Writtenwyrdd

Magic for Fantasy Writers, Part X: More on the Orixa, Candomble, and Santeria (repost)

*Today's post is brought to you by afterthought.  Seriously.  I just reread the African-based post and realised I'd left out some significant items: A list of orisha/orixa and their traits, as well as a chat about the lifestyle.  Now, because I am more familiar with Candomble, that's primarily what I'm talking about.  NOTE: Orixa is pronounced the same as Orisha.  Just spelled the Portuguese way.

NOTE #2: UPDATE Addendum from Babalawo Charles King: 

A couple notes on your post. The Eleggua statue you speak of is really an Eshu statue (it does not have to have feathers) and it DOES need to be consecrated. However, one can always have unconsecrated shrines, in honor of the Orishas (or the Ancestors or The Dead). The three rocks that you have seen with the statue of Eshu represent the Ashe (Nature's energy) of Eleggua they are what we call charged with his Ashe. We believe that Ashe is in every natural thing this can be living like a tree, plant, or animal to non living like a river's water, a rock or a log. We believe that Ashe, this energy can be transferred and acquired sometimes it is given as a reward or out of love for instance. The more Ashe one has the better life becomes and the more possibilities. The more seasoned a follower of Orisha worship or IFA ( the basis for all of the diaspora offshoot religions) is the more knowledge in recognizing and acquiring  Ashe.

 

Eshu eats and drinks first while Eleggua is prayed to first of all Orishas.We view him as perfect balance, naturally he is greatly honored and greatly feared Eshu is who rewards and punishes for himself, , the Orishas and the deities  (Olodumare, Olorun, Olofin). Some say Eleggua is a path in Eshu and others say Eshu is a path in Eleggua. I view them separately as many do. Eleggua is the messenger of the Orishas and the deities he is the Orisha of the crossroads who opens the path of communications between us and the Orishas.

And, as usual, bear in mind that I am not an expert in the African-based religions.  What I share with you may be incorrect, partially incorrect, or accidentally misinterpreted or biased.  You mileage may vary.

How do you recognize a practioner?  Certain manners of dress, jewelry, and even the area where you are can be clues.  Like discerning someone's social status from dress, or their vocation, it's a matter of practice. 

Elekes.  Ever see those long beaded necklaces made with the large glass beads?  Not the tacky plastic pony beads gracing bandanas and tee shirts in the 80s and 90s, but the single-strand beads with a repeating pattern throughout?  Those, dear reader, are elekes, and they are a clue as to the religious affiliation of the wearer.  These are given or made for a number of reasons.  One might get one as part of a ritual performed for them by a Santero.  One might get them for an initiation, or because the need was determined via divination.  You might even see them worn by the eclectic wannabe who makes their own (as we Americans are so entirely wont to do.) 

Bracelets. I've seen bracelets similar to elekes worn by the higher-level pracitioners of, I believe, both Candomble and Santeria.  They indicated that someone reached a certain rank where they were on their own, could start teaching, if I recall correctly.  I confess to having forgotten the details on this point.  Anyhow, the bracelets were clustered in a particular way, as in multiple strands that branch from a single bead and go back into a single bead before repeating this pattern throughout.  There might be other varieties, and there might be wide variances in the usage of these bracelets. I am, as I've said, not an expert and my acquaintance with Candomble and Santeria practioners was fifteen years ago, so I'm rusty. 

Anecdotally, the bracelets and elekes serve a useful purpose amongst practitioners.  They can help people find or avoid certain Orixa!  Seriously, a Santera I knew who was made for Oya (often considered an inauspicious patron) told me that when those in the know saw her bracelet, those afraid of Oya would do things like cross the street to avoid her! 

Clothes.  Clues in the clothing.  Remember how I mentioned that initiation and certain rituals required the wearing of white?  That's a big clue.  Ritual clothing is all white in Candomble, and I believe mostly white in Santeria.  On the street, you often see pracitioners wearing white clothing and beads together, and if you do, you can safely assume this person is a practioner of Voudon, Santeria, or Candomble.  For women, head scarfs, sleeveless blouses and big flowing skirts, all in white, are de rigeur while at the House.  Men wear white shirts and pants.  Bare feet for all is the norm, or perhaps sandals.  (You can see a certain tropical theme in the manner of dress, so I presume that for really cold climates, there might be some leeway.)

The structure of Candomble. 
The Candomble practioner I knew, Mae (Mae was her title), headed her own house in Brasil.  She was also a PhD in Sociology, so she was a fascinating person to talk about the culture as it exists in Brasil.  After all, she'd studied it in situ both as a scholar and as a practitioner!  Additionally, she had some amusingly pithy commentary about Americans and how they relate to the Candomble lifestyle, because she also had her own House in the US.  What I say here about Candomble comes from our talks, not from literature I've read.

The House.  In Candomble, the practitioners form Houses under someone of higher status.  (Unfortunately, I cannot recall the particular criteria for forming one's own House.)  It is usually an actual house where the head of the group lives along with some of the practioners, in particular those undergoing training.  The priestess in charge doesn't usually work, and there is a rigid heirarchy of behavior and acknowledgement of status among those who enter this world. 

First, one must know one's place in the group.  Second, you must, at every moment in the House, submerge your ego and be a cog in that social machine.  You must be subservient to those of superior rank, and you must-- unfailingly, if you are serious about being there-- acknowledge the religious rank of all those others in the House at any given time.  If you have no initiation, have undergone the first step (head cleansing) or have had your head made, you go by that rank as well as the date it was performed.  One who is 'older' in that status is superior to you; you must perform an obeisance/greeting to him/her as well as anyone of higher rank.

Anecdotally, Mae told me a lot about life in the House.  For example, it sounds rather like a despotic kingdom.  If one wishes the attention of the head of the House, one may not address him or her directly.  One waits to be addressed.  One waits for the head of the House to eat before lowly novices do so.  (The entire process of initation seems to me to be all about demolishing the ego in a much more thorough way than Basic Training ever purported to do.  And more humiliating, lol.)  You could perform an obeisance to the head of the House and be ignored for hours while you squat there (not allowed to sit, either) waiting.  And waiting.  And waiting.  Head games, like I said.

The obeisance I mentioned is a ritual gesture, and the form it takes depends on which Orixa owns your head (even if you haven't had your head made yet.)  For example, if Jemaya owns your head, she is female, so you must perform a female obeisance.  Both types of obeisance involve getting prostrate upon the ground.  (This is a strange concept to Westerners, as I can tell you from personal experience.  It was required to be polite at rituals, and it is very difficult.  I am so not a groveler; I am a control freak.  But Mae said Be Polite and I wanted to be there, so I was.)  And when greeting the head of the house, it also involves kissing them hand or foot-- whatever is appropriate.  I gather that can vary. 

The ritual objects.  For those persons who have their head cleansed, or who have their heads made for their Orixa, they have ritual dishes/objects that form the symbolic home of the Orixa that owns their head.  For initiates, there are usually several Orixa involved, to include their personal Orixa, Obatala, and perhaps three others.  It can vary based on the divinations and and input from the teacher's Orixa, whom the priest/ess speaks with via divination and prayer in order to determine the elements of the initiation. 

When one receives these items, there are stones, special objects and other things such as coins placed in a dish that represents the Orixa who is to 'live' there.  The dish is usually a tureen in style, but can be any lidded pottery dish.  It can be plain or ornate, but it will, in some manner, either color or design, represent the Orixa.  The pracitioner believes the Orixa truly lives in this tureen, and that the Orixa must be fed, prayed to and properly cared for.  Certain secret taboos and required sacrifices and rituals are prescribed during and post-initiation to the newly made.  Further, no one else must look inside these dishes, touch them, or frig with them.  This is critical, as it is possible to kill the individual's Orixa that way.  (Perhaps think of this as a personal avatar, or link to the Orixa, through which the made head is connected to the vast expanse of the 'real' Orixa.)  In Brasil, the House generally has a special room where the members keep their pots/tureens. 

One huge taboo and problem for practitioners is that the tureen must never, ever, cross over open water.  (Which begs the question, how did the Orixa come to the New World if they had to cross the ocean to do so?)  So, to move to the US from Brasil, one should drive overland with a car full of pottery clinking and clanking in the trunk.

Anecdotally, Mae told me that people (in the back-biting manner of jealousy everywhere) can and do sabotage others' Orixa by defiling the pots.  Perhaps they put something taboo or anathema to that particular Orixa in the pot.  There are a number of ways to do this. 

