cast

en-verb

cast (third-person singular simple present casts, present participle casting, simple past and past participle cast or (nonstandard) casted)

casts (present singular third-person)
casting (participle present)
cast (participle past)
cast (past)
casted (nonstandard participle past)
casted (nonstandard past)
cast (infinitive)

Etymology tree
Proto-Germanic *kas-
Proto-Germanic *kastōną
Old Norse kastabor.
Middle English casten
English cast
From Middle English casten, from Old Norse kasta (“to throw, cast, overturn”), from Proto-Germanic *kastōną (“to throw, cast”), of unknown origin.
Cognate with Scots cast (“to cast, throw”), Danish kaste (“to throw”), Swedish kasta (“to throw, cast, fling, toss, discard”), Icelandic kasta (“to pitch, toss”). In the sense of "flinging", displaced native warp.
The senses relating to broadcasting are based on that same term; compare -cast.

cog

let he who is without sin cast the first stone

let him that is without sin cast the first stone

let him who is without sin cast the first stone

(Wicca) To open a circle in order to begin a spell or meeting of witches.


maiden

From Middle English mayden, meiden, from Old English mæġden (“girl”), originally a diminutive of mæġeþ (“girl”) via diminutive suffix -en, from Proto-West Germanic *magaþ, from Proto-Germanic *magaþs. Equivalent to maid + -en.


circle

Pitcairn-Norfolk: sirkil

From Middle English circle, cercle, from Old French cercle and Latin circulus, diminutive of Latin circus (“circle, circus”), from Ancient Greek κίρκος (kírkos, “circle, ring”), related to Old English hring (“ring”). Compare also Old English ċircul (“circle, zodiac”), which came from the same Latin source.

دَائِرَة

geometry: set of all points in a plane within a radius

(Wicca) A ritual circle that is cast three times deosil and closes three times widdershins either in the air with a wand or literally with stones or other items used for worship.


grove

From Middle English grove, grave, from Old English grāf, grāfa (“grove; copse”), from Proto-West Germanic *graib, *graibō (“branch, group of branches, thicket”), from Proto-Germanic *graibaz, *graibô (“branch, fork”).
Related to Old English grǣf, grǣfe (“brushwood; thicket; copse”), Old English grǣfa (“thicket”), dialectal Norwegian greive (“ram with splayed horns”), dialectal Norwegian greivlar (“ramifications of an antler”), dialectal Norwegian grivla (“to branch, branch out”), Old Norse grein (“twig, branch, limb”). More at greave.


Sabbat

(Wicca) Any of the eight major holy days celebrated in Wicca.


lady

⇒ Afrikaans: haar ladyskap

→ Arabic: لِيدِي (līdī)

Egyptian Arabic: ليدي (lēdī)

→ Belarusian: лэ́дзі (lédzi)

→ Bulgarian: ле́йди (léjdi)

→ French: lady

→ German: Lady

→ Greek: λαίδη (laídi), λέδη (lédi)

→ Italian: lady

→ Japanese: レディ (redi), レディー (redī)

→ Korean: 레이디 (reidi)

→ Latvian: lēdija

→ Macedonian: леди (ledi)

→ Polish: lady

→ Romanian: lady

→ Russian: ле́ди (lédi)

→ Spanish: lady

→ Swedish: lady

→ Tongan: leitī

→ Ukrainian: ле́ді (lédi)

→ Volapük: läd

From Middle English lady, laddy, lafdi, lavedi, from Old English hlǣfdīġe (“mistress of a household, wife of a lord, lady”, literally “bread-kneader”), from hlāf (“bread, loaf”) + dīġe (“kneader”), related to Old English dǣġe (“maker of dough”) (whence dey (“dairymaid”)). Compare also lord. More at loaf, dairy, dough. Unrelated to lad.


aspect

en-verb

aspect (third-person singular simple present aspects, present participle aspecting, simple past and past participle aspected)

aspects (present singular third-person)
aspecting (participle present)
aspected (participle past)
aspected (past)

From Middle English aspect, from Latin aspectus (“look, sight; appearance”), from aspiciō (“see; catch sight of; inspect”), from ad- (“to, towards, at”) + speciō (“look, look at, behold; observe”).


focal

Learned borrowing from New Latin focālis. By surface analysis, focus + -al.

lbor

Choose your focals to blend well with the intention of your magical work or ritual.

