The Dictionary of Traditional Magick and Etherical Science

Alembic (Alchemy) In alchemy, the top part of a still. Often used to refer to a complete still. An instrument used for distillation. Archigenitor (Gnostic) The “first begetter”. A Greek reference to Yaldabaoth. Cenobite (Ecclesiastic) A member of a religious order choosing to dwell within a convent, monastery or a community, as opposed to a hermit, who lives in solitude. Evocation (Magick, [...]

Ghosts and Glamers: What Hauntings Teach About Human Identity

As human beings, we necessarily craft metaphysical paradigms which explain our perceptions and direct our actions. Whether we believe in Providence or in Lady Fortune determines whether we acknowledge some propitious turn of events as divine blessing or else merely good luck. Whether we believe in the inherent dignity of human life crucially affects how [...]

The Study of Magic – Plato, Meet Frazer

In my last column, I suggested that the western magical tradition can be seen as a response to Plato’s theory of Ideas. If we imagine that magic interacts with a world of more primary forms than our physical senses can detect, we are Neoplatonic. If we argue the opposite, that there is no [...]

The Dictionary of Traditional Magick and Etherical Science

Akashic Record (Yoga, Theosophy) A term invented and popularized by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. The idea is that the Akasha is a thought substance which can be imprinted by experience, making it possible to retrieve otherwise inaccessible information from the past, such as a person’s past life. This is remarkably close idea to the concept of Jung’s [...]

Veiled Issues – Does Materialism Threaten Paganism?

  Before I begin my critique of Mr. Tyson’s essay concerning the threat posed by atheism, which appeared in last season’s issue of Rending the Veil, I should like to convey I have nothing but the utmost respect and gratitude for Mr. Tyson’s contributions to the occult community. The author’s Portable Magic has been an especial [...]

The Dictionary of Traditional Magick and Etherical Science

Agape (Ecclesiastic) Greek αγαπη Unconditional love. Godly love. The love feast of the primitive Christians, being a meal partaken in connection with the communion. Originally a Hebrew funerary ceremony during which wine and milk were poured into the earth over the grave, and food was passed in to the corpse through a hole in the [...]

The Dictionary of Traditional Magick and Etherical Science

Agnosia (Gnosticism) The state of not having insight or Gnosis. This is the root for the word “agnostic,” also meaning a person who does not have Gnosis. Barbelos (Gnosticism) A very confusing concept due to plethora of ways it has been used. It is masculine gender, but is used to stand for Sophia as a woman who is [...]

The Dictionary of Traditional Magick and Etherical Science

Air (Alchemy) One of the Four Elements of alchemy believed to carry the archetypal properties of spirit into the visible world. It is linked to the process of Separation and corresponds to the metal Iron. Cassock (Ecclesiastic) A full-length gown with sleeves and collar worn priests, bishops and helpers. Nephesh (Qabalah) Hebrew The animal soul that corresponds to animal/ vegetable [...]

A Syllabus for Magic: Crossing the Intermediate Chasm

My friends and I complain a lot about the occult section at the bookstore, mostly because hanging out at a bookstore and complaining is cheaper than a movie, even with the latte. Our favorite complaint is that there are no advanced books on magic. Our second favorite complaint is the music they play, but that’s [...]

The Dictionary of Traditional Magick and Etherical Science

Ain Sof (Qabalah) Hebrew “Without end.” A reference to God, who is everywhere and in all things. If Ain is the number 0, then Ain Sof is the number 1 and represents creation as it is about to manifest. Because Ain Sof represents a pre-existent state and is infinite, it can have no attributes. Ain Sof [...]

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