Or, there's the sneak attack.  An individual can avoid just reprisal for an unfair act.  An example.  Say Ms. X wants to cause trouble for someone in the House.  (We'll call the intended victim Ms. Z.)  Now, Ms. X has no real cause to attack Ms. Z.  What Ms. X  does is sneak up to the altar of her enemy, identify herself as Ms. Z to the Orixa in the pots, requests a  supposed (but non-existent) wrong righted against some 3rd party with the juju to return the attack in spades.  (What this does is set up Ms. Z to get whammied by someone totally unrelated to Ms. X.  Very sneaky logic and an example of how the whole system can be a snakepit full of infighting.)  Now, when the victim of Ms. X's appeal to Ms. Z's Orixa  receives his load of Orixa-sent crap, he's going to appeal in turn to his Orixa, saying he's been unjustly attacked and please redress.  Result?  The load of negative juju lands on the person that was supposed to have done the vile deed, our innocent Ms. Z! 

This sounds totally convoluted, but you must understand that 1) prayer to the Orixa is done out loud;  2) the belief is that you must identify yourself out loud by name to the Orixa when you pray or he/she will not know who you are; and 3) if the Orixa recognize that something is unjust, they will rebound a load of nasty stuff.  I was actually told this scenario, I did not make it up!  And it's really a sneaky motif that might work in someone's novel someplace...

Initiation.  Basically, the initiation's purpose is to form a clear channel with the Orixa who owns one's head.  But the understanding is that the Orixa literally become part of you once you undergo this ritual, which is why it takes at least a year of intense dedication before and after.  The process involves sleeping on a grass mat on the floor, genuflecting, eating only certain foods and avoiding many things considered taboo. 

Celebrations.  The worship generally involves drumming, chanting, and dances for the particular Orixa being celebrated.  Each Orixa has his or her own dance, drum pattern, and chant.  This goes for Voudou, Candomble and Santeria.  During these rituals, the intent may be for certain individuals to be 'ridden' but it may turn out that no one, or someone unexpected (even a casual visitor) becomes ridden by the Orixa.  I've seen videos of these dances and been told about them a lot, but have never been to one of these rituals. 

When one has had one's head made, the initiation date is a 'birthday' and must be celebrated by a rather ostentatious offering and a party in honor of one's Orixa.  This entails a multitude of special dishes-- each Orixa has foods and/or dishes he/she prefers or demands-- as well as additional things that are secret.  I inferred that there was some form of renewal performed, or ritual cleansings of some sort, but do not know.  If the pracitioner has the tureens in her own home, she will generally clear the room to make room for the party, leaving the Orixa altar with its display of food and offerings of flowers, booze, candy, etc on the floor in front of it.  That room is where the party is held.

The sacrifice.  Okay, animal sacrifice is a part of this religion.  But something most people don't understand is that the animal is NOTtortured, simply butchered in a ritual manner, and the meat is eaten, the Orixa getting those parts which are their food, the people getting the rest.  (For some unfathamable reason, the Orixa generally like the parts of the animal that are not preferred by humans.)

The Botanica.  The public hub in the US is the Botanica, the metaphysical supply shop where one can buy various items and articles common to Voudou, Santeria and Candomble.  Seven-day candles, blueing, Florida water, cascara, herbs, floor wash, shea butter, essential oils, black salt-- the list is endless.  In fiction, if one were trying to hook in to the community, one might go to a Botanica.  Don't expect your character to just get the skinny on the local scene right off, though.  Like many traditions or peoples having undergone subjugation, the practitioners of African-based religions are not forthcoming to outsiders!  (And, for a list of what a botanica carries, you could check out this store-- merely one among many.  What you can find on the internet...)

Spellwork.  Sometimes, someone who doesn't have their own head made or who doesn't have an affinity for a particular Orixa and wants extra ooomph will go for help.  The Candomble priest/ess will, sometimes for a fee, sometimes not, help you.  First thing, divination using cowrie shells (sometimes called Ifa) is performed.  This can be likened to getting your palm read or having Tarot cards read, but bear in mind that this Ifa divination also involves religious practices and beliefs.  The practitioner determines the root of the problem via his Orixa and will recommend a particular ritual, spell, offering, etc.  Usually a combination of both.  There is a fee charged, and the supplicant must bring the required inventory of stuff to the Santero so he can prepare the herbal washes, offerings, etc. that must be used.  Then the Santero goes into seclusion and charges the elekes or ritual objects by bathing them in the wash and whatever other secret rituals that are required.  The practitioner returns at the appointed time and offerings are either placed on the altar by the supplicant, who verbally speaks their request; or by taking the items and sending them to the Orixa in a particular way (launching them in a basket into the ocean for Yemaja, for example, or burying them at a crossroads.)  The image of spitting liquor is true; the burning it, which I have seen in movies, is not, so far as I am aware.  Cigars frequently must be puffed and smoke blown onto the altar as part of the offering.  Money acquired via the Orixa is placed on the altar (and later goes in the practitioner's wallet.  Of course.) 

Anectodally, I have been told that some popular crossroads, waterfalls, springs and shorelines in Brasil are littered (literally, to the point you barely can walk) with offerings.  Candomble is a strong tradition down there, with obvious ecological issues we aren't going to address here.

Santeria.  Unfortunately, I am not well-versed in the larger structures of Santeria.  I believe, though, that a particular Santero/Santera may take on students and form a circle of initiates.  (A book about this life set in New York is called Mama Lola, and you might find it instructive, if a bit impenetrable, as an insider's view of Santeria.  The book by Niemark I referenced in the book list is also a good intro.)  I cannot say if there are House structures, but there are highly respected personages known as Babalawos who are turned to for their study of Ifa (divination) and in other matters.  Many of these are Yorubans and people trek to Africa to meet with them. 

Anecdotally, I have heard that some of these men are rather cynically just milking the wannabes/cash cows from gold-paved America.  I suppose, given an ample supply of credulous victims, this might be the case for some.  Dont' know, first hand.  Useful dynamic for a novel, though.

In terms of the basic levels of interaction witha  Santero, I can tell you that most of those who deal with the Orisha do so via asking for a divination or assistance with a particular problem/issue.  But it basically runs like it would for a practioner of Candomble. 

Human sacrifice?  I heard a rumor once from Mae Maria.  She stated someone was initiated to Obatala in lieu of that person's true orixa, because in 'the olden days' in Africa, that particular orixa was gifted human sacrifices.  No one in Brasil gets initiated to that personage any longer because human sacrifice (and thus one's worship of that Orixa) is considered evil.  However, she hinted, the practice had been imported to Brasil with the slaves, but that it had fast died out...whether from the African traditions cross-breeding with Christianity or not I do not know. 

I don't know the truth of this, and I cannot recall the name of this mentioned-only-in-whispers-and-back-alleys orixa.  But it seemed like something a writer might use... because one can ask the question What If This Orixa's Worship Still Existed? and go to strange, strange places... 

But, in the real world, rumors of Orisha worshippers sacrificing people are FALSE.  It's all Hollywood hype brought to you by the prejudicial narrow mindedness of humanity.  Fear of the Evil Other, or what have you.  If it were true, I assure you the Santeros and pracitioners of Candomble would feel as horrified by it as you or me.  (End rant.)

Also, there are instances of some bokor or other evil practitioner being caught with human bones.  I saw something on this the other day on Skeleton Story (Discovery channel).  In any group, there are always some bad apples...

List of orisha.  A couple of online lists are here, and here, where I also took the following partial list of Orixa.  (There are hundreds of Orixa, fyi.) For reading material, which is utterly fascinating, I recommend Migene Gonsales Whippler's books.  ( I may or may not get to the point of annotating this list with favorite colors and foods.  I may save that for another post.)

