Wiccan Handbook – Part III: Magick of Aradia

     While there are different forms of magick associated with specific Wiccan Traditions, (for example Faery Magick practiced by Celtic Traditions – see “Wiccan Handbook Part II” in the Anthenaeum section of our website), there are forms of magick practiced amongst all traditions of The Craft.  These magickal skills are consistent across all traditions, myths, lores and literature and are considered to be primary abilities that every Wiccan or Witch should aim to master.

     Found within the “Aradia: Gospel of the Witches,” (Chapter II) is a list of specific magickal skills that all Wiccans should possess.  Aradia, the mortal daughter of the Creatress Goddess Diana, completes her time on Earth and returns to her Mother.  Diana then grants Aradia specific magical powers that Aradia can then bestow upon favored Wiccan (and Witches) who invoke Aradia.    

… she gave her the power to gratify those who had conjured her by granting her or him success in love:

To bless or curse with power friends or enemies.

To converse with spirits.

To find hidden treasures in ancient ruins.

To conjure the spirits of priests who died leaving treasures.

To understand the voice of the wind.

To change water into wine.

To divine with cards.

To know the secrets of the hand.

To cure disease.

To make those who are ugly beautiful.

To tame wild beasts.

     Aradia’s twelve blessings can be broken into five forms of magick: Animal Magick, Energy Work, Divination, Glamour and Necromancy.

     Animal Magick: “To tame wild beasts.”  Animal Magick is the ability to psychically connect to, communicate with and command animals.  A Wiccan can incorporate animals into spellcraft in numerous ways.  Animals can act as guardians and protectors of an individual, a family or property and possessions.  They can act as a Witch’s spy, conducting surveillance and gathering information.  And of course, animals can also add power and energy to spellcraft.

     Animal Magick can be broken into two main categories: familiar magick and ally magick.  Familiar Magick is the term used when a witch forms a very close relationship with an animal companion.  Either living or in spirit form, familiars are most commonly domesticated animals like cats, dogs, birds and snakes.  Ally Magick is the term used when a Witch is given an animal spirit guide or totem.  Allies are most often revealed during dreams, meditations, and spirit walks.  Ally Magick would also include invoking animal spirits to aid in specific spells.

     Energy Work: “Success in love.  To bless.  To change water into wine.  To cure disease.”  These are examples of energy work.  Energy work is a practitioner’s ability to harness, amplify, control and/or transmute the energy within people, places and physical objects.  Other forms of energy work include charging talismans and raising a Magick Circle.  As numerous other articles have already addressed this subject, energy work will not be discussed in depth here (see the Anthenaeum section of our website for more articles on energy).  

     *Note: Although the Aradia does indeed address the power to “curse” others, most modern Wiccan Traditions have an ethical code and standard of “Do no harm.”  The modern Wiccan and Witch must take into account the historical time of Aradia.  Wiccans and Witches were being persecuted in mass numbers and put to death in very gruesome fashions.  They feared for their lives, as well as the lives of loved ones and often cursed their hunters, prosecutors and executioners as a means of protection.  This is not to say that modern Wiccans and Witches are simply not allowed to “reverse” negative energy to protect themselves, from ill intent by others.  In fact, this has become an ongoing debate among Wiccans and Witches who wish to return any negative energy to the original sender (or source) by the Law of Three.     

     Divination: “To understand the voice of the wind.  To divine with cards.  To know the secrets of the hand.”  Divination is the practice of foretelling future events or discovering hidden knowledge through spiritual communication and intuition.

     Omens are communication from the Goddess and/or spirits that are revealed through the observable, physical world.  Omens can be celestial phenomena, like planetary alignments, eclipses, comets and meteor showers.  Divination by the winds and other weather patterns are also considered omens.  Omens can be read in the behaviors of animals, for example like shapes that take form by large flocks of birds in flight.  Certain omens can even be very small and simple like perhaps an “itch” that suddenly strikes between your shoulder blades or ear.