2000, Sirona Knight, Celtic Traditions: Druids, Faeries, and Wiccan Rituals, page 193:

And no witch leaves behind focals.

2019, Faith Hunter, Circle of the Moon, page 27:

I use focals for aura work sometimes.

(Wicca) An object that is used to focus concentration when performing magic.


stang

From Middle English stang, stong, from Old Norse stǫng, from Proto-Germanic *stangiz, *stangō (“bar, rod”), from Proto-Indo-European *stengʰ-, *stegʰ- (“to stick, sting, prick, be stiff”).

The stang represents the horned god and the masculine force of nature. Much like the wand or athame, the stang is used for raising or directing power[…]

2006 January 7, Lady Sabrina, Exploring Wicca, Updated Edition, →ISBN, page 87:

In more common (and private) Wiccan circles, the stang is replaced by the athame (black handled knife) and the cauldron replaced with the chalice but its^([sic]) pretty much /whatever works for you/.

2009 June 22, Yowie, “Sikh Quaker?”, in soc.religion.quaker:

These stangs can be used as natural altars in outdoor rituals or simply as walking staffs.

2014 January 8, Ann Moura, Green Witchcraft: Folk Magic, Fairy Lore & Herb Craft, →ISBN, page 7:

(Wicca, paganism) A forked ritual staff.


Goddess

From Middle English, from Old English. See God for further etymology.

The single goddess of various bitheistic or duotheistic religions.

(Wicca) The Lady, the main deity in Wicca.


Mother

...different stages of life as represented by our Lady as Maiden, Mother, and Crone, as well as our Lord as Master, Father, and Sage.

2002, A.J. Drew, Wicca for Couples: Making Magick Together, page 90:

The Lady is often thought of as having three aspects: Maiden, Mother, and Crone.

2004, Aurora Greenbough, Cathy Jewell, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Spells and Spellcraft, page 9:

(Wicca) One of the triune goddesses of the Lady in Wicca alongside the Crone and Maiden and representing a woman older than a girlish Maiden but younger than an aged Crone.


Master

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Master.wav

...and our Lord as Master, Father, and Sage.

2002, A. J. Drew, Wicca for Couples: Making Magick Together, page 89

In respect to our Lord (God), these are the less known Master, Father, and Sage.

2003, A. J. Drew, Patricia Telesco, God/Goddess: Exploring and Celebrating the Two Sides of Wiccan Deity, page 38:

Master of the Seasons of the Year, I call upon you and ask you to be here with me in this, my ritual.

2009, Debbe Tompkins, Witch School: Living the Wiccan Life, page 18

(Wicca) One of the triune gods of the Horned God in Wicca alongside the Father and Sage and representing a boy or a young man


Sage

en-proper-noun

Sage (countable and uncountable, plural Sages)

* As an English and French surname, from sage, a nickname for a wise person. The given name, in general use since the 1990s, is also associated with the sage plant. Compare Desage, Lesage.
* As an Irish surname, variant of Savage.
* As a German surname, from a placename derived from the noun sege (“sedge”) (see sedge).

(Wicca) One of the triune gods of the Horned God in Wicca, representing a man, older than a middle-aged Father and boyish Master


Father

(Wicca) One of the triune gods of the Horned God in Wicca, representing a man, younger than the elderly Sage and older than the boyish Master.


