Vangelo Delle Streghe - or Aradia: Gospel of the Witches,  an important piece of text that was written by Charles G. Leland in 1899. Leland was a folklorist that went to Italy where he came in contact with a  witch called Maddalena. It is said that she either gave him the Vangelo, or that she told him stories about it.  It  is a Wiccan scripture containing the creation story, the Charge of the Goddess, and a collection of other myths.

Vampire - One who takes from someone else, can be blood, energy ..etc

Vampirism - The practice of subsisting on the vitality of another. At times it is life force (sapped psychically).

Veil - 1). The barrier between the worlds. 2). A term describing the inability of the ordinary conscious mind to easily access the powers or memories of the Soul.

Veil of Unknowing- The boundary between the manifest and the unmanifest.

Vernal Equinox - The Spring Equinox. See Equinox and Ostara.

Vibration - The rate at which energy moves, is believed to become slower the farther down the seven spheres it proceeds. The slower the vibration, the denser the matter; thus the physical plane is the home of the densest matter with the slowest vibration, while the Divine plane has the least density and the fastest vibration. As energy moves upward from lower vibrations to higher ones, it generates heat. As energy slows from higher to lower vibrations, it produces coldness.

Virtues - Magickal properties of objects like herbs, stones, and creatures as was assigned to them during their divine creation.

Vision Questing- Using astral projection, bi location, or dreamtime to accomplish a specific goal. Also called path working.

Visualization - To see something clearly in your mind just as if you were looking at something with your eyes open. You envision something in your head so strongly and intently that it will become real in your mind, and thus your reality. Used during ritual and spellcrafting, visualization is a, if not the most, valuable tool for the will worker. Often achieved through meditation.

Voodoo - Polytheistic religion derived from worship of gods in African and the beliefs of Catholicism. Practiced mainly by the West Indians. . These differ from most other modern Pagan and religions in that most of them incorporate ritual sacrifice of animals, etc., as a means to raise magickal energies. This is most easily defined as 'bloodlust' or the thrill of the kill.

Vulnerary - Herbs which are used to treat minor external wounds such as burns, cuts, and scrapes: all-heal, comfrey, horsetail grass, marsh mallow root, and plantain.

Walpurgisnacht/Walpurgis -  May Eve, Germanic in origin for St. Walpurga and began at nacht/night. See Beltane.

Wand - A rod used to direct energies. A magickal tool used for directing and/or harnessing energies while working with magick .  By most traditions, the wand is cut from a limb of a willow tree on the night of the full moon or taken from the ground and it is approximately 13 inches long.

Warding- A protection spell against, term used by Pennsylvania Dutch Powwow. The word derived from “to ward off evil”

Warlock - A derogatory term which literally means "oathbreaker". It is a common misconception that male witches are called warlocks. However, male witches are no different than females in this respect and so they are simply called witches.

Waning Moon - A phase of the moon in which the face of the moon is getting smaller (the time between a full moon and a new moon).

Watchtowers - Concept derived from ceremonial magick. The four Watchtowers are each associated with an element, a color, an elemental, and a cardinal direction. The North, East, South, and West spiritual altars of a magickal circle. Elementals are evoked into these spiritual altars to act as guardians and to lend their energies in forming a spiritual temple between the worlds. (A common misconception is that the elements ARE the Watchtowers). 

Water - One of the four elements thought to make up the universe; the others being air, fire and earth. In Wiccan tradition, it is associated with the West, love, emotions and the color blue on the physical plane.

Water Signs - The Zodiac signs of Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces which are considered to be ruled by the element of Water.

Water Witch - A term often used  for water dowser or diviner. One who uses a chosen tool to locate water beneath the ground.

Waxing Moon  - A phase of the moon in which the face of the moon is getting larger (the time between a new moon and a full moon).

Web Weaving - Networking with other people through conversations to gather information in order to mutually assist each other in their studies.

Wheel of the Year - The full cycle of the eight Sabbats in the Wiccan calendar.  They occur at the Equinoxes and Solstices (the Quarters) and on the days marking the midpoints between them (the Cross-Quarters.) The turning of the seasons, the full cycle of the seasonal year beginning with the Samhain or Yule.

White Handled Knife - (Boline) Sometimes used to harvest herbs, plants, paper, cloth, etc.

Wicca - A tradition of witchcraft with a huge following among neo-pagans. Wicca is an Anglo-Saxon word meaning "wise one," a term which came to label the craft as it was practiced in England, Wales, and the continental region once known as Saxony. Today, Wicca has become a term generally used to refer to any of the pagan traditions of western and northern Europe. Wiccans are also known as witches. The name most modern day Witches use for the Craft. It comes from the Anglo-Saxon word Wicce, meaning to bend or to shape. This is the root word from which we also get wicker. A revival religion of old Pagan and Witchcraft beliefs was written by Gerald Gardner, A  spirituality that emphasizes spiritual balance and the idea of "Harm None". 

Wiccan - A practitioner of Wicca.

Wiccan Creed - This is the moral code of all who practice Wicca and most who practice Witchcraft, The code by which most Witches live. "An' It Harm None, Do What Ye Will." I would have to say that any true Witch tries very hard to follow this without reverse. Of coarse we all have good and evil inside, so there's going to have to be some exceptions.

Wiccaning - A Pagan birth rite.  A "baptism into Wicca for a baby whose parents plan to raise it as a Wiccan.

Wicce - The Old English word for a female witch. From the root word "wic," meaning to shape or bend.

