Wands

SageCat · W

The W's

SageCat

WIDDERSHINS

Widdershins is moving in an anti-clockwise direction.

You would create a circle in a clock-wise direction (deosil) and undo it in a widdershins direction.

SageCat

WARLOCK

Is not a term used for a male Witch. It's original meaning, derived from the Old English "waer logga," is "oath breaker" and it was used in reference to a traitor to the Craft during the Burning Times.

Many male witches would find it offensive and derogatory if they were addressed as a warlock!

RavenStar · Wands

The Wand

The wand is a popular tool in magick. Whether in the magick wand of the fairy godmothers, or the staff of the magicians in fairy tales, it has survived in the collective image of the magick practitioners as a guide and director of power. And that image is not far from the truth: in ritual, the wand will fulfill the function of conducting the energy we raise during ritual, more or less in a way similar to the athame. Symbolising the masculine energy, and asigned according to tradition to either Fire or Air, the wand will serve us during ritual, maybe with a less agressive quality than the athame or the sword.

There are almost as many different types of wands as there are practitioners, and the difference are seen both in shape, size, and materials used for it's built. Generally they'll be made of wood, the type depending on the affinity each one has with each tree or the uses we're planning for it, even though there are also metal wands, and crystal clear ones (probably acrylic). They can also have a simple ending or a quartz crystal point acting as an "amplifier". The followers of celtic traditions could very well have a different wand for each month of the lunar tree calendar, with their different atributes, as follows:

Birch, purification, the first month, November
Rowan, protection against spells, the second month, December
Alder, protection and prophesy, the third month, January
Willow, feminin, lunar aspects, the fourth month, February
Ash, bonding the inner and outer world, the fifth month, March
Hawthorn, purification and chastity, the sixth month, April
Oak, protection and entrance into the Mysteries, seventh month, May
Holly, superiority in struggle, the eighth month, June
Hazel, intuition, the ninth month, July
Vine, prophesy, tenth month, August
Ivy, search for the Ego, the eleventh month, September
Reed, direct action, twelth month, October
Elder, beginings and endings, the thirdteenth month, the last days of October
Other options are the Apple tree for matters of the heart, willow for lunar magick, or oak for magick that implies a great use of the element of Fire. Some authors, like Scott Cunningham, suggest that before using and consecrating it, we should show it to the rising Moon, rubbing it with lavender and invoking the Goddess, and with fresh leaves at the rising Sun, invoking the God, so that it's imbuided with both energies.

We can also use, of course, pieces of wood bought at a store, if we're going for a smoother appearence. Personally, I'd rather go either for finding it during a walk in the woods, or finding a tree, asking permission, cut a branch, wait till it dries and then consecrate it. It might be longer, but I think it helps in the process of getting a tool more atuned to ourselves.
After this process, and decorating it at will, follows the consecration ritual. The important part, whatever the method we use, is that we feel afinity with our chosen tool.

SageCat · Ward

WARD

A magical barrier used to keep unwanted beings out of a designated area.

RavenStar · Witches Knot

The Witches Knot

The Witches Knot is also known as the Magic Knot and the Witch Charm. The Knot is often made from the practitioner's Sacred cord. It has become a symbol of protection against malevolent Witchcraft.

History tells us the witches used knotted cords to 'tie-up' and therefore control the weather, to create circles of protection, and to bind things magically. Men of the Middle Ages believed women could immobilize their sexual functioning using female knot magic. Gypsy women untied knots in the clothing of women in childbirth and unbraided their hair so as not to 'tie-up' delivery.

This Witches Knot design is made up of four inter-laced vesica piscis. The vesica piscis is a world-wide symbol for the yoni, the feminine creative force that gave birth to the universe. The circle is one of the primary female symbols representing the sacred or consecrated space. The spirals form the sign of the serpent, the oldest symbol of female energy.

SageCat · Wort

WORT

An ancient word meaning herb, as in mugwort.

SageCat · Wort Cunning

WORT CUNNING

Literal meaning is herb knowledge.

SageCat · Walpulgisnacht

WALPULGISNACHT

The night before Beltane.

W

Wands

Ward

Witches Knot

Wort

Wort Cunning

Walpulgisnacht