pentagram

From Ancient Greek πεντάγραμμον (pentágrammon), noun form of the adjectives πεντάγραμμος (pentágrammos) and πεντέγραμμος (pentégrammos, “five-lined, having five lines”). Equivalent to penta- + -gram.

der

πεντάγραμμον

Prove that the circles so belonging to the 6 pentagrams formed by 6 lines meet in a point, and so on; the series of theorems being interminable.

1871, W. J. C. Miller, editor, Mathematical Questions and Solutions, volume XV, page 47:

The passive pentagrams of spirit are drawn first in the quarters of the passive elements—water and earth—and likewise followed by the appropriate traditional elemental pentagram.

2007, Christopher Penczak, The Temple of High Witchcraft: Ceremonies, Spheres, and the Witches' Qabalah, page 345:

Four figures involve 12 pentagrams arranged as in the faces of a dodecahedron with their vertices touching.

2012, John Barnes, Gems of Geometry, page 59:

The shape of a five-pointed star constructed of five intersecting lines meeting at the vertices, such that a central pentagon and five surrounding isosceles triangles are formed; often with magical connotations; a 5/2 (or 5/3) star polygon.


pagan

From Middle English pagan (adjective and noun), from Latin pāgānus (“rural, rustic", later "civilian”), replaced Middle English payen from the same root. The meaning "not (Judeo-)Christian" arose in Vulgar Latin, probably from the 4th century. It is unclear whether this usage is derived primarily from the "rustic" or from the "civilian" meaning, which in Roman army jargon meant 'clumsy'. As a self-designation of neopagans, attested since 1990.
Partly displaced native heathen, from Old English hǣþen.

der

Under Christianization, many converted societies transformed their pagan deities into saints.

Relating to, characteristic of religions that differ from main world religions.


pagan

This community has a surprising number of pagans.

A person not adhering to a main world religion; a follower of a pantheistic or nature-worshipping religion.

besëlashtë

(by extension, derogatory) An uncivilized or unsocialized person.

An outlaw biker who is a member of the Pagans MC.


shade

en-noun

shade (countable and uncountable, plural shades)

Noun from Middle English schade, from Old English sċeadu, sċadu (“shadow; shade”), from Proto-West Germanic *skadu, from Proto-Germanic *skadwaz (“shadow; shade”). More at shadow.
Verb from Old English sceadwian, derived from sċeadu, above.

inh

Too long have I been haunted by that shade.

The adventurer was attacked by a shade.

Swift as thought the flitting shade / Thro' air his momentary journey made.

1700, [John] Dryden, “Ceyx and Alcyone”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:

Still, Birch House (a sop to the shade of the murdered Perak Resident) had no more than its normal share of flagellation[.]

1956, Anthony Burgess, Time for a Tiger (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 39:

(chiefly literary and fantasy) A ghost or specter; a spirit.


aphetic

(astrology) Of or relating to the apheta; life-giving.


hearth

From Middle English herth, herthe, from Old English heorþ, from Proto-West Germanic *herþ, from Proto-Germanic *herþaz, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *kerh₃- (“heat; fire”). Cognate with West Frisian hurd, Dutch haard, German Herd, Swedish härd.

der

Asatru is practised all over Northern Europe and also in North America. Like Druidry, it is organized into bodies with sub-groups, the hearths.

1996, Vivianne Crowley, Thorsons principles of paganism, page 50:

Smaller localized groups known as 'hearths' meet regularly, and are comparable, in size and function, with a Wiccan 'Coven' or Druidic 'Grove'.

2003 December 8, Robert J. Wallis, Shamans/neo-Shamans: Ecstasy, Alternative Archaeologies, and Contemporary Pagans, page 102:

Neopagan groups take many forms, from Wiccan covens to Druid groves, from Heathen hearths to magical lodges[…]

2004 March 1, Peter Clarke, editor, Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements, Routledge, page 768:

(Germanic paganism) A household or group in some forms of the modern pagan faith Heathenry.


kite

The noun is from Middle English kyte, kīte, kete (“a kite endemic to Europe, especially the red kite (Milvus milvus)”), from Old English cȳta (“kite; bittern”), from Proto-West Germanic *kūtijō, diminutive of Proto-Germanic *kūts (“bird of prey”), from Proto-Indo-European *gewH-d- (“to cry, screech”). The English word is cognate with Scots kyt, kyte (“kite; bird of prey”), Middle High German kiuzelīn, kützlīn (“owling”) (modern German Kauz (“owl”)). Possibly a doublet of coot.
Sense 3 (“lightweight toy”) is from the fact that it hovers in the air like the bird.
The verb is derived from the noun.

leko

military aviation, slang: aircraft — see also aircraft

leija

sailing, slang: spinnaker — see also spinnaker

Frequently a kite formation is created by one of the planets in the trine by its opposition to another planet, which allows expulsion and redirection of the pent-up energy associated with a closed circuit.

1992, Erin Sullivan, Retrograde Planets: Traversing the Inner Landscape (Contemporary Astrology), London: Arkana Publishing, →ISBN, pages 144–145:

(astrology) A planetary configuration wherein one planet of a grand trine is in opposition to an additional fourth planet.

leija

astrology: certain planetary configuration


descendant

From Middle English dessendaunte, borrowed from Middle French, from Latin dēscendēns, present participle of descendere, from dē + scandere (“to climb, ascend”).

(astrology) The intersection of the western (setting) horizon and the ecliptic, its ecliptical longitude; the astrological sign it corresponds to.


sign

en-noun

sign (countable and uncountable, plural signs)

From Middle English signe, sygne, syng, seine, sine, syne, from Old English seġn (“sign; mark; token”) and Old French signe, seing (“sign; mark; signature”); both from Latin signum (“a mark; sign; token”); root uncertain. Doublet of signum. Partially displaced native token.

teken

a fact that shows that something exists or may happen

նշան

any of several specialized non-alphabetic symbols

Your sign is Taurus? That's no surprise.

merkki

astrological sign — see also astrological sign


octave

From Latin octavus (“eighth”). Doublet of octavo, ochava, and oitava.

Octave in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Mercury then joins its higher octave and generous counterpart Jupiter early next week, and it opens gates of opportunity.

2016, Kristin Fontana, The Beach Reporter:

(astrology) The subjective vibration of a planet.


bouquet

Borrowed from French bouquet. Doublet of bosket.

(cartomancy) The ninth Lenormand card, sometimes called Flowers instead.


grimoire

/ˈɡɹɪmˌwɑːɹ/

Borrowed from French grimoire, a variant of grammaire, from Old French gramaire (“grammar; grimoire; conjurer, magician”), from Latin grammatica (“grammar; philology”), from grammaticus (“relating to grammar, grammatical”), from Ancient Greek γρᾰμμᾰτῐκός (grammatikós, “knowing one's letters; concerned with textual criticism”), from γράμμα (grámma, “that which is drawn or written; letter; book, writing”) + -ῐκός (-ikós, suffix added to noun stems to form adjectives). γράμμα is derived from γρᾰ́φω (gráphō, “to cut into, scratch; to draw, paint; to write”, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- (“to carve”)) + -μᾰ (-ma, suffix added to verbal stems forming neuter nouns denoting the result of, a particular instance of, or the object of an action). The English word is a doublet of glamour, glamoury, gramarye, and grammar.

refn

Pope Honorius III (allegedly) (1760 [actually 1810?]) Grimoire du Pape Honorius, avec un Recueil des Plus Rares Secrets [Grimoire of Pope Honorius, with a Collection of the Rarest Secrets], Rome [actually Paris?]: [s.n.], →OCLC.

af

ultimately from Proto-Indo-European <i class="Latn mention" lang="ine-pro">*gerbʰ-</i> (“to carve”)

doublet

There is something exceedingly unpleasant in being obliged to answer "No," to a traveller's "Pray, Sir, were you ever abroad?" and to sit mum-chance all the time that he is running over the "grimoire" of outlandish technicalities. For my own part, I am convinced that man is, par excellence, a travelling animal; [...]

1821, “M.” [pseudonym], “The Traveller”, in The New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal, volume II (Original Papers), number XII, London: Henry Colburn and Co. […], →OCLC, page 544:

One day, a curate of the neighbourhood of Bayeux, who kept up a constant intercourse with the devil, left his grimoire thoughtlessly on the table. His domestic, a lad who was very curious, had long sought an opportunity to open the mysterious book. [...] Scarcely had he pronounced a certain word, which presented itself accidentally to his eyes, when the devil suddenly made his appearance in the form of a great black man, with red eyes, and a terrible mouth. [...] The poor man was nearly dead with fright, and promised readily that he would never again read in the grimoire.

1835 August, “Contes Populaires, Préjugés, Patois, Proverbes, Noms de Lieux, de l’Arrondisement de Bayeux, recueillis et publiés par Frédéric Pluquet. Deuxième Edition, 8vo. Rouen. Londres, Pickering. [book review]”, in The Gentleman’s Magazine, volume IV (New Series), London: William Pickering; John Bowyer Nichols and Son, →OCLC, page 159, column 2:

The Kabalah for Paracelsus, when it is not something quite fantastic and unimaginable, is a species of practical magic, and here we shall do well to remember that the adept of Hohenheim flourished at a period when, as we have seen, the spurious literature of clavicles and grimoires was fast multiplying.

1902, Arthur Edward Waite, “Book VII: Some Christian Students of the Kabalah”, in The Doctrine and Literature of the Kabalah, London: The Theosophical Publishing Society, →OCLC, page 353:

There is extant among the old Grimoires a prayer attributed to the St. Cyprian of legend, who is possibly the holy Bishop of Carthage: its obscure and figurative expressions may have given credit to the idea that prior to his conversion he was addicted to the deadly practices of Black Magic.

1922, Éliphas Lévi [pseudonym; Alphonse Louis Constant], “Legends”, in Arthur Edward Waite, transl., A History of Magic: Including a Clear and Precise Exposition of Its Procedure, Its Rites and Its Mysteries … Translated, with a Preface and Notes, 2nd edition, London: William Rider & Son, Limited, […], →OCLC, page 203:

Nevertheless, to generations of writers after Independence, the printed word was a kind of magic, the grimoire that would bring about liberation.

1976, Jean Franco, “Preface”, in César Vallejo: The Dialectics of Poetry and Silence, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page viii:

In this conjuration you are calling the spirit and helping the seer to further attune to the spirit so she can see it through the magic mirror. The name of the spirit you are evoking is left blank. Fill it in from one of the spirits listed later in this book or from one of the grimoires.

1994, Donald Michael Kraig, “The Conjuration”, in The Truth about Evocation of Spirits (Llewellyn’s Vanguard Series), St. Paul, Minn.: Llewellyn Publications, →ISBN, page 36:

If writing was so important to grimoire magic, what was the effect of the print revolution from the late fifteenth century onwards? [...] While print drained power from the grimoire in terms of its magical integrity, it also empowered it through growing access and social influence. Furthermore, print did not usurp the role of manuscript; the magic latent in the words contained in print grimoires could be reactivated through transcription.

