and others. Witches tend to break this up into divination and scrying, where they are viewing in some form, actually or in some other way, such as dark mirror, looking in fire flames, looking into a cauldron of water, wher divination might be considered the pre defined in some way such as using tarrot, astrology etc. However it should not be forgotten that a good witch uses these divination methods more as a counseling aid that as an absolute prediction.

Spellcraft & Spells. Spells are a combination of words and actions that will bring about a magical act. Spellcraft is the knowledge, skill, and ability to perform spells, knowing what is appropriate, when, where, how, and what will work in each circumstance. Some consider spells to be similar to prayers, but with more belief in the outcome, and the use of our own will rather than a request for someone else to do it for us.

Strong hand, sometimes also called the giving hand. this is the main hand you use so a right handed person it is the right hand and a left handed the left.

Reincarnation, Summerlands. Reincarnation is in theory a central part of most belief systems and involves coming back from the dead in some form. Witches believe that when we die our spirit goes to the Summerland's, from where it in whole or part is used to be born again into another baby. We therefore have each been on the earth many times throughout history, as different individuals. By hypnotic re-regression it is possible to prove this, and prove that the people recovered did exist. Some young children also remember parts of their previous life. We do not believe that the old body will be reincarnated, so the day when all bodies climb back out the ground, or the need to be buried etc do not form a part of our beliefs, as it does with some Christian/jewish ones. Some traditions believe that while in the summerlands we get to choose the lessons we want to learn in our next earth life and also get to meet others who have gone before.

Thurible or censer. A container that is fireproof and will hold hot charcoal and incense. Often it can be swung on a chain.

Visualize. When we talk of visualizing, we are not just talking about imagining, but seeing as truly as if you were present, being able to smell, feel the wind, the heat and hear every sound as in real life. Every one can, with practice, and a little help, achieve this.  With increased skill you can in this way create any item or situation at will, control what happens, and explore the unknown. This skill is probably the single most powerful one that the witch has and is a key ingredient of magic, spell craft and pathworking. With this skill a witch is free by visualization to go anywhere, including flying, gain experiences,  learn and influence. The skill is very closely related to hypnosis, but under the witches full control, and free from body limits.

Wand. Traditions vary slightly, and sometimes the wand and athame can be used for the same uses. Traditionally the wand is considered to be made of wood, and the length of the witches fore arm. Due to the need to keep ones wand secret, historically the witch would have used her broom handle or her favorite wooden spoon. Some witches believe that a wand can be any item that you make into a wand, by a ritual, and suggest it should be one that you can carry with you. Many of us have innocent looking pens or pencils that are our day to day wands. You can buy unsharpened pencils that are ideal. A ceremonial wand can be a simple stick but is more likely a carved or in some other form a work of art. Some modern witches suggest their wand should be of a conducting material, ie metal or have a metal core, but the more experienced say the material makes no difference. The art of using the wand, is a part of spell craft, and it involves some special movements and works as a means of focusing energy.

Wicca(n). Wicca, or wiccan is another name for some paths within witchcraft, favored by some. It is a useful term if you want to say what religion you are, or are trying to avoid the direct use of the term witch. In the census some witches entered their religion as wiccan, while some others used the wider term pagan, which may misunderstand to mean no Christian rather than defining a wider range of older beliefs.

Deosil & Widershines   Deosil is a term meaning to move in a sunwise or clockwise direction. Generally when doing something or creating something ie a circle you work deosil, to undo it you work widershines, anticlockwise. In modern life everything except explosive or dangerous gases, from nuts and bolts and screws to bottle tops does up clockwise, and undoes anti clockwise. In British prisons, prisoners are only allowed to walk anti clockwise around the exercise yard even today, and get into trouble and sometimes beaten up by officers if they walk clockwise, one assumes to stop them working magic.

If you have reached this page from a search engine and the navigation is not showing to get to other pages click here