1. Many readers may wonder what the three dots .’. used in magickal books signify. This usage derives from the very old Masonic connections of the early Occult orders. The meaning attached to varies according to the way in which it is used. Thus, at one time, it will mean "Honorable Initiate," at another time it means "sacred" or "Illuminated". It always signifies something holy or that an esoteric meaning is involved.
2. Margaret Ann Lembo(Boynton Beach, FL) is a spiritual practitioner and owner of The Crystal Garden, a spiritual center and gift shop. For more than twenty years, she has led workshops and classes around the country. Her audio CDs (guided meditations and more) are distributed nationally. She is also the president of the Coalition of Visionary Resources (COVR). Visit her online at www.margaretannlembo.com.
3. In Wicca, a derogatory term for a person who joins a coven to discover their secrets for his or her own use, or to cause discord and strife within that coven or tradition. On internet forums, including those frequented by Pagans, a term describing a person who makes posts designed to stir up angry responses from or disagreements between those who regularly post to the form.
4. Kristoffer Hughes (Wales) is Chief of the Anglesey Druid Order, a Mount Haemus Scholar, and a member of the Order of Bards Ovates and Druids. He is a teacher, writer, workshop leader, and guest speaker at Paganconferences, camps, and festivals throughout the United Kingdom and Europe. Hughes is also a frequent contributor and consultant to Welsh and English television companies and France 5 network.
Hughes is the author of From the Cauldron Born.
5. Jody Baron (Plainfield, VT) has written over a dozen books as a ghostwriter of spiritual and New Age material. She is the founding moderator of The Abe Forum, an online discussion of the teachings of the Abraham-Hicks organization.
In ancient Egyptian tradition, a place of joy and peace after death. According to the tradition, if you were found unworthy, your soul would vanish into nothingness. If found worthy, you would enter Aalu (also spelled Aaru, Yaaru, etc.) a type of paradise where the gods lived.
A term frequently used to mean God or "The Divine." It sometimes refers to something that is spiritually completed. That is, if you are totally involved in meditation, you are in "absolute meditation."
"Consciousness activation in the three lowest natural kingdoms is an unconscious and automatic process which gradually becomes a conscious one in the human kingdom. In higher kingdoms it is the result of self-initiated consciousness activity."
Laurency, H.T. The Knowledge of Reality, 1979, The Henry T. Laurency Publishing Foundation
Pronounced “ah-dohn-eye,” a Hebrew word that literally means “my lord,” although frequently translated as “the lord” or simply “lord.” Among Jews, it is spoken as a replacement for the Tetragrammaton, the holy, four-letter name of God that should not be pronounced. Adonai is frequently used as a generic name for God among Jews. Another replacement is Hashem (pronounced “hah-shem”) which literally means “The Name.”
Hebrew translated as "[My] Lord of the Earth." In the Kabalah, this is the god name associated with the tenth sephirah, Malkuth, and is associated with elemental Earth.
Transliteration of the Hebrew word for "love." Sometimes transliterated as ahavah. Via Gematria, a form of Kabalisticnumerology, it equals 13, also the numeration of the Hebrew letters in the word for "one." As the Kabalah holds there is only one deity, the number one represents God, and since the numeration of the letters in the word equal the numeration of those in "ahevah," this is taken to prove that God is love.
Stored-up cosmic memory. A level of time-consciousness within the astral plane that contains all the past events, thoughts, images, and activities of humanity from the beginning of time. This "chronicle of the world" can be accessed by the mystic and the magician.
Akiba (or Akiva) ben Joseph Talmudic Sage, Biblical exegete and mystic (1st–2nd Century). [Rabbi Akiba] is arguably the most celebrated figure in the Talmud. [In a famous Kabalistic story, he] was the only one of four sages who entered pardes and returned unscathed. His prayers were credited with ending a drought. He encountered a ghost and subsequently exorcised it by teaching the dead man’s son the daily liturgy; this is credited by some with establishing the tradition of reciting ...
(175?—242) A Greek philosopher from Alexandria, Egypt; little is known about him. However, he founded the school of Neoplatonism in Alexandria and is thus considered one of the founders of that system. There are no records of his writing, and we know of his teachings through his students, especially Plotinus.
Title given to those who followed the teachings of Ammonius Saccas. They received this name because they used analogies and correspondences when they interpreted myths and symbols, much as many occultists do today.
Individual animal awareness is primarily physical and emotional, but sharing in the mental substance of the species Group Soul. It is generally believed that accumulated mental activity leads individual animals to transmigrate into the human kingdom—but only those animals such as Cats, Dogs, Elephants and Monkeys that have been in close and constant association with human “owners.”
More than the concept that all things—humans, other animals, all forms of vegetation, and even minerals, stones, and rocks—are alive and have a spirit or soul, animism is the belief that all things, animate and inanimate also have some degree of reason and the ability to act. Thus, the winds, streams, rocks, etc. have intelligence and can share their wisdom.
An enormous disaster. The name comes from the last book of the Christian Bible and is from the Greek where it actually means “revelation.” That book has the revelations of St. John resulting from visions. Those visions describe the violent end of the age. Highly symbolic, numerous interpreters give different versions of the meanings of the book.
Greek word that means “to become divine” or “to ascend to a divine level.” Originally described the way a king was made divine in some ancient religions. In France and England this may have led to the belief in the Royal Touch (which see).
Early Christians changed the meaning of the word to mean that a person or group could partake of the divine nature and not that they could become divine.
An occult organization founded in 1923 by Theosophist Alice A. Bailey and her husband, Foster Bailey, it was designed to bring in the New Age by the Great White Brotherhood, the spiritual hierarchy of masters who are believed to guide human destiny.
