LESSON II

Deity -such as Venus, or Cerridwen, or Xochitl- as being

the only face of Deity -only our individually preferred
face.
Also it must be remembered that we live many
COSMOLOGY lifetimes, through reincarnation. Sometimes we
resonate very strongly to a particular face of Deity
because we have interacted with Deity through that face
GOD THE UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING in previous lifetimes. Thus we might be drawn to Isis for
There are two levels to the Wiccan example, because they have in previous lifetimes been
understanding of Deity. The first is Personal, the a devotee of Isis.
second Universal. The second way in which Wiccans look at Deity
On a personal level we approach Deity as an is Universal. We acknowledge that the true nature of
entity with Which we interact through words and actions Deity is beyond all names and forms, and indeed
and with Whom we maintain a personal relationship. At perhaps beyond all mortal understanding. As our
this level we give Deity many names and faces, and personal images of Deity are the facets so UNIVERSAL
interact with Deity through these. Most Wiccans will use DEITY is the diamond. Wiccans believe that any one
a variety of names and faces for Deity in this personal name or form for Deity can never possibly encompass
sense, and will have one particular form which they all of the nature of Universal Deity, but can only serve to
perceive as their PATRON. They will interact with this limit our understanding of it. Because of this we regard
Patron Deity, or in some cases Patron Deities, in a very monotheism as an extremely primitive and limiting point
personal way, seeking guidance, inspiration, and of view. Rather we use our personal images of Deity
practical help in both daily life and esoteric matters. symbolically to help us understand the nature of
Let us use the Goddess Sekhemet as an Universal Deity, using myth as a tool to illustrate the
example. Sekhemet is a Goddess of Egyptian qualities and processes of Universal Deity without ever
provenance, and Her worship goes back to and beyond imagining that a single view can encapsulate the whole
the dawn of recorded history. Sekhemet is commonly nature of the Divine.
portrayed as a woman with the head of a lioness, Having laid out this basic understanding of how
carrying either a scepter or a sword. Sekhemet is the Wiccans view Deity, let us illustrate it by presenting one
patroness of magic, but also of courage and strength. A of the most sacred myths of the Wiccan faith, and
DEVOTEE of Sekhemet might hope to be inspired by explaining it’s deeper meaning.
Her with these qualities. Does this mean that we
believe that Sekhemet is an entity living somewhere VANGELO DELLE STREGHE
with the actual head of a lioness on a human woman’s One of the most sacred pieces of Wiccan
body? No. literature is the Vangelo delle Streghe. This is a
The best analogy of how Wiccans look at Deity collection of legends preserved and passed down
is the famous example of the diamond. We think of through generations of the Aradian witches of Italy. A
Deity rather like an enormous diamond of many facets. little over a century ago the Italian witch Maddalena
Each facet is beautiful in and of itself, and can be used gave a copy of the Vangelo to the famed folklorist
as a way to access the heart of the diamond, but in Charles Godfrey Leland, on the understanding that he
reality each is only a different way of looking at the would publish it.
same stone. Thus when the Devotee speaks to The most important part of the Vangelo is the
Sekhemet, they are in reality using a personal form to creation story it contains.
access a Universal power. The reason we need such This creation story is a
personal forms is that we build our bond with Deity su blim e allego rica l
through emotion. All of the abstract understanding in account of the creation
the world will make no difference to you if you cannot of the physical world,
connect to it emotionally -it will seem dry and empty, and the descent of Spirit
striking no resonance in your being. into Matter. The story
Since everyone’s emotional nature is different - touches on very ancient
being as we are, individuals- we Wiccans use many themes, being
different images of Deity. A person who has negative reminiscent of the
feelings toward their mother may have difficulty ancient Greek myth of
identifying with the Mother Goddess, but may find a OPHION AND
Crone Goddess a great source of strength and comfort. EURYNOME, and of the
A person who loves the ocean may find it much easier creation myth of the
to connect with the more aquatic Mother Goddesses Goddess CYBELE.
like Yemaya, than with an Earthy Mother Goddess like
Gaia. Both are the same concept, but the exact The Aradian Wiccan Priestess
You must
approach offers variety to the individual. Maddalena, after her photo from
Doreen Valliente’s “Witchcraft understand however that
At no time do we perceive an individual face of Today And Tomarow.”
the stories in the Vangelo are meant to be understood considered, and wondered. And then;
as ALLEGORY, that is to say that they represent their
subject symbolically, portraying it in familiar every-day “Out of Herself, the first Darkness, She
forms rather than abstract concepts. If you try to read
these stories literally they appear rather shallow and divided Herself. Into Darkness and Light She
foolish. Only by understanding that Vangelo’s human was divided. The God, Her brother and son,
characters actually represent the timeless forces of Herself and Her other Self, was the Light.”
