Descriptionary

eneagram a nine-lined drawing representing nine personality types and capable of predicting one's type.

entity a spirit or ghost

envoutement the use of voodoo dolls as represen­tatives of real people, to transmit pain or healing to remote subjects.

esbat in Wicca, any meeting of a coven under a full Moon.

ESP extra sensory perception. A power of percep­tion beyond what is normal; the ability to sense the thoughts of others or things that cannot be physically seen.

ethereal otherworldly; spiritual.

evil eye a flash of an angry glance, believed in folk­lore to cause harm.

evocation the calling forth of spirits.

exorcism the casting out of a demon from some­one's body with prayers and incantations.

faith healing healing illness by prayer alone.

familiar a spirit in the form of an animal, especially a cat, owl, bird, mouse, snake, or weasel, used by a witch as a companion or helper.

fata morgana a mirage resembling castles.

fetch an apparition of a living person, an omen of that person's death.

fetish an object believed to have magical powers, such as a rabbit's foot.

flying ointment described in print as early as 1456, a poisonous blend of herbal oils, especially that of hemlock, belladonna, wolfsbane, and henbane, mixed with animal fat and rubbed on the skin to enable a witch to fly.

Forer effect the eager acceptance of a broad or vague description of one's personality traits, as con­structed from astrological profiles, which could in reality apply to anyone but which are nevertheless perceived to be unique to oneself. So named after test­ing performed by psychologist Bertram Forer.

friggatriskaidekaphobia a superstitious fear of Fri­day the 13th.

geomancy divining the future by reading figures in dirt.

glossolalia see speaking in tongues.

gnosis knowledge of spiritual matters by intuition, especially that claimed by the Gnostics.

gnostic a member of the ancient, pre-Christian sect that believed in gnosis.

grimoire dating back to the 13th century, a witch's notebook that, in medieval times, contained information on summoning angels and demons, as well as details on potions and divination tech­niques. The Wiccan Book of Shadows is the mod­ern equivalent.

handfasting a Wicca wedding.

hand of glory in medieval black magic, a charm made from the severed, mummified hand of a hanged criminal.

haruspicy divining the future by reading the entrails of animals.

haunting a recurrent visitation or appearance of a ghost or spirit before a particular person or in a par­ticular location.

healing touch the ability to cure someone's ills sim­ply by touching them.

heliomancy divination technique in which the Sun is studied for signs or omens.

Hell-broth in medieval witchcraft, a potion made up of various repulsive ingredients, such as animal guts, skulls, bugs, etc., made famous by the witches in Macbeth.

henbane in medieval witchcraft, a poisonous plant and one of the ingredients in an ointment used to enable witches to fly.

hermetic relating to Hermes Trismegistus or Thoth the Egyptian god, alchemist, and astrologer.

hex in American folklore, and especially among the Pennsylvania Dutch, an evil curse.

hex sign in American folklore, and especially among the Pennsylvania Dutch, a round symbol containing a five, six, or eight-sided star, placed or painted on doors, windows, and barns to protect against evil spirits.

high priest/priestess an accomplished witch and the leader of a coven.

hippomancy a divination technique in which the gait of horses is studied for signs or omens.

holy round see circumambulation.

holy water in Wicca tradition, a liquid blessed by a Wiccan under a full Moon.

hoodoo a form of sorcery borrowing from elements of voodoo, practiced by rural American blacks in Louisiana.

horned god in pagan witchcraft and Wicca, the personification of masculine power or sexuality in the universe, unrelated to Satan.

horoscope an astrologer's exact plotting of the stars and planets at a specific time, such at a person's birth, or a chart of such. Also, a prediction of one's future based on such plotting.

hot reading dishonest technique used by mediums and psychics to gather information about a subject before a reading, by going through purses, eavesdrop­ping, or using preperformance fact-finding interviews that are disguised as casual chats.

hydromancy divining the future by peering into water.

hydromantia a divination technique in which one stares into a pool or bucket of water and summons images of gods, spirits, or the future.