Over the next years Bailey dictated a series of books that laid out a program for bringing in the New Age. In addition, there is a correspondence course. International headquarters at 113 University Pl., 11th Fl., Box 722, Cooper Sta., New York, NY ...
The (usually) physical form of an archetype for a particular culture, mythology, religion, or individual. For example, the archetypal image of the universal mother deity can take the form of the Christian Mary.
From the Greek meaning “authority,” it is from the same root as “archangel.” In Gnostic belief, the Archons were planetary rulers with various spheres or planes of control. In Gnosticism, while you are alive, they prevent you from focusing on spiritual development. When you die, they prevent you from traveling to God. The only way to get past them is via the recitation of certain magickal formulas. Thus, having the sacred knowledge allows you to reach God, a concept which may be a ...
A Sanskrit term that literally means "without form." In Theosophy, it represents the idea of a thing with a spiritual form that has not manifested or does not have a physical form.
An expression used in many spiritual and magickal traditions that is a shortened version of a passage from a document called “The Emerald Tablet of Hermes.” In full, the section reads: “That which is Below corresponds to that which is Above, and that which is Above, corresponds to that which is Below, to accomplish the miracles of the One Thing.” The “miracles” refers specifically to alchemical practices, although it has been generalized to all magickal practices. Today, many people ...
A Sanskrit word meaning "not real." It illustrates a seemingly contradictory concept: our seemingly real physical universe is actually sat or unreal. It is merely our senses interpreting the inner reality of the spiritual realms.
Name for the Life Force emanating from every living thing in the Universe. It’s also a reference to the Spiritual Power and Abilities of the deities and all living things. It is also used as a closing for prayers and powers statement, to give emphasis, much like “So Mote it Be” in Wicca or “Amen” in Christianity.
A square stone block. In Freemasonry it represents the Mason and his spiritual advancement. There are two kinds, the rough ashlar and the smooth ashlar. It is also symbolic of the alchemicalPhilosopher's Stone, a representation of inner transformation as a result of spiritual work.
Remember that your Personal Human Consciousness is modeled on the Body of God. The Powers of the Universe are yours to learn and earn. You do have the Power, but you have to learn it, understand it, believe it, use it, and—above all—have faith in its reality.
The aspiration of the student (we are all students) towards growth and the attainment of Initiation should be a burning flame like a lover’s desire for his beloved.
The astral body—in contrast to a constructed thought form—is a non-physical replica of the physical body and can be used as an organizing matrix perceived to be ideally healthy. Upon re-engagement with the physical body, health images can be transferred for healing and rejuvenation.
1. An intermediate and invisible level of reality between the physical plane and the higher, more divine realms. It is the common boundary between the individual and noumenal reality. A nonphysical level of existence that is the basis of the physical plane.
2. The second plane, sometimes called the Inner Plane or subjective world, it is an alternate dimension both coincident to our physical world and extending beyond it. Some believe it extends to other planets and allows for astral travel between them.
It is that level of concrete consciousness between the Physical/Etheric, the sphere of ordinary consciousness, and the Mental and Spiritual levels. It is where dreams, vision, and imagination are experienced and magical action shapes physical ...
Those natural powers and trained skills that arise from mastery of the particular “rules of engagement” that characterize the astral plane. With understanding the nature of astral substance and energies and the unique characteristics of the many sub-planes and resources of the astral plane, we need to train the astral body in much the same as we do the physical body—by learning and practice.
In most situations, we are interested in using the astral to explore the ...
Every physical action has an astral reaction, and nearly everything sexual is accompanied by emotion, the very substance of the astral plane. Love and Romance are likewise emotional, and these three are mostly associated together and function through the exchange of magnetic and electrical energies that engender excitement, pleasure, and built the magical potentials fundament to Sex Magick.
1.Instead of physical substance the astral world has its own unique substance that some writers refer to as “emotional” because it is the foundation for our emotional consciousness just as the physical substance is the foundation for our physical consciousness, and the mental world substance is the foundation of our mental consciousness.
A range of energy/matter substance of lessening density as the range of vibrations increases.
2. A generic term used to describe the malleable or "plastic" substance that comprises the astral plane.
A person who believes there are no Gods. Although among some self-described "skeptics" atheism includes the lack of belief in anything not fitting into 19th-century materialistic philosophy, there are some people today who would note that this simply does not allow for the belief in ultimate deities. It can allow for the belief in other non-material things including spirits, ghosts, survival of the personality after death, and magick.
(Yogi Ramacharaka) American businessman, author, and occultist, 1862–1932. Self-help ideas learned from the New Thought movement helped him recover from a breakdown, and in 1900 he decided to put his talents to work in this field…He began publishing two series of books, one on New Thought under his own name, and one on yoga under the pen name of Yogi Ramacharaka.
Both he and his books soon became fixtures in the occult community of the time. In 1907 he was contacted by the young Paul ...
1. Literally “luminous body,” it was a term from ancient Greek that was also used by Neoplatonists. According to occultist and founder of the Theosophical Society, H.P. Blavatsky, the Neoplatonists believed that the Augoeides would only “shed its radiance” on a person, while Kabalists believed it would enter into a person’s soul, remaining there until death. Occultist Aleister Crowley equated it with the Holy Guardian Angel, which he also equated with the higher self, and wrote rituals ...
2.Greek term meaning The Higher Ego or Individuality of Man; the “Father in Heaven.”
1. A shell or layer of astral substance that surrounds and permeates the physical body. A halo or sheath of spiritual light/energy that surrounds a person and can be seen by clairvoyants.
