Wicca A to Z. Gerina Dunwich

among Witches of the Strega Tradition), and Walpurgisnacht (meaning “Walpurga’s Night” and named after the old German goddess Walpurga—the May Queen), Beltane is derived from an ancient Druid fire festival celebrating the “Sacred Marriage” (the union of the Goddess and Her consort, the Horned God.) It merrily celebrates the annual “rebirth” of the Sun, marking the symbolic death of Winter and the symbolic birth of Spring. Legend holds that it is a time of the year when the fairy-folk abound in force.

      It is a Beltane tradition among many modern Witches to gather morning dew from grass and wildflowers to be used in good-luck potions and spells.

      Beltane is a time for celebrating Mother Nature by feasts of traditional Pagan foods, poetry recitals, and clockwise dancing around a brightly-decorated Maypole (which is an ancient and obvious fertility symbol and represents both the phallus and the procreative power of the Horned God.) The Maypole placed in the “womb” of the Mother Earth is symbolic of the sacred sexual union of the male and female aspects of Nature. The entwining of ribbons around the Maypole by those dancing in a circle around it serves to strengthen its magick and to raise what is known as a “cone of power.”

      Another custom associated with the Sabbat of Beltane and reaching back to the most ancient of times is the bonfire, which is traditionally kindled on the top of a hill. According to old Celtic tradition, a Beltane bonfire must be started with nine pieces of wood, collected by nine men from nine different trees.

      Other Beltane customs practiced around the world include: bathing in morning dew for good luck; the practice of various methods of divination (especially those involving the Beltane cake, also known as a carline); reenactments of Lady Godiva’s legendary naked ride through the streets of Coventry, England; and pilgrimages to sacred wells to partake of the healing water or to make offerings (such as the tossing in of coins, usually accompanied by a secretly made wish).

      BESOM A straw broom used by Witches in certain Wiccan ceremonies such as Handfasting and the Sabbat of Candlemas. Although the broom has always been associated with Witches, it was never actually used for flying as the legends of olden times claim. Instead, according to one theory, Witches practicing sympathetic magick (which works on the basic principle that like produces like) would straddle the broom and jump up and down in order to show their crops how high to grow. The majority of modern Witches who own besoms use them as altar decorations and as magickal tools to symbolize fertility and to sweep the magick circle clean of any traces of negative magickal, spiritual, or psychic energy. The besom is also used in various spells and weather workings.

      BEWITCHMENT The act of gaining power or casting a spell over another person, place, or object by means of either white, gray, or black magick; the act of enchanting a man, woman, child, animal, place, or object. In days gone by, bewitchment was regarded as an act against God and was punishable by fines, imprisonment, torture, and execution.

      BIGGHES In certain traditions of Wicca, a set of ceremonial jewelry consisting of a leather garter, silver crown with crescent moon, bracelet and necklace. It is traditionally worn by the High Priestess of a coven.

      BILOCATION An unusual phenomenon in which a person and his or her spiritual or astral “double” appears in two different, often distant, places at the same exact moment. The double may appear either in solid physical form or as a silent ghostlike apparition. Very little is understood about bilocation; however, its existence had been known to humanity since ancient times and it has been said that certain mystics, saints, holy men, and magicians experience bilocation and some are even capable of practicing it at will. Often involuntary bilocation is interpreted as an omen of death for the person whose double has been seen.

      BINDING In Witchcraft, a magickal spell which usually involves the tying of knots on a cord, and is performed to control the actions of another or to render a sorcerer or sorceress magickally powerless. Bindings are used by some Wiccans for the purpose of preventing evil, negativity, or disaster of some kind from occurring, and also to put an end to the harm caused by gossips, troublemakers, and those who commit crimes. Interestingly, there exists a controversy among Wiccans over how ethical the casting of bindings are. Some Wiccans feel that such spells violate the Wiccan Rede, while others feel that they are perfectly acceptable when warranted, especially if the binding is directed at a situation rather than a specific person.

      BINDRUNES A powerful magickal talisman, usually made from metal or wood and inscribed or painted with two or more different rune symbols which are superimposed upon one another in an aesthetically pleasing fashion. Bindrunes are sometimes placed on ritual tools (such as the blade or handle of a Witch’s athame), candles, and jewelry.

      BIRTHSTONE A jewel associated with a specific month or astrological sign of the zodiac. A birthstone is believed to attract good luck and repel negative or evil influences; however, it is said to be unlucky to wear the stone of a month or astrological sign other than one’s own. The two exceptions to this rule are jade and crystal, which are believed to bring good luck to all who wear or carry them as charms.

      BLACK ARTS Another word for black magick; the practices of demonology and sorcery; a general term often extended to apply to the entire spectrum of occult subjects, including magick and Witchcraft. Wiccans and Neo-Pagans take strong offense to being classified as practitioners of the black arts, as the term possesses sinister connotations. To the average person it brings to mind frightful images of the evil cauldron-stirring hags of Macbeth, Devil-worshipping orgies, necromancy, and a multitude of demonic horrors which no doubt existed nowhere else but in the fertile imaginations of superstitious God-fearing peasants and churchmen of the Middle Ages.

      BLACK MAGICK Negative magick performed with evil or selfish intent; any form of magick that signifies the destructive element, invokes malevolent forces, and is practiced to deliberately cause injury, misfortune, or death to another living thing.

      Most Wiccans and Neo-Pagans avoid the use of black magick in any form (also known as “sorcery”) to keep from violating the Wiccan Rede and setting into motion the threefold (and in some cases, sevenfold or greater) negative karma which return to haunt them.

      BLACK MASS In Satanism, a travesty of the Roman Catholic Mass in which sacred bread known as the “host” (representing the body of Jesus Christ in a Communion Service) is stolen from a church and desecrated. The Satanic Black Mass ceremony includes the backwards recitation of the Lord’s Prayer and the alleged sacrifice of unbaptized children to the Devil.

      Contrary to popular misconception, modern day Witches, Wiccans, and Neo-Pagans do not perform any type of a Black Mass. Nor do they worship or even acknowledge the existence of Satan (other than perhaps in the minds of those who fear or worship him.) The Sabbats of the Witches’ year are not related in any way to the Black Mass, which was a notion first popularized by churchmen of the Middle Ages. They are celebrations of the sacred Earth, Mother Nature, the seasonal transitions, and the myth cycle of the Goddess and Her consort, the Horned God. See also SABBAT, WHEEL OF THE YEAR, and individual Sabbat entries, such as BELTANE, SAMHAIN, and so forth.

      BLASTING A term used in medieval times for a malicious act of sorcery believed to have been practiced by Witches and designed mainly to destroy the fertility of crops, animals, and even humans. According to ancient legend, to blast crops, a Witch needed to make a magickal powder from the ashes of a flayed cat, lizard, snake, or toad that had been incinerated over hot coals. The powder would then be scattered over the crop fields, causing them to fail. Blastings were usually carried out as an act of revenge.

      Modern Witches do not perform blastings or any other form of black magick that violates the Wiccan Rede. If anything, the majority have been known to cast spells and perform special rites that promote fertility, not destroy it.

      BOLLINE A practical white-hilted working knife used by Witches to harvest sacred herbs, cut wooden wands, slice bread, and carve magickal symbols in candles and talismans. Unlike the Witches’ ritual dagger known as an athame, the bolline is generally not used for the storing or directing of energy in spells and rituals. Compare ATHAME.

      BOMOR A Malay Shaman (or medicine man) who uses various forms of divination to determine the treatment of sick patients. The bomor also uses counter-charms, makes propitiatory offerings of food to the spirits, and brings back the soul of the patient