2009, Owen Davies, “Introduction”, in Grimoires: A History of Magic Books, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 5:

One well-known grimoire is called The Grand Grimoire, sometimes called The Red Dragon. This book was published sometime between the early 1500s and the 1700s (historians are not sure exactly when). It describes many frightful demons, including their names, habits, and powers. [...] A grimoire called the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum offers similar help. Published around 1583, this book lists 68 demons. It explains the rituals that summon each entity, and also pinpoints the best hours to perform these rituals.

2011, Kris Hirschmann, “Associating with Demons”, in Demons (Monsters and Mythical Creatures), San Diego, Calif.: ReferencePoint Press, →ISBN, page 46:

(occult) A book of instructions in the use of alchemy or magic, especially one containing spells for summoning demons.


rider

writer (with flapping but without Canadian raising)

From Middle English ryder, ridere, from Late Old English rīdere (“rider, knight”); equivalent to ride + -er. Compare Dutch rijder, German Reiter.

kalorës

one who rides — see also cyclist, driver

fo-fhadhb

math: problem of extra difficulty added to another on an examination paper

(cartomancy) The first Lenormand card, also known as either the horseman or the cavalier.


apogee

perigee

antonym(s) of “a point in an orbit around the Earth”

perigee is the etymological antonym

(antonym(s) of “highest point”): nadir, perigee

From Middle French apogée, from Latin apogaeum, apogēum, from Ancient Greek ἀπόγειον (apógeion, “away from Earth”), from ἀπό (apó, “away”) + γῆ (gê, “Earth”).

uder

(possibly archaic outside astrology) The point, in any trajectory of an object in space, where it is farthest from the Earth.


aspect

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”).

suunta

position in respect to points of a compass, the sun, etc.

takoto

of the position of land in relation to the sun

[…] To the blanc moon / Her office they prescribed; to the other five / Their planetary motions, and aspects, / In sextile, square, and trine, and opposite, / Of noxious efficacy, and when to join / In synod unbenign; and taught the fix'd / their influence malignant when to shower, / Which of them rising with the sun, or falling / Should prove tempestuous: […]

1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 656-664:

Kepler (the Lyncæus of the laſt Age) defines an Aſpect in this manner: Aſpectus eſt Angulus à Radiis Luminoſis binorum Planetarum in terra formatus, efficax ad ſtimulandum naturam ſublunarem. It is (ſaith he) an Angle made in the Earth by the Luminous Beams of two Planets, of ſtrength to ſtir up the vertue of all ſublunary things.

1683, George Wharton, “Of the Planetary Aspects, both Old and New, their Characters, and Æquations”, in John Gadbury, editor, The Works of that Late Most Excellent Philosopher and Astronomer, Sir George Wharton, Bar[onet]. Collected into One Entire Volume, London: Printed by H. H. for John Leigh, at Stationers Hall, →OCLC, page 90:

(astrology) The relative position of heavenly bodies as they appear to an observer on earth; the angular relationship between points in a horoscope.


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)

(astrology, of a planet) To have a particular aspect or type of aspect.


augur

augur (third-person singular simple present augurs, present participle auguring, simple past and past participle augured)

augurs (present singular third-person)
auguring (participle present)
augured (participle past)
augured (past)

Borrowed from Latin augur, of uncertain origin; akin to augurō (“interpret omens”).

to augur well or ill

But there, too, the meteorological omens augured ill.

2024 May 9, Ned Temko, “On rare visit, Xi Jinping tries to rescue China’s relationship with Europe”, in The Christian Science Monitor:

Whether term limits would augur a return of justices with broader experience in public life is debatable.

2024 September 20, Mark Sherman, “Supreme Court justices have a job for life. But some left the court to make their lasting mark”, in AP News:

To foretell events; to exhibit signs of future events; to indicate a favorable or an unfavorable outcome.

augurar

to foretell events; to exhibit signs of future events


cusp

From Latin cuspis (“a point, spear, pointed end”); first used in astrology.

bor

(astrology) A boundary between zodiacal signs and houses.


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.


druid

Borrowed from French druide, from Old French, via Latin Druidae, from Gaulish *druwits, from Proto-Celtic *druwits (literally either “oak-knower” or “firm knower, great sage”), from either Proto-Indo-European *dóru (“tree”) or *drew- (“solid, firm, hard”) and *weyd- (“to see, to have knowledge”).
The earliest record of the term in Latin is by Julius Caesar in the first century B.C. in his De Bello Gallico. The native Celtic word for "druid" is first attested in Latin texts as druides (plural) and other texts also employ the form druidae (akin to the Greek form). Cognate with the later insular Celtic words, Old Irish druí (“druid, sorcerer”) and early Welsh dryw (“seer”).

(fantasy, roleplaying games) A priest or mage who uses magic based on nature or trees.


octant

(astrology) The aspect of two planets that are 45°, or one-eighth of a circle, apart.


hex

uranium hexafluoride
uranium hexafluoride#English

(chemistry) Clipping of uranium hexafluoride.


wizard

4chan
English Renaissance
Fizban the Fabulous
en:wizard

From Middle English wysard, wysarde, equivalent to wise + -ard. A uniquely medieval Anglo-Saxon word with no known cognates in or outside the Germanic family; did not gain distinct sense of "occultist, magic user" (as opposed to a philosopher or sage) until circa 1500s, aligning roughly with the starting English Renaissance.
The sense of "old (male) virgin" is from a Japanese Internet meme where virgins who are typically friendless, shy, outcasts, and loners who don't fit in anywhere, legendarily gain magical powers upon reaching 30 years of age; popularized ultimately by 4chan and adjacent online incel spaces.

The wizard conjured up a large fireball.

The wily wizard must be caught.

1697, John Dryden, Translation of Virgil's Georgics:

He found himself watching a couple of wizards doing what he at first mistook for the beginning of a dance, and then for a session of tai chi. But suddenly he realized they were signing.

2016 February 2, Diane Duane, Games Wizards Play, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, →ISBN:

But that's not what will make her a powerful wizard – more powerful than me, more powerful than Leesha, even more powerful than you.

2021 November 1, Dale Stubbart, The Wizard Without a Wand, Dale Stubbart:

Someone, usually male, who uses (or has skill with) magic, mystic items, and magical and mystical practices.


configuration

en-noun

configuration (countable and uncountable, plural configurations)

/kənˌfɪɡ.əˈɹeɪ̯.ʃən/

/kənˌfɪɡ.jəˈɹeɪ̯.ʃən/

/kənˌfɪɡ.əˈɹæɪ̯.ʃən/

From Middle French configuration, from Latin cōnfigūrātiō.
Morphologically configure + -ation

konfigurointi

computing: process of customizing a computing environment

The relative positions of a set of things; the way things are arranged or put together;

(astrology) The aspect of the planets; the face of the horoscope, according to the relative positions of the planets at any time.


divination

divination (countable and uncountable, plural divinations)

/ˌdɪvɪˈneɪʃən/

From Old French divination, from Latin divinatio.

Methods of divination on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

(countable) An indication of what is to come in the future or what is secret; a prediction.


exaltation

exaltation (countable and uncountable, plural exaltations)

From Middle English exaltacioun, exaltatioun, from Old French exaltacion and Latin exaltātiō (“exaltation, elevation”), from exaltō (“raise, elevate, exalt”), from ex (“from, out of”) + altus (“high”).

der

He often stood there in a muse until dusk fell, and then darkness, while once in a while the moon, ‘in her exaltation’ as the astrologers say, rose to remind him that such worldly musings meant nothing to the hostile universe without.

1978, Lawrence Durrell, Livia (Avignon Quintet), Faber & Faber, published 1992, page 483:

(astrology) That placement of a planet in the zodiac in which it is deemed to exert its strongest influence.


fain

en-verb

fain (third-person singular simple present fains, present participle faining, simple past and past participle fained)

fains (present singular third-person)
faining (participle present)
fained (participle past)
fained (past)

From Middle English fainen, from Old English fæġnian, from Proto-West Germanic *faginōn, from Proto-Germanic *faginōną. Doublet of fawn.

(Germanic paganism) to worship, to celebrate, to offer an oblation which is not sacrificial blót.


planchette

(spiritualism) A type of Ouija board. (A small tablet of wood supported on casters and having a pencil attached. The characters produced by the pencil on paper, while the hand rests on the instrument and it is allowed to move, are sometimes interpreted as of oracular or supernatural import.)


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.


Yule

From Middle English yol, youle, from Old English ġeōl (“Christmas, Yule”), either cognate with or from Old Norse jól, from Proto-Germanic *jehwlą. Cognate with Gothic 𐌾𐌹𐌿𐌻𐌴𐌹𐍃 (jiuleis); see also Old English ġēola and Old Norse ýlir.

Twelve Days of Christmas
Twelve Days of Christmas

Christmastide, the Christmas season, the Twelve Days of Christmas (between December 25ᵗʰ and January 5ᵗʰ).

A pagan wintertime holiday celebrated by Germanic peoples, particularly the Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon peoples, or a modern reconstruction of this holiday celebrated by neo-pagans.


Yule

In the Countrey churches, at Christmas in the Holy-daies after Prayers, they will dance in the Church, and as they doe dance, they cry (or sing) Yole, Yole, Yole etc.

1687, John Aubrey, Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme, page 5:

(obsolete) A proclamation of joy at Christmas.


leech

From Middle English leche (“physician”), from Old English lǣċe (“doctor, physician”), from Proto-West Germanic *lākī, from Proto-Germanic *lēkijaz (“doctor”), of disputed origin, but usually thought to be connected with Proto-Celtic (compare Old Irish líaig (“charmer, exorcist, physician”)) and Serbo-Croatian ljèkār, Polish lekarz (“physician, doctor”); perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- (“to collect, gather”).
Cognate with Old Frisian lētza (“physician”), Old Saxon lāki (“physician”), Old High German lāhhi (“doctor, healer”), Danish læge (“doctor, surgeon”), Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐌺𐌴𐌹𐍃 (lēkeis, “physician”).

cog

Their functions are threefold, those of the medicine-man (the leech, or healer by supernatural means); of the soothsayer (the prophet through communion with the invisible world); and of the priest, especially in his capacity as exorcist

1900, Augustus Henry Keane, Man, Past and Present, Cambridge: The University Press:

In ancient times runesters were a specialized class separate from that of the witch or ordinary spell caster (much as the other specialists such as the leech or healer and the seithkona were different from a witch), and even today many believe it takes years of training to become adept at using the runes in spell work.

1996, Swain Wodening, “Scandinavian Craft Lesson 6: Runic Divination”, Theod Magazine 3 (4)

"Leech?" "Not another doctor".

2003, Brian Froud, Ari Berk, The Runes of Elfland, Pavillion Books, →ISBN, page 22:

There are many kinds of "Leech" or "healer" as there are healing techniques, some are more powerful than others and some are very specific to certain illnesses and complaints; some use potions and unguents, others crystals and stones, others galdr and some work their healing from within the hidden realms themselves.