Nature and the Universe, and their actions portray the Primeval Deity divided Herself -One became
cosmic processes, can you hope to get anything out of Two.
it. All of the physical, tangible, volatile parts of
Maddalena did not bother to explain this. She Primeval Deity went into the God, who was the Light.
was willing to let people know more about the ancient The God exploded into existence out of Primeval Deity
Aradian Wiccan traditions, but she didn’t want them to in a shower of spark and flame which we remember as
know to much. She knew that people who understood the Big Bang, the starting point of physical creation.
allegory would be able to read between the lines, and All of the spiritual, ethereal, eternal parts of
appreciate what they found there. She is also Primeval Deity remained in the Goddess. In this sense
supposed to have made certain alterations to the text, Goddess is thought of as a continuation of Primeval
apparently for purpose of secrecy, which leave some Deity, since the consciousness of Primeval Deity is one
confusion in the text. But despite this, the text is of of the Spiritual parts that remained with Her.
enormous value. And the God spread out in all directions through
the primordial void, a blaze of light and superheated
CREATION matter. In
According to the Vangelo delle Streghe; time His fire
would cool into
“Diana was the first created of all stars, and
from stars to
creation. In Her were all things.”
Planets. As
this happens
In other words Diana, or Goddess, is
the vibration of
PRIMEVAL DEITY. She existed before the first
the matter
beginning, as CHAOS -God without form existing in a
slows, it
void, and having within Herself the seeds of all things,
becomes more
both spiritual and material, all mixed up together without
d e n s e ,
order or definition. Primeval Deity is androgynous,
seemingly
having both feminine (spirit or yin) and masculine
solid.
(matter or yang) elements, and is sometimes portrayed
This
as such in myth and artwork.. Sometimes however
s l o w i n g
Primeval Deity is portrayed as feminine, since we think
cooling, and
of Primeval Deity in association with the Goddess, or
solidifying, is
Spirit -indeed as the Higher Self of Goddess. In this
described as
sense Primeval Deity is identified with the CRONE
“Falling into
Goddess -the Goddess in Her aged state, having
M a t t e r . ”
existed from before the dawn of time. This is the wisest
S ym bolic ally
and most knowing part of Goddess, most commonly
the God is
called HEKATE. This is the Goddess portrayed with
described as
greater or lesser respect as the Hallowe’en witch, with
having fallen
Her pointed hat and broom.
into Seven
For endless aeons Primeval Deity existed in this
P l a ne s of
amorphous and undifferentiated state, in the darkness
existence.
before the first creation. At first She slept, aware of
Some people
nothing, resting and recharging, gathering Her energies
say there are
and merely being -alone and complete in Herself.
more, but then
But over the course of time, Primeval Deity
the divisions
began to stir; to become aware. First She became
are not as
aware of Her own existence. In time She began to
exact as all
think, to dream, to question -to desire. She wondered;
that, so the
What would it be like to feel? What would it be like to
number is not
move? To take action? To be able to receive
so important
sensation? To see? To taste? To hear?
a s t h e
And so for aeons Primeval Deity thought, and
 c o n c e p t . outside that which She had created. The Goddess
Seven Planes wanted the experiences She had dreamed of, and so
is the ancient She desired to take the created Universe back into
number, based Herself... But it wasn’t that easy.
on the idea of The Vangelo tells how The Goddess went to the
the seven oldest part of Herself, Primeval Deity -Who was still
Ptolemaic within Her. The Vangelo calls Primeval Deity “The
Planets (that is, Mothers and Fathers who were before the first creation”
the Sun, Moon, emphasizing Primeval Deity’s androgynous aspect.
and those In other words, the Goddess consulted Her own
Planets visible Higher Self. In many ancient myths -notably the story of
with the naked Demeter and Persephone- this same process is shown
eye). These as the Goddess entering Hekate’s cave to take council
Seven Planes of the eldest and wisest part of Deity.
are, from the In the Vangelo Diana asks Primeval Deity how
l o we s t up; She could reunite with the God -how could Spirit take
Physical, Matter back into Itself? And the Ancient One, Primeval
Emotional, Deity, the Goddess’ own Higher Self, answered in this
Mental, Astral, way;
Soular or
E g o i c , “To rise You must fall. To become the
Monadic, and
Divine. We will greatest of all Goddesses, You must first
talk more about become a mortal.”
these later.
The Seven In other words, it was not possible for Spirit
Planes are also simply to take Matter back into Herself. If the Goddess
sometimes wished to reunite with the God, to be one with Matter
called the and experience it, She had to enter into the physical
S e v e n world. Only in that way could Goddess and God
Spheres, or the reunite.
