A neuter term meaning brother or sister through affection rather than blood. In the occult Order of the Astral Star, an Adelphon is the title for members in the first degree. It is associated with the Fire of Earth in the Sephirah Malkuth (In the Golden Dawn's coloring, the russet colored quarter of Malkuth using the Queen Scale of color).

A tradition found in many religions, that features the veneration, honoring, or worship of deceased relatives. This may be a relative in a blood line or of an important person to the tribe.

In an SM scene, the person who receives intense sensation.

A ritual popular among Western Christians that commemorates the institution of the Eucharist and the presence of the body (corpus) of Jesus  in the Eucharist. In the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, it is a yearly ritual that consecrates the Vault of the Adepti used for Inner Order rituals.

Term used by UFO researcher J. Allen Hynek as a category for any unusual object seen at a distance in the sky during the daytime.

Originally an Arabic term from the early 17th century, faqir, translates as "a poor man." However, it became used to mean a holy man of Islam who subsisted through begging. By the late 18th century, the term "fake," from German or from Latin, with our modern meaning, was used in the slang of London's criminals. The combination of these two terms seems likely to have produced the word fakir (pronounced fah-keer), which was applied to Hindu ascetics.

Christian sect that believed the self-mortification of the body through physical abuse such as whipping and the wearing of hair shirts would help the member learn that the physical body and world are terrible and that the spirit can, in this way, be exalted.

Herbs, plant resins, and other substances that, when burned, release an odor. Sometimes used to represent the element of Air. Burning of incense is also involved in banishing unwanted spirits and energies, or to attract such spirits or entities, depending upon the ingredient(s) of the incense.

1.  The rational and cognitive powers of mind. Intelligence is found in Hod as part of Ruach, the Conscious Self.

2.  An independent, non-human, entity capable of communication across space or dimension.

1.  Mythologically, the daughter if Inachus, a Greek river god; she was a nymph seduced by Zeus who impregnated her. He turned her into a heifer and eventually restored her. She was the ancestor of Heracles. The Greeks also associated her with the Moon, and she was referred to as the “horned virgin,” associated both with the Moon and the bull.

2.  One of the larger moons of Jupiter, sometimes used in astrological interpretations. It was discovered in 1610 and given that name by Galileo.

3.  A repeated expression in Aleister Crowley’s famous "Hymn to Pan."

4.  A cry of victory, celebration, or triumph used by some Pagans and Thelemites. It was originally pronounced “yo!” but most magickal people today pronounce it “EE-yo!”

See Libation.

The line of descent from an ancestor. In ceremonial magick and many Pagan traditions, the lineage is the line of initiation from the origination of the current group to the present day. For some people, lineage is very important, as it links a person to a group's egregore. The longer the lineage, the stronger the egregore. See also egregore.

See Lughnasadh.

The cycle of 28 days starting at the new moon, moving through waxing (growing) moon, full moon and waning (shrinking) moon, and ending at the next new moon.

An ancient festival held around February 15 that became popular among the ancient Roman and even earlier Greeks. Originally for the purpose of averting evil spirits and purifying cities, it became associated with fertility leading to some licentious rituals, often including flogging. Named after the Roman god Lupercus, who is associated with Faunus, the equivalent of the Greek Pan.

Tracing some form of power, inheritance, etc., from mother to daughter, to granddaughter, etc.

See Beltane.

A tall pole, firmly implanted in the ground, with long ribbons attached at the top. It is a phallic symbol associated with the spring, and people dance around it during celebrations such as Beltane or May Eve. It is based on Germanic traditions.

A prehistoric monument that is noted for having extremely large stones. 

A tall, upright stone. In Great Britain menhirs tended to be part of a collection of megaliths, such as at Stonehenge. In other areas, menhirs appear by themselves. Menhirs indicated holy places.

The branch of conjuring that specializes in the imitation of ESP, paranormal phenomena, etc., for entertainment purposes.

The idea that the structure of the worlds' governments, and the relationship of people to those governments, is evolving in a positive way and leaving old dysfunctional systems behind.

A term adopted from computer users (and especially online forum users) meaning someone who is new to a subject. Often newbees ask the same questions that have been answered many times before.

A derogatory version of newbee. 

An enormous stone that juts upward vertically. Originally the term specifically applied to the large, towering stones in front of the doors to ancient Egyptian temples. These pillars had four sides and narrowed as they approached the top. A pyramid shape was often at the top. Originally obelisks were monoliths (made of one stone), but newer versions were made of multiple stones.

See oral tradition. 

The older term for Pentacle. 

A model or pattern that forms a conceptual basis for other ideas. It is often the underlying belief pattern that controls a person’s understanding of his or her environment. Thus, if a person believes in a mythical paradigm, the wind might be seen as the actions of a deity while if a person believes in a meterological paradigm, that same wind might be seen as the result of different amounts of air pressure.