Partial List of Orishas

• Babalu Aye - deity of disease and illness.
• Eshu (Ellegua, Exú, Esu, Exu, Elegba, Legbara, Papa Legba) - messenger between human and divine, god of crossroads, also a phallic and fertility god. Eshu is recognized as a trickster and child like while Eleggua is Eshu under the influence of Obatala
• Nana - female deity of creation, sky mother, associated with the moon.
• Obatala (Obatalá, Oxalá, Orixalá, Orisainlá) - father of orishas and humankind
• Ogoun (Ogúm, Ogum, Ogou) - deity of iron, war, labour, and technology (e.g. railroads)
• Olorun (Oldumare) - creator of the universe, sky father
• Orunmila - deity of wisdom, divination and foresight
• Oshun (Oshún, Ọṣun, Oxum, Ochun, Osun, Oschun) - goddess of rivers, love, fertility, and art
• Oxossi (Oxósse, Ocshosi, Osoosi, Ochosi) - hunter and the scout of the orishas
• Oya (Oyá, Oiá, Iansã, Yansá, Iansan) - goddess of wind, hurricanes, and underworld gates
• Shango (Shangó, Xango, Changó, Chango, Nago Shango) - warrior god of thunder, fire, sky father
• Iemanja (Yemaja, Imanja, Yemayá, Jemanja, Yemalla, Yemana, Yemanja, Yemaya, Yemayah, Yemoja, Ymoja, Nanã, La Sirène, LaSiren, Mami Wata) - divine mother goddess, divine goddess of the sea and Mother of mankind
• Ozain (Osain) - He owns the Omiero, a holy liquid consisting of many herbs, liquid through which all Saints and ceremonies have to go through. Ozain owns the herbs, is a natural healer.
• Agayu - Father of Shango he is also said to be shango's brother in other stories, Agayu is said to be the orisha of volcanoes and the desert.
• Osun - ruler of the head, Ori

*Ellegua statue courtesy of Wikipedia.  Note Ellegua has a nail in the top of his head where I said there were feathers in my earlier post.  Just further proof you shouldn't take what I say as Gospel!  And, as always, your mileage may vary.  But I hope this helps you think about how another culture will handle its religions.  New perspective is always useful in writing.

On hiatus (sort of)

I am on vacation while I slave away at painting and prepping my new house (and moving out and cleaning the old one, which is still for sale.)  So I won't have time to post new posts. 

This means I shall be doing 99% reposting.

To that end, I'll repost the Magic for Writers series. 

But let me begin with a response I recently received from a Babalawo, Charles Spencer King*, refining what I said regarding African-based religion.

A couple notes on your post. The Eleggua statue you speak of is really an Eshu statue (it does not have to have feathers) and it DOES need to be consecrated. However, one can always have unconsecrated shrines, in honor of the Orishas (or the Ancestors or The Dead). The three rocks that you have seen with the statue of Eshu represent the Ashe (Nature's energy) of Eleggua they are what we call charged with his Ashe. We believe that Ashe is in every natural thing this can be living like a tree, plant, or animal to non living like a river's water, a rock or a log. We believe that Ashe, this energy can be transferred and acquired sometimes it is given as a reward or out of love for instance. The more Ashe one has the better life becomes and the more possibilities. The more seasoned a follower of Orisha worship or IFA ( the basis for all of the diaspora offshoot religions) is the more knowledge in recognizing and acquiring  Ashe.

 

Eshu eats and drinks first while Eleggua is prayed to first of all Orishas.We view him as perfect balance, naturally he is greatly honored and greatly feared Eshu is who rewards and punishes for himself, , the Orishas and the deities  (Olodumare, Olorun, Olofin). Some say Eleggua is a path in Eshu and others say Eshu is a path in Eleggua. I view them separately as many do. Eleggua is the messenger of the Orishas and the deities he is the Orisha of the crossroads who opens the path of communications between us and the Orishas.

 

* I haven't read Mr. King's book as of yet, so I can't recommend it per se; but it looks to be a useful library addition.

Magic for Fantasy Writers, Part X: More on the Orixa, Candomble, and Santeria

*Today's post is brought to you by afterthought.  Seriously.  I just reread the African-based post and realised I'd left out some significant items: A list of orisha/orixa and their traits, as well as a chat about the lifestyle.  Now, because I am more familiar with Candomble, that's primarily what I'm talking about.  NOTE: Orixa is pronounced the same as Orisha.  Just spelled the Portuguese way.

And, as usual, bear in mind that I am not an expert in the African-based religions.  What I share with you may be incorrect, partially incorrect, or accidentally misinterpreted or biased.  You mileage may vary.

How do you recognize a practioner?  Certain manners of dress, jewelry, and even the area where you are can be clues.  Like discerning someone's social status from dress, or their vocation, it's a matter of practice. 

Elekes.  Ever see those long beaded necklaces made with the large glass beads?  Not the tacky plastic pony beads gracing bandanas and tee shirts in the 80s and 90s, but the single-strand beads with a repeating pattern throughout?  Those, dear reader, are elekes, and they are a clue as to the religious affiliation of the wearer.  These are given or made for a number of reasons.  One might get one as part of a ritual performed for them by a Santero.  One might get them for an initiation, or because the need was determined via divination.  You might even see them worn by the eclectic wannabe who makes their own (as we Americans are so entirely wont to do.) 

Bracelets. I've seen bracelets similar to elekes worn by the higher-level pracitioners of, I believe, both Candomble and Santeria.  They indicated that someone reached a certain rank where they were on their own, could start teaching, if I recall correctly.  I confess to having forgotten the details on this point.  Anyhow, the bracelets were clustered in a particular way, as in multiple strands that branch from a single bead and go back into a single bead before repeating this pattern throughout.  There might be other varieties, and there might be wide variances in the usage of these bracelets. I am, as I've said, not an expert and my acquaintance with Candomble and Santeria practioners was fifteen years ago, so I'm rusty. 

Anecdotally, the bracelets and elekes serve a useful purpose amongst practitioners.  They can help people find or avoid certain Orixa!  Seriously, a Santera I knew who was made for Oya (often considered an inauspicious patron) told me that when those in the know saw her bracelet, those afraid of Oya would do things like cross the street to avoid her! 

Clothes.  Clues in the clothing.  Remember how I mentioned that initiation and certain rituals required the wearing of white?  That's a big clue.  Ritual clothing is all white in Candomble, and I believe mostly white in Santeria.  On the street, you often see pracitioners wearing white clothing and beads together, and if you do, you can safely assume this person is a practioner of Voudon, Santeria, or Candomble.  For women, head scarfs, sleeveless blouses and big flowing skirts, all in white, are de rigeur while at the House.  Men wear white shirts and pants.  Bare feet for all is the norm, or perhaps sandals.  (You can see a certain tropical theme in the manner of dress, so I presume that for really cold climates, there might be some leeway.)

The structure of Candomble. 
The Candomble practioner I knew, Mae (Mae was her title), headed her own house in Brasil.  She was also a PhD in Sociology, so she was a fascinating person to talk about the culture as it exists in Brasil.  After all, she'd studied it in situ both as a scholar and as a practitioner!  Additionally, she had some amusingly pithy commentary about Americans and how they relate to the Candomble lifestyle, because she also had her own House in the US.  What I say here about Candomble comes from our talks, not from literature I've read.

The House.  In Candomble, the practitioners form Houses under someone of higher status.  (Unfortunately, I cannot recall the particular criteria for forming one's own House.)  It is usually an actual house where the head of the group lives along with some of the practioners, in particular those undergoing training.  The priestess in charge doesn't usually work, and there is a rigid heirarchy of behavior and acknowledgement of status among those who enter this world. 

First, one must know one's place in the group.  Second, you must, at every moment in the House, submerge your ego and be a cog in that social machine.  You must be subservient to those of superior rank, and you must-- unfailingly, if you are serious about being there-- acknowledge the religious rank of all those others in the House at any given time.  If you have no initiation, have undergone the first step (head cleansing) or have had your head made, you go by that rank as well as the date it was performed.  One who is 'older' in that status is superior to you; you must perform an obeisance/greeting to him/her as well as anyone of higher rank.

Anecdotally, Mae told me a lot about life in the House.  For example, it sounds rather like a despotic kingdom.  If one wishes the attention of the head of the House, one may not address him or her directly.  One waits to be addressed.  One waits for the head of the House to eat before lowly novices do so.  (The entire process of initation seems to me to be all about demolishing the ego in a much more thorough way than Basic Training ever purported to do.  And more humiliating, lol.)  You could perform an obeisance to the head of the House and be ignored for hours while you squat there (not allowed to sit, either) waiting.  And waiting.  And waiting.  Head games, like I said.

The obeisance I mentioned is a ritual gesture, and the form it takes depends on which Orixa owns your head (even if you haven't had your head made yet.)  For example, if Jemaya owns your head, she is female, so you must perform a female obeisance.  Both types of obeisance involve getting prostrate upon the ground.  (This is a strange concept to Westerners, as I can tell you from personal experience.  It was required to be polite at rituals, and it is very difficult.  I am so not a groveler; I am a control freak.  But Mae said Be Polite and I wanted to be there, so I was.)  And when greeting the head of the house, it also involves kissing them hand or foot-- whatever is appropriate.  I gather that can vary. 