2. An emanation or set of emanations that extends around objects and animals, including the human body. There are multiple beliefs as to the number of different types of auras that extend around the body. Some say there are seven, others say five or three.
The aura extends from just above the surface of the skin out to infinity. It becomes more and more ethereal as it extends further from the body, and beyond about three feet even people who can see auras are not able to detect it. The ...
3. Human energy field that surrounds and interpenetrates the body. The aura contains the chakras and nadis or meridians.
4. An egg-shaped sphere of energy extending as much two to three feet beyond the physical body and viewed by clairvoyants in colorful layers that may be "read" and interpreted.
It includes layers outward from the physical: the Etheric, Astral, Mental, and Spiritual bodies. The aura is also known as the "magical mirror of the universe" in which our inner activities of thought and feeling are perceived in colors. It is also the matrix of planetary forces that shapes and sustains the physical body ...
5. The human aura is the body’s external energy field which is a manifestation of the internal energy system’s central core.
(Sanskrit) A word that means "having no waves." Among Theosophists, it is a name for a type of hell where all of those things that were important to you become meaningless. At the end of a period of avichi, people and things dissolve and return to nature.
Awareness is the focus of consciousness onto things, images, ideas, and sensations. Awareness is more than what we physically sense. We do have psychic impressions independent of the physical apparatus. And we can focus our awareness on memories dredged up from the subconscious; we can focus on symbols and images and all the ideas, and memories, associated with them. We can turn our awareness to impressions from the astral and mental planes, and open ourselves to receiving information from ...
Title for a diviner priest of high rank within the Santería and Ifá community that means “Father of Mysteries.” The “mysteries” refer to the wide knowledge they possess about their divination systems and about the Spiritual Forces that surround us. They are the only ones that have the authority to consult Orunmila, Orisha of Divination and Witness of Destiny, through their ritual implements, such as Ikin Ifá (palm nuts), Opele (divining chain), and Opon Ifa (divining tray).
Priest initiated in the Santería/Ifá religion. It means “Father Possessing Orisha.” In the Santería religion, this title is given to a priest who has initiated others into the religion. Their initiates usually call them “Padrino” (godfather), denoting the influence Catholicism had on the development of the religion. Also called Babalosha.
An Eastern concept that we should our attention in our lives on the present, not dwelling on the past or the future. In this way we will supposedly achieve the most happiness.
A phrase coined by Carl Llewellyn Weschcke to express that concept of self-directed evolution. You, we all, are a "work-in-progress" towards fulfilling the potential of the Whole Person already existent as a "matrix" of consciousness into which we are evolving. To "Become more than You are" is the goal of everyone who accepts the opportunity and responsibility of accelerated development and Self-Empowerment.
1. Although most people see Hinduism as polytheistic, it is actually a monotheistic religion with thousands of manifestations of the ultimate deity. This ultimate being transcends all duality and is known as Brahman. All other deities are just aspects of Brahman.
2. God, the supreme Godhead or universal soul. Despite the fact that Hinduism is described as a polytheistic religion, there are certain monotheistic aspects underlying the concept of Brahman. Interestingly enough the literal meaning of the word is growth or expansion.
The definition varies somewhat in different branches of Buddhism, but it can be understood as suggesting that the potential for Buddhahood is intrinsic in all beings and that it can be awakened through practice.
Candomblé is an Afro-Brazilian syncretic religion that, like Santería and Vodou, has its roots in the ancient religion of Ifá and is also influenced by European spiritualist practices and indigenous folk wisdom along with Christianity. The worship and service to the Orixás (deities) and to the Egungun (ancestors) are the core beliefs, along with the practice of rituals to enhance every aspect of life and divination to communicate with the Orixás.
This principle states that equal benefit comes from action towards a goal and inaction away from it. The causes of our success are both to be found in efforts to move forward and from the absence of efforts to move backwards.
Like the other five planes of the three lower levels, there is “substance” as well as “laws” relating to its specific nature. The Causal shares the third level with the Mental Plane—which likewise has its unique substance, but the two share the characteristic of five dimensions (in contrast to the familiar three of the Physical and Etheric Planes of the first and lowest level).
Kabbalist (Turkish 16th–17th Century). A leading disciple of Isaac Luria, Vital experienced many fantastic visions and personal revelations. Elijah and other righteous men of the past appeared to him. He performed healings, exorcisms, dowsing for water, and at one point declared himself the Messiah. He also believed he had undergone multiple incarnations and, for example, had the soul of R[abbi] Akiba.
A religious tradition based on the book Science & Health with Key to Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy (derived from the works of Phineas P. Quimby) and the Bible. Although it has a full theology, most people are familiar with it through their belief that illness is the result of fear, ignorance, or sin, and if you eliminate those factors through prayer, the illness will cease. Followers of Christian Science tend to prefer this healing system before the use of drugs or surgery, but unlike some ...
Greek for "Christ," meaning the anointed one. Similar to the Hebrew translated as "Messiah." Mystically, we each have a divine inner core (sometimes called "Christ Immanent") that we can manifest.
Name for a circle with a single dot in the center. In astrology it is used to represent the Sun. Anciently, it was a symbol of the Egyptian solar deity Ra. In Neoplatonism it represented the soul in the spiritual world.
1. In the writings of psychologist Carl Jung and his followers, the deepest stratum of the unconscious that contains material relating not to the individual but to humanity as a whole. The most important presences in the collective unconscious are the archetypes. According to Jungian theory, these are reflections of primal instincts, and also the patterns on which gods and other mythic entities are based. Contacting the archetypal patterns of the collective unconscious in a conscious and balanced ...
