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A pentagram, a five sided, transparent star, often within a circle, is one of the oldest markings known to humankind. Dating back to Europe as far as 8000 years ago, the pentagram is a symbol fraught with mystery, intrigue, and meaning. It has been the symbol of various religions and nations, from Christianity and Islam to Morocco and Ethiopia to ancient Jerusalem. In modern times, the pentagram has been used by Wiccans and distorted further for the use of Satanists (though one errs to presume a connection between the two). The five points of the pentagram usually have five different meanings; for example, for the Wiccans, the five points represent earth, sky, fire, water, and Spirit, with Spirit occupying the top and most important point. However, these values change from culture to culture.
Source: New World Encyclopedia Image: WikiCommons
This is the name of the annual cycle of Sabbats, celebrations, which represent the annual cycle of changes in the natural world.
The main dates are:
The Sabbats are comprised of four “solar holidays”—the two Solstices and two Equinoxes that mark the Earth’s annual journey around the sun—and four “Earth festivals,” which occur in February, May, August and October. This latter set of Sabbats mark the “cross-quarter days” between the solar points.
Each of the cross-quarter Wiccan holidays—Imbolc, Beltane, Lammas and Samhain—is inspired by older traditional folk festivals which were celebrated in Western Europe before the rise of Christianity.
Source: Wicca Living
Witch - A person of either sex who practices the art of Witchcraft. The term derives from the Indo-European root weik which infers something concerned with Magic or religion. This provides the basis for the Old English nouns wicca meaning a male witch and wicce meaning a female counterpart. The verb wiccian means to cast a spell, to bewitch or to work sorcery.
Witchcraft - The meaning of the term varies based on the time period. For example, early witchcraft, medieval witchcraft and modern witchcraft. In modern witchcraft-the period since the beginning of the twentieth century-the term represents a religion based on reverence for the natural world, the duality of the God and Goddess based loosely on Celtic deities, initiation and the use of Magic to beneficial and benevolent purpose. Distinction continues between witchcraft and sorcery. Witchcraft is argued to be an innate quality that stems from a psychological peculiarity and which requires no material aids in the form of words, spells or potions. Sorcery, in contrast, requires the employment of technical devices and formulae.
Wicca - also known as the "Old Religion," is a Neopagan religion characterized by secret initiation rituals, reverence for Mother nature, and worship of the Goddess. The movement received public attention in 1954 when a British civil servant named Gerald Gardner[1] claimed that Wicca had secretly existed for thousands of years, originating in the pre-Christian Paganism of Europe. Various related Wiccan traditions have since evolved from Gardner's time, with their own specific beliefs, rituals, and practices. Outsiders often assume that Wicca is a form of black-magic and superstition, but insiders claim that Wicca is a modern version of the ancient practice of honoring the Mother Goddess found in creation and nature.
Wizard - a term stemming from the Middle English word wis(wise) and first applied in the mid-fifteenth century to denote a wise man or woman commonly known as a cunning person or a white witch who worked only for beneficial purposes. The sense was was modified in the 16th and 17th centuries to refer to a high Magician and , from 1825 onwards, it equated wholly with a witch.
Paganism - is a term that has been used from antiquity to derogatorily denote polytheistic faiths. The term was typically used as a blanket statement to circumscribe all non-Christian (or, more broadly, non-monotheistic) or Jewish faiths.
Source: New World Encyclopedia & Witches: An Encyclopedia of Paganism and Magic by Michael Jordan
There are two types of Runes - Elder Futhark and Witch's. The Elder Futhark is the German rune alphabet of 24 characters used c. 200 b.c.e. to 800 c.e. The original meaning of the word "rune" is secret or mystery. Witch's runes are simple pictograms that match concepts with symbols that are more modern. The Witch's Runes are presented in a specific order, much like other rune rows, even though they are not a script.
Source: Lllewellyn Image: WikiMedia Commons
There are several categories of witches. Some of the more well-known ones are:
Eclectic Witch - Eclectic Witchcraft is a carefully curated compilation of time-honored, globally referenced magickal, spiritual and occult practices that have great meaning and resonance to the individual Witch. These practices can include elements of Shamanism, Reiki, Yoga and Eastern philosophy, Buddhism, any of the many types of magickal practices, occult practices such as ceremonial magick, psychism, mediumship, any form of divination.
Elemental Witch - Elemental Witchery is a very old form of the Craft. Early Folk Healers and Folk Magicians understood the power of the Elements—Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. They observed how those forces influenced the comfort and safety of their daily lives through everyday contact with them: fire for warmth and cooking, water for drinking and farming, the earth on which they lived and farmed upon, and the air in which they breathed. The weather, the seasons, and other occurrences such as natural disasters also played a role in how folk healers and magicians came to understand the power of the Elements.
