|
Labrys |
A double-headed
axe which symbolized the Goddess in ancient Crete, still used by
some Wiccans for this same purpose. The labrys may be placed on
or leaned against the left side of the altar. |
|
Lammas |
(Old
English "loaf mass", "bread feast") The
Festival of the First-fruits of the Harvest, August 1, though
usually celebrated the night of July 31, Lammas Eve, since the
Celtic day began at sunset, hence also called August Eve; also
called Lughnasadh ("Festival of Lugh") for the Celtic
God of Light (Irish Celtic "Lugh", Welsh "Lleu",
both meaning "Light", similar to the Latin
"Lucifer" or "Light-bearer"); as start of
harvest, the Festival of the Sacrifice and Death of the
God-King, who like the grain is reaped at His prime before old
age and decay sets in |
|
Lampadomancy |
Divination
by observing the flame of a candle. |
|
Lamps
of Art |
These
are the two candles on the altar which provide illumination,
made preferably of beeswax, although paraffin will do.
Choose white, or choose colours based on the season or on the
nature of the magick being done. |
|
Law
of Contagion |
A
mgickal principle which states that once an object has been part
of another object, or even in contact with it, it remains linked
by energy chords and can be used magickally to influence it. |
|
Law
of Return |
Whatever
energy is sent out, returns to the sender multiplied (some
traditions say it is multiplied by three, and therefore call
this principle "The Threefold Law"). |
|
Leconomancy |
Divination
by observing the shape that oil poured on water makes. |
|
Left-Hand
Path |
Commonly
used to refer to "black magick", because of the
association of "left" with "evil"; hence the
word "sinister", originally meaning "left, or
lucky, side", acquired its modern connotation |
|
Lesser
Sabbats |
The
four "quarter festivals" of the Equinoxes and
Solstices, whose observance in ancient cultures generally
post-dated that of the Greater Sabbats |
|
Libation |
Wine
or other beverage which is ceremonially poured upon the Earth,
in token of gratitude for the blessings of the God/dess.
Often done after a chalice has passed around the circle in
ritual. |
|
Lineage |
Direct
descent from an ancestor; ancestry; family; in Wicca, the line
of initiatory descent, or magickal and spiritual ancestry, and
hence, the "initiatory family" related by a common
ancestry |
|
Litha |
See Solstice. |
|
Lithomancy |
Divination by
stones. |
|
Lughnasadh |
See
Lammas |
|
Lunar
cycle |
The
lunar cycle is the 28-day cycle during which the visible phase
of the moon waxes from dark to full and wanes to dark again.
This is a very powerful time for ritual ceremonies to be
preformed. |