Widdershins -  (pr. WID-der-shins)  Counterclockwise. . Sometimes, dependant on time of year, lunar phase, Tradition, type of ritual or spell, etc., practitioners may move about the Magick Circle in the fashion. The direction is Negativity. But is most common to move Deosil. See also 'Deosil

WiseWoman - The solitary female Witch who dispensed charms and prescribed healing herbs to the common inhabitants of rural villages in Europe.

Wita - Scottish Wicca. The witchcraft tradition of Celtic Scotland. The term Wita is a Gaelic-ised version of the older Anglo-Saxon word Wicca.

Witch– A practitioner of witchcraft. A follower of the Old Religion.  From ancient Gaelic roots, the word witch means "wise-one". From the Middle English "wicche" which stemmed from the Old English wicca and wicce, from the root word wic. Wic means to bend or shape, and as a witch, one manipulates nature and "bends" it to their will. The practice of Witchcraft is an inseparable part of a Witch’s religion, which is a Pagan faith, and its origins can be found in pre-Christian Europe. A witch may fit into any of the following categories:  1. A practitioner or initiated member of Wicca  2. Someone who practices witchcraft
 3. A hereditary practitioner of a European cultural family-based tradition  wicca (masculine), wicce (feminine).

Witchcraft - The practice of performing spells and magick. The craft of the witch being - magic, utilizing personal power in conjunction with the energies within stones, herbs, colors, and other natural objects. This belief system also has nothing to do with Satanism. The art of practicing  magick, and sometimes a Pagan spirituality. Witchcraft is not Black or White; it is simply the access to energy. It is the Witches intent that is 'Black' or 'White' (This does not refer to skin color)

Witch Ball - An 18th century tradition; a glass sphere hung in windows to ward off evil spirits. This is where the Christian concept of the Christmas tree ornament came from.

Witch-Draught - In medieval Witchcraft and sorcery, a Witch's potion, brew, or philtre made from various herbs believed to possess magickal properties and used to control or manipulate the emotions or thoughts of others.

Witches' Pyramid - A creed and a structure of learning that witches follow: "To Know, To Dare, To Will, and To Be Silent".

Witch Queen, Queen Witch - A Priestess who has hived off three or more covens.

Witch Wars - A modern term used to describe vicious gossip and backstabbing which sometimes surrounds a dispute within Pagan, Wiccan culture. The term "witch war" can refer to online flaming, fights in person, and so forth. Responsible people do not support or practice this kind of behavior and is against any morals that are taught within the Pagan and Wiccan beliefs.

Witta - (pr. Weed-ah) Irish Wicca. The witchcraft tradition of Celtic Ireland. The term Witta is a Gaelic-ised version of the older Anglo-Saxon word Wicca.

Wizard - A name for male ceremonial magicians, Common for eclectic male Witches.

Word of Power - A word or name which is supposed to have great power when spoken, most are almost impossible to pronounce and have no meaning in any language.

World Tree - The great tree at the axis of the world that was believed in shamanism to hold up the heavens with its branches and provide the framework for the entire universe.

Wort - An archaic word for herb.

Wortcunning - Knowledge of the use of herbs in healing as well as magickally.

Wort Moon, Blessing Moon - July  When the sun was in Leo, the worts (from the Anglo-Saxon wyrt (plants) were gathered to be dried and stored.

Wraith - A typically destructive energy. Can take form of a spirit or of a magickal creation. May come in the sense of a fetch.

Yggdrasil - The great cosmic world tree of the Norse sagas, which connects the Heavens with the Earth (Midgard) and the Underworld. It is an Ash tree, said to be fed by three magick springs that never run dry, and its foliage always remains lush and green. It provided the complex network of the universe.

Yoga - A technique for achieving physical and mental strength and harmony. It builds flexibility, strength and inner-harmony.

Yoni - A stylized symbol of the female genitalia representing the feminine aspect in Hindu cosmology. As an adjective, "yonic," it is a term used as the feminine equivalent of "phallic." From Sanskrit, vulva.

Yule - (pr  Yool)  Winter Solstice celebrating the rebirth of the Sun. The winter solstice marks the longest night of the year. It is when the Goddess awakes to find that she is pregnant with the Sun God. The rituals for both the summer and winter solstices are designed to help change the course of the sun.

Yule Log - The traditional log burned at Christmas ceremonies which most likely came from a pagan tradition for Yule celebration.

Zen - Buddhist tradition where connection with divinity and total inner-peace is attained through an altered state of consciousness and a lack of distracting thoughts.

Zener Cards - A deck of 25 cards used in parapsychology experiments, each containing one of five patterns: star, waves, square, equilateral cross, and circle.

Zodiac - From as early as 3,000 BCE in Mesopotamia the fixed stars called zodiakos kilos “circle of animals” (even though some were objects) were divided into 12 constellations, Signs or Houses, these being: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. These Signs extend 30 degrees of longitude. 

Zodiac Quarters - The Zodiac begins at the Vernal Equinox, where the ecliptic crosses the Equator south to north. The Zodiac Quarters are divided by the solstices and equinoxes. Each quarter is then divided by three signs; Cardinal, Fixed and Mutable. Copyright © Lady Lilly 1995-2005

Copyright © Lady Lilly 1995-2005 for Full Circle. Posting, copying or printing of this is permissible for learning material only and as long as contents are not changed or altered in any way. Nor used for monetary gain and Only if this notice is included.