Green or Hedge Witch - Green Witches are deeply connected to the Earth and its energy. They are drawn to plants, trees and flowers of all kinds. The Green Witch is all about their botanicals, whether they be live plants, herbs, oils, resins, barks, seeds, fruit or flowers. Often, but not always, they grow their own herbs and flowers for use in their homes, kitchens and magick.
Kitchen Witch - Kitchen Witches, Tea Witches and Hearth or Cottage Witches, are very home-centric individuals. They can be extremely nurturing, and they love to make their home a special and sacred space. For this Witch, home is their sanctuary and welcome into it any and all of kind heart and intent.
Source: The Magickal Path
Drawing down the Moon by
The essential text andclassic study of Neo-Paganism Sinceits original publication,Drawing Down the Mooncontinues to be the only detailed history of the burgeoning but still widely misunderstood Neo- Pagan subculture. Margot Adler attended ritual gatherings and interviewed a diverse, colorful gallery of people across the United States, people who find inspiration in ancient deities, nature, myth, even science fiction. In this edition, featuring an updated resource guide of newsletters, journals, books, groups, and festivals, Margot Adler takes a fascinating and honest look at the religious experiences, beliefs, and lifestyles of modern America's Pagan groups.
The Last Witches of England by
"Fascinating and vivid." New Statesman"Thoroughly researched." The Spectator "Intriguing." BBC History Magazine"Vividly told." BBC History Revealed"A timely warning against persecution." Morning Star"Astute and thoughtful." History Today"An important work." All About History"Well-researched." The TabletOn the morning of Thursday 29 June 1682, a magpie came rasping, rapping and tapping at the window of a prosperous Devon merchant. Frightened by its appearance, his servants and members of his family had, within a matter of hours, convinced themselves that the bird was an emissary of the devil sent by witches to destroy the fabric of their lives. As the result of these allegations, three women of Bideford came to be forever defined as witches. A Secretary of State brushed aside their case and condemned them to the gallows; to hang as the last group of women to be executed in England for the crime. Yet, the hatred of their neighbours endured. For Bideford, it was said, was a place of witches. Though 'pretty much worn away' the belief in witchcraft still lingered on for more than a century after their deaths. In turn, ignored, reviled, and extinguished but never more than half-forgotten, it seems that the memory of these three women - and of their deeds and sufferings, both real and imagined - was transformed from canker to regret, and from regret into celebration in our own age. Indeed, their example was cited during the final Parliamentary debates, in 1951, that saw the last of the witchcraft acts repealed, and their names were chanted, as both inspiration and incantation, by the women beyond the wire at Greenham Common. In this book, John Callow explores this remarkable reversal of fate, and the remarkable tale of the Bideford Witches.
America Bewitched by
America Bewtiched is the first major history of witchcraft in America - from the Salem witch trials of 1692 to the present day.The infamous Salem trials are etched into the consciousness of modern America, the human toll a reminder of the dangers of intolerance and persecution. The refrain 'Remember Salem!' was invoked frequently over the ensuing centuries. As time passed, the trials became a milepost measuring the distanceAmerica had progressed from its colonial past, its victims now the righteous and their persecutors the shamed. Yet the story of witchcraft did not end as the American Enlightenment dawned - a new, long, and chilling chapter was about to begin.Witchcraft after Salem was not just a story of fire-side tales, legends, and superstitions: it continued to be a matter of life and death, souring the American dream for many. We know of more people killed as witches between 1692 and the 1950s than were executed before it. Witches were part of thestory of the decimation of the Native Americans, the experience of slavery and emancipation, and the immigrant experience; they were embedded in the religious and social history of the country. Yet the history of American witchcraft between the eighteenth and the twentieth century also tells a lesstraumatic story, one that shows how different cultures interacted and shaped each other's languages and beliefs.This is therefore much more than the tale of one persecuted community: it opens a fascinating window on the fears, prejudices, hopes, and dreams of the American people as their country rose from colony to superpower.