Lord

See lord.
In reference to the God of the Jewish Tanakh and Christian Bible, originally a translation (attested from the late Old English form hlāford) of the Vulgate Latin Dominus (“master of a house; lord”), translating the New Testament and the Septuagint's Ancient Greek ὁ κύριος or Κύριος (ó kýrios, "the supreme one; Lord, Kyrios"), both in reference to Hebrew אֲדֹנָי (ʾdny, "my lord; my Lord, Adonai") from אדון (ʾdwn, "lord, patron; Lord") + י- (-y, "my"), cognate with Phoenician 𐤀𐤃𐤍 (ʾdn, "lord; Lord, Adon"). Adonai appears in the Tanakh both directly and as a euphemism read aloud during occurrences of the Tetragrammaton יהוה (YHWH, "I Am that I Am; Jehovah"). See the usage notes below. Displaced the earlier term Drighten.


pentacle

PIE word
 *pénkʷe
From Middle French pentacle, from Old French pentacol (“pendant”), from pent (“hangs”), a (“from”), and col (“neck”), thus "hangs from neck". Likely reanalyzed in medieval times as coming from penta- (“five”) and -culum (object forming suffix), as evidenced by the Latinized form pentaculum and the narrowing of the modern sense to a five-pointed design, especially a pentagram.

he drew a pentacle or five-pointed star.

1949, Gerald Gardner, chapter 10, in High Magic's Aid, page 92:

a five-pointed star (pentacle).

1954, Gerald Gardner, chapter 12, in Witchcraft Today:

the figure of the pentacle, or pentagram.

1959, Gerald Gardner, chapter 8, in The Meaning of Witchcraft, page 122:

(Wicca) A pentagram, or a disk with a pentagram on it, especially one that is used for magical or mystical purposes.

The pentacle—a pentagram enclosed within a surrounding circle—as found as the centre-piece on a witch's altar is often worn as a silver pendant by witches and other neo-pagans alike repesenting their beliefs in the interconnectedness and interdependence of the powers of nature and spirit.

2002, Kevin Saunders, Wiccan Spirituality: A Magical Attitude for the 21st Century, London: Green Magic, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 57:

A pentacle is a pentagram with a circle drawn around it.

2006, Denise Zimmermann with Gleason, Katherine and Liguana, Maria, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Wicca and Witchcraft, Indianapolis: Alpha, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, LCC BF1566.Z55 2006, page 146:

The pentagram becomes a pentacle when it is enclosed within a circle and inscribed on a disc or stone.

2007 March 1, Ruth Barr, chapter 5, in Women's Rites, Women's Mysteries: Intuitive Ritual Creation, 2nd edition, Woodbury: Llewellyn Publications, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, LCC BL625.7.B39 2007, page 93:


high priest

Hogepriester

Bible: male person responsible for making the annual sacrifice

(Wicca) A second or third degree male witch in Wicca.


Baintighearna

Baintighearna (indefinite nominative singular)
Baintighearnan (indefinite nominative plural)
Baintighearna (genitive indefinite singular)
Bhaintighearnan (genitive indefinite plural)
Baintighearna (dative indefinite singular)
Baintighearnan (dative indefinite plural)
Baintighearnaibh (dative indefinite plural)
(a') Bhaintighearna (definite nominative singular)
Baintighearnan (definite nominative plural)
na Baintighearnan (definite nominative plural)
Baintighearna (definite genitive singular)
na Baintighearna (definite genitive singular)
Baintighearnan (definite genitive plural)
nam Baintighearnan (definite genitive plural)
(a') Bhaintighearna (dative definite singular)
Baintighearnan (dative definite plural)
na Baintighearnan (dative definite plural)
Baintighearnaibh (dative definite plural)
Bhaintighearna (definite singular vocative)
Bhaintighearnan (definite plural vocative)
Baintighearna
Bhaintighearna

/ˈpaɲ ˈtʲʰijərˠn̪ˠə/

Cluinn m'ùrnaigh, a Bhaintighearna!


deosil

Before people started arriving, I began the day as I always did: by sprinkling saltwater widdershins—counterclockwise—around the perimeter of my shop, then smudging deosil—clockwise—with a sage bundle.

