Wicca Flashcards
deosil
Clockwise, or sunwise direction.
widdershins
In a contrary or counterclockwise direction.
great rite
The celebration of the God and Goddess symbolically in the joining of the athame and chalice.
cakes and wine
A symbolic rite that both grounds energy and directly links us with the Goddess and God; symbolic of the fruit and grain of the earth.
chalice
Symbolic for the element of Water and the Goddess, particularly her womb.Often used to hold wine, water, milk, juice and other ritual drinks. During ritual, it must never leave the hands of the handmaiden.
craft name
The new, magical name taken by a witch. This name is kept secret from all except those with whom the witch works.
Wiccan rede
A set of statements that provides moral guidance in Wicca, the key statement being the popular rede: “these eight words the Wiccan rede fulfill, an it harm none, do what ye will.”
witch’s ladder
In meditation, it is used as a tool for charting distractions.
myth
Original meaning “joining back together”. A story about gods, ancestors, or heroes, told to explain the natural world or a symbolic truth.
energy
A source of usable, inherent power. Cannot be created or destroyed, only changed in form. Its essence exists in the nature of all things animate or inanimate.
third eye
A symbolic space at the center of the forehead that represents the inner realms and spaces of higher consciousness: enlightenment, imagination, psychic ability, and mental activity.
Seven planes of vibration
Include the physical, etheric, astral, mental, spiritual, duatic, and celestial.
magic
The mindful and conscious control of the will to use mental energy to accomplish a goal.
witch’s pyramid
The four pillars or four cornerstones of witchcraft. Its key concepts are: Imagination, the Will, Faith, and Secrecy.
raised energy
Originally called “raising power” by Gerald B. Gardner. Raised by selves or a group with the intention of it being used for specific magical purposes.
drawn down energy
Energy from another realm that is applied to tasks we cannot do ourselves, usually in the form of a magickal experience.
grounding
The process of connecting a body to earth to eliminate excess charge. Spiritually, grounding means grounding ourselves to Mother Earth. You establish grounding by using visualization to send excess energy back to the ground. Excess energy can also be accumulated as a result of undergoing spiritual rituals.
Tao of Physics
Based on the beliefs of the School of Naturalists. In this spirit, the universe is seen as being in a constant process of re-creating itself, as everything that exists is a mere aspect of qi. Qi is in a perpetual transformation between its condensed and diluted state.These two different states of qi, on the other hand, are embodiments of the abstract entities of yin and yang,the two complementary extremes that constantly play against and with each other and can not exist without the other.
Hegel’s hypothesis
The triad thesis, antithesis, and synthesis often used to describe the thought of this German philosopher. The thesis is an intellectual proposition.The antithesis is simply the negation of the thesis, a reaction to the proposition.The synthesis solves the conflict between the thesis and antithesis by reconciling their common truths, and forming a new proposition.
etheric essence
An energy or force responsible for the manifestation of all matter. It is the primary principle underlying all creation.
spirit
The force and energy found in all matter which makes matter active or gives it life. It is the creative life force in each individual.
consciousness
The ability and state of being aware.
Gödel’s incompleteness theorem
From mathematics. You cannot describe a complete system only using the elements within that system.
sympathetic magic
Like effecting like: rituals in which doing something to an image of an object produces a desired effect in the real object.
inspiration
Divine influence, “intaking” of knowledge.
time
A temporal measurement that is relative and does not exist.
space
An arbitrary measurement that is relative and does not exist.
will
Focused intent. Must be balanced with what can be truly accomplished.
mentalism
Concept that all thoughts are things Thoughts and ideas proceed magick. Everything in nature is the result of thought–all are manifestations of the collective mind. “The all is mind, the universe is mental.”
correspondence
As above so below, as below so above. Macro and micro are reflections of one another. This concept is used in sympathetic magick.
polarity
The concept that everything is dual in nature.
elementals
Spiritual beings and creatures who inhabit the astral plane and are connected with the elements. The most traditional are; gnomes, undines, sylphs, and salamanders.
egregore
From a Greek word meaning “watcher.” A thought-form created by will and visualization. A distinctive energy of a specific group of magicians who are working together, creating and building the same thought-form or energy-form.
astral temple
A magical realm of creation through techniques that incorporate meditation, visualization, and energy direction. Changes occur that transforms the astral temple into a place between the worlds where the practitioner is no longer restrained by physical limitations of ordinary reality. The environment is similar to a dream experience in which the person completely controls and directs the dream according to his will.
Gerald Gardner
(1884 - 1964). Credited as the “father” of Wicca also known by the craft name Scire, was an English Wiccan, as well as an author and an amateur anthropologist and archaeologist. He was instrumental in bringing the Contemporary Pagan religion of Wicca to public attention, writing some of its definitive religious texts and founding the tradition of Gardnerian Wicca.
pentagram
Five-pointed star representing the five elements: air, water, earth, fire, and spirit.
wheel of the year
Consists of the eight festivals of the year based around the solstices and equinoxes, known as the quarter days, and the midpoints between, known as the cross quarter days.
Law of One
There is but one law, one mind, one principle, one substance in the universe, and I am one with all that is.
Three-fold law
States that whatever good or ill people do in the world returns to them three times. The significance of the specific number of three has often been debated, but may reference the mind, body, and spirit.
Tree of life
Mystical concept alluding to the interconnection of all life.
Beta
Brain wave level 15-18. Normal wakefulness, alertness.
Alpha
Brain wave level 8-12. Light to medium meditation, daydreaming, focused reading, watching TV. Waking from this level, relatively easy.
Theta
Brain wave level 4-6. Deep meditation, medium to deep sleep. Waking moderately difficult.
Delta
Brain wave level 2.5-0.5. Very deep sleep, coma, near death, anesthesia. Little or no consciousness.
harrayuh
meaning, “praise to the Gods”.
Newton’s first law of motion
Every body persists in its state of rest or of uniform motion in a straight line unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed upon it.
Newton’s second law of motion
The sum of all forces on an object are directly proportional to its mass times acceleration.
Newton’s third law of motion
To every action there is always an equal reaction.
ZEROth law of thermodynamics
If A and B are each in thermal equilibrium with C, then A and B are in thermal equilibrium with each other.
First law of Thermodynamics (or the law of Conservation Mass-Energy)
Energy may be transformed from one kind to another, but it cannot be created or destroyed; the total energy is constant.
Nature of Matter in quantum theory
Matter has no absolute nature. Quantum theory has proved that at the subatomic level, matter does not exist with certainty, but has a “tendency to exist” and atomic events do not occur with certainty, but rather show “a tendency to occur”.
What is the real difference between types of matter?
The number of vibrations per second. The vibratory rate is what causes matter to manifest, to take shape, to achieve form.
Upward triangle
Masculine, fire and air.
Downward triangle
Feminine, water and earth.
Star of David
Seal of Solomon, balance of male and female, harmony of elements.
Aradia, Gospel of the Witches
An old legend called The Legend of the Beautiful Pilgrim. It was recorded in the notes of this book by Charles Leland.
Aradia
said to have formed covens called “groves” in central Italy during the 14th century.