2004, Runic John, The Book of Seidr, Capall Bann Publishing, →ISBN, page 282:


scythe

From Middle English sythe, sithe, from Old English sīþe, sīgþe, sigdi (“sickle”), from Proto-West Germanic *sigiþi, from Proto-Germanic *sigiþiz, *sigiþō, derived from *seg- (“saw”), from Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to cut”).
Immediate Germanic cognates include Middle Low German sēgede, Dutch zicht, Icelandic sigð (all “sickle”). More distantly related with Dutch zeis, German Sense (both “scythe”). Also akin to English saw, which see.
The silent c crept in during the early 15th century owing to pseudoetymological association with Medieval Latin scissor (“tailor, carver”), from Latin scindere (“to cut, rend, split”).
The verb, which was first used in the intransitive sense, is from the noun.


augury

en-noun

augury (countable and uncountable, plural auguries)

/ˈɔː.ɡjʊ.ɹi/

From augur + -y, or from Middle English augurie, from Old French augurie, from Latin augurium.

A divination based on the appearance and behaviour of animals.

تَوَسُّم الطَّيْر

In Wordsworth's first preludings there is but a dim foreboding of the creator of an era. From Southey's early poems, a safer augury might have been drawn.

1850, James Russell Lowell, The Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe/Volume 1/Edgar A. Poe:

No augury could be hopefuller. The Fates must indeed be hard, the Ordeal severe, the Destiny dark, that could destroy so bright a Spring!

1859, George Meredith, chapter 15, in The Ordeal of Richard Feverel. A History of Father and Son. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Chapman and Hall, →OCLC:

Fortunately many of the younger men are keen enough to make a success of their work, and this gives a better augury for the future.

1950 August, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 549:

(by extension) An omen or prediction; a foreboding; a prophecy.

Evidently he did not mean to be a mere figurehead, but to carry on the old tradition of Wilsthorpe's; and that was considered to be a good thing in itself and an augury for future prosperity.

1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 2, in Well Tackled!:

An event that is experienced as indicating important things to come.


bewitching

en-adj

bewitching (comparative more bewitching, superlative most bewitching)

more bewitching (comparative)
most bewitching (superlative)

/bəˈwɪt͡ʃɪŋ/


Baalism

A pagan religion centred on the worship of Baal.


Baalist

A worshiper of Baal; a member of the pagan religion of Baalism.


perigee

/ˈpɛɹ.ɪ.d͡ʒiː/

From French périgée via Latin perigeum, perigaeum, ultimately from Ancient Greek περί (perí, “near”) + γῆ (gê, “Earth”).

periapsis

closest point in an orbit about a planet

(possibly archaic outside astrology) The point, in any trajectory of an object in space, where it is closest to the Earth.


Odin

→ Chinese: 奧丁／奥丁 (Àodīng)

→ Japanese: オーディン

Learned borrowing from Old Norse Óðinn (whence Icelandic Óðinn, Norwegian Nynorsk Oden), akin to Old High German Wodan and Old English Wōden. From Proto-Germanic *Wōdanaz, derived from Proto-Germanic *wōdaz (“rage, manic inspiration, furor poeticus”), from Proto-Indo-European *weh₂t- (“to be excited”). Compare Old Norse óðr (“rage”) and Dutch woede (“rage”) and woeden (“to rage”), Irish fáidh, Latin vātēs. Doublet of Woden and Wotan. Related to English wode.

der

interpretatio germanica
interpretatio germanica

(Norse mythology and paganism) A major Germanic god, often described as chief of the pantheon, in his Norse form a member of the Æsir, married to Frigg and associated with knowledge, poetry and war. Wednesday refers to him by way of interpretatio germanica.


magistra

Meditation has an important part in many witchcraft ceremonies, at least in the coven of which I am the Magistra or leader.

1989, Lois Bourne, Conversations with a Witch, Robert Hale, published 2014, →ISBN:

The magnificent Magisters and Magistras, profound Priests and Priestesses, wondrous Witches and Warlocks, astounding Agents, and the ever-inspiring loyal cohort that makes up the Citizenry of our Infernal Empire—you are an aristocracy of achievers, many of whom are cherished friends, and cannot know how very much you each mean to me.

2007, Peter H. Gilmore, The Satanic Scriptures, Scapegoat Publishing, →ISBN, page vi:

If only the Magistra and Magister of the Rite are present, then just the Magister shall drink of simulate if fake (ie theatrical) blood is used.

2009, Michael W. Ford, Luciferian Witchcraft – The Book of The Serpent: The Grimoire of The Serpent, 2nd edition, Succubus Publishing, →ISBN, page 308:

Just as there are tools and symbols that are specific to the Magistra, the stang is a tool used to represent the Horned God and should be used by the Magister only.

2015, Amaranthus, Feasting from the Black Cauldron, Lulu, →ISBN:

Fourth Degrees migrate, Magistras & Magisters administering.

2019, WLLM, Hokkus Satanus, Satan Wants Haikus!, Lee John Press, →ISBN, page 45:

My heartfelt appreciation to all of the Church of Satan Magisters, Magistras, Witches, Priests, Priestesses and members who contributed in words and deeds,[…].

2022, Robert Johnson, “Acknowledgments”, in The Satanic Warlock, 2nd edition, →ISBN:

(occult, witchcraft, Church of Satan) A female magister.


necromancy

en-noun

necromancy (countable and uncountable, plural necromancies)

Circa 1300, from Middle English nigromancye, from Old French nigromancie, from Medieval Latin nigromantia, from Latin necromantia, from Ancient Greek νεκρομαντεία (nekromanteía), νεκρός (nekrós, “dead”) + μαντεία (manteía, “divination”). Medieval Latin spelling, incorporating niger (“black”), influenced by the notion of black art. Modern spelling adopted in mid-1500s. By surface analysis, necro- + -mancy.

der

νεκρομαντεία

Loosely, any sorcery or witchcraft, especially involving death or the dead, particularly sorcery involving raising or reanimating the dead.


illusionist

One who deceives by magical or mystical means.


Odinism

Heathenry, Germanic neopaganism, especially a variety devoted to the Norse pantheon.


magister

Borrowed from Latin magister (“a master, chief, head, superior, director, teacher, etc.”), from magis (“more or great”) + -ter. Doublet of maestro, master, and meister.

bor

Coordinate term: magistra

(occult, witchcraft, Church of Satan) The chief male celebrant of an occult ritual.


mage

From Middle English mages (plurale tantum), from Latin magus, from Ancient Greek Μάγος (Mágos), from the hapax Old Persian 𐎶𐎦𐎢𐏁 (m-gu-u-š /maguš/). Doublet of magus.

While the liberality of Gelo and his brother Hiero atracted every stranger who could amuse or instruct the court of Syracuse, a Persian Mage related to the former of those princes that he himself had circumnavigated the whole continent of Africa.

c. 1790, Edward Gibbon, On the Position of the Meridional Line, and the supposed Circumnavigation of Africa by the Ancients; republished as The Miscellaneous Works of Edward Gibbon, Esq. […] , volume 5, 1814, pages 186–87:

(obsolete) Synonym of magus: a Zoroastrian priest.

magic user

practitioner of allegedly supernatural magic


venereal

/vəˈnɪə.ɹɪ.əl/

From Middle English venereal, venerealle (“of or relating to sexual intercourse”), from Latin venereus, venerius (“of or relating to sexual love”), from Venus (“Roman goddess of love”) (from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to love”)) + -eus, -ius (suffix forming adjectives from nouns).

The Venereall, are the delitious, laſcivious, mild, kinde, pleaſant, and tame; as the Calfe, cony, dog, goat, and ſcinck.

1661, Robert Lovell, “Isagoge Zoologicomineralogica. Or An Introduction to the History of Animals and Minerals, or Panzoographie, and Pammineralogie.”, in ΠΑΝΖΩΟΡΥΚΤΟΛΟΓΙΑ [PANZŌORYKTOLOGIA]. Sive Panzoologicomineralogia. Or A Compleat History of Animals and Minerals, Containing the Summe of All Authors, both Ancient and Modern, Galenicall and Chymicall, …, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Hen[ry] Hall, for Jos[eph] Godwin, →OCLC:

(astrology, obsolete) Pertaining to the astrological influence of the planet Venus; lascivious, lustful.


nativity

en-noun

nativity (countable and uncountable, plural nativities)

From Middle English nativite, from Anglo-Norman nativite, Middle French nativite, and their source, Latin nātīvitās (“birth”). See also naïveté.

You ſtarres that raignd at my natiuitie, / whoſe influence hath alotted death and hel, / Now draw vp Fauſtus like a foggy miſt, / Into the intrailes of yon labring cloude, / That when you vomite foorth into the ayre, / My limbes may iſſue from your ſmoaky mouthes, / So that my ſoule may but aſcend to heauen: […]

1589–1592 (date written), Ch[ristopher] Marl[owe], The Tragicall History of D. Faustus. […], London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for Thomas Bushell, published 1604, →OCLC, signature F2, verso:

One Mischief always introduces another: These Terrors and Apprehensions of the People, led them into a Thousand weak, foolish, and wicked Things, which, they wanted not a Sort of People really wicked, to encourage them to; and this was running about to Fortune tellers, Cunning men, and Astrologers, to know their Fortune, or, as ’tis vulgarly express’d, to have their Fortunes told them, their Nativities calculated, and the like […]

1722 March, H[enry] F[oe] [pseudonym; Daniel Defoe], A Journal of the Plague Year: […], London: […] E[lizabeth] Nutt […]; J. Roberts […]; A. Dodd […]; and J. Graves […], →OCLC, page 32:

In this metropolis a number of lurking leeches infamously gain a subsistence by practising on the credulity of women, pretending to cast nativities, to use the technical phrase; and many females who, proud of their rank and fortune, look down on the vulgar with sovereign contempt, show by this credulity, that the distinction is arbitrary, and that they have not sufficiently cultivated their minds to rise above vulgar prejudices.

1791 (date written), Mary Wollstonecraft, “Some Instances of the Folly which the Ignorance of Women Generates; with Concluding Reflections on the Moral Improvement that a Revolution in Female Manners may Naturally be Expected to Produce”, in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: With Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], published 1792, →OCLC, page 415:

[…] ‘my good old tutor […] instilled into me enough of knowledge for erecting a scheme of nativity, and therefore will I presently go about it.’

1815 February 24, [Walter Scott], chapter 3, in Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and Archibald Constable and Co., […], →OCLC:

Accordingly […] he was careful, as befitted a Fellow of the Royal Society, to note the exact nativity of his subjects whenever it could be discovered; in this way he hoped to make possible a scientific comparison of the course of human life with the astrological circumstances of its inception, and thus to arrive at a more exact astrology.

1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society, published 2012, page 313:

(astrology) Someone's birth considered as a means of astrology; a horoscope associated with a person's birth.


self-fulfilling prophecy

self-fulfilling prophecy (plural self-fulfilling prophecies)

Whether or not we believe in astrology is irrelevant; the question is, did the Magdalenians? If so, then in a self-fulfilling prophecy they may have been organizing their lives according to a religious belief system, and not simply an economic or ecological one.

1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 130:

Operator Abellio ScotRail doubled the Mon-Sat service from one train in each direction to two from May 2019 - it being something of a self-fulfilling prophecy that if you lay on trains, people might use them.