The ritual objects.  For those persons who have their head cleansed, or who have their heads made for their Orixa, they have ritual dishes/objects that form the symbolic home of the Orixa that owns their head.  For initiates, there are usually several Orixa involved, to include their personal Orixa, Obatala, and perhaps three others.  It can vary based on the divinations and and input from the teacher's Orixa, whom the priest/ess speaks with via divination and prayer in order to determine the elements of the initiation. 

When one receives these items, there are stones, special objects and other things such as coins placed in a dish that represents the Orixa who is to 'live' there.  The dish is usually a tureen in style, but can be any lidded pottery dish.  It can be plain or ornate, but it will, in some manner, either color or design, represent the Orixa.  The pracitioner believes the Orixa truly lives in this tureen, and that the Orixa must be fed, prayed to and properly cared for.  Certain secret taboos and required sacrifices and rituals are prescribed during and post-initiation to the newly made.  Further, no one else must look inside these dishes, touch them, or frig with them.  This is critical, as it is possible to kill the individual's Orixa that way.  (Perhaps think of this as a personal avatar, or link to the Orixa, through which the made head is connected to the vast expanse of the 'real' Orixa.)  In Brasil, the House generally has a special room where the members keep their pots/tureens. 

One huge taboo and problem for practitioners is that the tureen must never, ever, cross over open water.  (Which begs the question, how did the Orixa come to the New World if they had to cross the ocean to do so?)  So, to move to the US from Brasil, one should drive overland with a car full of pottery clinking and clanking in the trunk.

Anecdotally, Mae told me that people (in the back-biting manner of jealousy everywhere) can and do sabotage others' Orixa by defiling the pots.  Perhaps they put something taboo or anathema to that particular Orixa in the pot.  There are a number of ways to do this. 

Or, there's the sneak attack.  An individual can avoid just reprisal for an unfair act.  An example.  Say Ms. X wants to cause trouble for someone in the House.  (We'll call the intended victim Ms. Z.)  Now, Ms. X has no real cause to attack Ms. Z.  What Ms. X  does is sneak up to the altar of her enemy, identify herself as Ms. Z to the Orixa in the pots, requests a  supposed (but non-existent) wrong righted against some 3rd party with the juju to return the attack in spades.  (What this does is set up Ms. Z to get whammied by someone totally unrelated to Ms. X.  Very sneaky logic and an example of how the whole system can be a snakepit full of infighting.)  Now, when the victim of Ms. X's appeal to Ms. Z's Orixa  receives his load of Orixa-sent crap, he's going to appeal in turn to his Orixa, saying he's been unjustly attacked and please redress.  Result?  The load of negative juju lands on the person that was supposed to have done the vile deed, our innocent Ms. Z! 

This sounds totally convoluted, but you must understand that 1) prayer to the Orixa is done out loud;  2) the belief is that you must identify yourself out loud by name to the Orixa when you pray or he/she will not know who you are; and 3) if the Orixa recognize that something is unjust, they will rebound a load of nasty stuff.  I was actually told this scenario, I did not make it up!  And it's really a sneaky motif that might work in someone's novel someplace...

Initiation.  Basically, the initiation's purpose is to form a clear channel with the Orixa who owns one's head.  But the understanding is that the Orixa literally become part of you once you undergo this ritual, which is why it takes at least a year of intense dedication before and after.  The process involves sleeping on a grass mat on the floor, genuflecting, eating only certain foods and avoiding many things considered taboo. 

Celebrations.  The worship generally involves drumming, chanting, and dances for the particular Orixa being celebrated.  Each Orixa has his or her own dance, drum pattern, and chant.  This goes for Voudou, Candomble and Santeria.  During these rituals, the intent may be for certain individuals to be 'ridden' but it may turn out that no one, or someone unexpected (even a casual visitor) becomes ridden by the Orixa.  I've seen videos of these dances and been told about them a lot, but have never been to one of these rituals. 

When one has had one's head made, the initiation date is a 'birthday' and must be celebrated by a rather ostentatious offering and a party in honor of one's Orixa.  This entails a multitude of special dishes-- each Orixa has foods and/or dishes he/she prefers or demands-- as well as additional things that are secret.  I inferred that there was some form of renewal performed, or ritual cleansings of some sort, but do not know.  If the pracitioner has the tureens in her own home, she will generally clear the room to make room for the party, leaving the Orixa altar with its display of food and offerings of flowers, booze, candy, etc on the floor in front of it.  That room is where the party is held.

The sacrifice.  Okay, animal sacrifice is a part of this religion.  But something most people don't understand is that the animal is NOTtortured, simply butchered in a ritual manner, and the meat is eaten, the Orixa getting those parts which are their food, the people getting the rest.  (For some unfathamable reason, the Orixa generally like the parts of the animal that are not preferred by humans.)

The Botanica.  The public hub in the US is the Botanica, the metaphysical supply shop where one can buy various items and articles common to Voudou, Santeria and Candomble.  Seven-day candles, blueing, Florida water, cascara, herbs, floor wash, shea butter, essential oils, black salt-- the list is endless.  In fiction, if one were trying to hook in to the community, one might go to a Botanica.  Don't expect your character to just get the skinny on the local scene right off, though.  Like many traditions or peoples having undergone subjugation, the practitioners of African-based religions are not forthcoming to outsiders!  (And, for a list of what a botanica carries, you could check out this store-- merely one among many.  What you can find on the internet...)

Spellwork.  Sometimes, someone who doesn't have their own head made or who doesn't have an affinity for a particular Orixa and wants extra ooomph will go for help.  The Candomble priest/ess will, sometimes for a fee, sometimes not, help you.  First thing, divination using cowrie shells (sometimes called Ifa) is performed.  This can be likened to getting your palm read or having Tarot cards read, but bear in mind that this Ifa divination also involves religious practices and beliefs.  The practitioner determines the root of the problem via his Orixa and will recommend a particular ritual, spell, offering, etc.  Usually a combination of both.  There is a fee charged, and the supplicant must bring the required inventory of stuff to the Santero so he can prepare the herbal washes, offerings, etc. that must be used.  Then the Santero goes into seclusion and charges the elekes or ritual objects by bathing them in the wash and whatever other secret rituals that are required.  The practitioner returns at the appointed time and offerings are either placed on the altar by the supplicant, who verbally speaks their request; or by taking the items and sending them to the Orixa in a particular way (launching them in a basket into the ocean for Yemaja, for example, or burying them at a crossroads.)  The image of spitting liquor is true; the burning it, which I have seen in movies, is not, so far as I am aware.  Cigars frequently must be puffed and smoke blown onto the altar as part of the offering.  Money acquired via the Orixa is placed on the altar (and later goes in the practitioner's wallet.  Of course.) 

Anectodally, I have been told that some popular crossroads, waterfalls, springs and shorelines in Brasil are littered (literally, to the point you barely can walk) with offerings.  Candomble is a strong tradition down there, with obvious ecological issues we aren't going to address here.

Santeria.  Unfortunately, I am not well-versed in the larger structures of Santeria.  I believe, though, that a particular Santero/Santera may take on students and form a circle of initiates.  (A book about this life set in New York is called Mama Lola, and you might find it instructive, if a bit impenetrable, as an insider's view of Santeria.  The book by Niemark I referenced in the book list is also a good intro.)  I cannot say if there are House structures, but there are highly respected personages known as Babalawos who are turned to for their study of Ifa (divination) and in other matters.  Many of these are Yorubans and people trek to Africa to meet with them. 

Anecdotally, I have heard that some of these men are rather cynically just milking the wannabes/cash cows from gold-paved America.  I suppose, given an ample supply of credulous victims, this might be the case for some.  Dont' know, first hand.  Useful dynamic for a novel, though.

In terms of the basic levels of interaction witha  Santero, I can tell you that most of those who deal with the Orisha do so via asking for a divination or assistance with a particular problem/issue.  But it basically runs like it would for a practioner of Candomble. 

Human sacrifice?  I heard a rumor once from Mae Maria.  She stated someone was initiated to Obatala in lieu of that person's true orixa, because in 'the olden days' in Africa, that particular orixa was gifted human sacrifices.  No one in Brasil gets initiated to that personage any longer because human sacrifice (and thus one's worship of that Orixa) is considered evil.  However, she hinted, the practice had been imported to Brasil with the slaves, but that it had fast died out...whether from the African traditions cross-breeding with Christianity or not I do not know. 

