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 S. 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.
Supermoon
The term supermoon is used to describe a full or new moon that occurs when the moon is at or near perigee, its nearest position to the Earth. The astronomical term for this phenomenon is perigee syzygy. The term supermoon was first coined in 1979 by astrologer Richard Nolle1 who defined a supermoon is a new or full moon that occurred within 90% of perigee. According to this definition, a supermoon happens about 3-5 times a year, some more impressive than others. Nolle believed that this period...
Sword
A sword is a magickal tool used by some practitioners to direct energy much the same way the wand, athame or staff. The use of the sword as a magickal tool is rooted in Western ceremonial tradition and is generally considered a tool for formal occasions. The sword is masculine in nature and different traditions assign different elemental correspondence to it. Generally those who lean more toward the ceremonial magick influence correspond the sword to the element of air while those with more folk...
Symbol
A symbol is an object, a sound or an image that represents another object, sound, idea, entity, belief or action. Symbols have been used throughout history for many purposes, both magical and mundane. Symbols are seen everywhere in our world. Alphabets are symbols that represent sounds and in some cases, ideas and they can be combined to represent other ideas and sounds. Numerals are symbols that represent quantities and, for some, ideas. Musical notes are symbols for sounds. The shapes and...
sympathetic link
A sympathetic link between two entities is a link that allows a magical practitioner to affect one entity by performing symbolic actions on the other or to bring the energy of one entity into a situation through manipulation of another entity. The sympathetic link may exist via contagion- the previous contact of the two entities, or via the observable similarity of certain qualities that the two objects share. For magical use, the link must be sealed, generally by declaration of the magic user...
sympathetic magic
Sympathetic magic is a magical modality that involves symbolically imitating the desired outcome. It may involve acting on a physical representation of a target or creating a physical representation of the outcome or recreating the desired outcome through motion and art. In this way, the practitioner might cause change at a distance in time or space. Underlying principles Sir James George Frasier first outlined the underlying principles of sympathetic magic in his 1189 book The Golden Bough (Ch...
Synastry
Synastry is the art of using astrology to determine relationship compatibility. Western Astrologers who practice synastry generally look at the placement of a variety of planets including Venus, Jupiter and Mars at the time of the subjects' births rather than simply looking at their sun sign.
Syncretic Religion
See also Syncretism, MesoPaganism, Neo-Paganism Syncretic religions are those religions that have come into being by combining two or more different belief systems into one. Many modern religions have syncretic origins and so do many ancient religions. The beliefs of the ancient Greeks and the ancient Romans were syncretic in nature as these cultures tended to absorb or nationalize the beliefs of the local people in areas they conquered. Modern African-American religions and belief systems are...
Syncretism
See also Syncretic Religion Syncretism is the combining of seemingly disparate or contradictory elements into one unified whole. The term is often applied to religion and the attempts to merge the religions of different cultures into one, which has historically occurred in areas of conquest. Syncretism also occurs in the areas of the arts and sciences.
syzygy
Syzygy (SIZ ih jee) is when three celestial objects line up, as when the Earth, moon and sun are aligned when the moon is full or dark.
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