#witch terms

[afledglings-guideto-witchcraft]

Types of Witches

If you've been around some witch groups for a while, whether on Facebook, tumblr or any other app/site that caters to different people gathering then you've probably seen different witches using terms to describe their practices.

A witch may use a term or several in order to best describe their practice. For instance, I myself use "chaotic Grey/eclectic witch". Chaotic/eclectic means that my practice is made up of several different practices, The "Grey" indicates that my practice consists of magic that's considered good and magic that's considered bad.

Here is a list of common witch types and what they entail:

Green witch- a witch that works with herbs and other plants.

Sea witch- a witch that lives by or works with ocean elements

Kitchen witch- a witch who incorporates magic into cooking

Storm witch- a witch that works with storms

Elemental witch- a witch that works with the four (five elements: air, fire, water, earth and spirit)

Secular witch- a itech that does not work with deities nor follow a religion

Solitary witch- a witch that works alone

Traditional witch- a witch that practices the "old" (before wicca) way.

Hedge witch- a witch that practices astral projection and can move and communicate between this world and the other world.

Ceremonial witch- a witch that performs ceremonies one rituals.

Hereditary witch- a witch that comes from a bloodline of witches

Cosmic witch- a witch that reads natal charts and follows astrology.

Divination witch- a witch who uses forms of divination in their practice.

As stated above you can have one term, multiple or none. The choice is up to you.

-As with every subject that is spoken about on this blog please continue your own research into the subject to better learn or understand it-

-DNI made by @fallout-and-dragon-age -

[wiccan-succulento]

Important Witch Terminology 101

Aeromancy: A form of divination. Uses the element of air by observing the sky and celestial events; clouds, wind, weather, comets.

Aether: The fifth element; spirit

Altar: A special place/surface exclusively set for magickal rituals, spells and divination or religious acknowledgement 

Amulet: A protective object charged to deflect energies

Anointing Oil: Sacred, blessed and charged oil used for magickal purposes

Aphrodisiac: A substance that stimulates sexual arousal when consumed. “of or pertaining to Aphrodite”

Arcana: The two halves of a tarot deck; 22 major arcana cards, 56 minor arcana

Aromatherapy: Use of fragrances for therapeutic purposes

Asperge: Form of ritual purification involving the sprinkling of liquid on an item, person, or area to be cleansed

Astral Plane: Invisible parallel plane used for astral travel/projection

Astral Travel/Projection: Process of separating your spiritual self from your physical body to travel the astral plane

Astrology: Study of/belief in the effects of movements and placements of celestial bodies on life/human behavior

Athame: Cleanse and consecrated ritual blade that directs energies; NEVER used to cut anything on the physical plane

Attunement: Process of bringing different energies into harmony or preparing an energetic entity to receive and accept energy from another source

Aura: Life-energy field which surrounds all living things

Automatic Writing: Form of divination. The channeler uses a pen & paper while in an altered state of consciousness to receive messages.

Balefire: Fire lit for magickal/religious purposes

Bane: Something which destroys. Poisonous, destructive, dangerous.

Banish: Magickally end or rid of unwanted presences/entities 

Bind: Magickally restrain/attach something or someone

Blue Moon: When there are (2) full moons in a month; the second full moon

Book Of Shadows (BOS/Grimoire): A witch’s book of spells, rituals, magickal lore, and gained knowledge

Calling: Invoking divine forces

Cauldron: Bowl-like tool used in witchcraft; represents the goddess and water. 

Centering: An energy practice of gathering and balancing our energy to harness it for our intention and will

Ceromancy: A form of divination. Using a candle to study the flame and smoke to sense the energy surrounding a situtation

Chalice: A wine glass-like ritual tool, representing female principles

Channeling: A form of divination. You allow an entity to “borrow” your body to speak/give messages to others

Charging: To infuse an object with personal energy. To have an object infused with energy from the sun/moon/celestial object.

Charms: A charged item worn for magickal effect

Circle: An important element of a magickal ritual, used to focus and prevent outside interference

Cleanse: Removing energies from an object or space

Consecrate: Act of blessing an object/place by instilling it with positive energy

Coven: Group of witches that work together  and preform magickal ceramonies. Usually (13) or less

Craft: Meaning witchcraft

Cultural Appropriation: Adoption of certain aspects/practices of one culture by another culture

Curse/Hex: Attach negative energy to someone/something usually for a specific negative outcome for someone

Decoction: A method of extracting herbal constituents from stems, roots, barks, and rhizomes

Divination: Metaphysical work of finding solutions and the truth by using symbols and objects or communication with divine entities

Doctrine of Signatures: States that while Nature/the Creator has taken care to provide, we need to keep ourselves well

Dowsing: A form of divination. Usually used for finding items of objects. Uses a dowsing rod to point towards a location, using a map.

