glossary

anamnesis: recollection of a past life, recollection of medical history

angels’ wishbone: east anglian name for mistletoe.

avocation: a hobby or minor occupation

awen: three primordial rays of light emanating from a singular heavenly source, identified in some lore as the power of second sight.

balneum: a ritual bath.

balsam: a tree resin or any of its magically exalted derivatives; also an oil, or a medicament with healing properties. by writ of aromatic science, a resin contains benzoic or cinnamic acid as a component of its esters.

bavins: small bundle of flammable plant materials, bound and consecrated as kindling for a sacred fire.

bone wood: the dry, rotten heartwood of a fallen (pine?) tree, which retains unique magical virtues, particularly as a powder or suffumigant.

bread of the land: concentrated solid extract of a plant made by repeated fortification of dried material with liquid extracts of the same plant, used as a ritual sacrament.

cain: first son of adam and eve, and venerated as the first sorcerer by some lineages of traditional witchcraft.

calmena: in edenic lore, the wife of cain; also awan.

clootie: strip of cloth tied upon tree branches to effect magic, for prayer or blessing, or as an offering of pilgrimage.

cognize: to perceive, to know

conspecific: of the same species

corpus sidereum: the dreaming body, or part of spirit going forth by night.

cross: supreme magical formula of incarnation-sacrifice-apotheosis arising from the fixation of spirit into the four ways of matter.

crow’s bread: in the arcana of sabbatic witchcraft, a vision-inducing plant, principally the liberty cap [psilocybe semilanceata], but also applied infrequently to the fly agaric [amanita muscaria],

crucifer: literally, ‘cross-bearer’. in botanical nomenclature, any plant belonging to the brassicaceae, or cabbage family, characteristically producing a cross-shaped flower. also, any plant or its spirit producing pain, torment or ordeal.

cunning-craft: body of traditional lore and magical practice arising from the intersection of rural british folk magic and diverse forms of organized occult practice, including herbalism, astrology, divination, and angelic invocation.

curren: traditional east anglian term for cunning-folk, still in use.

dead bones: dust ground from portions of a plant long dead by nature’s hand.

decoction: a liquid preparation made by boiling plant parts in water or wine, in a non-reactive vessel, for a period of time.

devil: any adversarial or oppositional spirit.

dioecious: in botany, the separation of sexes on separate individual plants.

eleusinian mysteries: initiation into the mystery cult of demeter and persephone, annual, held at elefsina. nothing to do with the golden dawns claim

elphame: the dominion of faerie, conspecific with the hidden domains of the wild and the pleasure-garden of shadow.

errant viridian: ancient avatar of the wandering vegetation-god whose appearance and departure herald seasonal change and fecundity.

eshen: of or relating to the ash tree and its arcana.

exordium: beginning

fairy tree: trees regarded as habitations for the good folk, usually lone-standing, wild, and of advanced age.

faith: conviction of the reality of the unmanifest.

faunus: old roman god of herbs and the greenwood; in some forms of old craft he is ascribed protective powers over animals.

fruit of the paradise of seth: fruit of the tree of life?????

genius: the spirit-complex of a plant or its environs.

ghost corn: a plant, often burned as incense, which attracts spirits.

gnosis: knowledge of divine origin reserved for an elite, obtained through magical, mystical, or ecstatic experience.

good, the: collective term for the good folk, or fairies.

granarium: the collective trees and herbs dwelling in any land, as well as their associated spirits, powers, and mysteries.

green gnosis: spirit-given wisdom arising directly from the manifold strata of the plant realms.

green key: a plant whose occult powers are used for opening locks, finding lost objects, or discovering treasure.

guiser: one who practices the art of guising, being the magical assumption of masque and cloak.

hekas hekas este bebeloi: according to the golden dawn this is a phrase from the eleusinian mysteries, used as an exorcism

herbarius: divine hypostasis of man in spirituous and magical communion with the plant realm.

hex: to use witching power. additionally, a kind of magical fetish used for protection of property.

hexing herbs: appellation of a toxic plant-group historically associated with european witchcraft, including aconite, thorn apple, belladonna, henbane, hellebore, poison hemlock, mandrake, and scopolia.

hollen: of or relating to the holly tree and its arcana.

hortus conclusus: an enclosed garden.

hulver: the english holly [ilex aquifolium] or mysteries relating thereto.

hypostasis: an underlying reality of substance, fluid collecting in extremities after death or due to poor circulation

incunabulum: a book from the earliest era of printing

infusion: a liquid preparation made by steeping herbs in hot or cold water.

