GLOSSARY
AIRTS -”Airt” is a Scottish Gaelic term meaning something to the effect of “Wind.” In Scottish Traditional Wicca when the Magic Circle was cast the Four Winds, or Airts, would be summoned to stand guard over it and to aid the ritual being performed. The Airts are identified with the Four Directions, the Four Elements, and a host of other correspondences. In Gaelic East was ruled by Aiet, whose color was red, and whose time was dawn. South was ruled by Deas (from which the word Deosil comes), whose color was white, and whose time was Noon. West was ruled by Iar, whose color was gray and whose time was Dusk. And North was ruled by Tuath whose color was black and whose provenance was the Night. This system is illustrated by the ancient song “Black Spirits” used by Shakespeare in MacBeth. the first line of the song runs “Black Spirits and Red, White Spirits and Gray, mingle, mingle, mingle, as ye mingle may!”
MAGIC CIRCLE -The Magic Circle is used to create Sacred Space in which to perform ritual, commune with our Higher Selves, or work magic. The Magic Circle is a microcosmic reenaction of the process of creation, and represents our ties to all of existence. Many people think of the Magic Circle as being primarily for protection, but in fact it serves to heighten and help focus magical power, and this is the principle reason for its use. You will learn more about the Magic Circle, or Circle of Art, in LESSON VI.
GUARDIANS -The “Guardians” are the personified powers of the Four Airts and all they represent. The Guardians are represented in many different ways, and have been throughout history. In Egypt the Guardians were particularly represented by the four Sons of Horus, and also by the four Goddesses Who guarded the tomb. To the Greco-Romans the Guardians were most often represented as the Four Winds, while to Ceremonials they are commonly portrayed as the four Archangels of Judeo-Christian tradition. In many traditions the Guardians are represented as animals, which symbolism is evident in many Tarot decks. In Wicca the Guardians may be represented in many different ways, both as personifications of the powers of the Airts, and as abstract forms -a particularly popular form is as a column of white light, drawn up from the Earth.
DIRECTIONS -The idea of representing the Earth as defined by Four Directions is ancient. Four is said to be the number of manifestation because there are Four Directions which define the earth, and Four Elements which compose it. Historically the Four Directions have been personified in many ways: in Egypt as the four Sons of Horus Who held up the sky at the four corners of the Earth, in the Greco-Roman world as the Four Winds. Ceremonials associate the Directions with the Four Archangels, or lesser Gods of their Tradition. The Four Directions are represented by the equal-armed cross, often placed in a circle to represent the world of physical manifestation.
The beautiful statue of the Goddess Selket, one of a set of four Quarter Guardians from the tomb of Tut-Ankh-Amun. Artwork copyright Don Lewis 00 Aquarius (2000 AD)
ELEMENTS -Just as there are Four Directions, so too there are Four Elements. The Four Elements are said to be the building blocks of all creation, contained in varying degrees in all things. The Elements are usually defined as “Air,” Fire,” Water,” and “Earth” -though it should be understood that it is not the physical substances named, but the qualities associated with them, that are meant. It is also allowed that there is a Fifth Element, Spirit, but it is often listed separately from the Four. In different times and cultures there have been many variations in the theory of the elements, but the basic concept -that all living things contain a mixture of the same qualities- remains the same.
DEOSIL -The term Deosil refers to clockwise motions, that is to say movement that goes in the same direction as the apparent motion of the Sun. For this reason it is also sometimes called Sunward motion. In magic Deosil movement is used for raising energy, while counter-clockwise or Tuathail motion is used to disperse energy. We raise energy to aid in the working of magic and the manifestation of those things we wish to bring about. For this reason most motion in the Magic Circle will be Deosil. Deosil means “Southward” and takes its name from the Scottish term for the Airt of the South: Deas. In correspondence Deas is also identified with the Noonday and the Sun. Almost all peoples have considered Sunward motion to be indicative of manifestation. You will hear some people claim that such and such a people used counter-clockwise motion to indicate manifestation and work magic, but this is not so: the confusion arises from the use of the terms “right” and “left” to describe movement in the circle. Clockwise movement always goes to the right -yet if you stand in a circle with others holding hands and pass energy around the circle clockwise, you will notice you receive it through your right hand, and pass it on to the left -it is from this that the confusion arises.
TUATHAIL -The term Tuathail refers to counter-clockwise motions, that is to say movement that goes opposite from the apparent motion of the Sun. In magic Tuathail movement is used for cleansing, purifying, or removing things. For example Tuathail movement is used when the Magic Circle is being taken down. The term Tuathail means “Northward,” taking its name from the Scottish word for the Airt of the North, “Tuath.” Gardnerians and many Wiccan Traditions which are influenced by them, often call Tuathail by the colloquial term “Widdershins.”
CORRESPONDENCES -Correspondence is a teaching system which uses the idea of Sympathy to say that items which have the similar qualities may be represented by each other. Thus the Direction of the East is said to correspond to the Element of Air, the quality of Thought, the Dawn of the day, the Spring of the year, the beginning of any project, the Maiden Goddess (such as Aradia or the Greek Kore), the Young God (such as Horus or the Green Man at Spring), and many other things. Used in part as an aid to memory, the system of Correspondence illustrates the idea that “As Above, So Below” and is used at the heart of the system of Allegory through which many Pagan and Wiccan ideas are portrayed and transmitted.