2022 January 26, Stephen Roberts, “Top of the stops: our least used stations”, in RAIL, number 949, page 56:

A prediction that, by being voiced, causes itself to come true.


Martian

From Latin Mārtius (“of or relating to the planet Mars”) + -an (adjective-forming suffix). The word is cognate with Middle English marcien, marcyan, mercien (“subject to the influence or power of the planet Mars; relating to the god Mars, that is, warlike”), Middle French martien (“Martian”) (modern French martien), French Martien (“imaginary inhabitant of Mars; any extraterrestrial”), Italian marziano, Latin Mārtiānus (“Martian”), Portuguese marciano, Spanish marciano.

cog

[T]he majority of human beings born under the influence of Mars—the Martians (or "Martials")—are heavily built but physically strong. [...] [T]hey are easily angered, and, for the time being, forget everything in the excess of their violence. The worst Martian type will commit murder before he knows it.

1901, C. de Saint-Germain, “The Planets”, in Practical Astrology: A Simple Method of Casting Horoscopes: […], Chicago, Ill.: Laird & Lee, publishers, →OCLC, pages 83–84:

(astrology) Pertaining to the astrological influence of the planet Mars; aggressive, bellicose.


Martian

Amazing Stories
Frank R. Paul
H. G. Wells
Hubble Space Telescope
The War of the Worlds

[T]he majority of human beings born under the influence of Mars—the Martians (or "Martials")—are heavily built but physically strong. [...] A male Martian is generally a great favorite with the ladies and is apt to be rather quick and unscrupulous in his courtship methods. He is not a sentimental lover. A bad Martian is a loud, fatiguing talker and a braggard.

(astrology) A person under the astrological influence of the planet Mars.


sorcery

en-noun

sorcery (countable and uncountable, plural sorceries)

From Middle English sorcery, borrowed from Middle French sorcerie, ultimately derived from Latin sors (“fate”), from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to bind”). Cognate with serō, seriēs, sermō. Compare also French sorcier.

Sorcery in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)


kindred

kindred (countable and uncountable, plural kindreds)

From Middle English kyndrede, from older kynrede (“kindred”), from Old English cynrēd, cynrǣden (“kindred, family, stock”), from cynn (“kind, kin, lineage”) + -rǣden (“condition, state”). Equivalent to kin + -red, see these. The -d- is epenthetic between a nasal and a liquid (as e.g. in spindle).

We talked with Jonina about our kindred, Heathenry in the United States, Asatru in Iceland, and the details of our religious practice.[…]

2009, Mark Ludwig Stinson, Heathen Gods: A Collection of Essays Concerning the Folkway of Our People, page 174:

Your chosen kindred or other group is a Venn circle that contains you, but it may not be the same circle as your family.

2013 November 8, Patricia M. Lafayllve, A Practical Heathen's Guide to Asatru, Llewellyn Worldwide, →ISBN, page 117:

Not all, but many people believe that if you're not in a kindred, then you are not a real Norse Pagan or heathen.

2019 May 20, Theodoric Dukka, A Heathen's Guide: Experiences & Advice On Magic & Spiritworking, →ISBN, page 101:

(countable, Germanic paganism) A household or group following the modern pagan faith of Heathenry or Ásatrú.


mount

From Middle English mount, munt, from Old English munt, from Latin mōns (“a hill, mountain”), from a root seen also in ēmineō (“I project, I protrude”) (English eminent). Doublet of mons.

the mount of Jupiter

(palmistry) Any of seven fleshy prominences in the palm of the hand, taken to represent the influences of various heavenly bodies.


ingress

en-verb

ingress (third-person singular simple present ingresses, present participle ingressing, simple past and past participle ingressed)

ingresses (present singular third-person)
ingressing (participle present)
ingressed (participle past)
ingressed (past)

From Latin ingressus, from the verb ingredior.

The middle of March finds " Mars ingressing upon the 16th degree of Capricorn, where the sun has arrived in the nativity of Lord Palmerston," […]

1861 December 28, “Almanacs”, in All the Year Round, volume VI:

(intransitive, astrology, of a planet) To enter into a zodiacal sign


cartomancy

Compare French cartomancie. See card and -mancy.

These travelling magicians [...] rarely penetrated more deeply into magic than cartomancy, palmistry and the like.

1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 91:

Fortune-telling using cards, as in tarot and Lenormand.

aus den Karten lesen.

possibly also: Kartomantie f - but extremely uncommon.


harvest

en-noun

harvest (countable and uncountable, plural harvests)

From Middle English harvest, hervest, from Old English hærfest (“autumn, harvest-time; August”), from Proto-West Germanic *harbist, from Proto-Germanic *harbistaz (“harvest-time, autumn, fall”), from *harbaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kerp-.
Cognates:
Cognate with Sylt North Frisian Hārefst, West Frisian hjerst, Dutch herfst, German Herbst, German Low German Harvst, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål høst, Norwegian Nynorsk haust; further with Latin carpere (“to seize”), Ancient Greek καρπός (karpós, “fruit”), κείρω (keírō, “to cut off”).

inh

(paganism) A modern pagan ceremony held on or around the autumn equinox, which is in the harvesting season.


thaumaturgic

Lastly, powerfulest of all, least recognised of all, a Noblesse of Literature; without steel on their thigh, without gold in their purse, but with the “grand thaumaturgic faculty of Thought” in their head.

1837, Thomas Carlyle, “Realised Ideals”, in The French Revolution: A History […], volume I (The Bastille), London: Chapman and Hall, →OCLC, book I (Death of Louis XV):

It was the conferring of thaumaturgic powers. We can't do it now as rapidly as that.

1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “Which Introduces Some Very Physical Phenomena”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:

These colors, falling upon the throng of monomachists and loungers much as we see the aureate beams of divine favor fall on hierarchs in art, lent them an appearance insubstantial and thaumaturgic, as though they had all been produced a moment before by the flourish of a cloth and would vanish into the air again at a whistle.

1980, Gene Wolfe, chapter XXVII, in The Shadow of the Torturer (The Book of the New Sun; 1), New York: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 236:

Of, or relating to, the working of magic or performance of miracles.

taumatúrgico

of, or relating to, the working of magic or performance of miracles


dedicate

From Latin dēdicātus, past participle of dēdicō (“I dedicate, proclaim”).

Glancing at the crowd of onlookers, she said, “I know that service at the dining hall will be over soon”—instantly a few dedicates and all of the novices hurried away—“and some of us here would like to prepare our own meal.” […] Out of sight of the dedicates, she climbed over the short fence and escaped to Winding Circle's biggest library.

2011 September 1, Tamora Pierce, Circle of Magic #1: Sandry's Book, Scholastic Inc., →ISBN:

Initiation—When a dedicate is seen on all levels to be learning and doing more as they participate in the circle and aids with rituals and/or divination, an initiation is decided on with the priest or priestess and dedicate.

2015 April 8, Dracaena Paxx, The Sacred Spiral: Unlocking Ones Infinite Potential, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN:

Through this rune of compassion, feelings of pain are transferred from the dedicates to Fallion. Lord Despair then proceeds to torture the dedicates so that Fallion would feel the pain of the tortures without being physically harmed[…]

2019 November 14, Charul Palmer-Patel, The Shape of Fantasy: Investigating the Structure of American Heroic Epic Fantasy, Routledge, →ISBN:

Rowan Cortak stood with the rest of the dedicates.

2022 September 27, Chad Corrie, The Wizard King Trilogy Boxed Set, Dark Horse Books, →ISBN, page 24:

(chiefly fantasy and paganism) One who dedicates themselves, or who is dedicated, to the service of some leader, religion, etc.


mysticism

en-noun

mysticism (countable and uncountable, plural mysticisms)

From mystic + -ism, from Old French mistique (“mysterious, full of mystery”), from Latin mysticus (“mystical, mystic, of secret rites”), from Ancient Greek μυστικός (mustikós, “secret, mystic”), from μύστης (mústēs, “one who has been initiated, initiate”) from μῡ́ω (mū́ō, “to close one's lips or eyes; initiate into the mysteries”). Compare Asturian misticismu, Catalan misticisme, French mysticisme, German Mystizismus, Italian misticismo, Portuguese misticismo, Sicilian misticisimu, Spanish misticismo.


prediction

/pɹɪˈdɪkʃən/

Learned borrowing from Latin praedictiō, praedictiōnis; equivalent to predict + -ion. Compare the Germanic equivalents forespeaking, foretale, foretelling.

lbor

(statistics) A probability estimation based on statistical methods.


lily

From Middle English lilie, from Old English lilie, from Latin līlia, plural of līlium, from Ancient Greek λείριον (leírion). See there for more.

(cartomancy) The thirtieth Lenormand card, representing calmness and maturity.


widdershins

Ca. 1500, from Middle Low German weddersins (also wēder-, -sinnes), from wed(d)der- (“wither-, against, opposite”) + genitive of sin (“direction, way”).

It is unlucky to walk widdershins around a church.

Astronomers cannot help regarding the solar system as a small widdershins universe, because the real movements with which they are familiar are nearly all widdershins: the rotation of the sun on its axis, the rotation and revolution of the earth and the moon, the rotation and revolution of the planets and of most of their satellites.

1946, Herbert McKay, The World of Numbers, Cambridge University Press, →OL, page 45:

"'Widdershins, brother!" said Catweazle impatiently. "Widdershins!" "What are you babbling about?" said Carrot. "We must seek protection. Dost not know 'widdershins?" "No," said Carrot. "'Tis beyond belief," said Catweazle, shaking his head. Spreading his arms, the old sorcerer crouched down and began to revolve on the spot. Faster and faster he whirled until he was like a spinning top.

1970, Richard Carpenter, Catweazle, published 1984, page x. 136:

Cummer, go ye before, cummer, go ye.
If ye willna go before, cummer, let me.
Ring-a-ring a-widdershins
Linkin' lithely widdershins
Cummer carlin crone and queen
Roun' go we!

The next hour wedge in a counterclockwise (or widdershins) direction, between 8:00 and 7:00 is the 2nd house. The 8:00 line is the cusp of the 2nd house. You continue all around the wheel widdershins until you get to the hour wedge ...

1995, Estelle Daniels, Astrologickal Magick, Weiser Books, →ISBN, page 23:

I like to carry the incense widdershins around the room (widdershins being the direction of banishing) and then also run the incense widdershins around windows, doors, and mirrors. You can also do this type of cleansing with a container of ...

2002, Laura Perry, The Wiccan Wellness Book: Natural Healthcare for Mind, Body, and Spirit, Career Press, →ISBN, page 87:

They even had a word for it, widdershins, an adaptation of the German word wiederschein, which means “against the sun.” If you walked around a bonfire counterclockwise, or widdershins, you were suspected of harboring a penchant for ...

2005, Melissa Roth, The Left Stuff: How the Left-Handed Have Survived and Thrived in a Right-Handed World, Government Institutes, →ISBN, page 29:

Widdershins are movements around the circle in an anti clockwise dance. Some witches may find it useful to recite the Lord's Prayer Backwards while moving widdershins in the beginning of the Sabbat Rite, this allowing or 'giving permission' ...