Anthropological Studies of Witchcraft, Magic, and Religion by 
The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft by 
The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology by
With research sourced by the world's greatest libraries, Robbins has compiled a rational, balanced history of 300 years of horror concentrated primarily in Western Europe. Spanning from the 15th century through the 18th century, the witch-hunt frenzy marks a period of suppressed rational thought; never before have so many been so wrong. To better understand this phenomenon, Robbins examines how the meaning of "witch" has evolved and exposes the true nature of witchcraft--a topic widely discussed in popular culture, though remarkably misunderstood.First published in 1959, Robbins' encyclopedia remains the most authoritative and comprehensive body of information about witchcraft and demonology ever compiled in a single volume. Lavishly acclaimed in academic and popular reviews, this full-scale compendium of fact, history, and legend covers about every phase of this fascinating subject from its origins in the medieval times to its last eruptions in the 18th century. Accompanying the text are 250 illustrations from rare books, contemporary prints, and old manuscripts, many of which have been published here for the first time.Rossell Hope Robbins (1912-1990), an acknowledged authority on witchcraft, was one of the half-dozen Americans ever elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He authored over a dozen books and nearly 200 articles, including the definitive introduction to the catalogue of the Witchcraft Collection at Cornell University Library in 1979. He was a Commonwealth Fellow, Canada Council Professor, and he received grants from the Modern Language Association of America and from the American Council of Learned Societies. He also served as Chairman of the Middle English Division of the MLA, President of the Medieval Club of New York, research associate at Harvard and Columbia Universities. Robbins has lectured extensively on medieval topics and witchcraft at universities throughout the world.
Wicca Plain and Simple by
Greenaway takes a contemporary approach to Wicca, also known as witchcraft, and shows you how to use it as a healing and positive force. Practice magic with tarot cards, agents, and pendulums; cast love, health, wealth, family happiness, and career spells; and discover which herbs are beneficial when conducting spells and rituals. Greenaway makes these life-affirming, ancient Wiccan traditions meaningful and accessible to us today by providing a basic understanding of the key elements of Wiccan practice, including: Lunar magic Initiation Herbs and gardens Pendulum power Animal magic Eminently practical, Wicca, Plain & Simple also includes over 25 spells for beginning practitioners that range from fertility spells and money spells, to love spells and much more.
The Wicca Cookbook, Second Edition by
The spiritual tenets of Wicca are steeped in an inherent reverence for nature and stewardship of the environment. In fact, Wiccan practitioners have been living-and cooking-green since ancient times. In the decade since the first edition of the The Wicca Cookbook cast its spell over culinary history buffs and adventurous cooks everywhere, many readers have asked "What makes a cookbook Wiccan?" The tenth anniversary edition answers that question and more, bringing fresh dimensions to this heady witches' brew with new rituals and delicious recipes. More than 100 dishes, many historically authentic, all meticulously researched, emphasize the use of organic ingredients at their seasonal peak and celebrate all the major pagan holidays- enjoy Stuffed Nasturtiums, Goddess Athena Pitas, and Deva Saffron Bread for the Spring Equinox; serve Elder Flower Chicken, Lilith's Lily Fair Soup, and Wild Woman White Sage Jelly during the Summer Solstice; and Cupid's Cold Slaw, Imbolc Moon Cookies, and Snowflake Cakes make delightful Candlemas treats. Nature-honoring dishes, eco-friendly living tips, and an inclusive message of spirituality make The Wicca Cookbook a unique contribution to the culinary world and a magickal tribute to the pagan spirit.
Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by
Expanded and revised, this comprehensive guide features magical uses of over 400 herbs and plants from all parts of the world. With over 500,000 copies in print, this reference book is a must for all who perform natural magic. It features illustrations for easy identification of every herb, in addition to common names, use, and rulership.
Encyclopedia of Magic and Ancient Wisdom: The Essential Guide to Myth, Magic and the Supernatural by
This comprehensive collection of knowledge and material on the mystical, magical and paranormal covers topics including astrology, the Tarot, and witchcraft. It investigates tradition, myth and folklore and explores the wisdom of other cultures as well as psychic powers and strange phenomena.
The Modern Witchcraft Guide to the Wheel of the Year by
From the Modern Witchcraft series comes a complete guide to all of the sacred days and holidays of the Wiccan calendar--with spells, rituals, and other tips to celebrate. In The Modern Witchcraft Guide to the Wheel of the Year, you'll learn about the most celebrated days in the Wheel of the Year--Samhain, the end of the harvest season; Yule, the celebration of the New Year; Imbolc, the celebration of rebirth; Ostara, the arrival of Spring; Beltane, the celebration of Earth's fertility; Litha, the song of the summer; Lughnasad, the halfway point between Summer and Autumn; and Mabon, the festival of home and harvest. For each of these special days, there will be information about the history and its meaning, and the ways you can fully celebrate. Each chapter describes the celestial events associated with the sabbat, astrological influences during that time, meditation rituals, and charms to perform. It also includes a practical craft, such as candle making, that you can create to celebrate each day. The Modern Witchcraft Guide to the Wheel of the Year is your complete guide to everything you need to know to celebrate the Wheel of the Year and the Wiccan sabbats, from Yule to Samhain, as part of your own spiritual practice.