A type of group marriage based on the idea that it is indeed possible to be deeply in love with more than one person. Such love may or may not be manifested sexually. An aspect of polyfidelitous relationships is the necessity of open communications. All members of such a relationship are aware of the other members and the feelings each has toward the others. All members of such a group relationship must agree on admitting any other into the relationship.

A person who follows a particular practice or set of practices. Thus, a person can be a practitioner of Wicca, a practitioner of magick, etc.

A form of attempting to communicate with a deity, spiritual being, or power. Prayers are usually lauditory of the entity and/or requesting of something through supernatural means. Ambrose Bierce, in his decidedly cynical Devil’s Dictionary, describes the act of praying as: “To ask that the laws of the universe be annulled in behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy.”

A brief talk given by a hypnotist to an individual or group about to be hypnotized. During this talk the hypnotist prepares them for ease of going into hypnosis and alleviates fears due to false information about hypnosis that they have learned from novels, movies, etc., that incorrectly present hypnosis.

The position of the Earth in relation to the Sun and the zodiac slowly shifts because the Earth’s rotation on its axis is not fixed. Thus, it appears as if we are slowly moving back through the zodiac. It takes about 2,100 years to move through a sign, and we are currently moving from a period or age of being in Pisces and going into the Age of Aquarius.

A research method sometimes used in psychical research where the researchers collect non-quantitative data, including interviews, personal observations, subjective reports, individual case studies, etc. The oppositive of using a quantitative method.

A research method sometimes used in psychical research where the researchers collect and statistically analyze numerical data. An example would be performing numerous "guesses" of which side of a flipped coin will come up and comparing the results to chance. The oppositive of using a qualitative method.

Term for solstices and equinoxes. 

A term identifying events that are believed to be completely haphazard and unpredictable. Psychical researchers may test people for their psychic abilities by presenting them with a number of random items, such as from a well-shuffled deck of cards, and ask the subjects to "guess" which card is at the top or bottom of the pack. Also see Chance.

See Great Rite. 

1.  The area within a magickal circle after it has been cast.

2.  Any area where a rituals are regularly performed, such as around a personal altar, an ancient temple, etc.

A place where a specific deity or set of deities is believed to dwell. Often there are shrines to the deities dwelling there as part of the sanctuary.

An Old English term for a cutting tool such as a knife or an athame. 

A small permanent or semi-permanent altar dedicated to a deity and its surrounding area. Although a shrine may be place in nature or in a section of a public building, it often refers to an area set up for this purpose in a home.

An Egyptian rattle, sometimes with pieces of metal to sound like a noisy tambourine, used to keep rhythm during music and rituals. 

Short for “Sado-Masochism.” A term used to avoid negative popular connotations incorrectly applied to certain types of stimulating acts. SM involves trust, exchange of power, and intense sensations. SM techniques can be used to enhance sex magick or to induce a trance for magical purposes.

See: Deosil. 

1. A belief that once had a legitimate cause or reason, but now is still believed even though that cause or reason is forgotten or superceded.
2. A belief, idea, or practice that resulted from false information. This information may have been derived from ignorance, fear, desire for luck, misunderstanding coincidence, etc.
3. A belief or practice still followed even though evidence to the contrary should negate it. 

An eighteenth-century philosophical movement which used human logic and reason to examine traditions and doctrines which had previously been accepted without such examination.

A term describing a particular spiritual path. Each tradition identifies itself by its particular set of rules, guidelines, beliefs, and history. Some examples of Pagan traditions are Gardnerian, Celtic, Faery, and Strega. Some ceremonial magick traditions include Golden Dawn, O.T.O., and Ogdoadic.

See Magickal Name.

In some coven-oriented Wiccan or ceremonial magick traditions, the concept of validity refers to the authenticity of a person’s initiation. Thus, if person A was initiated into a coven by person B (who has authorization to initiate), and if person B was previously initiated by person C who also had official authorization to initiate (ad infinitum), then person A’s initiation is considered valid. 

A special, seven-sided room used for initiation into the Inner Order of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. All of the furniture in the room is symbolic, and the surfaces of the furniture, as well as the floor, ceiling, and walls are covered with symbols and symbolic illustrations, as well as being made in the famed “flashing colors” used by the Golden Dawn.

A shamanic practice of personal separation from a group, often accompanied by physical hardships, eventually leading to an altered state of consciousness that provides spiritual insight. The separation may be accomplished physically, such as by going out on a desert, or mentally, through meditation, astral projection, etc.

Midnight. The time when Witches supposedly meet. A time exactly halfway between sunset and sunrise.

A short, intensive class in a subject designed to teach the basics of a subject. Although frequently equated with “lectures,” they are differentiated by including in-class practice. Thus, in a class on talismans a lecture would tell you how to create and charge them while a workshop would have you at least create one or more in class and possibly charge it, too.