know the basics

Burning Times -- You will hear this often. It is in reference to a historical time from around 1000 ce through the 17th century when it is said that over nine million people were tortured and burned by church and public officials on the assumption that they were the Christian version of Witches. This turned into an extremely profitable venture, as all land and property was seized from the accused individual and portions given to the accuser (in reward fashion) and the remainder seized by the church officials. Historians indicated that the majority of people tortured and murdered were women and children.

Circle -- A Group meeting. Usually a small group of Pagans that practice their agreed path together. A "Drum Circle" is usually used to denote Shamanic meetings. ( see also: Magick Circle )

Coven: A coven is a group of practicing witches. Traditionally they numbered thirteen. Today they can be of any size, but many traditions prefer to limit the maximum number to thirteen. Covens are lead by a high priestess, a high priest, or both. A coven meets together regularly to perform spells and worship. / A congregation of Witches, usually with at least three but no more than 13 members.

Craft (The Craft): The Craft is the practice of Witchcraft.

Esbat: This is a meeting of a coven for purposes other than a Sabbat. In most traditions these are held at the Full Moon, but may also be held more often. Solitaries also celebrate Esbats, to perform spells or celebrate the Full Moon. Esbats are used to do spell work and other things that may not be appropriate on the Sabbat. / Any one of the 13 lunar festivals throughout the year, celebrated by Witches at the times of the full moon.

Druidism --A Pagan path that follows the Celtic pantheon tradition.

Eclectic: An eclectic witch is one that doesn't follow any particular tradition. He/she will mostly borrow pieces from various other traditions, and maybe write a few, until they have made a tradition for themselves. Eclectics usually don't feel that any of the existing traditions are right for them, but they fabricate one themselves. Just because they have formed their tradition in this manner, doesn't make it any less valid. Many eclectic witches never amass a single set of rituals. Instead they celebrate each ceremony as they see fit. Eclectics are usually solitary and probably the fastest growing group within the Craft.

Earth Magick --A practical form of magick wherein the powers and forces of Earth Mother are used to conduct magickal workings or celebrations. Usually items associated with the Earth and nature hold a particular significance in the ritual or spell. Virtually all Pagans use Earth magick in some form or another.

Earth religion -- A religion whose main tenet is that the worshiper be in harmony with the Earth and with all life. Such religions oppose the idea that the world is a resource to be subdued and exploited.

God - a life force, an impregnator. He initiates change and action, he is movement and purpose. The God is neither the stern, all powerful deity of Christianity, nor is he "just" the consort of the Goddess. The God and Goddess to me are equal, for without one we could not have the other. / The God is the Sun, shining through the day, rising and setting in the endless cycle which rules our lives. Without the Sun we could not exist, therefore it has been revered as the source of all life. His force surges with each spring blossom, each new tree and life. He empowers and protects the creations of the Goddess. / Shown as the Horned God he is phallic and fierce. He is the tender of wild animals and is sometimes seen wearing horns on his head, symbolising his connection with these animals, In earlier times, hunting was one of the activities thought to be ruled by the God. / The God as Son and Lover is dual, being both created and the creator. He is also seen as the Sun that dies each year in winter and reborn as Spring approaches. Many mythologies celebrate the death and rebirth of the solar hero or Sun God. He represents all that is vital, and is a wise comforter and master of secret lore. With the Goddess he also celebrates and rules sex.

Goddess - the substance of the universe, she is the womb from which we all have sprung. She is all around us as mother earth, moon and stars. She is there in each bush, river and the air we breathe. The Goddess brings life, but she also brings destruction and that destruction is necessary for the continuance of life. Any creative process requires some demolition. For example; making a garden requires killing weeds and any bugs and slugs that may want to feast on your garden. So the Goddess is Death as well as Life. / The Goddess is also the moon, ruler of the tides and the ebb and flow of the life force. The moon runs on a cycle, just like us women who have a menstrual cycle. Also the three stages of the moon correspond to the three stages in a woman's life - Maiden, Mother and Crone. From this comes the idea of the Triple Goddess, expressing each special phase of femininity.

