Definitions of Pagan/Wiccan Terms For those of you unfamiliar to Witchcraft, let me preface this discussion by proclaiming loudly "WE DO NOT WORSHIP THE DEVIL!" The Devil is a Christian diety, a fallen angel and the alter-ego so to speak of the Christian Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus represents all-encompassing good, while the Devil represents all-encompassing evil. I think its fair to say that "all Wiccans are Pagans" and generally "the majority (but not all) Wiccans are Witches". These defintions are drawn from my own knowledge in working with the Craft: For those struggling with the concept of abandoning the "worship only one
God" doctrine, think of DIVINITY like a diamond. As a diamond is
multi-faceted, so is Divinity. All of the various Gods and Goddesses are just
different facets of the same Divine being. a PAGAN is one who holds a reverance for Earth and sees all life as interconnected. Pagans strive to attune themselves to the manifestation of this belief as seen in the cycles of nature and celebrated through the Sabbats. Pagans are usually polytheistic (believing in more than one god), and they see divinity as residing in all things. (Pagans don't necessarily practice magick.) WITCHCRAFT (the Craft of the Witch)--Magick, especially magick utilizing Personal Power in conjunction with the energies within stones, herbs, colors, and other natural objects. While this may have spiritual overtones, Witchcraft, using this definition, isn't a religion. However, some followers of Wicca use this word to denote their religion, and may refer to other types of magick that are *not* performed within a religious framework as Folk Magick. Most familiar with the Craft would tend to see Wicca as a subset of Witchcraft. WICCA is a contemporary Pagan religion based on ancient beliefs. The religion itself is fairly new in that it only came into being after Gerald Gardner, known as the Grandfather of Witchcraft, went public with information on the Craft in 1954 with the publication of Witchcraft Today, his first non-fiction book on Witchcraft. Like Pagans, Wiccans believe that Divinity manifests itself through us and everything else in nature. Some other major beliefs of Wicca are a reverance for the Goddess and the God, the concept of reincarnation, and *magick*. MAGICK is the art and science of causing changes to occur in conformity with will. It is often spelled by Pagans and Witches with the letter K at the end to distinguish it from stage magic. a WITCH is one who practices Witchcraft or magick. A Witch works within nature and the elements to help shape reality in accordance with will. 
a PENTAGRAM is simply a 5-pointed star--the "the basic symbol" of the Witch. Each point represents one of the 4 elements plus akasha (spirit/essence). Each point is equally spaced from the others because they're all equally important. 
a PENTACLE is simply a pentagram enclosed within a circle. The pentacle is used as a tool during ritual; it is the "working form" of the pentagram. It is also the symbol worn by Witches to signify their belief and allegiance to the Craft and the interconnectedness of all that exists in the world around us. There is very strong symbolism behind the Pentacle. The circle represents the wheel of life, with no beginning and no end--day turns to night and night turns to day, the years go round and round, plants and animals and people and mountains are born and die and are born again, life is but an endless circle. The circle around the pentagram can also represent the sacred circle drawn by the Witch in ritual. Within the circle, the Witch calls each of these elements (each is associated with a different direction, North, South, East, or West) to guard the circle so that the energy raised by the magickal working will remain within the circle. It also keeps the good energy in and the bad energy out. Within this protective circle, all these elements come together as one, under the "spirit" or guidance of the Witch, as well as that of the God/dess, towards one common goal that is the manifestation of the Witch's magickal desire. ~*~ TOOLS ~*~An ATHAME is a Witch's ritual knife. It usually has a double-edged blade and a black handle. The athame is used to direct Personal Power during Ritual workings, and is seldom if ever, used for actual physical cutting on the material plane. The term is of obscure origin and has a large variety of pronunciations. The one I've heard used most often and that I use myself, is "ATH-ah-may". Others in different parts of the World may pronounce it as "Ah-THAM-ee" (to rhyme with "whammy"), "ah-THAW-may", "ath-AY-mee", or "ATH-a-mee". The BOOK OF SHADOWS (BoS) is a Witch's book of rituals, spells, and magickal lore. In days of past, it was required that it be hand copied upon Initiation into a Coven; however, the BoS is now photocopied or typed in most Covens. Many solitary Witches also have their own individual Book of Shadows which may contain any of these things plus more as they see fit. For instance, in addition to rituals and spells, my personal BoS contains poetry, meditations and exercises, correspondences for various herbs and crystals, information on the Sabbats, Chakra information, etc. It's basically a Witch's personal reference guide for all things relating to their personal study of the Craft. No one "true" Book of Shadows still exists; all are relevant to their respective users. |