I don't know the truth of this, and I cannot recall the name of this mentioned-only-in-whispers-and-back-alleys orixa.  But it seemed like something a writer might use... because one can ask the question What If This Orixa's Worship Still Existed? and go to strange, strange places... 

But, in the real world, rumors of Orisha worshippers sacrificing people are FALSE.  It's all Hollywood hype brought to you by the prejudicial narrow mindedness of humanity.  Fear of the Evil Other, or what have you.  If it were true, I assure you the Santeros and pracitioners of Candomble would feel as horrified by it as you or me.  (End rant.)

Also, there are instances of some bokor or other evil practitioner being caught with human bones.  I saw something on this the other day on Skeleton Story (Discovery channel).  In any group, there are always some bad apples...

List of orisha.  A couple of online lists are here, and here, where I also took the following partial list of Orixa.  (There are hundreds of Orixa, fyi.) For reading material, which is utterly fascinating, I recommend Migene Gonsales Whippler's books.  ( I may or may not get to the point of annotating this list with favorite colors and foods.  I may save that for another post.)

Partial List of Orishas

• Babalu Aye - deity of disease and illness.
• Eshu (Ellegua, Exú, Esu, Exu, Elegba, Legbara, Papa Legba) - messenger between human and divine, god of crossroads, also a phallic and fertility god. Eshu is recognized as a trickster and child like while Eleggua is Eshu under the influence of Obatala
• Nana - female deity of creation, sky mother, associated with the moon.
• Obatala (Obatalá, Oxalá, Orixalá, Orisainlá) - father of orishas and humankind
• Ogoun (Ogúm, Ogum, Ogou) - deity of iron, war, labour, and technology (e.g. railroads)
• Olorun (Oldumare) - creator of the universe, sky father
• Orunmila - deity of wisdom, divination and foresight
• Oshun (Oshún, Ọṣun, Oxum, Ochun, Osun, Oschun) - goddess of rivers, love, fertility, and art
• Oxossi (Oxósse, Ocshosi, Osoosi, Ochosi) - hunter and the scout of the orishas
• Oya (Oyá, Oiá, Iansã, Yansá, Iansan) - goddess of wind, hurricanes, and underworld gates
• Shango (Shangó, Xango, Changó, Chango, Nago Shango) - warrior god of thunder, fire, sky father
• Iemanja (Yemaja, Imanja, Yemayá, Jemanja, Yemalla, Yemana, Yemanja, Yemaya, Yemayah, Yemoja, Ymoja, Nanã, La Sirène, LaSiren, Mami Wata) - divine mother goddess, divine goddess of the sea and Mother of mankind
• Ozain (Osain) - He owns the Omiero, a holy liquid consisting of many herbs, liquid through which all Saints and ceremonies have to go through. Ozain owns the herbs, is a natural healer.
• Agayu - Father of Shango he is also said to be shango's brother in other stories, Agayu is said to be the orisha of volcanoes and the desert.
• Osun - ruler of the head, Ori

*Ellegua statue courtesy of Wikipedia.  Note Ellegua has a nail in the top of his head where I said there were feathers in my earlier post.  Just further proof you shouldn't take what I say as Gospel!  And, as always, your mileage may vary.  But I hope this helps you think about how another culture will handle its religions.  New perspective is always useful in writing.

Magic for Fantasy Writers, Part IX: Mysticism to sharpen the blade of will

Most aspects of paganism involve a spiritual element, if for no other reason than the advanced practioner needs mental and spiritual clarity enough to accomplish the working without getting her own mental garbage tied in with the spell.  To build a clear separation between her self as it is and the will & intent she must learn to focus clearly.  Her will must be honed razor sharp to direct her spells.

This is also, I believe, a key point in the characterization of your fictional witch.  The character's actions, as well as potential plot complications, may fall from her approach to her magic. 

So, the thing you need to ask about her character as it relates to her magical practice is this:  How does she see her magic?  As the goal, or as part of the journey?  Meaning, is she more of a spiritual student who uses magic, or a student of magic with spirituality a mere side effect? 

You can see this choice makes a huge difference.

The spirituality: No intercessor with the gods.
In the course of a deepening study of magical systems, in particular during a training process under the tuteledge of another witch, a novice will first be taught to clear her mind of extraneous junk.  Meditation.  Cleansing rituals, baths, activities are assigned.  Active self-discovery, both in circle during shamanic-style 'vision quests,'  self-healing rituals, and with modern psychological theory and practice (including real-world means such as getting clean and sober in 12-step programs, seeing a mental health counselor of some flavor, or self-help reading and journaling), a neophyte witch will begin the process of becoming a clear channel for her will and intent-- the thing that is the key to a successful working.  You can't see through muddy water, and the spell can't function if the energies aren't clear.

Think of it this way:  When casting a spell (this would be, in circle, before the sending of the cone) the spell's purpose is determined and set.  The initial part of the ritual is all about focus, the honing of the blade of will, the cutting through the everyday crap and revealing a clear path to the manifestation of what is desired. 

And, to do this, the everyday effluvia of one's mind must be settled out of the spiritual waters. 

To cast another metaphore upon the waters, think of the process as a water purification plant.  You want the gross pollutants to be captured and to settle out, leaving clear, pure water.

Because there is no intercessor between the pracitioner and the gods.  None. 

If you consider the lack of a structured priesthood, you can see that it gives both great risk and great responsibility to the practitioner.  That is both its power and its bane.  But the discipline to reach a clarity that allows one to reach out and 'adjust' the world is not easy.  Consider all those rumors/stories of Yogi who can be shut up in a box for a week and come out just fine; or the ones where they levitate.  Miracle healings.  Water to wine and walking on water.  Etc.  The Masters of their disciplines didn't attain their respective skill levels overnight.  More like the ironic term 'overnight success,' these guys (if they really exist) had to practice for years before enlightenment lands.  Of course that's a rather daunting prospect, and I use that extreme example/hope to illustrate the point about needing to work at spiritual clarity of a far lesser degree! 

The means of spiritual clarity.
A short list includes regular meditation; cleansing rituals for self (baths, perhaps spells, guided meditations); cleansing rituals for one's space (cleansing and charging one's house energies, maintaining personal and home protections); active self-examination (including awareness of one's negative mental 'tapes', habits, unhealthy issues); journaling; and whatever else seems significant to the practitioner or her teacher. 

Developing the moral compass.
Besides becoming a clear channel for will and intent, all the self-work the novice undergoes is designed to also make them self-aware so that they know when their own issues/past/inclinations are distorting their thought process.  The witch must be able to identify them, categorize them, and shunt them aside if they are not welcome in the preparation process.  This entails the witch seeing with her mind's eye the goal of the spell, the pros, the cons and the consequences, and, especially, where her own flaws/issues are in this process and removing them from it.  The tactics to do this may be making lists, visualization, talking to the gods in prayer, chanting, trancework, etc.  It is up to the individual how this is accomplished; but it needs to be accomplished. 

And once one discovers her own mind and spirit, one is led to contemplate right from wrong, the results of action and non-action.  To form one's own moral compass with the knowledge of consequences. 

As I've discussed before, the Law of Threefold Return is considered, as is the mental scale-balancing act of considering the merits of action/non-action and the price paid for the invocation of one's will.  The individual must decide for herself; she is, after all, trained to see the karmic cost, at least in general terms.  And, sometimes, the cost is worth it-- just as when one chooses to use violence in self-defense.  As a witch, you can be either a Quaker or a Crusader.  Even inactivity has a consequence.  I mean, consider the Jainists, who live life so that they never kill any living thing.  It's impossible, even if they do sweep the ground before them, or the seat before they sit; if they eat only plants, they are still killing a living thing.  Their bodies are still killing invading germs. 

The difference between organized religions and pagan practice.
It's the responsibility for one's own actions that I see as the defining difference.  One chooses by one's actions whether to be responsible and adhere to a moral compass or not.  Training in many a closed tradition (I cannot speak for all, of course) is designed to make one able to work safely and effectively and become responsible for one's choices.  No absolution via confession.  No penance will ever remove the damage one does.  Good works can bring good; but time doesn't run backwards!

Application to novels?
Like any form of mediation, one sits down and discovers all sorts of raff and chaff floating by.  It takes a bit of practice, time, patience and stick-to-it-iveness.  Then the becomes relatively reflexive if not precisely easy, so I wouldn't belabor this stuff in your writing; I'd just keep in mind that it took dedication for the practitioner in your story to achieve the level of ability he/she has.  That the character's skill (but not their innate power) depends upon a honed ability to focus their will and intent.

