Wicca A to Z. Gerina Dunwich

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СКАЧАТЬ a mournful tune that sounds like the melancholy moaning of the wind. As a herald of death, the banshee is usually heard at night under the window of the person who is about to die.

      BAPHOMET A demonic deity envisaged as a goat-headed creature with wings, the breasts of a woman, and an illuminated torch between its horns. Baphomet was said to have been worshipped by the inner circles of several occult brotherhoods in the Middle Ages, and was identified with the Devil card of the Tarot by the nineteenth century magickal philosopher Eliphas Levi.

      The symbol of Baphomet, also known as the mysterious “Bearded Demon” and the “Satanic Goat,” has often been misinterpreted as one of the Craft in general; however, Wiccans and Neo-Pagans do not use this symbol in their rituals, nor do they believe in or worship the Devil of the Christian faith (whom practitioners of Satanism and Devil-worshipping cults revere and associate the symbol of Baphomet with).

      BARREN SIGNS In astrology (and especially the astrologically-based practice of lunar gardening), the three signs of the zodiac which indicate a tendency toward barrenness: Gemini, Leo, and Virgo.

      BASKANION A phallus-shaped ornament worn on a necklace by children of ancient Greece for magickal protection against the evil eye. The baskanion (which was also known as probaskanion and fascinum) was often used as an amulet to protect homes, gardens, blacksmith forges, and chariots. In ancient Rome, this amulet was called the satyrica sigma.

      BELL A hollow, metallic instrument, usually cup-shaped with a flared opening, which emits a tone when struck by a clapper suspended from within or by a separate stick or hammer. Bells have been used by nearly all cultures throughout history as magickal talismans, fertility charms, summons to a deity, and as instruments for sacred music and religious rituals of widely varying beliefs. Many Witches and Wiccans use a consecrated bell as an altar tool to signal the beginning or close of a ritual or Sabbat. Houngans and mambos of Haiti’s Voodoo religion, as well as the tribal priests of Africa, use bells and dancing to invoke their gods. Chinese magicians summon the rain and other forces of nature with special magickal bells, while Siberian Shamans wear them for incantations and prophecies. Bells have also served as magickal or sacred tools to “ring out Witches,” exorcise demons and ghosts, protect animals and children from the power of the evil eye, as well as to bless, and to divine the future.

      BELTANE One of the eight annual Witches’ Sabbats, normally celebrated by Wiccans and Neo-Pagans on the first day of May. Also known as May Day, Rood Day, Rudemas, Festival of Tana (especially among Witches of the Strega Tradition), and Walpurgisnacht (meaning “Walpurga’s Night” and named after the old German goddess Walpurga—the May Queen), Beltane is derived from an ancient Druid fire festival celebrating the “Sacred Marriage” (the union of the Goddess and Her consort, the Horned God.) It merrily celebrates the annual “rebirth” of the Sun, marking the symbolic death of Winter and the symbolic birth of Spring. Legend holds that it is a time of the year when the fairy-folk abound in force.

      It is a Beltane tradition among many modern Witches to gather morning dew from grass and wildflowers to be used in good-luck potions and spells.

      Beltane is a time for celebrating Mother Nature by feasts of traditional Pagan foods, poetry recitals, and clockwise dancing around a brightly-decorated Maypole (which is an ancient and obvious fertility symbol and represents both the phallus and the procreative power of the Horned God.) The Maypole placed in the “womb” of the Mother Earth is symbolic of the sacred sexual union of the male and female aspects of Nature. The entwining of ribbons around the Maypole by those dancing in a circle around it serves to strengthen its magick and to raise what is known as a “cone of power.”

      Another custom associated with the Sabbat of Beltane and reaching back to the most ancient of times is the bonfire, which is traditionally kindled on the top of a hill. According to old Celtic tradition, a Beltane bonfire must be started with nine pieces of wood, collected by nine men from nine different trees.

      Other Beltane customs practiced around the world include: bathing in morning dew for good luck; the practice of various methods of divination (especially those involving the Beltane cake, also known as a carline); reenactments of Lady Godiva’s legendary naked ride through the streets of Coventry, England; and pilgrimages to sacred wells to partake of the healing water or to make offerings (such as the tossing in of coins, usually accompanied by a secretly made wish).

      BESOM A straw broom used by Witches in certain Wiccan ceremonies such as Handfasting and the Sabbat of Candlemas. Although the broom has always been associated with Witches, it was never actually used for flying as the legends of olden times claim. Instead, according to one theory, Witches practicing sympathetic magick (which works on the basic principle that like produces like) would straddle the broom and jump up and down in order to show their crops how high to grow. The majority of modern Witches who own besoms use them as altar decorations and as magickal tools to symbolize fertility and to sweep the magick circle clean of any traces of negative magickal, spiritual, or psychic energy. The besom is also used in various spells and weather workings.

      BEWITCHMENT The act of gaining power or casting a spell over another person, place, or object by means of either white, gray, or black magick; the act of enchanting a man, woman, child, animal, place, or object. In days gone by, bewitchment was regarded as an act against God and was punishable by fines, imprisonment, torture, and execution.

      BIGGHES In certain traditions of Wicca, a set of ceremonial jewelry consisting of a leather garter, silver crown with crescent moon, bracelet and necklace. It is traditionally worn by the High Priestess of a coven.

      BILOCATION An unusual phenomenon in which a person and his or her spiritual or astral “double” appears in two different, often distant, places at the same exact moment. The double may appear either in solid physical form or as a silent ghostlike apparition. Very little is understood about bilocation; however, its existence had been known to humanity since ancient times and it has been said that certain mystics, saints, holy men, and magicians experience bilocation and some are even capable of practicing it at will. Often involuntary bilocation is interpreted as an omen of death for the person whose double has been seen.

      BINDING In Witchcraft, a magickal spell which usually involves the tying of knots on a cord, and is performed to control the actions of another or to render a sorcerer or sorceress magickally powerless. Bindings are used by some Wiccans for the purpose of preventing evil, negativity, or disaster of some kind from occurring, and also to put an end to the harm caused by gossips, troublemakers, and those who commit crimes. Interestingly, there exists a controversy among Wiccans over how ethical the casting of bindings are. Some Wiccans feel that such spells violate the Wiccan Rede, while others feel that they are perfectly acceptable when warranted, especially if the binding is directed at a situation rather than a specific person.

      BINDRUNES A powerful magickal talisman, usually made from metal or wood and inscribed or painted with two or more different rune symbols which are superimposed upon one another in an aesthetically pleasing fashion. Bindrunes are sometimes placed on ritual tools (such as the blade or handle of a Witch’s athame), candles, and jewelry.

      BIRTHSTONE A jewel associated with a specific month or astrological sign of the zodiac. A birthstone is believed to attract good luck and repel negative or evil influences; however, it is said to be unlucky to wear the stone of a month or astrological sign other than one’s own. The two exceptions to this rule are jade and crystal, which are believed to bring good luck to all who wear or carry them as charms.

      BLACK ARTS Another word for black magick; the practices of demonology and sorcery; a general term often extended to apply to the entire spectrum of occult subjects, including magick and Witchcraft. Wiccans and Neo-Pagans take strong offense to being classified as practitioners of the black arts, as the term possesses sinister connotations. To the average person it brings to mind frightful images of the evil cauldron-stirring hags of Macbeth, Devil-worshipping СКАЧАТЬ