     Cartomancy is the art of divination through the use of cards.  A querent asks a question, shuffles the deck, and lays out the cards in specific placements.  Knowledge of the cards’ symbolism and the diviner’s intuition reveal the answer.  While traditional cartomancy would make use of playing cards (as all divination cards were illegal and punishable by death) the modern Wiccan and Witch have a considerably, wide variety of divination cards to choose from.  There are older deck divination systems, like the Marseille Tarot and Lenormand Tarot, based off of astrology and numerology, all the way to the newest decks that utilize lyrics from modern music.  There are oracle cards, guidance cards, affirmation cards, tea leaf and I-Ching decks as well.  Decks can be based on an endless number of topics and themes including: Goddesses, fairies, angels, dragons, moon phases, animal totems and mythical creatures only to name a few.   

     Palmistry is the art of divination that analyzes the physical features of the hand to foretell personality characteristics and to predict the future.  The non-dominant hand is read to reveal inherent characteristics like: personality, innate ability and potential.  The dominant hand reveals present and future, as well as obstacles, challenges and limitations.

     *Note: There are other numerous types of tools Wiccans and Witches use to perform divination.  These tools include but are not limited to: dowsing rods, pendulums and runes.

     Glamour: “To make those who are ugly beautiful.” This is an example of Glamour Magick.  Glamour Magick is the power of enchantment, the magickal art of optical illusions.  Not only is this magick capable of changing one’s appearance, it is able to cast illusions that make the viewer see exactly what the Wiccan (Witch) wishes them to see.  Glamour Magick is one of the most powerful arts a Wiccan or Witch can possess and it can be manifested not only for an individual but for a specific object or place as well.

     Necromancy: “To converse with spirits.  To find hidden treasures in ancient ruins.  To conjure the spirits of priests who died leaving treasures.” Necromancy is a form of magick that involves conjuring the spirits of deceased humans for purposes of communication, divination or for locating lost objects and treasures.

     Wiccans may choose to facilitate communication with deceased humans since souls that have crossed over can easily access information from the past, present and future.  Spirits can also communicate in ways that the living can understand.  In most cases, direct ancestors may have a genuine concern for their descendants, so when contacted, they may be more willing to provide their assistance for information.

     There are two distinct categories of necromancy.  The first type of necromancy involves conjuring the departed so the soul can reanimate a newly deceased human body.  The spirit can then communicate with an individual or perform one final request- for example: justice or revenge.  Outlawed by the Catholic Church in 1604, this ancient art is still performed in various parts of the world.  However in Wicca, it is highly unethical and not practiced by Wiccans.

     The second type of necromancy involves conjuring the deceased and communicating through channeling, mediumship, seances, scrying and spirit boards.  As the conjuring of spirits can be dangerous to a Wiccan or Witch, necromancy should be performed ceremonially, with the casting of a Circle and the use of numerous tools and talismans for protection.  Correspondences of death and the dead include items like skulls, bones, and poisonous herbs.  These types of correspondences would be incorporated into the ceremony.  If available, the practitioner should incorporate items that belonged or had meaning, to the deceased.  Hel, the Morrigan, Hecate or other Goddesses of the Dead are invoked for protection and to allow the spirit of the deceased to come forth from the Underworld.

     All Wiccan traditions practice necromancy and it is this form of magick that is the central theme of our most sacred holiday, Samhain (a.k.a Halloween).  Necromancy can also be performed alongside a Death Rite or during the dark phases of the Moon.

     *Note: While on the surface necromancy and shamanism appear to be the same type of magick, and the two are often interchanged, they are distinctly different.  Necromancy is a form of magick that invokes or conjures a human spirit to cross into the earthly plane.  Shamanism is a form of magick that involves the practitioner to cross into the spiritual plane.  Necromancy is practiced by all Wiccans and Witches.  However, shamanism requires skills not all Wiccans possess.

– The Goddess Kingdom© 2023