Wicca A to Z. Gerina Dunwich
of Ceremonial Magick which continue to be practiced by magicians in contemporary times.
CERNUNNOS The ancient Celtic horned nature god of all wild animals, hunting, and fertility; “Lord of All Living Creatures,” and consort of the Great Mother. He is depicted as a hirsute man with antlers and hoofs, and his name literally means “the Horned One.” In ancient times, he was worshipped in Britain and in Celtic Europe. As a Neo-Pagan god, he is often worshipped by Wiccans of the Gardnerian tradition. See also HORNED GOD.
CHAKRA Any of the special points of psychic-spiritual energy located within the human body. Each chakra (a Sanskrit word meaning “wheel”) is said to be a whirling lotus petal-shaped vortex of multicolored energy. They are not visible to the naked human eye and can only be perceived through clairvoyant means. It is said that chakras can indicate changes in health months or years before problems actually show up in the physical body. Many clairvoyants and psychic healers claim that an accurate diagnosis of a person’s present or future health condition can be made by “reading” the energy of the chakras with the hands or by using a special dowsing pendulum.
The names of the seven major chakras and their locations in the body are as follows: Root Chakra (base of the spine); Sacral Chakra (genital region); Solar Plexus Chakra (between rib cage and navel); Heart Chakra (between center of chest and the shoulder blades); Throat Chakra (forepart of the neck); Third Eye or Brow Chakra (forehead between the eyebrows); and Crown Chakra (top of the head). In addition, there are said to be chakras of lesser energy located in the feet and hands, and hundreds of minor ones throughout the body.
It is believed that the Crown Chakra is the portal where the universal life force enters into the body, and the Root Chakra is the center of kundalini. See also KUNDALINI.
CHALDEAN A seventeenth century general term for a magician or a person versed in occult learning; an astrologer, soothsayer, or practitioner of the Black Art of sorcery. In ancient times, Chaldea (a region in southern Babylonia) was regarded as the center of magickal arts.
CHALICE In Wiccan rituals, a sacred cup or goblet used to hold consecrated water or wine, and normally kept on the west side of the altar. The chalice symbolizes the ancient element of Water. During monthly rituals known as “Drawing Down the Moon,” some High Priestesses “lunar energize” a chalice of wine, water or juice by holding it up to the rays of the full moon. The chalice is then passed around the coven so that all members can partake of its energizing liquid.
CHANNELER A gifted person who, while in a trancelike altered state of consciousness, communicates with or serves as a channel for non-physical beings, ghosts, deities, guardian spirits, or extraterrestrials; a spiritualist medium. See also CHANNELING, SPIRIT, and SPIRITUALISM.
CHANNELING The spontaneous or induced act of communicating with or serving as a channel for non-physical beings, ghosts, deities, guardian spirits, or extraterrestrials while in a trancelike altered state of consciousness. Although channeling is a mystical art often associated with the modern New Age movement in the United States, it is actually a very old practice dating back to ancient times and practiced by nearly all cultures around the world. See also NEW AGE, SPIRITUALISM.
CHARGE OF THE GODDESS During the Wiccan ritual known as Drawing Down the Moon, many High Priestesses of covens (especially those of the Gardnerian and Alexandrian traditions) enter a trancelike state and become a channel through which the Goddess Herself speaks. The address She delivers to the coven is often poetic and inspiring, and is known as the Charge of the Goddess.
The original version of the Charge was written in the 1950s by English Witch Gerald B. Gardner and based upon both Charles Godfrey Leland’s nineteenth-century work Aradia: The Gospel of the Witches and the writings of occultist Aleister Crowley. High Priestess Doreen Valiente rewrote Gardner’s version in verse and took out most of the Aleister Crowley material. She later wrote a final version of the Charge in prose from, which has since become one of the most popular writings in the Craft.
CHARM A highly magickal object that not only works like an amulet or talisman to counteract misfortune, but also can be used to bewitch others; a magickal song or incantation which is often chanted over an amulet or talisman to consecrate it and charge it with magickal energy; to bewitch or seduce by powers of Witchcraft.
CHTHONIC Pertaining to the spirits and deities associated with the Underworld. The word “chthonic,” with a silent “ch,” is pronounced as “thonic” (to rhyme with “tonic”).
CINGULUM In certain traditions of Wicca, a consecrated cord (nine feet long and often of the color red) used by Witches when dancing to raise power. Nine knots on the cord are used for storing built-up power for future magickal use. To release the power, the knots must be untied in the exact order in which they were tied. The cingulum is often worn around the waist on the outside of the robe of the High Priestess or High Priest of a coven. It is also used for measuring a circle to be cast, as the traditional Witches’ circle is said to be nine feet wide.
CIRCUMAMBULATION The ancient and widespread practice of walking around a person, object, or site with the right hand toward it, either as a magickal rite, a religious ceremony, or an act of reverence. Also known as the “sunwise turn” and the “holy round,” circumambulation has been performed by various cultures throughout history to bring good luck, cure diseases, bless the dead, wipe out sins, acquire magickal powers or transformation, and insure the continuation of the solar cycle.
CLOC COSANCA A flat, round, green stone with a hole in the middle. According to ancient Celtic tradition, it offers good fortune and protects against evil when worn or carried as a charm. The cloc cosanca is popular among many Neo-Pagans and Wiccans who are of Irish heritage or belong to a Celtic or Druidic tradition.
Made from alexandrite, aventurine, jade, malachite, peridot, or other green-colored gemstone, a cloc cosanca is normally fashioned by human hand; however, one made exclusively by Mother Nature herself and found in the wild is regarded as a natural amulet of the utmost magickal power.
CONE OF POWER A name for the cone of psychically powered energy that Witches (either Solitaries or those within a coven) conjure up from the Earth into themselves, aim with intent at a specific goal, and then release. The raising of a cone of power is the ritual act of visualizing energy in the form of a spiral or light rising from the Earth or the magick circle into the body, and directing it toward a specific goal or task.
Many psychic-sensitive individuals who are able to perceive auras have actually witnessed the cone of power and described it to be a light with a silvery-blue tint.
After raising, directing, and releasing a cone of power, it is necessary for the good of all to “ground” any remaining energy by either kneeling and slapping the ground repeatedly, rubbing salt between the hands or placing them for several minutes under cold running water or into a bowl filled with soil, sand, or small pieces of crystals and gemstones (especially those which possess strong grounding attributes).
CONJURATION In Ceremonial Magick, the act of evoking spirits by means of formulas or words of power. See also EVOCATION.
CONSECRATION The act, process, or ceremony of making something sacred; the ritual use of water and salt to exorcise negative energies or evil influences from ritual tools, the magick circle, and so forth.
COPAL A sacred incense made of the gum secreted from the trees of the genus Elapbrium. Copal was used by native Middle Americans in pre-conquest times, and is widely used today in many Christian and Neo-Pagan ceremonies.
CORN DOLLY In Witchcraft and folk-legend, a human or animal figure fashioned from the last sheaf of corn from a harvest and used in Lammas and Autumn Equinox Sabbats as a sacred symbol of the Goddess and the fertility of the Earth. In England, Germany, and Scotland, the corn dolly is kept to ensure a bountiful harvest for the following year.
COUNTER MAGICK Two examples of counter magick are countercharms and counterspells. The first is a powerful and protective charm or amulet that is used by Witches, magicians, and Shamans to either neutralize or reverse the effects of another’s charm or spell—usually one that is malevolent in nature. The counterspell is a powerful and protective magickal spell or incantation that has the same function as the countercharm.