2. A concept from the theories of psychologist Carl Jung, the function of the Personal Consciousness that bridges to the collective racial, cultural, mythic, even planetary memories and the world of archetypes of the Universal Consciousness, making them available to the Psyche mainly through the Sub-Conscious Mind.
The memories of all of humanity, perhaps of more than human, and inclusive of the archetypes. The contents of the collective unconscious seem to progress from individual memories ...
Part of a religious ritual where the wafer and wine metaphorically become the body and blood of Jesus. Usually found as part of some Protestant rites. In the Roman Catholic Mass ritual, believers feel the wafer and wine become the actual body and blood of Jesus. This is known as transubstantiation.
A generalized term for non-physical forces or entities with whom communication of some sort is established. Often, these contacts will be the first communication a person has when going into trance. Contacts may have information or guidance for the person communicating with them.
1. The spirit who acts as a kind of manager through which other spirits communicate to the medium during a séance.
2. In science (and in the scientific investigation of the paranormal—parapsychology), experimental proceedures instituted to prevent extraneous factors from influencing the results of an experiment.
A phrase coined by Richard Bucke to describe his own experience of unity with the universal consciousness of the cosmos. Bucke believed this to be the goal of human evolution.
Modeled after the World Wide Web (WWW) of the Internet, the CWW recognizes existence of the Akashic Records imagined as “infinite-sized and capable data banks and servers, accurately accessed through a speed-of-light fast astral search engine using an imaginary keyboard and large monitor to call up and see those records we desire.
Also known as Crystallomancy, a technique typically using a crystal ball to engage and liberate the mind's psychic powers while promoting a state of general self-empowerment. Crystal gazing opens the channels of the mind and permits the free expression of multiple inner faculties.
In Theosophy, the concept (also known as the "Law of Cycles") that nature repeats everywhere. However, it is not an exact repetition, as with each new cycle there is a modification of the previous cycle.
A mound or shrine in Buddhism. They contain spiritual relics such as a piece of the bodhi tree under which the Buddha achieved enlightenment, or the teeth of a deceased saint. They may look similar to Buddhist Stupas, but Stupas do not necessarily contain a relic. In the Star Wars movies, George Lucas has the wise, monk-like creature, Yoda, living on a planet called “Dagobah.”
The collective name for ancient Roman local or personal deities of profit. They were worshiped and evoked to ensure successful business ventures. The deity Mercury eventually took over their functions.
God or Goddess. A pure being that manifests certain qualities which can be evoked to raise power, transform negative into positive and receive blessings.
See also Emotional Matter. “Desire” is an alternate name for the Astral Plane (or Level) and likewise for the Astral (or Emotional) Body or Vehicle. But “Desire” is also one of the most fundamental of human emotions and is the qualifying adjective associated with such basic drives as Sex, Food, Money, Security, Comfort, Romance, etc. While older occult teachers taught that desire should be repressed (especially in connection with sex), such repression is both unhealthy ...
While related in meaning to “fate” and “karma”, destiny has a less rigid feeling. Each person is born with a life ‘pattern’ that can be seen in a birth horoscope. We each have a genetic heritage, the love of our parents, the immediate environment, etc., but as we grow older those surrounding factors are replaced with new ones that may change what seemed to be an expected pattern. Education and social environment may become powerful influences for change.
The ...
A philosophical problem facing monotheistic religions. The basic idea is that such religions view god as having the qualities of being both good and all-powerful. This, however, is impossible. Observation shows us that there is evil in the world. Were a good god all powerful, it is argued, evil would not exist. Therefore, either god is not all powerful and cannot stop evil (often represented in the form of an evil entity such as the Devil), or god is all-powerful but also actually evil.
“Men are not all mystics, though all must one day attain to the mystical union, each following his own road to bliss of which there are said to be seven. Upon one of them, especially, and possibly upon others, direct knowledge of the forces and intelligences of Nature and acquirement of the faculty of cooperating with them in which is sometimes called the Great Work which can be of much value.”
1. Being given the right to do something, such as lead a magickal group. Sometimes a dispensation is given without having to go through usual trainings and/or initiations.
2. A special empowerment to dispense and manage religious or spiritual instruction and practice. Within Christianity, it is the official granting of a license to organize a church. It is also a special time period designated by God for certain things to happen. For Esotericism, it is believed to be both a time period and a licensing to a particular group or groups to establish themselves and their message seemingly granted by spiritual higher-ups.
There are those of us who believe that we ...
Name of the vehicle for functioning consciously at the 6th level or plane up from the physical. Alternate names include Submanifestal, Monadic, and Anupadaka.
Most Esoterists and Occultists believe that there is some kind of Divine Plan, or Great Plan, guiding the evolution of Humanity, and indeed of all life, all consciousness, and the Universe itself.
Is the Plan knowable by mere mortals? Perhaps not, but some believe there are “Masters,” “Inner Plane Adepts,” or other “Great Ones” who know it, at least, partially and who themselves work under its guidance at high spiritual levels.
Do these Masters ever ...
Alternate name for the Astral (or Emotional) Body, but also the specific term for astral body that has separated from the physical body during sleep. Becoming conscious while in the Dream Body facilitates one particular form of Astral Projection known as “Lucid Dreaming.”
An ancient spiritual technique in which worshippers slept in temples to receive dream messages or healing from deities. From the Latin incubare. Similar procedures have been practiced throughout history on every continent.
A philosophical belief that there are two opposing forces in the universe that are always contending or seeking balance with each other. These can be seen in concepts of male/female, yin/yang, mind/body, god/goddess, good/evil. Some spiritual traditions accept this duality. For example some Christian traditions believe that an individual is a soul “trapped” within a body and some Pagan traditions see the highest form of the Divine in the forms of a God and a Goddess.