2005, Michael Ford, Luciferian Witchcraft, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 98:

In the Dianic tradition, the cast circle is opened in conjunction with valedictions in reverse order, also known as widdershins or counterclockwise, starting with a valediction to earth and moving from north, to west, to south, to east. In the Dianic ...

2007, Ruth Barrett, Women's Rites, Women's Mysteries: Intuitive Ritual Creation, Llewellyn Worldwide, →ISBN, page 88:

The one thing we didn't think of, due in part to our quasi-Gardnerian training, is that one grinds the mill widdershins — counterclockwise, not clockwise. The counterclockwise motion (also called “Moonwise”) churns the energy against ...

2008, Ann Finnin, The Forge of Tubal Cain, Pendraig Publishing, →ISBN, page 55:

The contrary way is widdershins, the way in which the witches danced at the Sabbats. The deosil movement affirms the rule of God's law in Nature because it is the Way of the Sun; the widdershins movement repudiates God's rule over Nature ...

2011, Dion Fortune, Psychic Self-Defense: The Classic Instruction Manual for Protecting Yourself Against Paranormal Attack, Weiser Books, →ISBN, page 197:

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:


coffin

From Middle English coffyn, from Old Northern French cofin (“sarcophagus", earlier "basket, coffer”), from Latin cophinus (“basket”), a loanword from Ancient Greek κόφινος (kóphinos, “a basket”). Doublet of coffer.


phantasm

A learned variant of phantom; from Middle English fantosme, from Old French fantosme, fantasme, from Latin phantasma, from Ancient Greek φάντασμα (phántasma). Doublet of phantom.

But night comes in with a more genial spirit: we have done our worst and our bitterest; and we need a small space to indulge any little bit of cordiality that may be left in us. A thousand gay phantasms float in on the sunny south, which has left the far-off vineyards of its birth.

1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Success”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 75:

He declares that there seems to be no justification for regarding the phantasms of dreams as pure hallucinations; most dream-images are probably in fact illusions, since they arise from faint sense-impressions, which never cease during sleep.

1900, Sigmund Freud, translated by James Strachey, The Interpretation of Dreams: Avon Books, page 74:

Something seen but having no physical reality; a phantom or apparition.


stall

From Middle English stall, stalle, from Old English steall (“standing place, position”), from Proto-Germanic *stallaz, from Proto-Indo-European *stel- (“to place, put, post, stand”).

der

In a private rite, a ring is drawn on the ground around a harrow or before an indoor stall.

1989, Edred Thorsson, A Book of Troth, Llewellyn Publications, →ISBN, page 156:

Some Asatruar kindreds call their indoor altars stalls and their outdoor altars harrows.

2006, Selene Silverwind, “Asatruar Tools and Practices”, in Everything you need to know about Paganism, David & Charles, →ISBN, page 117:

Stalli (STAL-i) - Altar.

2006, Mark Puryear, The Nature of Asatru: An Overview of the Ideals and Philosophy of the Indigenous Religion of Northern Europe, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 237:

(Germanic paganism) An Heathen altar, typically an indoor one, as contrasted with a more substantial outdoor harrow.


phantom

From Middle English fantome, fanteme, from Old French fantosme, fantasme, from Latin phantasma (“an apparition, specter; (in Late Latin also) appearance, image”), from Ancient Greek φάντασμα (phántasma, “phantasm, an appearance, image, apparition, specter”), from φαντάζω (phantázō, “I make visible”). Doublet of phantasm.


garth

Inherited from Middle English garth, from Old Norse garðr, from Proto-Germanic *gardaz, thus cognate with Old English ġeard, whence the English doublet yard.

The Candidate for membership of Hof, Garth or Hearth shall hold an Armill, or he may touch an unsheathed Sword throughout the ceremony.

2014 November 18, Stubba, The Book of Blots, page 102:

(Germanic paganism) A group or a household dedicated to the pagan faith of Heathenry.

(Germanic paganism) A location or sacred space, in ritual and poetry in modern Heathenry.


scheme

→ Irish: scéim

→ Malay: skim

Borrowed from Medieval Latin schēma (“figure, form”), from Ancient Greek σχῆμα (skhêma, “form, shape”), from ἔχω (ékhō, “I hold”). Doublet of schema. Compare sketch.

der

a blue case, from which was drawn a scheme of nativity

1815 February 24, [Walter Scott], Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and Archibald Constable and Co., […], →OCLC:

(astrology) A representation of the aspects of the celestial bodies for any moment or at a given event.

tähtikartta

astrology: representation of the aspects of the celestial bodies


spook

Borrowed from Dutch spook (“ghost”), from Middle Dutch spooc (“spook, ghost”). Cognate with Middle Low German spôk, spûk (“apparition, ghost”), Middle High German gespük (“a haunting”), German Spuk, Danish spøge (“to haunt”), Swedish spöke (“ghost”). Doublet of puck.


wight

From Middle English wight, wiȝt, from Old English wiht (“thing, creature”), from Proto-West Germanic *wihti, from Proto-Germanic *wihtiz (“thing, creature”, literally “being”), from Proto-Indo-European *wekti- (“cause, sake, thing”), from *wekʷ- (“to say, tell”).
Cognate with Scots wicht (“creature, being, human”), Dutch wicht (“child, baby, girl”), German Low German Wicht (“girl; wight”), German Wicht (“wretch, wight, little creature, scoundrel”), Danish vætte (“underground creature, gnome”), Norwegian Bokmål vette (“underground creature, gnome”), Swedish vätte (“underground creature, gnome”), Icelandic vættur (“imp, elf”). Doublet of whit.

cog

(paganism) A being of one of the Nine Worlds of Heathen belief, especially a nature spirit, elf or ancestor.


smudge

en-noun

smudge (countable and uncountable, plural smudges)

Derived from the verb (see below). Doublet of smutch.

Devil's dirt or asafetida ground together with fenugreek and black cumin seed is used as a smudge against witches and […]

2006, Christian Rätsch, Claudia Müller-Ebeling, Pagan Christmas: The Plants, Spirits, and Rituals, →ISBN:

(paganism, especially in the phrase "smudge stick" = "stick of incense") A quantity of herbs used in suffumigation.


smudge

en-verb

smudge (third-person singular simple present smudges, present participle smudging, simple past and past participle smudged)

smudges (present singular third-person)
smudging (participle present)
smudged (participle past)
smudged (past)

From Middle English *smogen (attested in the gerund smogynge (“soiling, smudging”)), of obscure origin. Compare Middle English besmudded, bismuddet (“filthy”), Middle English smod (“filth, obscene behaviour”), Middle Dutch smoddich (“filthy, dirty”), German schmutzig (“dirty, filthy”).

unc

obscure

cog

(paganism, intransitive) To burn herbs as a cleansing ritual (suffumigation).

This is easily done using incense to smudge yourself or taking a cleansing bath. To smudge your body use an incense mixture such as sandalwood, lavender, frankincense or myrrh.

2013, Rachel Patterson, Pagan Portals - Hoodoo: Folk Magic, →ISBN:

(paganism, transitive) To subject to ritual burning of herbs (suffumigation, smudging).


dowsing

en-noun

dowsing (countable and uncountable, plural dowsings)

The practice of seeking water or other substances (usually liquid) with the aid of a forked stick or similar pointing device, as believed by some practitioners to derive from supernatural power.


fortune cookie

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

I read my future in a fortune cookie / Without any safety procedure in mind

2006, “Courtesy Laughs”, in It's Never Been Like That, performed by Phoenix:

“The Chinese restaurant code. It states that the fortune cookie is not to be taken lightly. Now what do you mean to be doing with this fortune cookie anyway, lad?”

2009, Jon Paul Fiorentino, Stripmalling, ECW Press, →ISBN, page 23:

A type of hollow snack, common in westernized Chinese cuisine: a crisp sugary wafer containing a message on a narrow strip of paper, generally with a wise or vaguely prophetic message or random numbers usable in a lottery printed on the paper.


transit

transit (countable and uncountable, plural transits)

From French, from Latin transire (“to go across, pass in, pass through”), from trans (“over”) + ire (“to go”).

der

(astrology) The passage of a celestial body in the horoscope, e.g. through a section or in relation to a specific important point in someone's birth chart.


I Ching

/ˌiː ˈt͡ʃɪŋ/

From Wade–Giles romanization of Mandarin 易經／易经 (I⁴-ching¹).

A somewhat analogous situation exists in China. After the death of Mao Zedong and the gradual emergence of a market economy, UFOs, channeling and other examples of Western pseudoscience emerged, along with such ancient Chinese practices as ancestor worship, astrology and fortune telling—especially that version that involves throwing yarrow sticks and working through the hoary hexagrams of the I Ching. The government newspaper lamented that “the superstition of feudal ideology is reviving in our countryside.” It was (and remains) a rural, not primarily an urban, affliction.

1995, Carl Sagan, “The Most Precious Thing”, in The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, 1st edition, New York: Random House, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 17:

In search of inspiration, I picked up the I Ching, the ancient Chinese “Book of Changes” that has been consulted for centuries. I’ve held on to a dusty Bollingen Series text since my college days. To consult the oracle, you cast yarrow straws or, in a pinch, coins, and match the results with one of 64 hexagrams. Then you read and interpret the text that accompanies the hexagram. Got that?
Sitting at the dinner table with the I Ching and some pennies, I formed a question in my mind: “Is it time to begin investing again?”

2009 July 11, John Schwartz, “There’s No Future in Being an Oracle”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-11-26:

A Chinese classic text describing an ancient system of cosmology and philosophy which is at the heart of traditional Chinese cultural beliefs.


clairgustance

Presumably from 17th-century French clair (“clear”) + gustance

The paranormal ability to taste a substance without putting anything in one's mouth. It is claimed that those who possess this ability are able to perceive the essence of a substance from the spiritual or ethereal realms through taste.


hexagram

/ˈhɛksəɡɹæm/

Any of the 64 sets of solid and broken lines, formed by pairs of trigrams, used for divination in the I Ching.


occultism

en-noun

occultism (countable and uncountable, plural occultisms)

Borrowed from French occultisme, analyzable as occult + -ism.


elder

From Middle English eldre, from Old English eldra, yldra, ieldra, from Proto-Germanic *alþizô. The vowel change from a to e triggered by the following i is called umlaut or I-mutation.

長老

Mormonism: title for a male missionary or a general authority

(Germanic paganism) A pagan or Heathen priest or priestess.


necromancer

/ˈnɛkɹəˌmænsɚ/

An alteration of nigromancer; equivalent to necro- + -mancer.

Necromancers were thought to have the power of restoring activity to the dead, either temporarily or permanently[.]

1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 52:

A person who practices or performs necromancy.


oracle

From Middle English oracle, from Old French oracle m, from Latin ōrāculum n.

A person such as a priest through whom the deity is supposed to respond with prophecy or advice.

оракул

priest through whom deity provides prophecy or advice


evil eye

/ˌiːvl̩‿ˈaɪ/

From Middle English ivel eie (“evil eye; envy”), from Old English eage yfel, a calque of Latin oculus malus, from oculus (“eye”) + malus (“bad, evil, wicked; destructive, hurtful, injurious; unfavourable, unlucky”).

nb...