josaphat: (jehosaphat) fourth king of judah, or a christianized buddah

lady ellehorn: spirit of the elder tree.

lamiaceae: botanical name of the mint family, formerly labiatae, having some 3,500 species, including rosemary, lavender, mint, and sage.

lilith: first wife of adam, patroness of night, dreaming and nocturnal flight, goddess of witches.

luminary: tutelary angel of a specific branch of the art magical.

magistellus: servant or helper

malachadamas: the hypostasis of adam in sabbatic tradition? also “kingly man”

mannikin: the animate, anthropomorphic hypostasis of the mandrake.

mordant: natural or synthetic substance which fixes plant pigment in a dye or makes its colour more pronounced.

mortua: remains of plant parts after their potencies have been extracted into liquid, or released by fire.

nowl: ritual implement, made of iron or meteoritic metal, used for fixing the power of the pole-star within the circle of art.

ocular wisdom: power acquired, comprehended, and applied through the vehicle of sight

od: east anglian name for god/odin,

oleum essentia: essential oil.

oleum olea: olive oil.

paten: a magical dish or tablet, associated with elemental earth, and with the powers of the land.

patron tree: tree unto which an herbarius is ritually devoted, a spiritual ally and source of personal power.

phenological calendar: botanical calendar unique to a particular locality, and kept by observation, noting phases of growth, flowering, and fruiting for each plant therein; as well as plant-omens, planetary cycles, and weather.

plot: the sealed domain of magical working, identified in various traditions as the circle, triangle, foursquare, or ninesquare.

pontic herbs: traditionally any poisonous herb of pontus and its environs such as daphne mezereum, but in some forms magic referring to poisonous plants, particularly deadly ones, as a whole.

pulse: plant of the fabaceae or pea family producing edible seed.

qayin sa’ira: ‘cain the hairy’; aspect of cain as dweller of the wild, and, in some forms of british cunning-craft, patron of the green art.

raising: the sorcerous enchantment of awakening life within an idol.

red plough: destructive hypostasis of herb-magic.

rhizome: in plant morphology, a modified underground stem, rather than a true root, frequently associated with aromatic virtues, as in the case of zingiber or asarum species.

rood: holy sceptre or staff of the art magical, fashioned of a branch of the magician’s totemic tree.

rosarium: a rose-garden, or plot enclosed by a rose-hedge. also a string of beads used for mantic recitation, prayer, and mystical contemplation.

sacrament: preparation of the art magical offered to, or infused with. spirit.

saints of the arbour: collective term for spirit-retinue surrounding a tree.

seirim: theriomorphic legion of the pleasure-garden of shadow, cognate with sileni, governing animals and their powers, and mankind’s bestial attributes.

seth: a sibling of cain and abel, born after abels death, possibly to replace him

shemhazael: captain of the watchers or ‘fallen angels’ who taught the arts of magic unto man; identified as a tutelary intercessor of witchcraft.

sileni: greek mythical creature, if a faun was a horse. named after silenus, a companion and tutor of dionysus

simple: a single medicinal plant or the medicine obtained therefrom.

smaragdine: related to emeralds, emerald green

spirit-trap: magical charm for entangling a troublesome spirit.

suffumigant: a perfumed sacrament of fire and smoke.

sway: a magical wand or staff formed from the branch of a tree.

theriomorphic: shaped like an animal

umbellifer: any plant belonging to the apiaceae, or dill family; typically having an umbel inflorescence, many of which possess fragrance, spice, or poison.

verdelet: in some traditions of old craft, the office of the green master, bearing responsibility for stewardship, recension, and teaching of plant mystery.

verderer: the one who keeps the hedge (?)

viridarium umbris: the seraph-warded sanctum sanctorum of the plant realm, whence proceeds all green gnosis.

walking herb: a plant which lends speed and protection in travel.

wayfarer: seeker unto the gardens of power, identified with cain in his hypostasis as exile and pilgrim, so named because of motion on the path.

witch: to command or divine by way of the art magical.

witchblood: the perpetuation of the heredity of the fallen angels, and their powers, among the race of mankind.

withering: the sorcerous power of diminishing power and vigour.

witherwards: being the direction counterclockwise or ‘contrary to nature’.

wort: a plant; specifically that which is non-arboreal and herbaceous.

zoa: life

zothiel: an angel of wisdom, judgment, art, and beauty