The opposite of ...
A belief in two deities. They may be complementary, such as in the God and Goddess of Wicca, or in opposition such as a deity of creation and one of destruction.
An expression invented by Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803–1873) in his novel Zanoni (1842) to describe a phenomenon frequently encountered by people on a spiritual path. As people spiritually progress, they meet and overcome many challenges. Perhaps the most frightening is the Dweller on the Threshold who blocks the way to further progress. Some people claim the Dweller is a manifestation of who you have been. Since most people don’t want to give up their past, this Dweller is quite a ...
Any of a wide set of spiritual traditions that revere or “honor” the Earth and nature as the manifestation of the Divine. Often strongly opposed to pollution and the wanton exploitation of natural resources, many Pagan religions describe themselves as an Earth religion.
Spiritual beliefs and practices that center on the planet Earth. Some followers view the Earth as divine (see Gaia Hypothesis). The Earth may be related to as a goddess such as "Mother Earth." Others may view the Earth as being a source of spirituality and due respect and honor, often manifesting in the form of ecological awareness.
Also transliterated from the Hebrew as Eheieh, it is a god name assoiated with the highest sephirah, Keter. It is usually translated as "I am;" however, it is an infinitive and is more accurately translated as "I will be."
It comes from the 3rd chapter of Exodus in the Bible. Here, Moses is at the burning bush and is told by God to go to the Egyptian Pharaoh and say, "Let my people go." Moses asks whom should he say sent him, and God responds, "Eh-heh-yeh ah-sher Eh-heh-yeh." This is usually ...
The interpretation of a text in a way that seeks to prove or support presuppositions, opinions, biases, notions, beliefs, etc. about the text, rather than objectively and critically examining the meaning of the text. An exegesis attempts to discover the meaning of a text as written by the author or authors. An eisegesis filters the text through the beliefs of the interpreter.
Vital Energy, Prana, Chi. A term originally created by philosopher Henri Bergson (1859-1941) in his book, Creative Evolution (1907). Bergson's sister, Mina (AKA Moina), was married to one of the original heads of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and eventually became the head of the order.
"Energy in motion." Emotion is a dynamic and powerful response to something perceived that connects to universal human experience and archetypes. Emotion is the energy "powering" most intentional psychic and magical operations, the energy responsible for many types of psychic phenomena, possibly including hauntings, poltergeists, rapping, etc. where there is potential for the emotion to have been "recorded" in the woodwork of the building. On the Kabalistic Tree of Life, emotion is found in the ...
An alternate name for Astral Body or vehicle, used by many modern esoteric writers like Henry T. Laurency and Lee Bladon because they consider the substance of the astral (emotional) plane or world to be best defined as emotional as is the consciousness of that body and level. The strength and the challenges are emotional.
The emotional body is the primary vehicle for consciousness between incarnations, first dissolving at the three lowest sub-planes so as no longer to be in contact with the ...
An alternate name for the Astral Plane or World, because the nature and substance of the astral (emotional) plane or world may be best defined as emotional, i.e. “matter in motion,” and it responds to human feelings and emotions.
A substance such as a drug (or less often, a technique) used to create altered states of consciousness that allow us to experience the divine directly.
Teachings, generally of a spiritual nature, kept secret or that are revealed only to a select few. Those teachings that are given to everyone are known as “exoteric.”
The vehicle for consciousness at the fourth level up from the physical. Here the self-identity of the individual as Monad or Soul is permanent and at the same time can experience others’ consciousness as his own and can also experience oneness with Universal Consciousness. The Essential Self no longer needs to incarnate in the physical world
The World at the fourth level up from the physical, and is characterized by six dimensions of Matter and Motion. It is the lowest for the four higher planes of our Solar System.
A term most often used to mean "living forever" or "without end." The original meaning, however, is "outside of time;" that is, not limited by our physical universe that is constrained by time and space. Thus, the popular expression that "God is eternal" does not mean "God lives forever." Rather, it means that God exists outside of time and space. Therefore, God could choose to appear in our physical universe at any time or place in the past, present, or future. For all practical purposes the ...
In the incarnation process, the “information” needed for the whole physical body and associated subtle bodies is brought down from the Causal level, through the Mental and Astral levels to form an actual “template” at the Etheric level to guide the formation of the embryo and its birth in relation to the pre-determined birth horoscope. It is this Template that provides the blueprint for the physical life.
This is from Aleister Crowley, and is one of the most important as well as poetic things he ever wrote. There is a dual meaning here:
1) that every one of us is Divine at our core and that our destiny is to make our Whole Person Divine;
2) that we are all evolving towards roles of greater responsibility.
Some have interpreted this to mean that as we become greater can actually become "stars" in the astronomical sense for every planet, every star (sun), every solar system, every galaxy is a ...
The interpretation of a text. Although this can mean a critical examination of any text (where "critical" means an in-depth analysis rather than a denunciation), it is especially associated with a study of a spiritual text such as the Bible.
Although sometimes mistakenly presented as meaning a teaching that is false or of lesser importance, it actually means a spiritual teaching that is given to everyone. Those teachings kept secret or are revealed only to a select few are called "Esoteric."
The process of denial—traditionally self-denial—of something we usually do not deny ourselves. This denial may have purposes of healing or expiation of things we perceive as “sins,” but is often used in preparation for some sort of ritual. Although this may be viewed as a type of purification, some people believe that by denying oneself those things that usually take up our focus or attention, we can turn our focus to the purpose of the upcoming ritual. The most common denials are in ...
An instinctive response conveying some "truth" about a person or situation. It is a kind of filter through which we experience reality. Also see "Operating System."