S e v e n And so Diana “fell” -that is to say She
Dimensions; descended through the Seven Planes to the Physical.
all refer to the She did this by dividing off parts of Herself -the many
same basic souls- which she sent into the Physical, placing them
concept. into physical forms. Each soul was to lead many
T h e lifetimes, going through many physical forms in the
V a n g e l o process. Reading this now, you are one of the lifetimes
continues; of one of those souls, which are part of the great
Goddess. We are Her children, and also children of the
“And when Diana saw that the light God, for our existence is the accomplishment of their
union.
was so beautiful, the light which was Her other The Vangelo describes this process in
half, her brother the God, She yearned for it extremely symbolic terms. It tells how Diana took the
with exceeding great desire. Wishing to receive form of a cat (the soul entering into material form) and
the light again into Her darkness, to swallow it in this way got close to the God, then resuming Her own
up in rapture, in delight, She trembled with form, made passionate love to Him.
Then, to maintain the Union of Spirit and Matter,
desire. And this trembling was the first dawn. the Goddess cast a spell;
But the God’s light fled from Her and
would not yield to Her wishes. He was the light “She sang a charm, and her voice was
which flies into the most distant parts of as the buzzing of bees. And then Diana sat at
heaven, the mouse which flies before the cat.” Her spinning wheel and began to spin the
thread of life, and the God turned the wheel.”
Seeing the beauty of the God -that is, of the
physical Universe- the Goddess was entranced with In other words, having placed soul into matter,
desire, and wanted it back. She had dreamed of seeing the Goddess used the power of “sound” -that is,
and tasting and doing, but being separate from the God VIBRATION- to set the Universe as we know it into
She could do none of this. She could only observe from motion. Energy is what holds all things together, from
sub-atomic particles to the very galaxies of stars. The Goddess, their ability to move and to grow originating
Vibration of that energy, it’s movement -sometimes from the God, the many souls descended to the
described as “Frequency” - is what makes it work, and physical Plane. The goal of this, as stated above, was
determines on what level it works. The denser or more to experience; to learn and grow. Having arrived in the
physical a thing is the lower it’s Vibration or frequency is physical the souls set out to learn all that the physical
said to be. The more Spiritual the energy, the higher it’s Plane could teach them, and then began their ascent
Vibration is said to be. Vibration is comparable to back up through the Seven Planes to ultimately rejoin
sound, which can be a powerful magical tool. For this with Goddess, from whence they come. Each Plane
reason the Vibration of the Universe, at differing has it’s own special lessons, which are of great
frequencies through each of the Seven Planes or importance to the soul.
spheres, is often described as the MUSIC OF THE Though seemingly separated from the
SPHERES. Goddess, each of these souls remains always attached
Music and song have long been used in many to Her, always part of Her -for it is through them, as part
spiritual traditions as a means of affecting the Vibration of them, that Goddess entered into Her own physical
of energy. Sound can be used in this way to disperse creation, the God. We are one with the Goddess, and
negative or unfocused energy, to break down psychic our experiences are Her experience. We are eternal
blockages, and to create or effect specific energetic and immortal as souls, never cut off from Goddess, or
forms. Sound is a very powerful tool precisely because Spirit, only differentiated. All of the powers and abilities
sound, or Vibration is the very force the Goddess used of Goddess are within us, and at our command, if we
to set the Wheel of Life into motion. can clear our vision enough to see and access them.
Called the Goddess’ spinning wheel in the Descending through the Planes of Existence
Vangelo delle was like going through a curtain, or VEIL. The Veil
Streghe, the Wheel obscures our vision of the things above us. Because of
of Life is a very the Veil we forget that we are part of the Goddess, that
ancient concept. It we are spiritual beings experiencing the physical, and
is represented start to to think that we are simply physical beings. As
annually by the we ascend the Planes, we are highly aware of those
sacred Wheel of the Planes which are below us, and perceive them fairly
Year (which you will easily. It is much harder to perceive the Planes above
learn about in us. It is hard for us to see or communicate with the
LESSON 3). From higher Planes of consciousness, and easy to imagine
this Wheel the that what our eyes perceive is all that exists. To
Goddess (Spirit) progress we must part the Veil and see beyond it. The
spins the thread of more we work, magically and psychically, the thinner
life -i.e.; determines that Veil becomes. Some people are born with the Veil
it’s nature, qualities, already very thin -these people are said to be BORN
the lessons to be OLD. It may seem that those who are Born Old don’t
learned and the have to work as hard to progress, that psychic and
things to be done magical skills just come naturally to them -This is
and accomplished. because they have already done the work to develop
The DESTINY, if these skills in previous lifetimes.
you would. But the It is generally said that we are currently on the
God (Matter, or Mental Plane, able to easily perceive mental, emotional,
perhaps more and physical energies, and that we are -and have long
precisely physical been- in the process of moving into the intuitional Plane,
experience) turns and thus have increasing perception of what we might
the wheel. As loosely call psychic matters. Though we have some
Goddess is the perception of the Planes beyond this, it is difficult to see
nature of life, the very much of them from our current perception.
God is the process Of course as in all things there are a variety of
of living -the movement through the Planes of points of view on the subject of the Planes, or Spheres,
Existence. The Goddess is the essential nature of the of Existence. This is the Correllian view.
