Wicca A to Z. Gerina Dunwich

Moon in Aries. The part of the human body said to be ruled by Aries is the head.

      ASTRAL BODY The double of the physical human body, but made of a much finer substance with a shining and luminous appearance. It is connected to the physical body by an etheric umbilical cord and is able to pass through solid obstructions and float about unhindered by gravity, space, or time.

      ASTRAL PLANE The plane of existence and perception which parallels the dimension of the physical and is the plane that the astral body reaches during astral projection and death.

      ASTRAL PROJECTION An out-of-the-body experience achieved by any number of trance-inducing methods or imagination techniques; the separation of the consciousness from the physical body resulting in an altered state of consciousness. Also known as astral travel.

      ASTRAL TWINS Two or more unrelated persons who share the exact same birthdate and are said to possess identical personality traits and sometimes even matching physical appearances. Both individuals must be born on the same month, day, year, and hour to be considered true astral twins.

      ASTROLOGY Stargazing; the ancient occult art, science, and practice of divination and prophecy by interpreting certain celestial patterns. In astrology, the influence of the Sun, Moon, or the planets in the solar system upon the course of human affairs varies according to which section of the zodiac they are positioned in.

      The majority of modern day Witches, Neo-Pagans, and New Agers in the United States and Europe believe in the power of astrology. Many are skilled stargazers who cast astrological charts; use astrology for prediction, counseling, daily guidance or discovering past lives; or perform magick in accordance with the astrological positioning of the Moon, which exerts a powerful influence over the casting of spells.

      ATHAME A black-handled ritual dagger with a double-edged blade, used by many Witches to draw their magick circles and to both store and direct energy during magickal rituals. Before using, an athame must be properly cleansed and consecrated to remove any traces of negative spiritual, magickal, or psychic energy. The athame is a sacred tool and is never used for the drawing of blood, either human or animal. The athame, which is used in most Wiccan rituals as well as spellcraft, is a symbol of the masculine aspect, and corresponds to the ancient element of Air.

      AURA A single-or multi-colored light produced by heat energy and electromagnetic energy that emanates from the bodies of all living things; a psychic field of energy surrounding both animate and inanimate bodies.

      Witches, and others, who are gifted with the ability to see auras with the naked eye are said to possess aura-vision—a form of clairvoyance. The reading of the aura has been practiced since ancient times and is known to all cultures. It has often been used for analyzing hidden character traits, diagnosing illness and disease, and prognostication. (For more information on the reading of auras read A Wiccan’s Guide to Prophecy and Divination, Gerina Dunwich, Citadel Press, 1997.)

      AUREOLE A circle of mystical light, similar to an aura, which is said to surround the head or body of a mystic, saint or deity; a halo.

      AUTUMN EQUINOX SABBAT Also known as the Fall Sabbat, Alban Elfed, and the Second Festival of Harvest, this is one of the eight Sabbats celebrated yearly by many modern Witches, Wiccans, and Neo-Pagans throughout the world. It is held on the first day of Autumn, which normally occurs on or near September 22, and is a time for thanksgiving, meditation, and introspection. On this sacred day, many Witches re-dedicate themselves to the Craft, and Wiccan initiation ceremonies are performed by the High Priestesses and High Priests of covens. Many Wiccan traditions also perform a special rite for the Goddess Persephone’s descent into the Underworld as part of their Autumn Equinox celebration.

      AZIZA In Dahomean folk belief, elflike spirits of the forest known as the “little people,” who give to humans the power of magick and knowledge of the worship of the gods.

      BALEFIRE A sacred outdoor fire burned by Witches as part of a Sabbat celebration, particularly the festivals of Beltane, Summer Solstice, Lammas, and Autumn Equinox. Dancing deosil (the Wiccan term for “clockwise”) around a balefire often takes place to invoke the deities, raise magickal energy, or celebrate the turning of the Wheel of the Year. Slips of paper, upon which prayers, wishes, thanksgivings, and requests for healings have been written, are sometimes cast into the fire. Many Witches use a balefire for fire-scrying (the divinatory art of gazing into vision-producing flames), and in many instances libations are poured onto the flames or coals to honor a particular deity or ancestor. The following day, long after the balefire has burned out, the remaining ashes can be used for divination, or are collected for use in spells and potions.

      BANE A deadly herb that possesses poisonous properties. The term is often used in combination, as in “henbane,” “wolfsbane,” “baneberry,” and so forth. Since early times, sorcerers in just about every culture around the world have been known to be clever in the forbidden art of poison-craft, and in the Middle Ages, Witches were said to have done away with their enemies and rivals with various herbal banes. The most popular magickal poisons were made with belladonna, henbane, and mandrake.

      BANISH To release or drive away a conjured spirit from the power of the magick circle.

      BANISHING RITUAL In Ceremonial Magick, a ritual performed by a magician to remove negative or evil influences from the circle. In the banishing ritual of the Lesser Pentagram, a consecrated ceremonial sword is used to inscribe pentagrams in the air, archangels are invoked at the four quarters, and a special prayer known as the “Kabbalistic Cross” is recited.

      BANSHEE In Gaelic folklore, a female nature-spirit who takes the form of an old woman and presages a death in the family by wailing a mournful tune that sounds like the melancholy moaning of the wind. As a herald of death, the banshee is usually heard at night under the window of the person who is about to die.

      BAPHOMET A demonic deity envisaged as a goat-headed creature with wings, the breasts of a woman, and an illuminated torch between its horns. Baphomet was said to have been worshipped by the inner circles of several occult brotherhoods in the Middle Ages, and was identified with the Devil card of the Tarot by the nineteenth century magickal philosopher Eliphas Levi.

      The symbol of Baphomet, also known as the mysterious “Bearded Demon” and the “Satanic Goat,” has often been misinterpreted as one of the Craft in general; however, Wiccans and Neo-Pagans do not use this symbol in their rituals, nor do they believe in or worship the Devil of the Christian faith (whom practitioners of Satanism and Devil-worshipping cults revere and associate the symbol of Baphomet with).

      BARREN SIGNS In astrology (and especially the astrologically-based practice of lunar gardening), the three signs of the zodiac which indicate a tendency toward barrenness: Gemini, Leo, and Virgo.

      BASKANION A phallus-shaped ornament worn on a necklace by children of ancient Greece for magickal protection against the evil eye. The baskanion (which was also known as probaskanion and fascinum) was often used as an amulet to protect homes, gardens, blacksmith forges, and chariots. In ancient Rome, this amulet was called the satyrica sigma.

      BELL A hollow, metallic instrument, usually cup-shaped with a flared opening, which emits a tone when struck by a clapper suspended from within or by a separate stick or hammer. Bells have been used by nearly all cultures throughout history as magickal talismans, fertility charms, summons to a deity, and as instruments for sacred music and religious rituals of widely varying beliefs. Many Witches and Wiccans use a consecrated bell as an altar tool to signal the beginning or close of a ritual or Sabbat. Houngans and mambos of Haiti’s Voodoo religion, as well as the tribal priests of Africa, use bells and dancing to invoke their gods. Chinese magicians summon the rain and other forces of nature with special magickal bells, while Siberian Shamans wear them for incantations and prophecies. Bells have also served as magickal or sacred tools to “ring out Witches,” exorcise demons and ghosts, protect animals and children from the power of the evil eye, as well as to bless, and to divine the future.

      BELTANE One of the eight annual Witches’ Sabbats, normally celebrated by Wiccans and Neo-Pagans on the first day of May. Also known as May Day,