More accurately, archetypal female energy. Based on the idea that only the ultimate divine source (i.e., God) is totally unified, the nature of energy is divided into two parts, represented by male and female. In most Western traditions, archetypal female energy is said to be receptive, nurturing, and creative. It is also known as magnetic, negative (in the sense of the negative pole of a magnet), and the Chinese Yin. In some Eastern traditions, such as Tantra, female energy is seen to be ...
1. The original, unpurified material that is transformed in an alchemical operation. In physical alchemy, the first matter is lead; in spiritual alchemy, the unenlightened human.
3. Together, the effluvia of the Lion and the Eagle, is the "First Matter," the original Creation. This First Matter is to be transmuted by the magickal imagination, by aspiration and inspiration and by the "Fire" which is the ecstasy. Ecstasy is, as it were, the magickal fire for transforming all into inspiration and aspiration.
A movement that developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among some conservative Christians who held certain beliefs, including the inerrancy of the Bible, the virgin birth, Jesus’ substitutionary atonement for the sins of all who believe in him, etc. Some non-Christians have a more generic concept of Fundamentalist Christianity, and apply the term to any who believe that their form of Christianity is the only true way to God. Extremist Fundamentalist Christians may disagree with ...
Also known as the Gaia Theory, the belief the Earth and everything in it functions as a type of organism. While a popular belief among some Pagans, it also has a growing number of scientists who take the hypothesis as a way to explain the functioning of the earth.
The belief, fostered by Carl Llewellyn Weschcke among others, that humanity in the twentieth century struggled to create the first global civilization based on a commonality of Hollywood centered entertainment, international political organizations growing out of World War II and the Cold War, the European Union, a world economy, a common currency, universal education, universal human law, and free trade.
Global empowerment must begin somewhere. Becoming personally empowered can be seen as the first step toward empowering the globe and making the world a better place for present and future generations. The starting point is personal empowerment and grows person-by-person as psychic development leads from personal growth and development to the continued evolution of humanity as a whole in partnership with planetary consciousness.
The Greek word for "Knowledge," it came to mean a special knowledge of spiritual mysteries. People seeking this spiritual knowledge directly from the Divine were known as Gnostics. In Chaos Magick the Gnostic Trance is an intense state where you are deeply focused on your magickal goal.
A word derived from the Greek gnostikos, meaning one who has acquired gnosis or "knowledge" (literally, "one who knows"). Any of several Gnostic sects that flourished in the Mediterranean world during the time of Christ, particularly during the second and third centuries C.E. and for many centuries after. The two major branches of Gnosticism were Sethian or Jewish Gnosticism, and Valentinian or Christian Gnosticism.
We are told that we are made in God’s image: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (Genesis 1:26-27) Therefore we are to understand that the pattern of our Personal Consciousness was structured by Mother/Father/Creator/Source at the beginning of Existence itself.
“This term is used... to denote, not the symbolic images to which the title was given by ancient peoples, but hieriarchical Orders of Intelligence, quite distinct from man in this Solar System, but who have been or will be men.
“...In the East they are called devas, a Sanskrit word meaning 'shining ones' and referring to their self-luminous appearance. They are regarded as omnipresent, super-physical agents of the Creative Will, as directgors of all natural forces, laws and ...
The belief in a hierarchical structure to the universe, from God down to angels, fallen angels (or demons), astronomical features, royalty, common folk, animals, plants, and down to precious and then common minerals. The concept began with Plato and Aristotle, but achieved a high level with the Neoplatonists and Kabalists. Since this structure was believed to be decreed by God, it gave royalty—including kings, queens, princes, and all nobles—superiority over common people, a belief ...
The “Higher” always controls the “Lower.” What is magically created on the higher planes—Causal, Mental, and Astral—will precipitate action on the next lower plane, and if so “instructed” through ritual and intention will manifest as physical reality.
1. The union of Man and the Universe, the fusion of the Microcosm and the Macrocosm. The integration of the Lower and Higher selves.
2. The path of self-directed spiritual growth and development. This is the object of your incarnation and the meaning of your life. The Great Work is the program of growth to become all that you can be—which is the realization that you are a "god in the making." Within your being there is the seed of Divinity, and your job is to grow that into the Whole Person that is a "Son of God." It is a process that has continued from "the Beginning" and may have no ending but it is your purpose in ...
The highest level of Causal Consciousness functioning as the permanent “soul” that continues from incarnation to incarnation. It is designated as 47:1 in the Cosmic Involution Scale.
The collective consciousness of a community, herd, nation, ethnic group, or nation, reflecting and then reinforcing distinctive behavior, thoughts, and culture.
The lowest part of the soul, centered in Malkuth. A low level of subconscious intelligence allied to the physical body. The autonomic nervous system. Also spelled G'uph.
Pronounced “hah-shem,” it literally means “The Name” and is used by some Jews in place of trying to say the Tetragrammaton, the holy, four-letter name of God. Others use Adonai for this purpose.
1. A specific polytheistic reconstructionist path based on aboriginal Germanic tradition.
2. Any polytheistic reconstructionist path which is also based on aboriginal traditions from Western Europe. Although this may include the British Isles, it is often primarily associated with Northern Europe including Scandinavia, as well as much of what is modern Germany. Examples include Asatru and Odinism, as well as some sects of Druidry. Although these groups can fall under the broad definition of Pagan, some people who follow the path of Heathenry do not consider themselves Pagan.
Beliefs, theories, or practices that are different from the beliefs, theories, or practices of some mainstream concept. Thus, the idea of what is now called continental drift was, at one time, considered a heresy. Today it is an accepted scientific belief. Often, heresies are not only different from mainstream concepts, but they are considered challenges. Most of the people killed during the Spanish Inquisition were accused of heresy by challenging the beliefs of the Catholic Church.