Universe and life itself, She provides the Divine Spark
which animates all things. But the God carries that X - YOU ARE HERE
spark forward. The God is Lord of Space and Time - As you can see, Wicca perceives the conscious
master of the temporal universe. In this aspect He is mind as only a small part of a much larger being,
called the Lord of the Dance, for He leads the dance of originating from and eternally connected to the Mother
life, facilitating experience and growth. Goddess. Our conscious self is normally a reflection of
In this way -their essence originating from the our physical body (1st Dimension), our emotions (2nd
Dimension), and our thinking mind (3rd Dimension). motivating force of the being.
These three dimensions of our being are said to Because of this the Monad moves always to the
compose our “LOWER SELF.” It should be understood good, and is incapable of doing otherwise.
that the term “lower” refers to vibrational frequency, and The Monad is a perfect Microcosm of Goddess,
not to any sort of value judgment, as all parts of the and remembers the time before the first creation when
being are good and valuable. The lower the vibrational all was One. The Monad also remembers the reason
frequency, the greater the physical density. that it was separated off from the Goddess and because
As humans we normally have a natural of this has a natural desire to evolve and unfold until it is
comprehension of these three aspects of our Lower One with the Goddess again.
Self, accepting them without question as an obvious These three parts form the Higher Self, of which
component of our being. We all know our physical body we only become aware through effort. The Astral self
and its’ reactions. We all feel our emotions, conscious which creates our life as we live it, deciding and
and sub-conscious. We are all aware of our cognitive arranging all that happens. The Soul which stores all of
and rational faculties. All of these are within our level of these experiences and is shaped by them. And the
common experience and are known to us, if not always Monad, the Divine part of us which sought those
fully understood. experiences and revels in them, but which also seeks
Above our level of common experience is our eventual Union with the rest of Deity, and a return to the
Higher Self, a concept you were introduced to in primordial Oneness.
LESSON I. The Higher self like the Lower Self has The final level of being, above the Monad, is the
three levels of being. Immediately above our common Goddess Herself (7th Dimension). She is the single
perception is the “Astral” self (4th Dimension). Also soul of the Universe from Whom all others ultimately
called the “Causal self”, the Astral self is the part of us come, and She is the very center of your being. All of
which determines what things we choose to experience creation branches off from Her, through the medium of
in a given physical life, and what lessons we are trying the God. Goddess is the life, God is the living.
to learn. It is from this level that the Higher Self creates Goddess is the essence, God is the manifestation.
the life we are living. The Astral portion of the Higher Every aspect of creation is endowed by both Goddess
Self sets the pattern of life, accepts or rejects every and God, and all is sentient in the higher levels of its’
potential event in it, and can make whatever alterations being, if not always in the physical.
the Higher Self chooses, at any point during the life. ENERGY
This is one reason it is so important to be on good Now as we said in LESSON I the Universe is
terms with our Higher Self, because by moving in synch composed of
with its’ choices we make life a much easier process. energy. All of
The Astral level, also sometimes called the Intuitional or these different
Buddhic level, is the level that we shift to when we work parts of the
magic. being are
Above the Astral is the Egoic Self, or Soul (5th composed of
Dimension). The word Soul is often used to describe energy. You in
the whole Higher Self, but specifically refers to the 5th every level of
level of the being. The Soul is the separate personality yourself are
of the Higher Self, built up of the total experience of composed of
many, many lifetimes. All of the benefits of every life energy, as is
lived, the outcome of all lessons learned, the knowledge everything
of all things seen, felt, and done, is retained in the Soul, around you.
and gives it its’ special character which is distinct from Energy reacts
all other Souls. The Soul is the organ by which the to thought and
being grows, the manner in which experience and emotion -this is
growth is retained and built upon. why by rising to
Above the Soul is the Monad. The term Monad your Higher
comes from the Greek Monas, meaning “single unit.” S e l f ,
The Monad is the portion of the Soul which is perfect in specifically the
itself, just as it was when the Goddess divided it off from Astral level-
Herself. The Monad is the Divine Spark of Life which you can effect
animates the being, and which is conscious of itself as a and control
portion of Deity. The Monad is a separate portion of the energy, i.e.;
Goddess, but is essentially the same intelligence with work magic.
no differentiation. The Monad is individuated but not This is
differentiated from the Goddess, and contains all of the also why
attributes and qualities of the Divine while at the same energy effects
time being separate unto itself. The Monad is the YOU, and why
clearing and releasing is so important. flowing through you from the top of your head and
There are other ways in which you can be carrying all excess energy away through the soles of
effected by energy, besides holding excess energy after your feet.
psychic and magical work. The energy of certain times Practice this until you get good at it -then you
and places has an effect on people, as does the energy are ready for Exercise #2.
of certain objects - such as gem stones, to use a well-
known example. By aligning with these energies and EXERCISE #2
working with them, you can increase and improve your This exercise begins just like Exercise #1. Do it
own energy and thus your psychic and magical abilities just the same way until you come to the point where you
and their results in your everyday life. have created the beam of energy between your two
In LESSON III you will learn more about how hands. Then, instead of stopping, imagine that beam
these energies effect you, and how you can best take growing and expanding to form a ball of white light
advantage of them to aid your personal spiritual growth. between your hands. Hold that image as long as you
can. Then slowly bring your hands back together,
seeing the ball shrink between them, growing smaller
EXERCISES and smaller until by the time your hands close the ball is
gone.