2012, Juliet Blackwell, In a Witch's Wardrobe: A Witchcraft Mystery, New York, NY: New American Library, →ISBN, page 32:


Rule of Three

(religion, Wicca) A religious tenet held by some Wiccans, stating that whatever energy, positive or negative, a person puts into the world will be returned threefold.


rule of three

(religion, Wicca) A religious tenet stating that the energy a person puts out into the world, positive or negative, will be returned to that person threefold.


triple goddess

(Wicca) Alternative letter-case form of Triple Goddess


Crone

[…] different stages of life as represented by our Lady as Maiden, Mother, and Crone, as well as our Lord as Master, Father, and Sage.

(Wicca) One of the triune goddesses of the Lady in Wicca alongside the Mother and Maiden, representing an old woman.


Maiden

(Wicca) One of the triune goddesses of the Lady in Wicca alongside the Crone and Mother representing a girl or a young woman


high priestess

en-noun

high priestess (plural high priestesses)

(Wicca) A third degree (sometimes forth degree) female witch in Wicca.


cronehood

Many circles create ceremonies to mark a woman's passage into cronehood and designate special status to crones

2000, Beverly Engel, Women Circling the Earth, page 34:

An archaic term, really, but I like it. crone: A menopausal or post-menopausal Wiccan. The time at which a woman assumes her cronehood is intensely individual.

2006, Ashleen O'Gaea, Family Wicca: practical paganism for parents and children, page 213:

Grant (name) the gifts of inspiration, and a clear and quick mind as he/she approaches the honored state of (Sagehood/Cronehood).

2007, Kevin M. Gardner, A Handbook for Wiccan Clergy, page 29

She speaks her commitment to herself as an elder and to the aspects of cronehood she will celebrate.

2007, Ruth Barrett, Women's Rites, Women's Mysteries: Intuitive Ritual Creation, page 9:

(Wicca) The elderly stage of a female Wiccan witch (compared with the Crone aspect of the Goddess).


covenstead

From coven + stead; first attested in 1969.

He began being late for meetings and, as some members travelled quite a distance to the covenstead and had to leave promptly afterwards, Alex took him to task.

1969, June Johns, King of the witches: the world of Alex Sanders, page 108:

1986, Raymond Buckland, Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft, link
It used to be that one covendom could not overlap another, so one covenstead would never be closer than six miles to the next.

1993, Janet Thompson, Of Witches: Celebrating the Goddess As a Solitary Pagan, page 29,
If that is the case, then the home of the high Priestess is likely to be referred to as the covenstead.

The covenstead is the meeting place of a coven.

1999, James R. Lewis, Witchcraft today: an encyclopedia of Wiccan and neopagan traditions, page 66:

(Wicca) A permanent circle or temple used to meet for rituals and to store religious items, often a mundane location.

For the last year, the entire covenstead had noticed an increase in the number of outsiders on their properties.

1995, Silver RavenWolf, Beneath a Mountain Moon, published 2005, page 104:

In connection with these principles the Dianic Covenstead had a very effective series of exercises and techniques for regaining kinship and attunement with nature.

2006, Margot Adler, Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America, page 128:

It was easy to say they'd all get along fine—join other covensteads or live free like most everybody else, but the truth was that joining a covenstead was no easy task, and most wouldn't know what to do with themselves without a witch to serve.

2009, Diana Pharaoh Francis, Bitter Night: A Horngate Witches Book, page 53:

(Wicca, metonymically) A Wiccan congregation.


covendom

(Wicca) The area served by a covenstead and inhabited by members of the coven.


Horned God

(Wicca) The second major supernatural figure in the Wiccan religion, a triune god equal to the Goddess, split into the aspects of the Father, Master, and the Sage.


threefold law

(Wicca) A key tenet of Wicca, stating that the energy a person puts out into the world, whether positive or negative, will return to them multiplied three times.


black magick

(Wicca) Any magick used for evil purposes


wiccaning

The welcoming rite — referred to as a wiccaning, a saining, or a paganing — serves a threefold purpose.