Also known as "The Golden Chain," it is the Greek concept that there is a linking or "chain" of living beings. At one end are the highest of deities, moving down to lesser deities, heroes, then sages, ordinary people, and then lower animals, etc. Each "link" in the chain inspires and teaches the links below it on the chain, resulting in the transmission of concepts such as love, wisdom, and knowledge of the universe and its secrets.
Although originally published in the book, The Kybalion (1908), the seven hermetic principles are allegedly based on the writings of Hermes Trismegistus. This has been called into question as some of the principles are more associated with the New Thought movement popular at the time of publication. The seven principles are:
Mentalism ("All is Mind.")
Correspondence ("As above, so below")
Vibration (everything vibrates; spiritual things vibrate at a higher frequency)
Polarity (everything ...
1) A general reference to levels above the physical—generally meaning Etheric, Astral, Mental and Spiritual.
2) A reference to levels above that being discussed, and generally meaning planes above the Spiritual or that our commonly grouped into the Spiritual Plane. Planes refer to a) levels of manifestation and b) levels of the Whole Person—as "bodies."
1. The part of ourselves that exists in harmony with the Universe; the divine self.
2. The third aspect of personal consciousness, also known as the Super-Conscious Mind. As the Middle Self, or Conscious Mind, takes conscious control of the Lower Self, or Sub-Conscious Mind, the Higher Self becomes more directly involved in functioning of the Personal Consciousness.
Even though the Higher Self is also known as the Holy Guardian Angel, there is value in using a more easily comprehended psychological term. Words are words and there are often many names for the same thing. ...
3. According to Donald Tyson, that which you really are, as opposed to what you think you are. The truest identity of the individual stripped of all transitory veils.
The Whole View. Seeing things from a fully organic perspective inclusive of all the levels of life, consciousness and manifestation. It’s all the "connections" seen at once.
An image wherein any fragment of the whole contains all essential elements of the whole, but to a lesser degree. Modern theorists, noting the holographic quality of DNA (i.e., every DNA molecule has the genetic code for the entire body), note that the body has holographic qualities and the mind may also be holographic. Symbolic of the concept that all things in the universe are infinitely interconnected.
Christianity: water that has been blessed by a priest. Used for
Baptism
Blessings of people, places, or things
To dispel or protect from evil.
Magick: water used for blessings, banishing, purification, etc. Often combined with salt to represent the union of water and earth. May be blessed by leader of ritual or (among Pagans) by High Priest or High Priestess. My be replaced by wine or fruit juice.
Originally a pejorative used by non-Africans, especially slave holders, to refer to all African religious systems, it is today a term used to describe the African-based system, heavily influenced by Western thought, that includes magic, healing, and hexing, especially using herbs and roots.
Extreme pride or arrogance that often involves assuming greater skill or knowledge than one actually possesses. Typically used as a description of the cause of a fall from a position of power.
According to Theosophists, the human monad is a name for that part of a person which is the root of the human ego. After physical death it helps create the "Reincarnating Ego" for its next incarnation.
In some Wiccan traditions, an honest self-assessment, including an understanding of one’s true greatness and smallness, and admitting where one is lacking. With this appraisal it is possible to see where one can work to spiritually advance.
1) This phrase invokes the higher self in a powerful self-affirmation used in some techniques of self-hypnosis.
2) "I am above you and in you. My ecstasy is in yours. My joy is to see your joy. To me! To me!" This key part of the G∴B∴G∴ Retirement Ritual is your Holy Guardian Angel speaking to you.
Saying it with feelings of deep emotion and acceptance of the reality that your HGA [Holy Guardian Angel] is your Higher Self and is the dynamic partner of you as a ...
One of the Archons of Gnosticism, who was actually responsible for creating the physical and some say spiritual worlds. Ialdabaoth took the form of a proud and boastful lion, thus matching his arrogance. The name is used in many magickal rituals.
1. A person whom you wish to emulate, as in “He is my idol.”
2. An object anciently believed to be a deity. In modern times, this has changed to the concept that the idol represents the deity or the deity’s power. A person who worships an idol is called an “Idolater.” There are proscriptions against idol worship in the Bible. Although this is usually followed by believers based on religious concepts, it has been pointed out that since the Bible describes the creation of a religion, it may have simply been based on the concept of separating biblical ...
3. When there is a belief that deity is in everything, followers may worship idols as being manifestations of the divine. An example of this is found in Tantra and Hinduism where deity is said to fill idols (after being invoked into them), known as murtis, and are fit to be worshiped.
In many Western traditions, illumination means an ecstatic state resulting from contemplation of the divine. In many Eastern traditions, it means the experience of dissolving into the divine.
A spiritual belief that God (or Gods) exist as part of the physical world and can have direct interaction with humans. Many Pagan religions believe in an immanent deity or deities. The opposite of a belief in the transcendency of deity. See: Transcendent.
A term meaning life without death. Although the term is popular in describing vampires, it is also incongruous as a person must die in order to become a vampire.
Some mystics separate the difference between physical immortality, which some, such as the Theosophists, would contend is contrary to nature and our need to evolve, and spiritual immortality, where our consciousness continues from physical life to life.
In the psychological thought of Carl Jung, the process of personal development by which the ego comes into relationship with the Self, the essential core of the human psyche. The concept of individuation was largely borrowed from earlier occult models of spiritual development by way of Jung’s substantial contacts with the European occult scene.
