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Before tools are used in ritual they first are consecrated.In the Gardnerian Book of Shadows, there is a section based entirely on consecrating ritual items. [5] [6] The Book of Shadows states items must be consecrated within a magic circle, at the centre of which lies a pentacle (or paten).
In 1953, Doreen Valiente joined Gardner's Bricket Wood coven, and soon rose to become its High Priestess.She noticed how much of the material in his Book of Shadows was taken not from ancient sources as Gardner had initially claimed, but from the works of the occultist Aleister Crowley, from Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches, from the Key of Solomon and also from the rituals of Freemasonry. [8]
Wicca (English: / ˈ w ɪ k ə /), also known as "The Craft", [1] is a modern pagan, syncretic, earth-centered religion.Considered a new religious movement by scholars of religion, the path evolved from Western esotericism, developed in England during the first half of the 20th century, and was introduced to the public in 1954 by Gerald Gardner, a retired British civil servant.
[1] [2] [3] It employs the same basic theology, rituals and beliefs as most other forms of Wicca. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Celtic Wiccans use the names of Celtic deities , mythological figures , and seasonal festivals within a Wiccan ritual structure and belief system, [ 1 ] [ 4 ] rather than a traditional or historically Celtic one .
In the surviving records, the Anglo-Saxon witch was usually portrayed as a young woman, who practised magic to find a lover, win the love of her husbands, give birth to a live baby or to protect her children. This is in contrast to the later English stereotype of a witch, which is that of an elderly spinster or widow. [39]
Ceremonial magic (also known as magick, ritual magic, high magic or learned magic) [1] encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic. The works included are characterized by ceremony and numerous requisite accessories to aid the practitioner. It can be seen as an extension of ritual magic, and in most cases synonymous with it.
Apotropaic marks, also called 'witch marks' or 'anti-witch marks' in Europe, are symbols or patterns scratched on the walls, beams and thresholds of buildings to protect them from witchcraft or evil spirits. They have many forms; in Britain they are often flower-like patterns of overlapping circles. [25] such as hexafoils.
The Wiccan Path: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Rae Beth; White Magic: A Book of Transformation, Spells and Mind Magic by Marian Green; Solitary Wicca for Life: Complete Guide to Mastering the Craft on Your Own by Arin Murphy-Hiscock; Self-Initiation for the Solitary Witch: Attaining Higher Spirituality Through a Five-Degree System by ...