Clear and release when you’re done.
As you advance through these lessons, you will When you get good at this, you’re ready to try
learn many exercises which will build and help you learn
to control your psychic energies. Many of these
exercises use the CHAKRA points. Chakras are the
energy centers of the body, and there are a number of
them. You will learn more about the Chakras in future
lessons. In this lesson however, we will be using two
Chakras; these are located in the palms of the hands,
and the soles of the feet. You can imagine the Chakras
as a ball of white light directly in the center of the palm
of the hand, or the sole of the foot. These two Chakras
are basic Chakras which are used for bringing energy Exercise #3.
into the body, and for sending it out of the body. Other
Chakras are more specialized. EXERCISE #3
This exercise is just like Exercise #1, except
EXERCISE #1 when you open your hands, instead of a beam of white
Put yourself into your comfortable position. light, imagine a rainbow between your hands. Every
Begin by RELEASING; close your eyes and color has an effect on energy, so this will work to
imagine all of the worries and anxieties of your day just strengthen you on a number of levels at once.
pouring out of you like water, down and out through the
palms of your hands and the soles of your feet. These three exercises are not meant to replace
Now place the palms of your hands together.
Imagine a ball of white light between the two palms,
radiating out from where they touch. Imagine it very
strongly, see it clearly.
Now pull your hands slowly apart. Imagine that
ball of light stretching out between your hands as you
separate them, becoming a beam of light between your
palms. Hold this for a few seconds, or longer if you can.
Then slowly bring your hands together, shrinking the
beam of light between them until they close together
and it is gone.
Clear and release all excess energy as you
learned to do in LESSON 1. Imagine a stream of white
light o r each other, but to be done together. As you master
wa t e r each one, you will add the next one to your daily
regimen. Always release before and after, but not
between the exercises. When you have mastered all
three this will be your regimen; Release, Exercise #!,
Exercise #2, Exercise #3, release again.
SPELL OF THE MONTH in half, but don’t fold it up tightly as this will retard the
burning process.
Imagine a ball of white light in the center of your
This is a simple spell for manifesting something chest. Affirm:
you desire.
When trying to manifest a desire, there are
several things you should keep in mind: always respect
B
“ ehold, I connect myself to powers of the
Universe”
the rule of “Harm None”, what you are manifesting
should not be something that belongs to another, and Imagine yourself rising up above your physical
never ever should it be a person. You must always body, and high above the earth. You may want to
respect other’s free will. Also, you should not be too imagine looking down at the whole Earth below you.
narrow in your desire. For example if you were Now affirm:
manifesting money you should not ask for “$10” but
rather for “the money I need, at least $10.” Spirit may
send you more than you ask for, unless you yourself
T
“ here is one power in he Universe, and I
am a perfect manifestation of that power.”
have limited it. Spirit will never overrule the limitations
you place on yourself, only you can remove those. Open your eyes and take your paper. Affirm:
Finally, when just starting out in magic, it may be
advisable to start with small things. This is because
magic will not work if you don’t believe it will work - T
“ here is one power in the Universe, and I
because energy responds to thought and emotion. If am a perfect manifestation of that power. And as
your thought is “I manifest a Cadillac” but your emotion such I will that even as this paper burns, so too
is “I could never do this” it won’t work. By starting with shall this which I have written come to pass. May it
simple things, you can build up in increments and be come to me easily, and with harm to none. I will it.
less likely to run into self-imposed limitations. I draw it to me. I manifest it. I accept it. I receive
it. I give thanks for it. By my will, so mote it be.”
The Spell:
You will need; Now set the paper on fire. Imagine a ball of
white light all around the paper, as clear and bright as
* a candle -white is good, but so is red. possible. Hold the paper as long as possible, then
* something to light it with -nothing will screw place it in the burning dish and let it burn until it is gone.
up your magical consciousness worse than Use a stick or a knife to lift it in the bowl so that it
forgetting the matches and having to stop and doesn’t lay on just one side and prevent that side from
look for them in the middle of the working. burning. The speed and thoroughness with which the
* a piece of paper. paper burns shall be an omen to you of how long it will
* something to write with. take for the thing to come to you. If any part of the
* a burning dish -that is to say a dish which is paper doesn’t’t’t burn, take that piece and repeating the
not going to be damaged by fire. Brass incense affirmation over it, burn it again.
burners work very well, but many other things Now clear and release as you know to do, and
do too. do not obsess over what you have manifested.