"…[T]he seven bodies or principles of man, beginning with the most dense, are stated to be the physical body, vehicle of thought, feeling, awareness, and action in the physical world; the etheric double, the connecting link between the inner and the outer man and the container of the vital energy or prana received physically from the sun and superphysically from the spiritual sun; the emotional or astral body, vehicle of desire; the mental body, vehicle of the formal mind and instrument ...
The belief that each person has a "Divine Spark" or part of the Divine Creator at his or her core. As the person evolves and grows in wholeness, he or she becomes more and more closely identified with that Divinity until an ultimate unity is accomplished.
A concept found in many religious and mystical traditions, it is the idea that within each person is some kind or aspect of God or the Divine. Magickians try to manifest the powers of the Divine. Others debate the "quantity" of the Inner God. That is, some say there is only a tiny bit of the Divine within us while others contend that we are gods but don't recognize it. Some mystics try to manifest this godhood. Another way of looking at the concept is that it is our inner, essential divinity, ...
An innate behavior, especially as a response to a given stimulus. Instincts may exist since birth–implying a genetic or past life influence—or may result from conscious or subconscious mental programming. As a general rule, animals with lesser or damaged frontal brain lobes tend to function instinctually whereas animals with greater thinking capabilities can choose to act contrary to instinctual prompts.
Nothing more clearly illustrates our spiritual essence than our capacity to interact with the spirit dimension. Our awareness of spirit guides and in some instances, the departed, illustrates our capacity as spiritual beings to interact with the spiritual realm. To explore that interaction and its empowering potentials, the Interdimensional Interaction Program was formed at Athens State University under the auspices of the International Parapsychology Research Foundation. A major objective of ...
A Theosophical term meaning the human soul. It is "intermediate" in nature because, as a result of incarnation, it is imperfect. However, during life it learns lessons so, eventually, it no longer has a need to incarnate.
An expression used by some to indicate a state of mind where we “turn off” or silence our emotions, thoughts, and daily cares so that we may participate more effectively in a ritual.
Priestess initiated in the Santería/Ifá religion. It means “Mother Possessing Orisha.” In the Santería religion, this title is given to a priestess who has initiated others into the religion. Their initiates usually call them “Madrina” (godmother), denoting the influence Catholicism had on the development of the religion. Also called Iyalosha.
1. Officially known as “analytic psychology,” the system of psychology developed by Swiss psychologist Carl Jung (1875–1961) became one of the most common interpretations of occult phenomena in the Western world during the second half of the twentieth century. The central concept of Jungian psychology is that the whole range of occult and religious phenomena are psychological in nature, and have to do with the relationship between the individual and the realm of the collective unconscious.
2. Also called Analytic Psychology, it's the system developed by C. G. Jung. After studying with Freud he advanced a more spiritual approach to psychotherapy evolving out of his studies of occult traditions and practices including (in particular) alchemy, astrology, dream interpretation, the I Ching, the Tarot, and spiritualism.
For Jung, the whole range of occult and religious phenomena have evolved out of the relationship between the individual consciousness and the collective unconscious. ...
1. An Egyptian word that directly translates as "star." In Thelemic concepts it is the actual identity of the physical self, your real essential personality as opposed the the personality you generally present. See Khu.
2. Khabs is Consciousness of one’s real Individuality, while Khu is the active conscious Personality. "The Khabs is in the Khu, not the Khu in the Khabs." This very clearly states that the Divine is not outside of man but is part of the Personality.
Awakening to this is the beginning of Knowledge of the Higher Self. The Divinity is not distant and separate but right in the heart of the matter—in fact, it’s the Soul of the Matter. The Khabs is the soul and the personality ...
In Egyptian mythology, the Khu is a combination of your life force or spirit (the Ka) and the soul (the Ba). In Thelemic spirituality it is the part of you that creates a physical form, your body, so it can gain experience and self-consciousness. See Khabs.
In Chaos magick a loosely-defined term similar to the sense of Spirit as the body’s animating force. It has some of the functions of the Soul but is not the Soul.
This motto was inscribed on the 6th-century B.C.E. temple of Apollo at Delphi and quoted by several ancient writers, some of whom attributed it to Solon. It has been since been quoted thousands if not millions of self-help, motivational and spiritual writers and teachers.
The process of self-discovery, of self-knowledge, of self-understanding is endless until such time as we become one with the Highest Self. The process of self-knowledge is the process of becoming more than you are.
A concept found in Zen Buddhism. Although it may be formed as a story or a statement, it is usually presented in the form of a question. A Koan cannot be answered by the logical thinking of the rational mind. It may not have a logical answer at all. The purpose of a Koan is not to challenge a person to think, but to move beyond logical thinking. Solutions to a question or concept come from the intuition and can lead to deep spiritual insights. The best known Koan is, “What is the sound of ...
Transliterated from the Hebrew in multiple ways, its meaning is dependent upon the context wherein it appears. Thus, it can mean world, universe, or forever.
The Light that is characteristic of the astral and higher planes. It is this “Living Light” that is the foundation of the Cosmos itself and the source of Spirit or Akasha, the element from which all the other elements are derived. It gives meaning to the phrase “Let there be Light” that is the true beginning of all.
Llewellyn Worldwide's free, on-line encyclopedia of terms associated with spirituality, metaphysics, the occult, body-mind-spirit, magick, the paranormal, the "New Age," and all topics currently linked under the general term "parapsychology." Intended as a free service to the community in thanks for the support Llewellyn has received, Llewellyn's Paranormal, Magical and Occult Encyclopedia consists of an enormous quantity of terms, brief definitions of those terms, and longer articles related ...
Associating an I AM sentence and symbol with a full description and image of that which is desired. Then the sentence and symbol are vehicles for the entire operation and are used in self-hypnosis to convey the desired goal to the subconscious.
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