Edited with Introduction and Glossary from the Royal MS. 7 C iv. in the British Museum by E. W. Rhodes, M.A. Langton Fellow of the Owens College, Victoria University, Manchester

Each of the young men, in saluting the new-comer, made mechanically, and with care to conceal it from him, a slight gesture or sign with their fingers; for Arbaces, the Egyptian, was supposed to possess the fatal gift of the evil eye.

1834, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], “The Blind Flower-girl, and the Beauty of Fashion.—The Athenian’s Confession.—The Reader’s Introduction to Arbaces of Egypt.”, in The Last Days of Pompeii. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […]; successor to Henry Colburn, →OCLC, book I, page 25:

The ὀφθαλμὸς βάσκανος, or evil eye, is frequently mentioned by ancient writers. […] Various amulets were used to avert the influence of the evil eye. The most common of these appears to have been the phallus, called by the Romans fascinum, which was hung round the necks of children (turpicula res).

1842, Charles Anthon, “FA′SCINUM”, in edited by William Smith, A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities […], 3rd American edition, New York, N.Y., Cincinnati, Oh.: American Book Company, published 1843, →OCLC, pages 431–432, column 1:

A common dread was the evil eye, and the chief charm against it was in the form of a knotted cord woven by a "wise woman".

1936, Rollo Ahmed, “The Ancient Magic of the East”, in The Black Art, London: Senate, Studio Editions, published 1994, →ISBN, page 26:

A wicked look conveying dislike or envy that in many cultures is believed to be able to cause bad luck or injury; also, the ability to cause bad luck or injury through such a look, supposed to be possessed by some people.

syri i keq

wicked look conveying dislike or envy believed to be able to cause bad luck or injury; the ability to cause bad luck or injury through such a look


manifestation

en-noun

manifestation (countable and uncountable, plural manifestations)

From Middle English manifestacion, manyfestacion, manyfestacioun, from Late Latin manifestātiō. In the political sense, a semantic loan from French manifestation. By surface analysis, manifest + -ation.

I don't believe in manifestation.

(initially occult, now slang) Willing something into existence (see manifest (verb)).


conjunctive

From Latin coniunctivus (“serving to connect”), from coniunctus, past participle of coniungere; compare conjoin. From late 15th c; grammatical sense from 1660s.

uder

(astrology, astronomy) Relating to a conjunction (appearance in the sky of two astronomical objects with the same right ascension or the same ecliptic longitude).


chthonian

en-adj

chthonian (not generally comparable, comparative more chthonian, superlative most chthonian)

more chthonian (comparative)
most chthonian (superlative)

From Ancient Greek χθόνιος (khthónios, “in or under the ground”), from χθών (khthṓn, “ground”).

uder

Consus, moreover, is regarded as a god of the lower world, or Chthonian divinity—another circumstance which connects him with Poseidôn, whose character becomes more and more Chthonian the farther his cultus is traced into the East, where also his phase as lord of knowledge and wisdom appears more manifestly.

1872, Robert Brown, Poseidôn: A Link between Semite, Hamite, and Aryan, page 70:

...I intend to apply the name chthonian to all gods and spirits of the earth, whether their functions are concerned with agriculture or with the grave and the world beyond, or (as often) with both.

1950, W. K. C. Guthrie, The Greeks and Their Gods, Beacon Press, published 1955, page 219:

The Olympian religion is truly Olympian when it rests on Chthonian grounds, and the Chthonian religion is truly Chthonian when it stands in the Olympian light.

1969, Vincent Vycinas, Earth and Gods: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Martin Heidegger, page 196:

Even an “Olympian” deity such as Athena Polias at Athens may have chthonian features, such as her association with the snake, a creature symbolic of the earth.

2007, Jennifer Lynn Larson, Ancient Greek Cults: A Guide, page 12:

For example, the Oresteia, 'that treasure house of chthonian concepts' (Scullion 1994: 111), categorizes gods in ways that do not match the rigid terms of the foundational scholarship on Olympian versus chthonian deities.

2015, Susan Deacy, “Gods—Olympian or Chthonic”, in Esther Eidinow, Julia Kindt, editors, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion, page 359:

Pertaining to the underworld; being beneath the earth.

chthonien

pertaining to the underworld; being beneath the earth


Easter

en-noun

Easter (countable and uncountable, plural Easters)

→ Chickasaw: Iista'

The noun is derived from Middle English Ester, from Old English ēastre, seemingly from Ēastre, a proposed Anglo-Saxon goddess of the dawn whose festival is thought to have been celebrated around the vernal equinox. Further from Proto-West Germanic *Austrā, from Proto-Germanic *Austrǭ, derived from either Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews- (“dawn; east”) or, more semantically plausible, from *austrą, *auzrą, a metathesized form of *wazrą (“spring (season)”), *-ǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *wósr̥ (“spring”).
The English word is cognate with German Low German Oostern (“Easter”), Old High German ōstarūn (modern German Ostern) and is possibly a doublet of east. Despite a modern folk etymology, not related to Ishtar.
The verb is derived from the noun.

der

(paganism) A festival held in honour of the goddess Eostre or Ostara, celebrated at the vernal equinox or within the month of April; Eostre, Ostara.


Great Rite

In Wicca, ritualistic sexual intercourse symbolizing creation. The Great Rite can also be performed symbolically: the high priest plunges the athame, or ritual knife (the male symbol), into a cup or chalice (the female symbol) that is filled with wine and is held by the high priestess.


witch doctor

[T]he ſaid Dorothy Durent, having been with a Witch-Doctor, acknowledges upon Oath, that by his Advice, ſhe hang'd up her Child's Blanket in the Chimney, found a Toad in it at Night, had put it into the Fire, and held it there tho' it made a great and horrible Noiſe, and flaſht like Gunpowder, and went off like a Piſtol, and then became inviſible, and that by this the Priſoner was ſcorch'd and burn'd lamentably.

1718, Francis Hutchinson, “The Tryal before My Lord Chief Baron Hale”, in An Historical Essay Concerning Witchcraft. […], London: Printed for R. Knaplock, […], and D. Midwinter, […], →OCLC, page 110:

Some people are so foolish as to go to a witch-doctor when they have Cows in this complaint [prematurely parting with their unborn calves]:—they give him some money, and he tells them some frivolous tale, such as that some person that wishes them bad luck, or looks upon them with an evil eye, [...]

1820, J[ohn] C. Knowlson, “The Felon”, in The Complete Cow-leech, or Cattle-Doctor; […], Otley, Yorkshire: Printed for the author by T. F. Bristow, […], →OCLC, page 104:

At that consultation, according to the habit of a witch-doctor, he divined and announced the occasion of their attendance, and indicated the complainant, Mdungazwe, as the wizard who had caused Ranise to suffer.

1893, South African Law Journal, volume 10, Cape Town: Juta & Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 219:

I told the witch doctor I was in love with you / And then the witch doctor he told me what to do

1958 April 1, David Seville [pseudonym; Ross Bagdasarian Sr.] (lyrics and music), “Witch Doctor”, in The Alvin Show:

Review of the literature cited in the bibliography of the present paper left this author with the impression that there is indeed a very widespread institution variously labelled by Western observers with epithets such as medicine-man, shaman, witch-doctor, native healer, or with indigenous terms such as angakok (Eskimo), or mganga (Swahili).

1971, W. G. Jilek, “From Crazy Witch Doctor to Auxiliary Psychotherapist: The Changing Image of the Medicine Man”, in Psychiatria Clinica, volume 4, number 4, Basel, New York, N.Y.: S[amuel] Karger, →OCLC, abstract, page 200:

In much of popular Western literature, the non-Western professional who attends to the relief of distress and alleviation of anxiety in his society is known by many names, none of them exactly respectful. He is a medicine man or a witch doctor, native healer or voodoo sorcerer—the "quack," so to speak, never the "doctor."

1982, Sudhir Kakar, “Other Shamans”, in Shamans, Mystics and Doctors: A Psychological Inquiry into India and Its Healing Traditions, New York, N.Y.: Knopf, →ISBN; republished New York, N.Y.: Knopf, 2013, →ISBN:

The man being led into the Cage did not strike me as a witchdoctor. Slim and tall, he was a middle-aged man with a fuzzy Afro which made him look even younger.

1993, Hama Tuma, The Case of the Socialist Witchdoctor and Other Stories (African Writers Series), Oxford, Oxfordshire, Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann, →ISBN, page 36:

A person (often male) who is believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magical powers; a shaman.

طَبِيب سَاحِر

person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic


witchcraft

en-noun

witchcraft (usually uncountable, plural witchcrafts)

/ˈwɪt͡ʃkɹɑːft/

From Middle English wicchecraft, wicchecreft, from Old English wiċċecræft, equivalent to witch + -craft.

The Bible warns against the use of witchcraft and sorcery.

Black magic; the use of witchcraft for evil means.


tutelary

From Latin tūtēlārius (“guardian”), from tūtēla (“tutelage, guardianship; dependent, client”) + -ārius (suffix denoting an agent of use); analysable as tutelar + -ary.

University of Cambridge
University of Oxford
William of Nottingham II

The qualifications demanded in a tutelary are activity combined with power over the minor malignant devils. Thus most of the superior celestial Buddhas and Bodhisats may be, and are, tutelaries. But the favourite ones are the great demon-kings, […]

1895, L[aurence] Austine Waddell, “Pantheon and Images”, in The Buddhism of Tibet: or Lamaism, with its Mystic Cults, Symbolism and Mythology, and in its Relation to Indian Buddhism, London: W. H. Allen & Co., →OCLC, page 361:

Thus, various Amerind tribes are devoted to foot-racing; yet the races are not tests of swiftness so much as divinatory or invocatory acts designed to appeal to tutelaries, and are usually set by seasons for planting or harvesting or hunting.

1906, Daniel Coit Gilman, Harry Thurston Peck, Frank Moore Colby, editors, The New International Encyclopedia, volume XII, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Company, →OCLC, page 766:

A tutelary is not a special sort of spirit or shrine; the word refers either to a clan shrine, which is theoretically the same for all members, or to the specific shrine or ancestor indicated by a diviner as being a man's own guardian spirit. Each individual has such a tutelary, but will not be aware of its name unless a diviner has been consulted.

1962, Jack Goody, Death, Property and the Ancestors: A Study of the Mortuary Customs of the LoDagaa of West Africa, London: Tavistock Publications, OCLC 8211112; republished as Death, Property and the Ancestors: A Study of the Mortuary Customs of the Lodagaa of West Africa, London: Routledge, 2004, ISBN 978-0-415-32984-2, page 210

To abate cold weather, the aid of tutelaries such as West Wind, Rain, and Thunder was invoked. Appropriate tutelaries might, upon appeal, bring snow upon enemies. During the Modoc War, a shaman acted to bring down the shielding fog against the army's advance.

1998, David H[eath] French, Kathrine S[tory] French, “Wasco, Wishram, and Cascades”, in Deward E. Walker, Jr., editor, Plateau (Handbook of North American Indians; 12), Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, →ISBN, page 460:

(religion, chiefly paganism) A deity or spirit serving as a guardian or protector of a place, person, culture, etc.; a tutelar, a tutelary deity.