* something to stir the fire with -a stick or a knife Worrying about it excessively will tend to block it, so the
work well. less you can think about it the better. Instead simply
know that you have done it successfully and wait for it
Begin by releasing all tension and anxiety. Put to come. If you cannot be patient, tell yourself;
yourself into a comfortable position.
Now, think about what you want to manifest. I
“ put myself into a position of love and
Concentrate on it and imagine clearly what it might be trust, knowing that what I want shall come”
like to have it. Meditate on this for awhile, keeping it
clear in your mind. Then imagine stepping over a half step to the
Now write down on your paper what it is you left.
wish. You may wish to write it in a manner similar to the
invocation given below. You may notice that we use the What you have manifested may not come
same one rather a lot, but when something works why immediately, but it will come soon. These things take
mess with it? time. But you will find this a very useful spell.
Now, light your candle. Remember if you’re just starting out -practice
Again, release all tension before you start the makes perfect!
actual spell.
Focus for a few moments on the candle’s flame.
Now take your paper. You may want to fold it
 often represented by the Sun, the Goddess is often
represented by the Moon, and its three phases are
taken as instructive as to the nature of Her being; the
Waxing Moon representing creation and inspiration,
embodied in the Maiden Goddess. The Full Moon
representing fruition and sustenance, embodied in the
Mother Goddess. And the Waning Moon representing
fulfillment and endings, embodied in the Crone
Goddess.

THE MAIDEN: The Maiden is the Young Goddess of

Spring and new beginnings. She is the Goddess of the
Dawn, of youth and fresh potential. The Maiden is the
Goddess of art and creativity and self expression -of
beauty, intelligence, and skill. The Maiden is manifest in
action and self confidence, exploration and discovery.

THE MOTHER: The Mother is the Goddess in Her

aspect as sustainer of the Universe. She is the
Goddess of motherhood, of nurturing and providence.
The Universe is Her child and She loves and cares for
it, providing it with inexhaustible resources from within
Herself, even as a mother nurses Her infant from the
lactations of Her own body. Infinitely loving and
compassionate, the Mother Goddess is a never-ending
source of bounty for those who are open to Her gifts.

THE CRONE: The Crone represents the Goddess in

Her aspect as Elder. The Crone is the Wise Woman, the
Witch, the Matriarch. The Crone is the Goddess of
Death, and magic, and the Spirit realm. She is the
Goddess of Wisdom, visions, and guidance. Hers is the
height of spiritual power, for She is the Great Sorceress
Who creates Her will through magic. Goddess of
Transformation, the Crone is the Destroyer Who
GOD OF THE MONTH dissolves outmoded forms, allowing new growth to
occur.
The Triple Goddess
As you have learned, Wiccans revere Deity in
many forms -the principle form being the Goddess. The GLOSSARY
Goddess represents the feminine, nurturing side of
Deity -intuitive, creative, magical. She is the inner PATRON -A Patron Deity is the particular Goddess or
nature of Deity -the origin of the external Universe. God that one feels most at Home with. Some people
Thus the Goddess is the Creator, the Source - have more than one, but usually one will predominate.
the God emerges from Her, when She sets the Any Deity that you are drawn to can be your patron
Universe into motion. The God is the Goddess’ Divine Deity. One’s Patron Deity is praye dto for guidance,
Child, formed from Her inner nature, Her “Other Self” as visions, blessing, etc.
the Vangelo delle Streghe puts it. The God is also the
Divine Consort, Whose union with the Goddess DEVOTEE -A devotee is a person who is attached, or
describes existence as we know it. devoted, to a particular Patron deity. Thus one might
In this sense the Goddess and the God are the be a devotee of Hecate, or a devotee of Isis, or a
polar forces also termed Yin and Yang. Yin, the devotee of Ganesha, or any of the hundred million
Feminine, spiritual, emotive aspect of Deity Which is some forms of Deity.
within all things and Whose presence gives all things
life. Yang the Masculine, physical, volatile aspect of UNIVERSAL DEITY -The different faces of Deity are
Deity which manifests in motion and action and Whose ways of understanding Universal deity. All of the faces
permutations build up the outer form of things. of Deity in the end reflect the same universal power, as
In Wicca the Goddess is primarily revered in fact do we and all of creation. That universal power
through Her form as the Triple Goddess. As the God is
is infinite and beyond our power to know in its totality, alone, and possessed the characteristics of both sexes;
so we make understandable images through which we that is to say She was both male and female, at the
may interface with it. That infinite power is Universal same time. When She grew tired of being alone and
Deity -the spirit of Deity that is beyond all names and desired a companion, She castrated Her male parts,
images. and flung them to the Earth, whereupon they became
the God Attis, Her Son, Brother, and Consort. It will
VANGELLO DELLE STREGHE -An Aradian Wiccan readily be seen that this myth is cognate to that of the
scripture containing the creation story, the Charge of Vangelo Delle Streghe, with Cybele being the Goddess
the Goddess, and a collection of other myths deriving Who creates the God out of Herself.
