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The Dictionary on Celtic Paganism and many other paths.

A-C D-F G-I J-L M-O P-R S-U W-Z

Athame
The athame is a black handled ritual knife, a common tool of Neopagan witches. It is used as a tool to cast a circle during a coven's Esbat. The athame is often associated with the element of fire. Ceromonial magic traditions require that it is never used to cut anything. If something must be cut in a ceromany a white handled knife is often used instead.

Bale Fire
A large fire lit outside on Beltane, or May Day in British folk custom. The Irish word "Beltane" can be interpreted as meaning "bright fire".

Beltane
Beltane is the Irish Gaelic name for the month of May, pronounced "bee yawl cheen". It is celebrated as one of the Greater Sabbats which make up the Wheel of the Year.

Binding
Binding Modern Witches think the casting of harmful magic is unethical and directly breaks the Wiccan Rede which many Witches live by. However some negative spell casting does still occur. Binding is a way to counter these spells. During a a binding spell a piece of paper with the effects beign suffered, or some other item representing the negative spell is burnt in a fire, and the burning of the ashes.

Brigid
Held on February 1, it is the midwinter Sabbat. The holiday is named after the Irish Goddess Brigid, patron of poets and daughter of the Dagda. This Sabbat is normally devoted to celebrations of light, poetry and plenty. Another name for this day is Candlemas, a day on which candles were blessed in order to be used for healign and rituals during the coming year.

Cerridwen
In ancient Celtic mythology the Goddess Cerridwen was endowed with the powers of prophecy and metamorphasis, and was worshipped as the Goddess of Wisdom, Divination and Enchantment. Her symbols were the Moon, water and the cauldron.

Charm
A charm is used to protect against or cure disease; ward off evil, disaster, witchcraft, ensure fertility, gain vicotry, riches or fame; exact revenge, protect crops or animals. A charm can be a word, phrase, chant, incantation, inscription or object.

Cords
Cords have significance as amulets and in the casting of spells. Witches used knotted cord to tie up the wind, or anything else they wanted to bing magically.

Cowan
The word cowan is masonic on origin.To Neopagan Witches a cowan is any non-Witch. This does not refer to other Pagans. The term means "outsider", someone who does not understand the customs, concepts or beliefs of Neopagan Witches.

Cross-Quarter Days
These are the four traditional Celtic festivals. The four lesser Sabbats on the quarter days. (Solstices and equinoxes) and the four Greater Sabbats make up the Wheel of the Year.

Deosil
(Or deiseal) is Irish for "turning to the right" or "the holy way round". This refers to a clockwise walking, mainly used in the casting of circles.

Divination
Any means used to learn what the will of the Goddess or God is. This is patrticually associated with religious specialists such as tribal Shaman. There are many means of divination such as astrology such as the Druids of old used, runestone reading and dream interpretation. The interpretation of dreams as showing the future is as least as old as written history, and probably older.

Earth (element)
Some characteristics associtated with earth are: the direction north, fertility, darkness, quiet, stagnation, the colour green, the pentacle. The earth is considered to be the a female element.

Eostar
Eostar is the spring-equinox holiday, one of the four Lesser Sabbats.

Equinox
The spring and Autumn equinoxes are when the length of the days and nights are equal. These are said to have been natural festivals for people since prehistoric times. The spring equinox is seen as the rebirth of the Goddess, when the flowers begin to grow again. The spring equinox is celebrated by the Sabbat of Eostar and the autumn equinox by the Sabbat of Mabon.

Esbat
A monthly meeting usually during a full moon, of a coven of Witches. This is when a coven will work practical magick or an iniation, since these are rarely done on Sabbats.

Evocation (also invocation)
This refers to the method of calling spirits and deities to magickal and religious rituals. Evocations used in ceremonial magick are elaborate and lengthy commands. Invocations however are used in religious ceremonies as well as in some magickal rites. They invite a deity to be present and to protect the rite. The details of rituals such as this vary between paths, in that deities can be invoked by name as well as by visual means associated with them. In modern Witchcraft, common entities are the Guardians of the Watchtowers (the spirits ruling the cardinal points), and the Goddess and Horned God, who are sometimes drawn into the High Priestess or High Priest.

Fairies
(Fayes in old english) Fairies are nature spirits that under different names and guises are found in every part of the world. They have always been thought to havea mixed relationship with humanity. As nature spirits are concerned with natural processes, they do not normally seek out humans.

Fetch
This is the term given to the spirit double or apparation of a living person. According to Irish and British belief, the fetch also know as the wraith, as it predicts death. If seen in the morning it is thought to represent longlife, but if at night it indicats a soon death.

Fire (element)
One of the four elements thought to consitute the universe. Along with Air it is considered a male element, the direction of south, action and courage, the colour orange, the metal gold and the sword. Fire was believed to destroy evil.

Grove
Grove is one name for a local group of Pagans that aren't Witches. Often used by members of the various Druid Orders.

Herne the Hunter)
One of the many aspects of the Horned God. Herne the Hunter is most associated with the dead and with night activities. He leads the mythical Wild Hunt through the forest.

Hex
A spell laid through Witchcraft. The original translation had it as both good and evil spells, but it is now more commanly refered to concerning evil spells.

Holly King
The Holly King was onen of the more popular figures in premodern Pagan culture as well as folklore. He was associated with the cycles of nature, especially the sun and moon. The Holly King was part of a dual divine image associated with the waxing and waning of the days of the year. The Oak King represented expansion and growth during the waxing phase of the calander year, when the days grow longer.

Horned God
In the NeoPagan tradition, the Horned God is the consort of the Goddess and represents the male principle of the supreme deity. He is associated with death, the underworld, sexuality, logic and power, and is portayed as gentle and tender. He is the Lord of the woodlands, animals and hunt. His birthday is at the winter solstice, whereas his marriage to the Goddess is at Beltane (May1). The Horned Gods death represented a sacrifice to life.

Incantation
Incantation or chanting, refers to the rhythmic repetion of words and phrases during both religious and magic ceremonies. It is thought to induce altered states of conciousness and enhance the effectiveness of rituals. Chants are also frequently accompanied by dances,clapping or drumming

Incense
People use this to help create the sense of a purified area in which to work, and it just smells nice too!

Wheel of the Year
The cycle of life and death of the Earth is represented by the Sabbats. These form the Wheel of the Year Brigid - February 1 Beltane - May 1 Lughnasad - August 1 Samhain - November 1

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