Spiritual Traditions Dictionary

TRADITION: A specific religion that falls in a larger religious category (eg: Greek Orthodox>Catholic>Christian or Alexandrian>Wicca>Pagan).

(See also: TRADITION , Magickal Traditions, Magickal Paths, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

HINDUISM: The main religious and social system in India. Hinduism has various sects with the commonality of the belief in reincarnation, polytheism and an ordained caste system as its social base.

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ISLAM, ISLAMISM: The monotheistic religious doctrine as revealed by the Muhammad, the Prophet of Allah. There are many sects of Islam and believers are called Muslims.

(See also: ISLAM, ISLAMISM , Magickal Traditions, Magickal Paths, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

PATH: Spiritual and/or moral beliefs.

(See also: PATH , Magickal Traditions, Magickal Paths, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

THEOSOPHY:

 Any philosophy that teaches the achievement of knowledge of God (s) by spiritual ecstasy, direct intuition, or a special relationship to the deities.

 The modern traditions based on the teachings of the Theosophical Society which combined Western magickal systems and mysticism with Buddhist and Hindu teachings.

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AQUARIAN TABERNACLE CHURCH (ATC): A Wiccan church founded in 1979 by Pete "Pathfinder" Davis as a coven dedicated to providing religious services and support to the larger Wiccan community. The ATC became the first Wiccan church with full legal status and recognition by the governments of three nations: Canada, Australia, and the U.S.A.

The Aquarian Tabernacle Church teaches a positive, life-affirming spirituality that is is a non-dualist, non-racist, non-sexist, non-exclusivist, bi-polar, and ecologically oriented and is a faith dedicated to the preservation of Holy Mother Earth, the revival of the worship of The Old Gods in a modern context, the achievement of the fullest of human potentials and the creation of a peaceful world of love, freedom, health and prosperity for all sentient beings.

(See also: AQUARIAN TABERNACLE CHURCH , Magickal Traditions, Magickal Paths, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

OCCULT ("hidden, concealed"): Secret, esoteric; term used for magick and other esoteric arts and sciences, such as astrology or alchemy.

(See also: OCCULT , Magickal Traditions, Magickal Paths, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

BON: The native Tibetan religion that was later merged with Buddhism and Tantrism

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ANALOGETICISTS: Those who follow the teachings of Ammonius Saccas, named for their use of analogy and correspondence in the interpretation of myths and symbolic legends.

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AMARAPURA: Ceylonese Buddhism.

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ALCHEMY (from the Greek, chemeia, "chemistry", the Arabic, al kimya, "the chemistry", or the Egyption, khemeia, "the preparation of black ore"): A form of ceremonial magick commonly believed to be focused on the transmutation of base metals into precious metals (e.g.: converting lead to gold). The ultimate goal of the Alchemist is to transform the chaotic primordial First Matter (the Khem) into perfection; a goal that is accomplished through spiritual enlightenment.

(See also: ALCHEMY , Magickal Traditions, Magickal Paths, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

SUFISM: The Islamic magickal system.

(See also: SUFISM , Magickal Traditions, Magickal Paths, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

ANIMISM (Latin, anima: "air, soul"):

 The belief that all life is produced by a spiritual force separate from matter;

 The belief that natural phenomena and objects are alive and have souls;

 The doctrine of the existence of soul as independent of matter;

 The belief in the existence of spirits, demons, etc.

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ÁR NDRAÍOCHT FÉIN (“Our Own Druidism”): A Druid Fellowship founded in 1983 by P.E.I (Isaac) Bonewits, former Archdruid of several groves in the Reformed Druids of North America.

Ár Ndraíocht Féin is an American based neo-pagan Druid religious fellowship. It has no direct links to the ancient Druids but is a reconstruction of Druidic and Indo-European pagan rituals and religions. It integrates religion with alternate healing arts, ecology-consciousness, psychic development and artistic expression. It is organized in groves, many of them named after trees. They have eight seasonal High Days (celebrated on the same dates as the Sabbats) and they conduct regular study and discussion groups in addition to a wide range of artistic activities.

(See also: ÁR NDRAÍOCHT FÉIN , Magickal Traditions, Magickal Paths, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

COVEN ("a group of confederates, a band"): An organized group of Witches that regularly meets and works together. Most commonly used to identify the groups of initiated Witchcraft or Wicca practitioners that follow a specific Tradition, and its rites and practices. Covens are sometimes limited to no more than thirteen members for both practical and magickally symbolic reasons.

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MONOTHEISM: The doctrine or belief that there is only one conscious entity that is God, and that this entity is separate and apart from the World. See Also: Henotheism, Pantheism, and Polytheism.

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TRADITIONAL WITCHCRAFT:

Hereditary or traditional Witchcraft or Wicca, which includes the Gardnerian and Alexandrian Traditions and their branches and offshoots via Gerald Gardner and/or Alex Sanders;

 A Witchcraft tradition that claims initiatory or hereditary descent through a familial or other line;

 Any Witchcraft Tradition that follows a specific body of rites and practices collectively as distinguished from solitary eclectic Witchcraft or Wicca practitioners.

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BASILIDEAN: A Gnostic sect founded by Basilides of Alexandria, who claimed to have received his esoteric doctrines from Glaucus, a disciple of the Apostle Peter. The system had three grades: material, intellectual, and spiritual and it possessed two allegorical statues, male and female. The doctrine had many points of resemblance to that of the Ophites and Cabala.

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AMERICAN TRADITIONAL WICCA: The groups that have no initiatory connection to Gardner or Sanders, but who have based their rituals and practices on what has been published about the Gardnerian and Alexandrian Traditions; they therefore follow a Wiccan practice based upon Gardnerian or Alexandrian without having initiatory lineage.

(See also: AMERICAN TRADITIONAL WICCA , Magickal Traditions, Magickal Paths, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

ATHEISM (Greek, a "without"; theo "god"): The religious doctrine that deities do not exist.

(See also: ATHEISM , Magickal Traditions, Magickal Paths, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)