Descriptionary

sorcerer one who practices black magic or sorcery, as a wizard.

sorceress a female who practices black magic or sorcery.

sorcery witchcraft or black magic.

sortilege divining the future by the choosing of lots.

speaking in tongues the speaking of nonsensical strings of syllables or gibberish during trancelike states by followers of some Christian denominations, especially Pentecostals, who believe they are possessed of the holy spirit. Also known as glossolalia.

specter a ghost.

spell any formula or incantation that causes some­one to fall into a trance or involuntarily behave in a prescribed manner.

spellbind

to cast a spell or put someone into a trance.

spiegelschrift automatic writing that appears in reverse and thus requires a mirror to read it.

spirit photographs photographs with hazy images of ghosts in the background, a result, according to skeptics, of double exposures, film processing errors, and reflections.

spirit writing messages conveyed through a medi­um's handwriting by spirits.

stichomancy divination through the reading of ran­dom passages in the Bible or other mystical tome.

stigmata most often seen in pious subjects, any mysterious or unexplained bleeding emanating from the same areas as the wounds suffered by Christ dur­ing his crucifixion, specifically in the hands and feet or the side of the head, allegedly due to a deep faith and sympathy with Christ.

subjective validation skeptic's term for the accep­tance of a psychic's readings by a subject, due more to mental cooperation, specifically with eagerness to believe and desire for the psychic to succeed, rather than any real psychic ability.

Summerland in Wicca, a life-after-death para­dise in which a subject prepares for his or her next incarnation.

Sun gazing

also known as Sun yoga or solar yoga, gazing at the Sun for brief periods of time, with the belief that it will bring nourishment. Proponents sometimes claim never to have to eat because all of their nutritional needs are met by sunlight.

supernatural that which is beyond the understand­ing of science and the physical world, as spirits or witchcraft.

sympathetic magic any form of magic that employs components that correspond with real-life counter­parts, as voodoo dolls may represent actual people and can be acted upon as such, or as a long line in the palm may be taken to mean the subject will live a long life.

synastry comparing astrological charts to determine if two people would be compatible.

synchronicity a concept created by Swiss psychia­trist Carl Jung, who in addition to believing in astrol­ogy, ESP, and telepathy, maintained that coincidences hold meaning and that when a coincidence occurs, the universe is trying to communicate something.

talisman an object or charm believed to have magi­cal powers, such as an amulet, sometimes used as protection against evil.

tarot cards a set of 22 pictorial cards symbolizing various forces of nature along with human vices and virtues, used in fortune-telling.

telekinesis moving objects from a remote position without touching them.

telepathy

communication with the mind; thought transference.

therapeutic touch a form of therapy in which a healer moves his hands over a patient to direct the flow of energy and induce healing.

third eye psychic ability; extrasensory perception; the ability to see the future.

thoughtography also known as nensha, the burn­ing of images onto surfaces or into someone's mind by psychic abilities.

touched affected by a spirit. Also, demented.

transfiguration when a spirit medium is temporar­ily possessed and takes on a different appearance, possibly that of the spirit itself.

voodoo a polytheistic religion originating in Africa and mainly practiced in Haiti. Also, any of the charms, fetishes, or curses used in its practice. Also, a practitioner of spells and necromancy.

vortex a powerful eddy through time and space through which one may travel to another dimension.

Walpurgis Night

April 30, the night according to medieval Christians on which a witches' sabbath was thought to take place.

warlock a male witch; a sorcerer.

water witch old term for a dowser.

wax reading divination through the interpretation of melted wax patterns left by a burning candle.

whammy a spell, hex, or jinx.

white magic magic employed for good.

Wicca a pagan religion or form of nonevil witch­craft in which female practitioners care for the Earth and our environment.

witch a female who uses black magic or sorcery.

witch ball a glass globe hung in a window to pro­tect against evil spirits.

witchcraft the spells, formulas, incantations, etc., used by a witch.