Dream Work: Magickal work done in dream space or while sleeping. Lucid dreaming, dream walking, dream spells,  and dream interpretation

Elements: Earth, Fire, Air, Water; the building blocks of the universe and life

Elixir: A magickal potion designed to bring about transformation or a medical potion to result in a healthy change

Enchantments: A spell used on an object to remain a secret and hidden magickal object. 

Esbat: A day of a full moon; usually followed by a gathering or ritual

Evocation: To call something out from withing; to draw out energy from within someone/oneself

Fascination/Mind-Bending: A mental effort to control someones mind

Folk Magick: Practice of projecting personal power and energies of natural objects to bring about needed changes

God: Masculine aspect of a deity

Goddess: Feminine aspect of a deity

Grounding: To disperse excess and balance energies generated by magickal work

Handfasting: A Pagan wedding ceremony

Herbalism: Art of using herbs to facilitate magickal and medical needs

Incatation: Collection of words recited as part of a spell or used as the spell itself

Intent: The purpose of magickal work

Left-Hand Path: A term describing a “darker” path, a “more negative” path

Magick: Accomplishing change according to ones will and intent using methods beyond the realm of general understanding that include the manipulation of energy

Meditation: A method to still and calm the mind. Bringing focus to the body and intent 

Occultist: Someone who studies/deals with the occult; metaphysical and paranormal phenomena and magick

(1)Pagan & (2)Neo-Pagan: (1) a religious path outside of main world religions (2) a religious path involving a non-main world religion and aspects/beliefs of main world religions

Pendulum: Used in divination, a weight affixed to the end of a string or chain

Pentacle: a five point star within a circle. General paganism: upward point. Satanism: downward point

Pentagram: a five point star. General paganism: upward point. Satanism: downward point

Projective Hand: The hand which energy is sent from the body. Your dominant hand

Receptive Hand: The hand which energy is received into the body. Your non-dominant hand

Rede: The basic rules laid out for Wicca; “An it harm none, do what thou will”

Runes: A set of symbols used in divination and magickal work

Sabbat: A witch holiday/celebration. There are 8 in the year; depicted in the Wheel of the Year

Scrying: A form of divination. To gaze at/into an object, crystal ball, pool of water, candle flame..., to still the conscious mind to contact the psychic mind

Sigil: Magickal orientated seal, sign, glyph used in a magickal working

Spell: A magickal ritual/concentrated form of energy to reach a desired result in some form

Talisman: An object charged to attract a specific force

Tarot Cards: Used in divination. A set of 78 cards which feature symbols and pictures used to connect with the divine

Visualization: Process of mentally forming images of goals during rituals to direct energies

Wand: Ritual tool to direct energies

Wheel of the Year: A full cycle of the pagan seasonal year

Wicca: A modern pagan religion revolving around nature and natural energies

Witch: A practitioner of magick

Witchcraft: The craft of a witch; utilizes magick and divination in a specialized craft 

[crystaloccult]

How To Formulate A Ritual

Disclaimer: This is UPG just from experience and upbringing. Though my background is eclectic with Wiccan foundings, I would still advise to give this a read to see if it benefits you! This layout can be done for coven working, a big group ritual or solitary should you see fit.

Formulating a ritual is much like writing an outline for a public speech. In order to have an effective ritual, you must have the following planned out (or at least thought about) beforehand to ensure a smooth delivery. What you need to determine are the following:

- Purpose - Supplies - Congregants - Time & Place

Purpose: The most important part of formulating a ritual is the whole purpose of it. Are you here celebrating a sabbatt or doing a type of large energy work? See if you can accomplish your goal as a spell before resulting in a ritual (there’s nothing wrong with doing a ritual instead of a spell, should you feel the need to. I just know spells are a lot less work from my own UPG). Examples: Ostara, Samhain, Fertility, Prosperity, Banishment, etc. Knowing the purpose of the ritual will help you with every other part of planning it.

Supplies: Think of all the supplies you need to bring with you in order to conduct the ritual. You typically need the following: - Athame / Wand - Representation of the Quarters / Elements - Representation of the Deity / Deities - Cakes & Ale - Candles & Lighter / Matches - Table to Hold Altar - Altar Decor Keep in mind if you’re doing something unique for the ritual that you will need to add (and possibly remove) from the mentioned list above. It’s important to know what you’re bringing and make a list, that way you’re assured you will not forget anything.

Congregants: Are you doing a solitary ritual? Then you don’t have to worry about this as much. If this is for a group of people, a coven, or a large event such as a pagan pride, then the number of congregants will be play a role. - Are you catering to a small group of people (such as 2-10), an average size group (such as 11-29) or a large group (such as 30+)? - How well do you know these people? Is it your own coven, your close friends, a random group of people or a mixture of the mentioned? - Are there people who are willing to take on roles for you (such as: Priest/ess, Altar Attendant, Gate Keeper, space prep, quarter calls, etc.)? - Are congregants experienced in ritual or are they newcomers?