Finally, what I'd like you to take into your writing is this:  There is no escape from involvement in life once you are embodied; and, once you become a self-aware magical practitioner, there is no escape from constant choice to act or not. 

I hope this didn't sound like a rant about morals.  I'm just trying to explain the mindset of a pagan magical practitioner in today's world.  Hope it's useful! 

And, as always, happy writing!

Magic for Fantasy Writers, Part VIII: A Reading List

Nobody in their right mind except an Eclectic witch would own all of these books.  I own most of them, or did before I got rid of some in order to facilitate my move from San Francisco to Maine a decade ago.  These are all fairly recent vintage, and express the neopagan movement fairly well.  I'll annotate them to give you some idea of how they may be useful to your writerly research.

There are lots of other books out there, but these will give you a good basic info on witchcraft.

Basic witchcraft.

• Wicca for the Solitary Practitioner, by Scott Cunningham.  A wonderful basic primer.  Read this for a general understanding of Wiccan basics for individual witches.  No real history lessons here.  Anything by Scott Cunningham may be useful to you, but really just this one volume stands out IMO.
• To Stir a Magick Cauldron, by Silver Ravenwolf.  Lots of data on witchcraft.  Useful for basic knowledge, but a lot of background info as well.  Probably a good bet for you if you want to understand general witchcraft today.  Her chapter on the pagan community is particularly useful.
• Spiral Dance, by Starhawk.  This gives you an entire magical tradition, as well as a lot of background information.  Worth a read for a basic grounding in ethics and ritual practices.  Starhawk was trained by Victor and Cora Anderson in the Feri tradition, and started the Reclaiming Collective with some other like-minded pagans. 
• Spells & How They Work, Janet Farrar.  Good information on the thought process of spellwork written by one of the founding mothers of modern Wicca.

Background on the Craft.

• Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft, by Raymond Buckland.    Gardnerian tradition basics.
• Witches' Bible, by Janet Farrar.  A classic.  Basics of Alexandrian ceremonial magic.  Gives what I call an old timey feel to the information verses the newer, more streamlined American-written books. 
• Drawing Down the Moon, Margot Adler.  A fantastic collection of interviews that document the neopagan movement in the U.S.  Worth a read in order to give you an understanding of pagan society and politics, as well as how the current styles of paganism developed in the US.
• Encyclopedia of Wicca & Witchcraft, by Raven Grimassi.  A compendium of the various traditions.  More info here than I could possibly relay in this blog. 

Other information.

• The Book of Stones & Metals, and Magical Oils by Moonlight, by Maya Heath.  Besides being a personal friend of mine, Maya brings an anal-retentitive researcher's skills to these topics (and I say that with love.)  I haven't found a more comprehensive list of magical uses for these items.  Scott Cunningham also produced several books that are similar, and which are very good.  These by Maya Heath, however, are much larger, which also dovetails with my preference for encyclopedic reference material. 

The Mythology & The History.

• The Mabinogion.  Celtic mythology.  Very relevant to Feri/Faerie trad, among others.
• A History of Pagan Europe, by Prudence Jones.  I have this one, but haven't read it yet.  Highly recommended by friends as good background info.
• Bullfinch's Mythology, by Thomas Bullfinch.  For a take on the Greek gods and goddesses.
• The Witches' God, and The Witches' Goddess, by Janet & Stewart Farrar.  Pagan perceptions of diety, discussion of the varying gods and goddesses from that perspective. Long incantations to various gods (not that useful for most witches).  Most informative is the discussion of the various archetypes.
• Popul Vuh.  Mayan.  Sacred book of the Mayans.  Not sure which edition (translation) is best.  Useful to figure out their spiritual outlook or to help you develop your own.  Frankly, though, I find it a bit impenetrable because I am not at all steeped in the Central American mythology, despite being born and raised in California.  The stuff just wasn't around when I was a kid.  (You might find An Illustrated Dictionary of the Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya, by Mary Miller and Karl Taube, of more use to you.)
• The Egyptian Book of the Dead.  Egyptian after death mythology.  Only useful if you want to know their philosophies, or if you are trying to figure out one of your own.

Books on Energy Work/ New Age books/Other stuff.

• Wheels of Life, by Anodea Judith.  Chakra work.  (Chakras are energy centers in the body.)
• Creative Visualization, by Shakti Gawain.  Useful primer for the power of positive thinking, all useful stuff for the honing of focused mind (will).  It's a stripped-down (Westernized) version of her tantric practices. 
• The Pagan Book of Living & Dying, by Starhawk & Macha Nightmare. Rituals and meditations for those dying and those surviving.  Preparing for death the pagan way.
• Black Elk Speaks, by John Niedhart & Black Elk.  A first person narrative of the life of a Lakota Sioux, including his experience at Wounded Knee.
• Sacred Pipe, by Black Elk.  A lot of first-person information regarding the sacred pipe and the spirituality of Black Elk's people.  He gives specific rituals as part of his narrative, not like recepies but as part of his daily routine.

Books I haven't read but which I think will be useful.

• Heka: Magic in Ancient Egypt, The Practices of Ancient Egyptian Ritual &  Magic, by David Rankine.  Exploration of Egyptian magical practices for daily living.
• The Isles of the Many Gods, by David Rankine and Sorita D'Este.  Pagan gods in Celtic lands. 
• Wicca Demystified:  A Guide for Practitioners, Family & Friends, by Bryan Lankford.

Miscellaneous books that might be useful for magical fantasy writers.

• The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne.  Yep it's all about positive thinking making the world go your way, but it is useful for giving you the flavor of a 'magical mindset.'  So to speak.
• The Nature of Personal Reality, A Seth Book, by Jane Roberts.  Yes, it is channeled.  However, I think that this book has a lot to add to the discussion when talking about the mystical world view.  Besides, it  ties together a lot of the New Age stuff floating around, stuff that can infuse your worldbuilding with some interesting flavor.

Magic for Fantasy Writers, Part VII: What do you want to know?

My series on magic for writers has proven quite fruitful so far, and I can think of a number of articles to add in the future.  What I'd really like to know, however, is what would you guys like to know?  If I don't know it, I probably have a book on it, or have read about it in the dust-covered past.

I have a few things I'd love to talk about, including a few odd tidbits about the pagan society, things like pagan choruses, pagan hospices, pagan cemetaries, and how part of the mandate of being a witch who is seeking spiritual growth is to recognize one's part of the world and care for the environment and the people and society around them.

Or I could go on about the co-opting by New Agers and Eclectics of many shamanic traditions, to include the insistance by some that trained witches (in some paths) are shamans, too.  Which brings me to issues about how paganism practices that absorb native cultures are despised by Indians in the US, for the most part; and how taking the practices from their cultural surrounds robs them both of relevance and potency.  Or does it?

And how about the nature of belief, or the differences between psychic ability and magic?  Are they the same things, or similar things that overlap? 

Maybe the physiology of belief?  I could go on about that one with the assistance of my neuropsychologist friend, Bruce.  Might even connive beg steal, um, convince him to let me use a talk he gave on the god part of the brain...

Or would you folks rather know about something more specific?

Magic for Fantasy Writers, Part VI: Etiquette

This one will be short.  Just a few rules.  A lot of these come down to respect of another's privacy, person, and things... in other words, common sense.

• Don't touch someone else's ritual jewelry, tools, or anything on their altar without permission.  Corollary:  If you don't have a need to touch it (say, to move something on the altar to make room for something else) don't even ask. This is a big one.  If your friend is sporting a cool pentacle, don't pick it up off her chest to look at it.  And, again, don't even ask to touch it.  It's rude, and they'll tell you no anyway.
• Don't walk out of a circle without someone cutting you an energy doorway both going in and going out.  Remember, if you treat that psychic circle like it's not there, you are damaging it.  And you will offend people greatly.
• No crashing the party! Don't bring a friend to a pagan event unless it is open to the public.   (Flyers are posted, etc.)   If you feel  you have someone who will benefit, then ask the person holding the event for their okay before mentioning it to the other person.
• Don't 'out' someone as a witch or casually share information on practices unless the person you are speaking to needs the information.  Witches do not proselytize, and they do not throw pearls before swine.  If someone asks for information, maybe share something; but remember, power shared is power lessened.  A witch doesn't go blabbing all about her process to people without cause.  [And, no, this series of articles doesn't count, because this is all too general. ]

This stuff is mostly common sense and being respectful of another's privacy.    Not a whole lot to add to it that I can think of, off hand.  So you get a short post this time!