Necronomicon

/ˌnɛkɹəˈnɒmɪkən/

/ˌnɛkɹəˈnɒmɪkɒn/

/ˌnɛkɹəˈnɑmɪkən/

/ˌnɛkɹəˈnɑmɪkɑn/

Pseudo-loan from Ancient Greek as if formed from a compound of νεκρός (nekrós, “dead”) + νόμος (nómos, “law”) + εἰκών (eikṓn, “image”), literally “an image of the law of the dead”. Coined by American writer H. P. Lovecraft.

coinage

So matters went till that night when Williams brought home the infamous Necronomicon of the mad Arab Abdul Alhazred ... he had always wondered why men paled when they spoke of it. The old bookseller had told him that only five copies were known to have survived the shocked edicts of the priests and lawgivers against it and that all of these were locked up with frightened care by custodians who had ventured to begin a reading of the hateful black-letter.

c. 1926, H.P. Lovecraft, The Descendant:

The container was a set of ceramic rune-stones and their accompanying manual. The book was The Necronomicon.

2002, Calpernia Sarah Addams, Mark 947: A Life Shaped by God, Gender and Force of Will, page 81:

2004, Stephen Prince, The Horror Film, page 172,
Death Scenes is introduced and narrated by the famous occultist and leader of the Church of Satan, Dr. Anton Szandor LaVey, who describes the film in his wandering introduction as "a road map featuring the many avenues by which we encounter death . . . a brutally graphic collection of horrid indiscretions, a true necronomicon." "What mysterious force draws us to such a dark, challenging subject?" inquires LaVey in his sardonic monotone.

A fictional grimoire of arcane and forbidden knowledge whose contents can drive a person mad.

Selected Letters of H. P. Lovecraft V (1934–1937)


erect

en-verb

erect (third-person singular simple present erects, present participle erecting, simple past and past participle erected)

erects (present singular third-person)
erecting (participle present)
erected (participle past)
erected (past)

From Middle English erecten, from the adjective (see above).

pystyttää

to raise and place in an upright or perpendicular position

In 1581 Parliament made it a statutory felony to erect figures, cast nativities, or calculate by prophecy how long the Queen would live or who would succeed her.

1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society, published 2012, page 332:

(transitive, astrology) To cast or draw up (a figure of the heavens, horoscope etc.).


-mancy

From Latin -mantīa, ultimately from Ancient Greek μᾰντείᾱ (manteíā, “divination”).

der

-mance: to carry out a specified form of magic

-mancer: a person who employs a specified form of magic


magical

en-adj

magical (comparative more magical, superlative most magical)

more magical (comparative)
most magical (superlative)

/ˈmæd͡ʒɪkəl/

The fireworks created a magical atmosphere in that beautiful summer night.

He stood transfixed before the unaccustomed view of London at night time, a vast panorama which reminded him […] of some wood engravings far off and magical, in a printshop in his childhood.

1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

This latest album, Too Hot To Sleep, concentrates more on his "natural" voice, which is baritone. But on those tunes where he exercises that magical falsetto, I just found myself shaking my head and saying "My, my, my!"

1981 December 5, Julie Coles, “Sylvester: Too Hot”, in Gay Community News, volume 9, number 20, page 12:


ambient

en-noun

ambient (countable and uncountable, plural ambients)

→ Polish: ambient

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Mélange a trois-ambient.wav

From Latin ambiēns (“going around”), from ambiō (“go around”).

It might be also, that attracted by that great void Vacuum ... all the ambients would be rarified, and particularly, the air.

1662 Thomas Salusbury, Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (Dialogue 2)

(astrology) The atmosphere; the surrounding air or sky; atmospheric components collectively such as air, clouds, water vapour, hail, etc.


soothsayer

/ˈsuːθˌseɪə/

From Middle English sothsaier, zothziggere, by surface analysis, sooth (“truth”) + sayer.


spherical

en-adj

spherical (comparative more spherical, superlative most spherical)

more spherical (comparative)
most spherical (superlative)

English spheric + -al (see sphere), from Latin sphericus (+ -al), from Ancient Greek σφαιρικός (sphairikós).

Knaves, thieves, and treachers by spherical predominance.

c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:

(astrology) Of or relating to the heavenly orbs, or to the sphere or spheres in which, according to ancient astronomy and astrology, they were set.


astrology

en-noun

astrology (usually uncountable, plural astrologies)

From Middle French astrologie, and its source, Latin astrologia (“astronomy”), from Ancient Greek ἀστρολογία (astrología, “telling of the stars”), from ἄστρον (ástron, “star, planet, or constellation”) + -λογία (-logía, “treating of”), combination form of -λόγος (-lógos, “one who speaks (in a certain manner)”). Morphologically astro- + -logy.

der

For if astronomy is the study of the movements of the heavens, then astrology is the study of the effects of those movements.

1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society, published 2012, page 274:

Followers of pseudosciences such as astrology often draw spurious parallels between their beliefs and established science.

2012, The Guardian, (headline), 7 Feb 2012

In some ways, astrology is perfectly suited for the internet age. There’s a low barrier to entry, and nearly endless depths to plumb if you feel like falling down a Google research hole.

2018 January 18, Julie Beck, “The New Age of Astrology”, in The Atlantic:

Divination about human affairs or natural phenomena from the relative positions of celestial bodies.


mystical

en-adj

mystical (comparative more mystical, superlative most mystical)

more mystical (comparative)
most mystical (superlative)


pent

[> What symbols mean the most to you? For instance, what do you wear around your neck and why?]
Usually, a triquetra, although I have ankhs, pents and a spell-bottle on amber beads which I wear if I find it necessary to be *really* annoying :)

2002 August 27, Jani, “Re: Pagan Symbols.....and any others that spring to mind”, in uk.religion.pagan (Usenet):

(informal, paganism) A pentacle or pentagram.


solar

From Late Middle English solar, from Latin sōlāris, from sōl (“sun”), from Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥ (“sun”).

and proud beside, as solar people are

1700, [John] Dryden, “The Cock and the Fox: Or, The Tale of the Nun’s Priest, from Chaucer”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:

(astrology, obsolete) Born under the predominant influence of the sun.


celestial body

en-noun

celestial body (plural celestial bodies)

(astronomy, astrology) A natural object which is located outside of Earth's atmosphere, such as a comet, an asteroid, the Moon, a planet, the Sun, or a star.

cos celeste

natural object beyond Earth's atmosphere


black art

dabbling in the black arts

In 1690s Salem, anyone was at mortal risk of being accused of practicing the black arts.

(often in the plural) A practice such as witchcraft, sorcery, necromancy, or black magic.


saturnine

en-adj

saturnine (comparative more saturnine, superlative most saturnine)

more saturnine (comparative)
most saturnine (superlative)

From Middle English saturnine, satournine, satournyne, saturnin, saturnyn, saturnyne (“pertaining to or under the influence of the planet Saturn; line on the palm of the hand associated with Saturn”), from Old French saturnine, saturnin (modern French saturnin (“of, pertaining to, resembling or containing lead, plumbic”)), or directly from its etymon Medieval Latin Sāturnīnus, from Sāturnus (“the Roman god Saturn; the planet Saturn”) + -īnus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’); analysable as Saturn + -ine. The English word is cognate with Italian saturnino (“saturnine”), Portuguese saturnino (“melancholy, saturnine; pertaining to the planet Saturn”), Spanish saturnino (“melancholy, saturnine; pertaining to the planet Saturn”).
Sense 1 (“having a tendency to be cold, bitter, gloomy, etc.”) refers to the fact that individuals born under the astrological influence of the planet Saturn were believed to have that disposition.

cog

Chiromancy hath theſe Aphoriſmes to foretell melancholy. [...] Tricaſſus, Corvinus, and others, in his book, thus hath it: The Saturnine line going from the Raſcetta through the hand, to Saturnes mount, and there interſected by certain little lines, argues melancholy: [...]

1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “Starres a Cause. Signes from Physiognomy, Metoposcopy, Chiromancy.”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition 1, section 2, member 1, subsection 4, page 51:

The Bright Stars in the Dragon, are Saturnine and Martial. They of Cephas, Saturnine and Jovial. They of [the] Boots Mercurial and Saturnine.

1701, Ptolemy, Leo Allacius [i.e., Leo Allatius], “Of the Stars Northward of the Zodiack”, in John Whalley, transl., Ptolemy’s Quadripartite; or, Four Books Concerning the Influences of the Stars. Faithfully Render’d into English […], London: Printed for John Sprint, […], →OCLC, book I, pages 20–21:

(not comparable, astrology, obsolete) Pertaining to the astrological influence of the planet Saturn; having the characteristics of a person under such influence (see sense 1).


witching hour

/ˈwɪt͡ʃɪŋ ˌaʊə/

/ˈwɪt͡ʃɪŋ ˌaʊ(ə)ɹ/

From witching (“of or pertaining to witchcraft or sorcery, or to witches or sorcerers”, adjective) + hour. Sense 1 (“midnight”) was popularized by the reference to the “witching time of night” in the play Hamlet (written c. 1599–1602; published 1603) by the English playwright William Shakespeare (1564–1616): see the quotation.

compound

"Do you know what three a.m. is?" […] "It's called the witching hour. It's the reverse of the holy hour—three p.m.—when Jesus died on the cross.[…]"

2008 July 22, Claudia Mair Burney, chapter 4, in The Exorsistah, New York, N.Y.: Pocket Books, →ISBN, page 42:

The witching hour is three a.m., in mockery of the Trinity and a perversion of the hour of his death.

2009 September 22, Rick Yancey, “The Devil’s Manger”, in The Monstrumologist, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster BFYR, →ISBN, page 349:

By the way, the hour between 3:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. is also known as the witching hour because it's thought that paranormal forces are at their strongest during that time.

2020 April 27, Pamela Humphrey, “Momma at Costco (Wind Chime Breaks)”, in My Sister’s Walk with God: The True Stories of a Prophetic Intercessor, Murrells Inlet, S.C.: Covenant Books, Inc., →ISBN:

(less common, occult) The hour between 3:00 a.m. and 3:59 a.m., associated with demons.


sorcerer

/ˈsɔːsəɹə(ɹ)/

From Middle English sorcerere, from Old French sorcier, from Early Medieval Latin sortiārius, derived from Latin sortem (“fate, fortune”), from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to bind”).

Pope Joan, who once occupied the throne of the Vatican, was reputed to be the blackest sorcerer of them all.

1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 105:

"Well, sorcerer?" growled the Norman. "Nay, not well," replied Catweazle shivering miserably, "I have the bone-ache."

1971, Richard Carpenter, Catweazle and the Magic Zodiac, Harmondsworth: Puffin Books, page 7:

(mythology, folklore, fantasy) A magician or wizard, sometimes specifically male.

yshtës

magician/wizard drawing upon natural powers


geomancy

en-noun

geomancy (usually uncountable, plural geomancies)

From Middle English geomancy, from Medieval Latin geomantia from late Ancient Greek γεωμαντεία (geōmanteía). Equivalent to geo- + -mancy.

geomancy [...] The pretended art of divining future events, or of ascertaining the luckiness or unluckiness of any event or locality, by means of signs connected with the earth [...] or, as in China, from the configuration and aspect of a particular region in its relation to some other.