from Italian Witchcraft. Published by Charles Leland in
1599 Pisces (1899 AD) under the title “Aradia, or the ALLEGORY -Allegory is the supreme achievement of
Gospel of the Witches”, the book requires serious Pagan religion. It is the art of using easily
annotation to be properly understood, but is a understandable symbols to describe difficult or abstract
cornerstone of Wiccan thought. concepts. In this way for example, we describe the
interaction of spirit and body, a complex and intangible
ARADIAN -Italian Wiccan tradition as exemplified by concept, as the dance of Goddess and God -a concrete
the Vangelo Delle Streghe. and easily understood image from which the higher
concept can be extracted. It is allegory which allows us
CHARLES GODFREY LELAND -Folklorist and author to speak of “energy” as “light”. It is allegory which
who studied Witchcraft extensively at the turn of the last allows us to speak of the Universe as a Dive Web,
century. Published the Vangelo Delle Streghe. connecting all things. Allegory allows us to free
ourselves from literality, and opens the door to abstract
OPHION AND EURYNOME -Eurynome is a very thinking.
ancient Greek Moon Goddess. Her name means “Far
Wanderer”. The creation myth of Ophion and PRIMEVAL DEITY -God/dess before creation, being
Eurynome is far older than classical Greek mythos, and both feminine and masculine, both spiritual and
reveals a very different set of beliefs. Chaos was the physical, resolving all opposites and polarities and
first thing to exist: this is the primeval feminine, which containing within Itself all things. Primeval Deity is both
resolves within itself the seeds of all things, in an the origin and the destination of existence, the inner
unmanifest state -the primordial soup, if you would. A soul of all creation. Primeval Deity is most often
spark of light arose from Chaos, Which was Eurynome, represented as the Androgyne or the Crone.
the Moon. She arose, and danced through Chaos, and
where She danced became the horizon which CHAOS -Primordial Deity, God/dess before creation.
separates sea and sky. And Her dance was beautiful, The original state which contains within itself the
and it stirred the unmanifest potential within Chaos, and beginnings of all that is given form in the physical world,
caused others to arise as well. The North Wind came but in a dreamlike and undifferentiated state. Both
into being, and loved Eurynome, and pursued Her, female and male, spiritual and physical, dark and light,
following the steps of Her dance of creation. Likewise all bound up together. Chaos is also called Unity or
arose the West Wind, which pursued the Goddess, and Union, among many other names. Chaos is both the
after that the South and the East Winds. The four starting point and the ending point of creation, it is the
Winds followed in the dance of Eurynome, then wholeness of Deity -from which we come and to which
overtook Her and surrounded Her. The Four Winds ultimately we shall all return, enriched by our physical
coalesced intothe form of Ophion, the Cosmic Serpent, experiences. Chaos is also thought of as Deity at rest,
and became the lover of Eurynome. When they had between the creation and destruction of successive
finished, She took the form of a white bird and flew Universes, or at the center of multiple Universes.
away. She made a nest and laid a cache of silver eggs.
From these eggs were born all other things which exist. CRONE -The Goddess in Her aged form. The Crone is
It will readily be seen that this is the same basic myth represented by the Waning Moon, and rules over
found in the Vangelo Delle Streghe, with Eurynome and wisdom, understanding, magic, and learning, among
Ophion as Goddess and God, from Whose union arises other things. People who do not possess wisdom often
all creation. fear it, and thus the Crone Goddess is often feared as
well. She is the Goddess of death, Who consumes all
CYBELE -Cybele was the Phrygian form of the Great things -but only to give them transformation and rebirth.
Mother, Who was adopted by the Romans as Mother of The Crone is often equated with Primordial Deity, Who
the Gods. Cybele was worshipped by transexual Priest/ precedes all creation, and waits to consume (ie; re-unite
esses who castrated themselves and afterwards lived with) it at the end of existence. In popular iconography
as women -somewhat to the horror of the conservative the Crone is the “Hallowe’en Witch” with Her pointed hat
Romans. The myth of Cybele is very ancient, and has symbolizing the upward spiraling cone of power, Her
its roots in the earliest times. It was taught that Cybele broomstick for sweeping away old forms of existence,
was the first Being to exist in the Universe. She was all and Her cauldron of transformation for creating new
 ways of being. the denser the matter; thus the physical plane is the
home of the densest matter with the slowest vibration,
HEKATE -Hekate is while the Divine plane has the least density and the
the great Crone fastest vibration. As energy moves upward from lower
Goddess of ancient vibrations to higher ones, it generates heat. As energy
Greece, patroness of slows from higher to lower vibrations, it produces
magic and wisdom, coldness. You will notice this in energy working.
and a Goddess of
the S p ir i t wo r l d . MUSIC OF THE SPHERES -Each of the seven planes
Hekate is a Goddess has its own energy vibration, which in turn corresponds
of uncertain proven- to a certain sound; for sound is generated by vibration.
ance, being clearly the vibration of vocal chord creates speech and song.
older than and The vibration of a drumskin produces the drumbeat.
outside of the Greek The vibration of the strings produces the music of the
classical pantheon. violin or the cello. So as the energy of the spheres
Some say She is of vibrates at a given rate, it too must create a sound.