ATHAME -The Magical Knife, or Athame (or Arthame), is an ancient tool of magic, used for many purposes including casting the magic circle, and the preparation of various magical items or ingredients. In certain Traditions the Athame must be of a particular color and made in a particular way, but in general use today an Athame can be any sort of knife.
WAND -Everybody knows about the Witches’ magic wand, right? The Wand or Staff is used in Wiccan ritual for a variety of purposes related to the focusing of energy. In Correllian Wicca the Wand is most commonly used as an instrument to aid in the calling of the Airts, or Quarters.
CHALICE -The ritual cup used in Wiccan ritual, said to be cognate to the Holy Grail and Magical cauldron of ancient mythology. The Chalice represents the womb of the Goddess, from which all creation proceeds.
PENTAGRAM -The Pentagram, a five-pointed star in a circle, is the principle symbol of the Wiccan religion. The symbol was used in ancient Egypt to represent the concept of magic (without the circle) and the Spirit World (with the circle). In Classical times the Pentagram, also called Pentalpha, was used by the Pythagoreans -a Greek philosophical school with a reputation for deep metaphysical knowledge. In the medieval period the symbol continued to flourish being used by a number of groups, including some Christians. The Pentagram has many meanings, notably the union of the Five Elements (Air, Fire, Water, Earth, and the Element which underlies them all: Spirit), which in turn corresponds to the union of Spirit and Matter and the attainment of Spiritual Illumination, as well as the ancient maxim: As Above So Below (because the five-pointed star can be taken to represent the human body, illustrating our Oneness with all creation).
BOLEEN -At one time there were a number of variations on the idea of the magical knife, most of which are no longer in general use. One of these divided the magical knife into two instruments, the black-handled Athame, used for various magical operations, notably casting the Magic Circle, and the white-handled Boleen, used to create magical artifacts, such as the wand and various engraved symbols. The Athame was considered sacred to the Goddess, while the Boleen, or Burrin, was considered sacred to the God since it was used in physical operations.
PYTHAGOREAN -The Pythagorean philosophy was founded by Pythagoras, a native of the Greek island of Samos who lived in the 5th century BC (7th century of the Age of Aries). To the Greeks “philosophy” was a term that indicated a private belief system, as opposed to “religion” which was a system of public rituals centered on family or community. The Greeks had many differing philosophical schools, of which the Pythagorean was among the most mystical and profound. Pythagorean ideas have never ceased to be current, and are a crucial building block of modern Wiccan thought. You will find Pythagoras’ teachings reflected throughout this series of lessons. Fascinated by mathematics and the musical scale, Pythagoras was a pioneer of the metaphysical science of numerology -the idea that numbers have individual characteristics which can be used to describe Universal Truth as well as to divine individual truths. Pythagoras used numerology to illustrate his ideas about the Universe, the soul, cosmic laws, and the nature of spiritual evolution. The central symbol of Pythagoras’ philosophy was the Tetraktys, the “golden triangle.” This sacred symbol, triangular or pyramidic in shape, described the way in which Deity began as One, became Two, added the magic of Three to bring about manifestation as Four -the whole of which equals Ten (10), which numerologically reduces back to One (1) meaning that Deity and the created world are cognate, or in other words: “As Above, So Below.” When five of these Tetraktys triangles were put together they formed a symbol called a “Pentalpha” (the “Five A’s”), from which many other universal truths were enumerated -the pentalpha was the symbol by which the Pythagoreans became known, and is today more commonly called the Pentagram (“Mark of Five”). When the Sepher Yetzirah delineated the ideas of Hebrew Cabala eight centuries later, it drew heavily upon the ideas of Pythagoras. Pythagoreans also taught the concept of reincarnation and the idea of transmigration of souls, so that his followers regularly practiced what is today called “past-life regression.”
PENTALPHA -The Pentalpha, or “Five A’s” was the sacred symbol of the Pythagoreans, more familiarly known today as the Pentagram. The Pythagoreans used the pentalpha and the five Tetraktys triangles of which it was composed to convey many metaphysical truths. Extremely popular in Hellenistic and Roman times, Pythagoreanism passed into the medieval period through scholarly sources and continues to be a major building block in all most metaphysical systems of thought today.
NIGREDO -In alchemical thought the polar opposites are combined and dissolved through the application of spiritual heat in the Athanor, or alchemical furnace. The opposites decay, becoming a thick black residue called the Nigredo. Only from this putrefied state can new growth arise. Out of the Nigredo comes the Peacock’s Tail, a series of glorious colors which occur as new life is fertilized and begins to grow. What this means -among other things- is that preconceived forms must first be broken down before true growth can occur. Only then can we ascend the rainbow bridge to the Divine
BLACK HOLE -In science a Black Hole is a void in space which sucks up and destroys matter. The opposite side of the Black Hole is a White Hole, which spews forth matter. Thus the two, which are opposite sides of the same, simultaneously destroy old matter and use it to create new. In this way they reflect the nature of the Crone and Mother aspects of the Goddess, which respectively destroy old forms and give birth to new.
MORTAR AND PESTLE -Mortar and pestle are implements used to grind plant or mineral materials into powder. Material to be ground is placed into the cup-like mortar, and then ground by rotation of the hand-held pestle. Mortar and pestle were once widely used in house-hold cooking, before packaged spices became readily available. Mortar and pestle are still sometimes used as symbols of the apothecary's art. But today the primary use of mortar and pestle is for the magical preparation of herbs for incenses, essential oils, etc. In Spanish mortar and pestle are termed “mano y metate” and are still commonly used in cooking, and thus available at many Hispanic stores.
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