Magic for Fantasy Writers, Part V: African-based

I know a bit about Candomble, Voodoo, and Santeria.  My knowledge is from a number of years ago, and I claim no particular expertise in any of them.  However, for the writer, I'd like to share a small amount with you.

Voodoo, Voudon, and Hoodoo.  All similar, all sometimes used interchangeably.  There are differences, though.

Voodoo is the New Orleans version, and is heavily influenced with Catholocism.  Sycretism (the combination of catholic saints with african loa/orisha of similar characteristics) is very apparent.
Voudon (alt. spelling, Vodou)  For one thing, it seems to be more accepted in Haitian culture.  It is much closer to its African roots, which is purported to be Benin. 
Hoodoo is an african folk magic, from my understanding heavily influenced by Baptist christianity and mostly divested of the African elements.

The nature of worship. in Voudon worshippers engage in trance possession, where the loa 'rides' the possessed and communicates with them.  Dance, drumming and singing or chanting can induce this state.  Sacrifices and magical spells/curses/charms/etc. are also performed by the worshippers.  Offerings are made to the loa (akin to dieties) and the ancestors and can include liquor, candy, animal sacrifice or food, cooked or not depending on the loa involved.  The system is heirarchical and initiatory.  An Ask.com article describes the system very clearly, although it does not provide intimate details. 

Worldview.  There is one true god, then the loa in a rather angelic capacity (except they interact with humanity all the time via ritual and etc.) and the dead.  The godhead seems to be referred to as Damballah Owedo, where the title for "The Serpent and the Rainbow" comes from.

Common vocabulary of Voudon.  Most of this is used in both New Orleans and Haitian flavors.  However, I recommend you read some of the internet articles, they are more in depth and have good explanations so far as I can tell.  This glossary is a good list of terms commonly thrown around; and also the reading list is valuable to get an in-depth understanding.

Asogwe - supreme human authority regarding a particular loa.
Bokor - practitioner who 'serves the loa with both hands', i.e. does both dark and light magic.  It is the bokor who is reported to create zombies.
Cheval/ier - French for horse/horseman.  The terminology is used for possession by the loa.  The horse is the possessed, the loa is the rider.
Gris-gris - mojo bag
Houngon - Male practitioner.  Considered a priest.
Kanzo - basic worshipper with basic initiation.
Loa - the godlike beings which are worshipped and 'ride' practitioners in ceremonies.  They are considered to have risen from the ranks of the powerful or heroic dead, from the great heros and heroines and kings.
Mambo - female practitioner.  Considered a priestess.
Obeyeh - folk magic, or a practitioner, the "obeyeh man/woman."
Obi - synonymous with obeyah
Veve - symbols which are drawn to attract the attention of a particular loa.  In voudou, these are part of the ritual of invocation.
Wanga - a spell, made of secret ingredients and collected in a bottle or a pouch.  Can be for luck, protection, money, love, or healing.
Zombie - undead slave created by bokor.

Ritual generally involves dance, offerings of food, liquor, candy, animal sacrifice.  What is offered depends upon the loa who 'owns' the Houngon or Mambo. 

Santeria and Candomble are similar in form but vary in details.  Similar to Voudon except the Loa are the Orisha (Orixa in Candomble, which is conducted in Portuguese).  Origin is from Yoruba tribal mythology for the most part, with sancretism masking the orisha as Catholic saints. 

In Santeria or Candomble, the practioners go through a very long ritual process where they are required to purify themselves, after which they have an orisha 'installed in their head' via ritual activities, including having one's head shaved and the wearing of purified clothing (white), and involving a number of restrictions given to the initiate during this ritual period for the aftermath ritual period, certain taboos such as avoiding certain foods their orisha dislikes, or not looking in mirrors for a certain timeframe).  I've always heard this ritual process called "being made' but there are likely other terms.  The orisha 'lives' in the ritual bowl (usually a tureen that is highly decorated in some manner reflective of the orisha involved) with ritual objects that only the priests and recipient are aware of.  This orisha must be 'fed' by offerings.  In Candomble and Santeria, there is also herierarchical behavior, such as obeisance to one's superior in initiation rank (by date and level), based on the gender of one's primary orisha, the one who "owns your head." (Think of it like a zodiac, only with the stricture this is who you shall be dedicated to if you go for further initiation.)  The priest(ess) is called the Santero/a.

I believe voudon may have some similar practices, but I have never been friendly with a houngon or mambo. 

How one appeals to the orisha/loa.
Basically, one talks to them.  States name, the grievances one has, what one wants, and then offers the 'payment' in the form of an offering.  Ritual magic is also done, some performed by a babalao or other practitioner of elevated status who has their head 'made' for the specific orisha who needs to be appealed to for aid.  Frequently the offering involves booze, cigars, bananas, fruit or certain cooked meals that are specific to an orisha.  Sometimes the practitioner can do this for themselves without having the cowrie shells read (divination called Ifa by some) and without having had any initiation. 

At home.  People can keep a coconut or an Ellegua statue (cement mound with feathers at the top and cowrie shells for face), or Ellegua can be represented by the Saint, El Nino de Atoicha.  These statues/symbols are placed behind the door as a household guardian.  (Ellegua/Legba/Ellegba is the orisha who is always consulted first in any ritual because he opens and closes the way.)  People can make offerings to their personal Ellegua (which is made by a priest of the faith or by the practitioner by some, or by themselves if you go by a non-traditional take on these things).

There are lots of folk magic and such in these traditions, too.  See the reading list for examples.

Precedence is important for the orisha.  For example, Ellegua/Esu must be invoked first every ritual or offering or prayer, as heis the opener of the way.  Likewise, the 'owner' of a person's head (their personal orisha) must be prayed to regularly. 

Prayer.  This is done by speaking out loud.  As I was told once, the Orisha do not read your thoughts, you must speak to them out loud as if they are there.

NOTE:  Voodoo dolls are not from Africa.  They are from European tradition of the 'poppet.'

Miscellany.  Divination: Ritual divination using cowrie shells is performed by an initiated priest/ess.  In many places this person is a Babalao.

Reading:
Ask.com link page for African-based religion.
The Wikipedia article on the Yoruba religion, which describes the worldview well.
Rainbow & The Serpent
Passage of Darkness: The Ethnobiology of the Haitian Zombie
Spiritual Cleansing
Praising His Name in the Dance
The Diloggun 
The Osha 
Way of the Orisha by Philip Neimark, a Santero.
Powers of the Orishas, Santeria the Religion, and other books by Migene Gonzales-Whippler, a Santera (most are out of print).
Another reading list on books about Yoruba culture.

A few good sites on Santera/Candomble:
Philip Niemark's site.
Ifa Council dot com.  They are selling product, but it gives a good idea of the structure of Santeria.
Wikipedia's article.

Magic for Fantasy writers, part IV: Bad Spellwork

I've gone over various elements of magical practice for you in the earlier posts on witchcraft basics.  In this post, I'm going to talk about bad spellwork.  And it isn't what you think.  Bad spellwork is faulty spellwork.  It can be evil spellwork; but being 'evil' is a moral designation, and it is not my purpose here to define that for y'all. 

And bad spells (or how to fix them) is a useful tool for plot complications.  I am going to give you a few things you can use when your characters either screw up or have reason to be alarmed at badly done spellwork.  These examples ought to give you a means to think about your fictional spells and how to have your characters screw up.

PART 1:  STUPID MISTAKES USEFUL FOR PLOT & CHARACTERIZATION.

Not closing the door.  The biggest mistake is when a character casts a spell for a specified result, but they do not 'close the door' on unwanted means or results.  An example:  I want a pony.  I cast a spell, and thoughtlessly say, "Gods, I want a pony in the worst way.  Give me a pony no matter what."  And I get a pony because I inherit Grandpa Joe's estate when he dies, and Grandpa has a stable full of ponies.  Not your desired means, because you loved your Grandpa Joe.  Simply put, be careful what you ask for, and always add some sort of generic rider along the lines of 'so long as it doesn't harm anything.'  The wiccans have a rote saying:  "An it harm none, so mote it be."  Amen, bruddah.