Mycenean origin - This is the theory behind the “music of the spheres”. A
the culture which variety of techniques have evolved from this theory to
precedes the link sound with energy. They are the basis under which
classical. Others tuning forks, bells, and singing bowls are used for
that She is of energetic healing, to give one example. Another form in
Phrygian origin. which vibrational sound is used in energy work involves
Some equate Her the linking of seven vowel sound with the seven planes/
with Hekat, the bodies/Chakras.
Egyptian Goddess of
creative force and DESTINY -Destiny refers, ultimately, to the lessons
magic, with Whom afforded one in life, the chances for growth and
Hekate was most advancement which will be placed in our path. What we
certainly identified in do with these lessons of course is our own -they can be
Hellenistic times. positive or negative according to our choices, rather
Hekate was known in than any preset destiny. But the lessons themselves
medieval times as are chosen and agreed to prior to birth, to try to
Dame Hecat, in stimulate growth the soul needs and desires.
which form She was Consequently it can be said that life gives us
considered a Patroness of European Witchcraft. opportunities which we cannot avoid or short circuit,
because we have asked for them before entering this
SEVEN PLANES -The seven planes, or spheres of life, but what the outcome of these opportunities might
existence are used to describe the different levels of be is the result of our own choices and actions.
being which Spirit, or Goddess, experiences in
interaction with Matter, or God. As is often the case VEIL -Most people perceive easily only the so-called
with classifications, these seven levels are not nearly as “lower” aspects of their being. The physical self and its
neat as they are made to sound, but overlap and blend sensations. The emotional self and its feelings. The
in ways which defy category. These seven planes are mental self and its thoughts. The higher aspects of the
sometimes described as a successive “Fall” into being, from which we derive such abilities as
progressive densities of matter, progressively slower clairvoyance, telepathy, telekinesis, etc., most people
vibrations. The seven planes are these; Physical, at can only access through much work and difficulty.
which we experience physical form and sensation. Ordinarily we have no conscious knowledge of them,
Emotional, at which we experience emotional feelings. unless we have been “born old” in which case we have
Mental, at which we experience thought and abstract worked to develop them in earlier lives. The separation
concepts and understandings. Astral, at which we between what we consciously perceive of ourselves,
create our existence and its conditions. Soular, at and our higher powers is symbolically called a “veil”.
which we develop those traits that make a unique part This is because in former times an ornamental veil was
of Deity. Monadic, that part of us which is Divine, but is often used to screen off the sanctuary of a temple from
separate from the Whole of Deity. And Divine, at which the general temple precincts. Consequently the idea of
we are One with all existence. a veil hiding something spiritually higher seemed a
natural allegory.
VIBRATION -Vibration, the rate at which energy moves,
is believed to become slower the farther down the BORN OLD -People who are born with the veil between
seven spheres it proceeds. The slower the vibration, the conscious self and the powers of the soul very thin,
and who can thus access the Higher Self easily with
minimal or no instruction, are said to have been “born Exam for Lesson II
old”. Talents that others must work to develop come to
them easily, seemingly without effort. This is because You may take the exam online at WitchSchool.
such souls have already put out great efforts to develop http://www.witchschool.com
these skills in previous lives, and bring them through to
the present.

LOWER SELF -That part of ourselves of which we are

easily aware; the physical, the emotional, and the
mental aspects of the being. Through meditation and
magic we can access our Higher Selves, which include
the astral or creative level of our being, our soul, those
traits which make us a distinct aspect of Deity, our
monad, the level at which we are Divine but separate,
and ultimately the Divine level at which all is one.

CHAKRA -Chakras are the energy centers of the body,

where body and Spirit most strongly connect. There are
thousands of Chakras in every part of the body, which
are connected to each other by meridians, or energy
pathways. This is the basis of such systems of
medicine as acupuncture, shiatsu, and moxidermy,
which treat physical illness by applying stimulation to
the Chakra points. In general practice however, most
people work only with the seven major Chakras which
correspond to the seven spheres of existence and the
seven bodies. These are the Root Chakra, at the
prostate in males and the paraurethral gland in females,
corresponding to the physical plane. The 2nd Chakra,
at the testicles in males and the ovaries in females,
corresponding to the emotional plane. The Solar
Chakra, roughly at the navel, corresponding to the
mental plane. The Heart Chakra, at the heart,
corresponding to the astral plane. The Throat Chakra,
at the throat, corresponding to the soular or egoic plane.
The Third Eye, at level of he pineal gland,
corresponding to the monadic plane. And the Crown
Chakra, at or above the top of the head, corresponding
to the Divine.