Knowing things such as those mentioned above will help you in planning the ritual. In my UPG, the more you know your audience, the more authentic you can plan for it. Please keep in mind that not everyone who says they will be there or who says they will help you in ritual will end up doing it. It’s important to remember to go with the flow and not to panic.

Time & Place: Are you performing the ritual at your hose or someone else’s? Will it be at a public park? Know the area you’re working with. If it’s at your house, make sure to keep up with house care rules and aid those whose house your doing a ritual in. If the work is inside, make sure the area is clear of clutter and if it’s outside, make sure it’s clear of clutter and animal poop! If conducting a ritual at a park, keep in mind that you might need permission to do so beforehand. Each park laws are dependent upon the state your in, so make sure to check with those before the ritual. Also, keep in mind what kind of area you’re in. Some areas are more tolerable then others in terms of paganism. Keep yourselves safe!

Picking a date and time can seem not like a huge thing but you’ll find that some days just work better with your group then others. Is your group more available during the week or during the weekend? Are nights easier then days? Look at the astrology for the day to see what type of energy you’re working with.

Basic Outline: When writing up the ritual, I usually stick with an outline similar to the one listed below. Feel free to edit it and change it to what works best with you and your group. - Supply Checklist - Instructions Before Ritual - Cut Circle & Altar Activation - Quarter Calls - Deity Calls - Ritual - Cakes & Ale - Deity Dismissal - Quarter Dismissal - Circle Opening - Grounding

You may change the order if it fits your needs better. Remember, it is YOUR ritual!

Things To Remember: - Ritual does not always go as you planned it. Do not dwell on that fact. Go with the flow, you’ll feel much better. (and this one is the hardest one for me, because I like to be in control) - If you forget something, make sure you have back ups. ( i.e., extra candles, lighters, people helping out, etc.) - Use what you have. (it does not need to be expensive) - Memorize if you’re able to (there’s nothing wrong with having the ritual in front of you, but my UPG always shows that memorization makes a more powerful ritual since you’re able to focus more on the magic then the lines) - Let go and enjoy the *magic*

Key Words Mentioned: Priest / Priestess: person(s) who are leading the ritual Altar Attendant: person who helps with altar specifics such as lighting candles, setting up and putting away the altar and decor Gate Keeper: person who is able to cut the magical space due to emergencies or late comers Space Prep: person who is able to cleanse space and prepare it for ritual (or other activities) Quarter Calls: person(s) who are calling in the elements / watchtowers. Cakes & Ale: food and drink that are offered to deities and congregants of circle. Circle Cutting: cutting the circle separates the magical space from the mundane. Usually performed by the Priest with an athame. Altar Activation: person (usually Priestess) activates the altar for magical workings. This is done with using specific pentagrams above the altar depending upon the ritual. Grounding: sending the energy back to Earth or where it came from

And that is that witches! Let me know of any questions :)

[ravenhexxx]

Vocab and terms for us witches...slainte

[honeycoyote]

could you give me a run down of some witchy lingo? I keep seeing words like "circles, grounding, centering, salts" (to name a few) but most of the time when I search them up it gives me completely different ways to do said things? could you tell me what the general meaning of some witchy words / sayings? I'd appreciate it! -X

oh boy, this is gonna be complex since unless someone is following strict religious/witchy guidelines everyone kind of does their own thing. so there is no right or wrong way to do things. but i am going to give you my definition of things 

Cricle- A circle is a metaphysical sphere of space casted by practitioners of many branches for use in ritual magic or general spell working. the circle is made from energy and functions as a form of sacred space, it will also provide the user with a form of magical protection. 

Grounding- Grounding is the act of mentally and energetically linking oneself with the earth or another source of power, or any other natural source of energy (moon, sun, an element) .  By grounding, we create a consistant flow of energy with whatever we are linking to. w of energy  a witches guide to grounding 

Centering- centering is often mixed up with grounding and they are often linked to one another, ie the term “grounding and centering”  Centering is the act of getting in touch with ourselves

“Centering is a process of finding out who and where you are.  It involves increasing your holistic perception—that you are a whole person, not just a collection of parts.  Where grounding is a connecting experience, centering is often a soothing one.  To center is to locate that part of ourselves where we perceive our true and whole self to reside, the center of our spirit, and to function from and with that center.  Life is often reactive; to be centered is to behave based on free will at all times, not in response to stimuli.” - Deborah Lipp, Elements of Ritual

Salt- salt is one of the most, if not the most common tool in witchcraft. it can be used in almost anything, cleansing, protection, banishing, ect ect. it comes in many different variations and forms (black salt, pink salt) so it has a very diverse usage. 

ummm im not sure what other words to cover but i hope this helps. you should maybe check out witchipedia it covers tones of things