Welcome to the Witchipedia's glossary of occult terms. Here you will find terms often used in the Pagan, Heathen, magical and occult communities that may confuse a newcomer. This encyclopedia of magical terminology is a wonderful place to get started if you don't know where to start in the Witchipedia. If you don't see the term you are looking for here, feel free to bring your question to the community in our forums or Ask A Witch!
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We have 331 terms listed in our glossary with more being added each day.
What you see on this page is the titles and first paragraph of the articles in our occult glossary whose titles begin with the letter C. To view the full article, please click on the title. You will also be able to comment, ask questions and add more information to the article once you've navigated to its page.
Charm
A charm is any item worn by an individual for magickal effect, especially one that bears magic words, an incantation or a magical symbol. This could include an amulet or talisman or any piece of magical jewelry. The word charm is sometimes used synonymously with the words chant or incantation to describe the words spoken in a spell. The word charm is also occasionally used to describe a spell, especially a love spell or a fascination spell.
Circle
The word Circle is used for more than one purpose within the magickal community. It is used to describe an important element of magickal ritual and also a group of people who perform magick together, or gather for Pagan worship. The Magick Circle Many magickal practitioners create a circle as part of their magical ritual. The circle may first be marked out with chalk or paint, or drawn in salt or, more usually, it is visualized with no physical representation of the circle at all. All of the...
Circling group
A circling group is a group of Pagans or witches that gather for specific spiritual activities, which often take place in a circle. Circling groups tend to be considerably less formal and structured than covens or temples and do not usually have formal clergy or require oaths or offer degrees. Their specific nature varies according to the needs of their members. Some examples of Circling Groups may be: A study group that might also gather to practice spellwork or celebrate esbats and/or sabbats...
Cleanse
Cleansing an item for magick removes the any energies the item may have absorbed from previous magickal workings, from contact with a previous owner or from the environment. Cleansing may also be performed on an area to prepare it to serve as sacred space. There are a number of ways to do this. Rinsing the item in running water is good for those items that are not water soluble or will not be damaged by the water. It is generally preferred that natural water be used, that is, water that has not...
Compress
A compress is a cloth soaked in hot or cold liquid that is applied to the body for healing purposes. It may simply be used to apply pressure or to apply heat or cold to an affected area or it may be used to apply medication.
Cone of power
The Cone of Power is a symbolic phrase describing the vortex of energy created by witches raising energy within a magic circle. The base of the vortex is the base of the circle, marked by witches standing (dancing) along its border. The energy raised by each individual combines in the center, above the Circle, thus the cone. Raising a cone of power requires the cooperation of multiple magic-users.
Consecrate
To consecrate something is to make it holy and dedicate it to the service of the divine. This may be done to an area as in creating sacred space, a ceremonial tool or offering or a person, such as clergy. Often an item is cleansed using water or smoke first and then consecrated through a ceremony involving a declaration that this item (person, place or thing) is dedicated to the service of a specific God or group of Gods, or a sacred purpose.
contagion
The magical concept of contagion describes the tendency for entities once in close physical or emotional contact with one another to each affect the energy of the other and to continue to affect one another's energy after separation.
Container spells
A container spell is a spell that involves the ritual creation of a spell object consisting of a container of some sort with several items placed within it in order to create a magically charged environment. A container spell may result in an amulet or a talisman designed to affect the immediate vicinity of the container or it may contain one or more taglocks in addition to other magical items in order to create an energetic environment that affects the person(s) represented by the taglock....
Corn Dolly
A corn dolly, also called a corn maiden, corn mother or old woman is a decorative object made from weaving grain stalks together. It is traditionally made of the final sheaf of wheat harvested preserved throughout the winter as a temporary home for the spirit of the grain until the following planting season when it would be ploughed into the fields to ensure a good harvest. Cannot fetch Flickr photo (id: 2832110329). The photo either does not exist, or is private The corn dolly may take human...
Cottage Witch
A Cottage Witch is a witch whose magickal practice focuses mainly on the home, similar to a Kitchen Witch but with less of a specific food/kitchen focus and more of a general home focus. A Cottage Witch considers her home sacred space and housekeeping a sacred act. A Cottage Witch may follow any religious or spiritual path or none.
Counting Crows
Of the many superstitions associated with crows and their corvid cousins, the ravens and the magpies, counting crows seems to be the most popular. The tradition began sometime in the 1600s, it would seem, with the appearance of the earliest rhymes referencing magpies in Europe. We humans like alliteration, so counting crows it is. Keep in mind that this form of augury can be applied to either crows or magpies. It is said that if your count tallies up to bad luck, (especially if your count is...
Coven
A coven is a tight-knit, usually small (3-13 traditionally, occasionally up to 20) community of Witches, Wiccans or Vampires who gather regularly for religious and/or social occasion. Covens may gather for training purposes, or to celebrate Sabbats or Esbats and/or to work magic spells. They also gather to celebrate important rites of passage for their members. Covens may be made up of unrelated Witches or one or several families. Children are inducted into the coven as they reach the...
crystal ball
Please see crystal sphere.
Crystal Skull
Crystal skulls are skulls fashioned out of crystal, usually quartz. They are purported to have originated in pre-Columbian Mexico and South America. There is no scientific evidence to support that claim. Visit http://www.archaeology.org/0805/etc/indy.html to discover more about the history of crystal skulls and research associated with them. Although they may not be as ancient as once believed, modern artisans continue to create and sell them both in Mexico and South America and for the New Age...
Crystal Sphere
Crystal spheres are often referred to as crystal balls and are used most often for scrying. In modern times, crystal spheres are often made of leaded glass. More desirable are spheres made of natural materials such asquartz crystal. While the movies would have us believe that crystal spheres are supposed to be perfectly clear, their imperfections provide a focal point for meditation, they can be transparent or opaque and their colors are as varied as the people who use them. Spheres are made of...
cultural appropriation
Cultural appropriation is the adoption of certain aspects of one culture by another culture. Cultural appropriation is, in itself, inevitable. Any cultures living in contact with one another will affect one another and individuals will pick up dialects, habits, dress, dietary preferences, artistic styles, etc. from the other. Cultures collide, blending occurs, though the term cultural appropriation implies that the flow of cultural information is going one way, rather than an equal blending of...
Cunning Folk
Cunning folk are professional magical practitioners of Europe. They use a variety of magical techniques to serve their clientele providing magical protection, midwifery, healing, divination to find lost people and things and the source of and solution to problems, matchmaking, and hexbreaking. Cunning folk were not considered witches, though modern definitions might put them in the witch category. These folks historically were unwitchers, the first line of defense against witchcraft as...
Curse
A curse is a general term for negative energy attached to an individual, item or location that causes misfortune to surround the target. A curse is almost always associated with retailiation for wrongdoing and/or fueled by the negative emotions of the curser in response to the actions of the cursed. In the case of an individual, a curse may be a specific type of misfortune, such as infertility or poverty or a more generalized misfortune such as ill health and bad luck. In the case of an item, a...
The Craft
The Craft is a poetic shorthand term for Witchcraft.
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