1999, Helen A. Berger, A community of witches, page 90:

(Wicca) A Wiccan ritual analogous to baptism for infants.


white magick

(Wicca) Any magick used for good purposes


sagehood

handpartings, the recognition of crone- or sagehood, and funeral or memorial services.

1998, Amber K, Robin Wood, Covencraft, page 129:

An elder Wiccan man, a male crone. Saging: (SAGE-ing) A ritual to recognize and announce a man's attainment of sagehood

2006, Ashleen O'Gaia, Family Wicca: practical paganism for parents and children, page 220:

(Wicca) The elderly stage of a male Wiccan (compared with the Sage aspect of the Horned God).


gray magic

The term “gray” evolved for magic that could be classified as neither white nor black. Minor revenge would be considered a type of gray magic.

2002, Marion Weinstein, Positive Magic: Ancient Metaphysical Techniques for Modern Lives, page 63:

Copper remembered the old Grimoire she and Silver had used to learn gray magic.

2006, Cheyenne McCray, Seduced by Magic, page 3:

(Wicca) Any magic which transcends or blends white magic and black magic.

magia gris

magic which transcends or blends white and black


Mabon

Coined by Aidan A. Kelly around 1970 as a reference to Mabon ap Modron, a character from Welsh mythology.

(Wicca) A pagan and Wiccan holiday celebrating the second harvest at the time of the autumnal equinox.


bùa

lá (classifier)
cái (classifier)
符 (CJK)
苻 (CJK)

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 符 (“charm”, SV: phù).

der

SV: <i class="Latn mention" lang="vi">phù</i>


Antlered God

(Wicca) The second major supernatural figure in the Wiccan religion, a triune god equal to the Goddess, split into the aspects of Father, Master, and the Sage.


hagstone

(Wicca) A ceremonial stone with a hole drilled into used to ward off evil or see into other worlds.


candle magick

(Wicca) The ceremonial use of candles for specific intentions and involving a complex color correspondence system.


crystal magick

(Wicca) The ceremonial use of crystals for specific intentions and healing energies


cone of power

(Wicca) Mental energy amassed individually or collectively for a magickal purpose.


fluffy bunny

en-noun

fluffy bunny (countable and uncountable, plural fluffy bunnies)

(Wicca, paganism, informal, derogatory, countable) A casual, naive practitioner of Wicca or another neo-pagan religion, especially one deemed to have a superficial understanding.


fluff bunny

(Wicca, paganism, slang, derogatory) Synonym of fluffy bunny.


fluffbunny

[…] and I am an Elder of one of the initiatory Trads which does not necessarily subscribe to either the fluffbunny versions of Wicca nor any of the rosier New Age views.

1997 September 7, RMcGuire, “Re: soc.religion.asatru”, in alt.religion.asatru (Usenet):

It is a source of acute embarrassment to me that airheaded fluffbunnies like those who began this thread believe they have *anything* in common with Asatruar.

1999 April 30, Rorik, “Re: They WHAT?”, in alt.religion.asatru (Usenet):

My wording in the old description may have been too "fluffy", but that does not make me a stereotypical fluffbunny.

2000 November 15, Ingeborg S. Nordén, “Re: New e-list: Huggy Heathens”, in alt.religion.asatru (Usenet):


dryghten

Learned borrowing from Old English dryhten which comes from Proto-Germanic *druhtinaz. Cognate with Old Frisian drochten, Old Saxon drohtin, Old High German truhtin, Old Norse dróttinn.

lbor

(Wicca) the universal pantheistic deity in Wicca, variously as Dryghtyn or "the One" or "The All." This impersonal ultimate divinity is generally regarded as unknowable, and is acknowledged but not worshiped


cwfendir

From cwfen + dir, a calque of English covendom.

(Wicca) covendom (area served by a covenstead and inhabited by members of the coven)


cwfenfa

From cwfen + -fa, a calque of English covenstead.

(Wicca) covenstead (permanent circle or temple used to meet for rituals and to store religious items, often a mundane location)

(Wicca, metonymically) covenstead (Wiccan congregation)