Handfasting --A Wiccan or Pagan marriage ceremony.

Karma --The belief that one's thoughts and deeds can be either counted against them or added to their spiritual path during several life times. In the Indian Sanskrit language it means "action." Follows the law of cause and effect.

Kitchen Witch: This is a word often used to describe someone who uses spells and folk magic. These people put more emphasis on the spells and less, or none, on the religious aspects.

Left-Hand path -- Silver RavenWolf explains it well: I never heard this one until I started networking across the country with other magickal individuals. It is a term that points to those people who feel they are justified in using magick for purposes that are not constructive to other human beings. It is a reference that they are possibly a self-serving individual. Conversely, the right-hand path is considered positive in nature.

Magick: Magick is taking something that you visualize in your mind, and bringing it into being in the physical world. This is done by the force of will. This is what we often refer to as spell work. It is spelled with the final 'k' as to not be confused with stage magic, such as David Copperfield performs. / The conscious use of psychic energy accompanied by ritual, to accomplish a goal. The art and science of focusing your will and emotions to effect change both in the world around you and the world within you. Magick is neither good nor evil, positive nor negative. It is the use of the power that determines the path it will take. It is often spelled 'magick' or 'majick' to distinguish it from stage magic (such as sleight-of-hand).

Magick Circle --A physical or visionary boundary ceremoniously encapsulating the participants of ritual from outside forces. In Wicca, a magick circle is considered the doorway between the mundane and spiritual worlds allowing us to move between the two.

Mundane World --Our everyday physical world. You're in it right now.

Neo-pagan: The prefix 'neo-' means new or modern, so a 'neo-pagan' is a modern pagan. See 'pagan' / A modern Earth Religion which borrows and adapts from the best of pre-Christian Pagan religions, sometimes with additions from contemporary religious thinkers; from the Latin 'paganus', meaning 'country dweller'. The term Neopagan means "new Pagan" and is not a widely popular term. It seems to be a direct result of the New Age lingo.

New Age --Usually refers to mixing metaphysical practices with a structured religion.

Pagan: This word originally comes from Latin. 'Pagus' means a canton or district, or in other words a parcel of land, usually out in the country. A 'paganus' was one who lived on this parcel of land, usually working it as a farm or performing other rural tasks. 'Paganus' came to mean country folk. As Christianity came to various parts of Europe, the people in the towns and cities were converted, but those in the country were not. So country folk were non-Christian. The word 'pagan', which originally meant country person, came to mean non-believer and worse. Today 'pagan' refers to anyone who practices one of the nature based religions, such as Wicca. All witches or Wiccans are pagans, but not all pagans are witches or Wiccans.

Pantheon --No, we are not talking about a building in Greece, but a collection or group of Gods and Goddesses in a particular religious or mythical structure. Examples are: Greek pantheon, Roman pantheon, Egyptian pantheon, Teutonic pantheon, Celtic pantheon, etc

Path -- The particular Pagan belief system that a person has chosen. There are branches in these paths as well. Wicca is a Pagan path, but there are several traditions within Wicca to choose. There are a wide variety of Shamanic paths as well. Druidism is a Celtic based path. Asatru is a Norse path following the Norse pantheon. The list goes on.

Ritual --A focused mental and/or physical ceremony to either honor or thank one's chosen pantheon, or to perform a specific magickal working or act.

Sabbat: These are the eight Solar Festivals celebrated by witches. They are usually celebratory in nature, but in some circumstances, work may be done during them. Work, such as spell and healing, is usually done at the Esbats. / any one of the eight seasonal festivals spaced throughout the wheel of the year, celebrated by virtually all Pagans.

Skyclad: Means literally clad or covered by nothing except the sky. In other words, it means naked. Many covens and solitaries perform their rites naked. Some prefer to wear robes. This has been debated for some time. I recommend that you do what feels right for you.

Spell --Extended mental and emotional energy spoken aloud, written, spoken to oneself, drawn or even danced. To work, it should be clear, concise, focused and emotional. The need must be present to bring any spell a successful culmination.

