Witchcraft Terms and Definitions (Witchcraft Basics)
Visualization- Using your mind to reshape your reality.
Intent- The purpose you have for performing a spell.
Energy- A flow of power that moves in and around all things, connecting them together.
Widdershens- counter clockwise
Watchtower- Usually in reference to the four Cardinal directions and their corresponding elements, and possible guardian spirits that reside over these things.
Guardian Spirit- The spirit of a place, element, or thing that is tasked with guarding that place, element, or thing.
God- May refer to the singular God, the sun God, horned God, or any number of masculine diety or perhaps all masculine dieties. May also refer to the overall presiding primordial and unknowable cosmic energy responsible for creation, the Christian, Jewish, or Muslim God, etc.
Goddess- May refer to the singular Goddess, the Moon Goddess, Triple Goddess, or any number of feminine diety or perhaps all feminine diety.
Gods (Plural)- Usually in reference to all dieties north major and minor that any number of polytheists believe in. Note that these dieties may be different from person to person depending on belief.
Astral Travel- Using your astral body in order to travel to different places, usually on the astral plane. Also astral projection.
Astral Plane- The plane of existence directly parallel to our own. The astral plane most resembles the physical plane. Some believe that the astral plane may also be the spiritual plane.
Shaman- A medicine wo/man and traveler between world. Known for having extensive knowledge and being wise.
Magick- As opposed to “magic” denotes the actual, very real magick that is performed in witchcraft. Magick is, essentially, using the energies around you to influence change in the physical or non-physical worlds.
Witch- A practitioner of magick, who usually ties magick in to their religion, though not always.
Magician- A practitioner of Ceremonial or High Magick. Usually concentrates their practice on the magick itself rather than using magick as a religious practice.
High Magick- Also Ceremonial Magick is a practice of Magick that involves ritualistic practices. Usually High Magick is very precise, and has a lot of dogmatic principles.
Practical Magick- Magick that is less stringent, and uses common items as much as possible.
Green Witchcraft- The use of nature and natural items in their craft. Herbs, dirt, stones, etc. may be used.
Kitchen Witchcraft- Witchcraft that weaves magick into drink and food.
Cottage Witchcraft- Similar to kitchen witchcraft, cottage witches often weave magick into household items such as blankets, clothes, and even the house itself.
White Magick- Magick that is generally considered to do good things. In ceremonial magick, White Magick is considered magick that communicates with angelic beings and dieties.
Black Magick- Magick that is intended to cause harm to yourself or others.
Grey Magick- Magick that is somewhere in between white and black. Grey Magick Practitioners usually practice magick that is on the white spectrum, but do not fear curses and hexes. Their philosophy: One must know how to curse before they can heal.
Sigil- A magickal symbol that usually represents a word or group of words to focus intent.
Runes- A set of sigils that are commonly used in divination. The most common runes that are found are the Elder Farthark runes.
Divination- The art and practice of divining the past, present, and future using certain tools such as cards, runes, bones, etc.
Medium- One who speaks with and possibly sees spirits.
Psychic- One who is considered clairvoyant, clairaudient, and is usually a medium. Many witches actually avoid this term altogether, however, because they prefer to simply be called Witch.
Clairvoyance- The ability to see things before they happen.
Clairaudience- The ability to hear things before they happen.
Clairsentience- The ability to feel things before they happen.
Empath- One who can feel the emotions of other people.
Telepath- One who can sense the thoughts of other people. This may or may not be clear thoughts and the person may or may not know that they are doing this.
Psychometry- The ability to sense the past, present, and future of an object or person by touch.
Compulsion- (This is one of my own definitions, not a common definition) The ability to push your own thoughts and desires into the minds of other people, persuading them to carry out your will. Essentially: Mind control.
Telekenesis- The ability to move objects with your mind.
I’ll likely continue editing this most in the future as I think of more terms. If you have any that you would like to add, please do!
