| Book of Shadows |
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| ASATRU A Pagan religion meaning "true to the Asa (Gods), or faith in the Aesir and Vanir, who are the gods and goddesses of the Old Norse religons. Asatru is a noble religon believing in courage, honor, hospitality, independence, individuality, industriousness, justice, loyalty, truthfullness, and dignity. Their religious ceremony is called a blot and their get togethers are referred to as a Sumbel. Their holdays coincide closely with Pagan holidays and are as follows: Disfest (Disablot) January 31 Ostara (Ostara) March 31 May Eve (Valpurgis) April 30 Midsummer (Midsumarsblot) June 21 Freysfest (Freysblot) July 31 Fallfest (Hausblot) September 23 Winter Night (Vetrnaetr) October 31 Yule (Jol) December 21 |
| ARCANA, MINOR The set of 57 cards devoted to the elements. Swords for air, wands for fire, pentacles for earth, and cups for water. |
| ARCANA, MAJOR The set of 21 cards of the Tarot that demonstate the movement of a person's life from beginning (Fool-innocence) to end (Universe-completion, joining with the greater cosmos.) To learn more about Tarot, click here. |
| ARCANE The unseen, or secret. Arcana means closed or hidden. |
| ANIMISM The set of beliefs that everything possesses a soul or spirit. It is one of the oldest expamples of Paganism. The theory of spirit guardians also sprang from this theory. |
| ALPHA ET OMEGA (also known as AO) An English occult lodge established in the early twentieth century by J. W. Brodie-Innes and Moina Mathers. It attempted to preserve the Outer Order of the Golden Dawn, when that lodge fell. Aside from a tabloid catastrophe (1966 Daily Telegraph picture) an excellent book by Francis Israel Regardie, Stella Matutina ,a printing of the Golden Dawn's teachings would be the highlighting event of this magickal lodge. |
| AMEN-RA TEMPLE Another lodge of the Golden Dawn's Hermetic Order located in Scotland's Edinburgh. It saw the rise and fall of J.W. Brodie-Innes and MacGregor Mathers. |
| AMULET A colored stone or other naturally occuring object that often depicts an inscription that protects the wearer. |
| ANCIENT DRUID ORDER (ADO) An organization founded in 1717 by John Toland, it merged with the Ancient ORder of Druids sometime around the turn of the twentieth century. The most notable member was leader George Watson McGregor Reid who successfully campaigned for the right to worship freely at Stonehenge, he was elected in 1908. The ADO exists today and is based out of London. |
| ANCIENT AND MYSTICAL ORDER ROSAE CRUCIS (AMORC) An organization that is based out of San Jose, CA, that claims Rosicrucian origins. It offers training by correspondance course. |
| ANCIENT ORDER OF DRUIDS (AOD) A non-religious group founded in 1780s by Henry Hurle. It exists today and features vaious splinter groups. |
| ANOINTING The act of sanctifying an object with a special blend of oils or extracts of herbs. In the Burning Times, witches were thought to have combined anointing oils with soot or charcoal powder to travel unseen to their conven meeting at night. |
| APULEIUS, LUCIUS A Roman priest of Isis who wrote The Golden Ass in the second century. His work is seen as one of the best fictional writing of The Craft. It has been transcribed into English twice: once by William Adlington (1566) and then by Robert Graves (1950). The story featured the legacy of Demeter and Persephone and their relationship with Pluto. |
| AGE OF AQUARIUS The beginning of a new era in humna existance in which men and women will live as equals and peace will be knows. This age is expected sometime in the next century, many believe after the War. |
| ARADIA The "gospel of Witches" written by Charles G. Leland. Published in 1899 it was the first book widely known to feature esbats. Many believe this book was a hoax. |
| ARCANDUM A divination book written during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries by an unknown French person. It was first transcribed into English by Cambridge psychic William Warde. It features the Greek Spheres of Life and Death. It was one of the most popular books for followers of the Old Ways for many years. |
| ARTEFACTS Objects made by human hands that serve a variety of purposes. |
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