Spiritual Worlds --More than one? Yes indeed. Not all, but many Pagan paths teach about the three spiritual worlds: The lower, the middle and the upper world. The lower world is the spiritual bowls of the Earth Mother, among other things, it is especially the warm and cozy home of our ancient ancestors . The middle world is just a clock-tic off in time from our mundane world. Have you ever noticed a mysterious, unexplained movement out of the corner of your eye, but when you quickly turn to see it, it's gone? That's a glimpse of the middle world. A realm of myth and fantastical things. The upper world is the vast expanse of all time and space. The playground of Gods, Goddesses, Angels and all other spiritual life. One important thing to remember about the spirit world, some people's minds interpret the same things differently. On the other hand, there are many things in the spirit world will always be interpreted the same way by all.

Solitary: A solitary witch is one, who by preference or circumstance, practices their religion alone. A solitary does not belong to a coven.

Tradition: A tradition is a group of rituals and procedures that are adhered to by a group of witches. They pass their tradition on to others, usually within a coven. Examples of Traditions are: Gardnerian, Alexandrian, Dianic, Celtic and Saxon. Many witches don't have a tradition and they are referred to as 'eclectic'; see eclectic.

Warlock: This is a word that is not used much by witches today. The original meaning of the word is one that breaks an oath or breaks faith. It is a derrogatory term. During the Burning Times it was used to denote someone who broke their faith with God. I've also heard that witches used it to refer to a witch who revealed too much and brought the witch hunters down upon his fellows. This would fit with the 'oath breaker' meaning. Either way, it is not a nice word. Thanks to the media, it is now often used by the public to refer to a male witch. I don't know of any true witches who would use the word to describe a practitioner of the Craft. Anyone using this word to describe themselves should be considered carefully. Many who do use are only attention getters.

Wheel of Life --The life cycle of all things: birth, living and reproducing, and death. The wheel of life revolves from the microscopic to the cosmic scale, encompassing everything from atoms to galaxies. All things that live will eventually die, thereby allowing rebirth to take place. This continues on and on in a never ending cycle. The wheel of life is easily seen in nature.

Wheel of the Year: Most witches view the year as a big wheel, much like the ancient celts did. As the wheel turns, the year goes by and the seasons pass. Eventually each season comes around again in a never ending cycle. / One full cycle of the seasonal year, beginning with the Samhain celebration.

Wicca: This word comes from the Old English word 'wicca' which means witch. The word is masculine, the feminine form being 'wicce', showing that at that time there was no stereotype of the old woman. Today the word is used to refer to a nature based religion, which is basically modern Witchcraft. Not everyone who practices Witchcraft, will use the word Wicca, and vice versa, but you are on safe ground using them synonymously. Some modern witches still use 'wicca' and 'wicce' to refer to a male and female witch, but this is kind of rare. Those that prefer the word 'Wicca' over 'Witchcraft' do so because they feel that 'Witchcraft' and 'witch' have too many bad connotations. They feel people will relate to them as a 'wiccan' better than as a 'witch'.

Wiccan: An adjective that means "pertaining to the religion of Wicca." It can also be used to refer to a practitioner of that religion.

Witch: The word 'witch' is a loaded word. In today's society it means different things to different people. For our uses, a witch is someone who is a follower of the nature based religion of 'Wicca'. The word 'witch' comes from the Middle English word 'wicche' which was basically a wise woman that practiced the Old Religion. It came from the Old English word 'wicce' which is a feminine form and means the same thing as its Middle English counter part. / A Pagan who worships selected Pagan Goddess(es) and/or God(s), practices magic, and considers her/himself to be a follower of the spiritual path of Witchcraft. Male Witches are called Witches. The term "warlock" is an unacceptable mundane creation.

Witchcraft: This can be defined as the practice of the Wiccan Religion. Like 'witch', many people would define this word in many different ways. / A Neo-Pagan religion with many diverse traditions derived from various cultural sources (though mostly European) around which Covens and solitary practitioners base their practices.