1899, William Dwight Whitney, The Century Dictionary, volume III, page 61:

There was [...] a striking similarity between Mesopotamian and Chinese thinking - if not method - in the concept of feng-shui, the Chinese system of geomancy, or divination by topographical features.

1978, M. Edwardes, The Dark Side of History, page 12:

You realize we all live in our surroundings, and you start to look at your surroundings through Feng Shui and geomancy, and try to see, if we understand ourselves and others, how can we make our surroundings as good as they can be for us and the others.

2015, Serge Augier, Shen Gong and Nei Dan in Da Xuan:


Asatru

2004, Gundula E. Rommel, Asgard in America: Inventing European Ethnic Identity in a Post-industrial Pluralist Culture, Thesis (M.A.), page 8,
Presenting themselves as deeply religious and, at the same time, open to scientific testing methods that would physically damage the revered bones, the Asatru claimants occupied an interesting middle ground between the opposing sides.

Lenz felt Parker was "disrespecting the gods" and "saying that he was teaching Asatru but what he was teaching was not Asatru."

2008, Michelangelo Delfino, Mary E. Day, Death Penalty USA: 2005 - 2006, page 296:

Many people have not heard of Asatru or Heathenry...or they have a mistaken or distorted view of what it is. By offering classes and workshops on Asatru 101, the Gods, the Ancestors, the Vaettir, and the Runes...you can educate people about Asatru and raise interest in Asatru in your area.

2009, Mark Ludwig Stinson, Heathen Gods, page 51:

A neopagan religion, reconstructed from old Norse religion, which honors the Æsir and/or other Norse gods and spirits.

Ásatrú

with diacritics, acknowledging Icelandic derivation

Brosatru

chauvinistic version of the modern Norse religion

Nazitru

racist or neo-Nazi themed versions of the modern Norse religion

Wiccatru

syncretism of Wicca and Germanic neopaganism

Rokkatru

veneration of the underworld gods, such as Loki, Angrboda, Fenrir, and Hel


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.


Lammas

From Old English hlafmæsse (“loaf mass, harvest festival”).

inh

(paganism) A modern pagan festival celebrated in early August celebrating the start of the grain harvest.


Aries

From Latin Aries, from aries (“ram”), calque of Ancient Greek Κριός (Kriós), calque of Akkadian 𒅈𒌺𒊑𒈨 (immeru, “sheep”).

calque

The Bull, being gall’d, gave Aries such a knock / That down fell both the Ram’s horns in the court.

c. 1588–1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:

(astronomy) A constellation of the zodiac supposedly shaped like a ram.

(astrology) The zodiac sign for the ram, ruled by Mars and covering March 20 – April 20 (tropical astrology) or April 15 – May 15 (sidereal astrology).


Master

...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


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.


Mother

A title given to the personification of a force of nature or abstract concept, such as Mother Nature, Mother Russia, or Mother Earth.


Gemini

/ˈd͡ʒɛmɪnaɪ/

/ˈd͡ʒɛmɪniː/

Borrowed from Latin geminī, plural of geminus (“twin”), calque of Ancient Greek Δίδυμοι (Dídumoi).

(astronomy) A constellation of the zodiac traditionally taken to represent the pair of twins Castor and Pollux in Greek mythology. It contains the stars Castor, Pollux, and Alhena.

(astrology) The zodiac sign for the twins, ruled by Mercury and covering May 22 – June 21 (tropical astrology) or June 16 – July 15 (sidereal astrology).


Cancer

From Latin cancer (“crab”), calque of Ancient Greek Καρκίνος (Karkínos, “crab”).

And add more coals to Cancer when he burns / With entertaining great Hyperion.

c. 1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii]:

(astronomy) A constellation of the zodiac supposedly shaped like a crab.

(astrology) The zodiac sign for the crab, ruled by the Moon and covering June 22 - July 22 (tropical astrology) or July 16 - August 15 (sidereal astrology).


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.


Scorpion

From the animal scorpion, from Latin scorpio (“scorpion”).

(astrology) Of or relating to the Scorpio star sign.


Scorpius

/ˈskɔːɹpɪəs/

Borrowed from Latin scorpius (“scorpion”).


Wicca

A twentieth-century borrowing of Old English wiċċa (“male witch”), from Proto-Germanic *wikkô (“sorcerer”); mispronounced as /ˈwɪkə/ instead of the correct /ˈwit.t͡ʃɑ/. The modern use of the term was introduced first as Wica, mentioned briefly in chapter 10 of Gerald Gardner's book Witchcraft Today (1954), as a collective noun ("the Wica"), allegedly used as a self-designation by practitioners of witchcraft. The spelling Wicca, again as a collective noun, was introduced and popularized by Gerald Gardner's later book, The Meaning of Witchcraft (1959).

A neopagan religion that was first popularized by books written in 1949, 1954, and 1959 by Englishman Gerald Gardner, involving the worship of a horned male god and a moon goddess, the observance of eight Sabbats, and the performance of various rituals.


Libra

(astronomy) A constellation of the zodiac, supposedly shaped like a set of scales.

(astrology) The astrological sign for the scales, ruled by Venus and covering September 24 - October 23 (tropical astrology) or October 16 - November 16 (sidereal astrology).


Moon

From Middle English Mone, mone, from Old English mōna, from Proto-West Germanic *mānō, from Proto-Germanic *mēnô, from Proto-Indo-European *mḗh₁n̥s (“moon, month”), from *meh₁- (“to measure”).

inh

Moon, the companion of Night, waxes and wanes, and we call this time a month.

1994, Tony Linsell, Anglo-Saxon Mythology, Migration & Magic, Anglo-Saxon Books, →ISBN, page 15:

Moon's Day.

2005, Falcon Stow, An Anglo-Saxon Almanac, privately published, page 13:

Sun come, Moon come, Seed time, dry time, fog and rain, Sowing, growing, reaping, resting, Sun come, Moon come, etc.

2005, Diana Paxson, Taking up the Runes, Weiser Books, →ISBN, page 328:

(paganism) A personification of the moon.


Pisces

From Latin piscēs, the nominative plural of piscis (“fish”).

(astronomy) The Fish, a Greco-Roman constellation of the zodiac named for its presumed resemblance to a pair of fish

(astrology) The zodiac sign for the fish, supposed to be ruled by Neptune and to influence events occurring between February 20 and March 20 (tropical) or, less often, between March 15 and April 14 (sidereal).


Sagittarius

/ˌsadʒɪˈtɛːɹɪ.əs/

/ˌsædʒəˈtɛɹiəs/

(astronomy) A constellation of the zodiac supposedly shaped like a centaur who is an archer. It contains the stars Kaus Australis and Nunki.

(astrology) The zodiac sign for the archer, ruled by Jupiter and covering November 23 - December 21 (tropical astrology) or December 16 - January 14 (sidereal astrology).


Sagittarius

/ˌsadʒɪˈtɛːɹɪ.əs/

/ˌsædʒəˈtɛɹiəs/

(astrology) Someone with a Sagittarius star sign.


Taurus

From Latin Taurus (from taurus (“bull”)), from Ancient Greek Ταῦρος (Taûros); compare Aramaic תּוֹר (tor), Arabic ثَوْر (ṯawr). Latin taurus (“bull”) is a doublet of steer, tur, Tavros, and Tarvos.

doublet

Meronym: Crab Nebula

See, see, thou hast shot off one of Taurus' horns.

(astronomy) A constellation of the zodiac supposedly shaped like a bull and containing the star Aldebaran.

(astrology) The zodiac sign for the bull, ruled by Venus and covering April 21 - May 21 (tropical astrology) or May 16 - June 15 (sidereal astrology).


Leo

From Latin leō (“lion”), from Ancient Greek λέων (léōn). Doublet of Leon, leu, lev, lion, and Lyon.

(astronomy) A constellation of the zodiac, shaped approximately like a lion and containing the stars Regulus and Denebola.

(astrology) The zodiac sign for the Lion, ruled by the Sun and covering July 23 - August 22 (tropical astrology) or August 16 - September 15 (sidereal astrology).


Virgo

From Latin virgō (“maiden, virgin”). Doublet of virgin.

Now, masters, draw. [They shoot.] O, well said, Lucius! Good boy, in Virgo’s lap.

The constellation Virgo is a Y-shaped group, of which α, the star at the foot, is the well-known Spica, a star of the first magnitude. [...] The whole resembles more a cup than the human figure; but when we remember the symbolic meaning of the cup, that seems to be an obvious explanation of the name Virgo, which the constellation has borne since the earliest times.

1920, Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., published 1921, page 30:

(astronomy): A constellation in the zodiac, imagined in the shape of a maiden, that contains the bright binary star Spica.

(astrology): The zodiac sign for the virgin, ruled by Mercury, that covers August 23 – September 23 (tropical astrology) or September 16 – October 15 (sidereal astrology).


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 what I am; Jehovah"). See the usage notes below. Displaced the earlier term Drighten.


jovial

en-adj

jovial (comparative more jovial, superlative most jovial)

more jovial (comparative)
most jovial (superlative)

/ˈd͡ʒəʊ.vɪ.əl/

Borrowed from French jovial (“jolly, jovial”), from Italian gioviale (“jolly, jovial; (obsolete) born under the influence of the planet Jupiter”), from Latin ioviālis (“relating to the Roman god Jupiter”), from Iuppiter, Iovis (“the Roman god Jove or Jupiter, counterpart of the Greek god Zeus”) (from Proto-Indo-European *dyew- (“to be bright; heaven, sky”)) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship); analysable as Jove + -ial.
Sense 1 (“cheerful and good-humoured”) refers to the fact that individuals born under the astrological influence of the planet Jupiter were believed to have that disposition.

der

This Planet [Jupiter] being a Fortune, and Friend unto nature, inclineth the native, upon this direction, not only unto healthfulneſs, but alſo to be jovial and merry, affable and pleaſant, and to delight in the company of religious men: […] [T]his direction importeth good from jovial perſons, and is an excellent time to have dealings with, or to receive any courteſie from, or benefit by them, […]

1682, Joseph Blagrave, “[The Effects of Directions.] The Ascendant to the Body of Jupiter.”, in Obadiah Blagrave, editor, Blagrave’s Introduction to Astrology. In Three Parts. […], London: Printed by E. Tyler, and R. Holt, for Obadiah Blagrave, […], →OCLC, part III, page 226:

As ☉ is near to a ⚹ of ♃, so did a jovial man endeavour to procure the purchase (after I began), but ♃ is cadent and in detriment, which shewed he should not prevail.

1852, William Lilly, Zadkiel [pseudonym; Richard James Morrison], “Of the Fourth House, and Judgments Depending thereon”, in An Introduction to Astrology […]: A Grammar of Astrology, and Tables for Calculating Nativities. […], London: H[enry] G[eorge] Bohn, […], →OCLC, page 145:

(not comparable, astrology, obsolete) Pertaining to the astrological influence of the planet Jupiter; having the characteristics of a person under such influence (see sense 1).