Everything you do is cast upon yourself, too.  All things are connected.  Witches recognize that when a spell is cast, they are casting it, first and foremost, upon ourselves...because everything is connected.  Thus, if you do bad or stupid stuff, you get a piece of that pie along with the intended recipient.  This is a very good reason to not aim negative shit at anybody or anything: backlash, or the Law of Threefold Return, comes knocking at your door.  (This is used in various books as a backlash where the psychic or magical practitioner who overdoes it gets a headache or exhausted.  I'm talking something different here; I'm talking about karma, although both forms of backlash are great plot elements for magic having a cost.)

Channeling is bad for you.  When you channel, you are allowing some out-of-body being to inhabit your flesh and operate you like a handpuppet. (See the Seth books by Jane Roberts for an idea about what I mean.) Creepiness factor aside, this tends to have a deliterious effect upon one's health.  Because how energy flows and what vibration it is apparently makes a difference.  You can work energy through yourself, or outside of yourself when doing a spell/working.  It is not a joke to say that those who channel tend to be sick a lot.  This is because the energy vibrations of the channel are upped to incompatible levels while channeling an entity-- or so I have been told.  (Whether true or not, it is something I've always wanted to use in a book, more for part of a characterization than anything else.)

Protection.  Smart spellcrafters use protection. This is either accomplished by casting a circle or just cleansing and/or protecting a space.  The more formal, the greater one's protection.  (In a story, you might have a person who's spell goes awry from outside interference.) Or, the common codicil offered when launching the energy for a working:  An it harm none, so mote it be.  Bad magical hygiene of not using protection means it's possible to have a spell infected by outside influences. 

Backlash, or bad karma.  If you are casting a spell and you have personal issues, doubts, or an agenda you are not letting yourself recognize, it is part of the spell unless the witch takes care to keep her personal issues out of the working.  So, if you are trying to do a healing upon a friend, say to aid her in dealing with arthritis, you aren't going to be successful, or the results may vary from conscious intent, if you have a sense of unworthiness for health within yourself.  There are means of getting around this, primarily by being very clear both spiritually and mentally before casting, so you keep your own personal agendae from the mix.  (In a story, you could see a witch as a trainwreck, doing something that will come crashing back on them due to their own self-ignorance.)

Being too specific.  If you realy want to screw up a perfectly good spell, try to dictate every single term, action and whatnot.  The outcome is likely going to be fouled up because you have been so specific.  This is because you cannot possibly have closed the door on every unwanted outcome, and, thus, you will have a greater chance of having a bad outcome.  You can almost guarantee that there will be a bad outcome.  Say, for example, you have a healing spell to fix someone's bum knee which was injured in a skiing accident.  Which is more likely to function as desired, the spell wherein you visualize your buddy skiing gracefully down the slopes at Aspen; or the one where you imagine, in nitpicky detail, the healing of a torn ligament?  Yup, the one that lets the energy get about its biz without you dictating the details is the one that's gonna work properly.  Imagine what could happen if your friend's knee is screwed up not because of a torn ligament (which you visualized healing in detail) but soemthing else?  With all the time you spent imagining a torn ligament, albeit one that is mending, you have invested all that energy in giving a damaged ligament to the person, not in healing it.  See what I mean about specificity?  Getting too involved in the how-to process frigs up the working.

PART 2:  THE NATURE OF EVIL IN WITCHCRAFT.

'Evil' spellwork.  Here is where the terminology gets rather tricky and the morality has shades of gray.  Every magical tradition has its sense of right and wrong, a morality of 'good' and 'evil'.  And, in some traditions, cursing (hexing) is fine.  Some traditions do not recognize the Law of Threefold Return and do what they will is the whole of their law, consequences be damned.  However, the general perception is that evil is doing something against another's will.  That can include well-intentioned acts, such as healing, if the workign is done without the recipient's permission.  It is not evil to do magic; it is not evil to 'curse' someone if you feel you have a legitimate cause to do so; but it occupies the same good/evil niche as killing someone to save your life or someone else's.  Gray all over the place.  Your choice may be necessarily 'evil' because you are going to pay for the act in some fashion.  However, the degree of evil is in the degree to which you subsume or circumvent another's will.  Tricky morality, isn't it?  I mean, what about the evil that person was intending toward you?  More gray.  If you commit an act of so-called magical evil by hexing, you get the backlash.  It is the witch's conscious choice that is important to note here.  The informed witch knows the consequences. 

I hope I've managed to explain this properly.  You can use this thought process to great effect in a story someplace, I'm sure.

Evil eye.  This is frequently unintentional.  An example:  You have had a really bad day and are driving in traffic.  Someone cuts you off, and you fling a heap-load of viscious thoughts their way.  Well, consider this:  The more powerful you are psychically, the more umph that energy has, and it can be as effective as a full-on spell cast at the person.  You can definitely affect others by carelessly tossing mental poo at them.  And this bears its own karmic return.   

Psychic vampirism. There's a sect of people who call themselves psychic vampires.  I am not addressing them or their beliefs.  I am talking about non-consensual siphoning or redirecting of someone else's psychic energies.  This would be, for example, when a person sucks the life out of a group,  a person, or perhaps at a party, like the guy in The Cooler pulls the luck out of a gambler.  It is a form of evil-- unintentional, but evil none the less for having harmed another.  The person doing the draining may be doing so unconsciously, too:  unwittingly attracting craploads of bad karma upon themselves.  (You could have a character suffering from this karmic rebound.)

Curses/Hexes.  I covered this the other day.  But, in brief:  You are deliberately sending a bad thing at somebody when you cast a curse.  And if you do, you will also have to deal with the consequences due to the Law of Threefold Return.  Karma.  What goes around, comes around.  And, if you wish to split hairs, it is a hex to cast even a well-intentioned spell upon someone without their permission.  However, if you are casting a spell to benefit someone, that's the rebound you are going to receive back...which can make the decision to act without permission somewhat easier at times.

Using others to do your dirty work.  I was once attending a Dianic ritual by a group whose name I won't mention here.  They were particularly negative against men, and, in fact, men were forbidden to enter, to the extreme.  (A hermaphrodite friend was rejected at the door for their rituals.  Sexist witches?  You betcha.  Welcome to the real world.)  Inside this ritual, the priestess leading (a nationally known personage!) incited the crowd to join in to curse some politicians whom she thought weren't doing enough about punishing a rapist.  She incited the crowd to join in on a joint curse by a particular ritual gesture, but which (I observed, expecting this from her) she did not join in doing.  Then she cast the curse for the audience.  Guess who would receive the brunt of the backlash?  Not the priestess.  (That's despicable, and it would be a cool thing to use in a book.) The reason she didn't receive the energy back is because the will and intent of all those participants made the 'pool' of willpower more from the crowd than herself.  In layman's terms, most of what she did was drop the letter in the mailbox.  Her connection via starting the ball rolling is more along the lines of accomplice.

Mirrors.  If someone sends some bad mojo your way, you can merely put up the psychic "No solititation" sign up and refuse delivery via a mirror spell.  Neutral karma for you.  The Law of Threefold Return is not involved here.  But it does bounce the negativity at someone, and it could be considered evil by others.

Best curse I ever heard was a blessing.  A witch I knew had a neighbor from hell.  She cast a series of blessings for him, that he 'receive bounty and all good things...very, very far away from his current residence.'  He got the job offer of a lifetime within a couple of months, and quite happily moved away, leaving her with friendly and quiet neighbors.  Everybody lived happily ever after.

Lesson?  Love or Neutrality is the best offense.  However, you cannot always be neutral.  Or loving.  Which is why a witch seeks to use meditation or purification measures/rituals in order to keep their own mental/spiritual issues out of their magical workings.  This is a very important part of the process, and is almost always underplayed in magical use in nearly-real-world stories.  I think you might be able to use it in fiction to add some gritty reality.

PART 3:  USING THIS IN WRITING

Okay, so you have a psychic or magical problem.  Ask yourself three questions.  1) What is the moral guideline of the person(s) involved?  2)  How do they choose to deal with the problem, avoiding negative karma or attracting it?  and 3)  How does this affect your plot?  If you need to clear up a complication, you are likely going to select the option reducing karma; and if you want a complication, likely the one increasing karmic payback. 

But I do hope this gives you some food for thought in using witches or other magical practioners in writing.

Dogma.
And, as a final note, one of the big differences between the christian-based religions and the pagan ones is the lack of dogma.  Dogma dictates good and evil to one; but to pagans, there is no overarching dogma, and the choice of what is good or evil is determined more by the practitioner than by the religion itself.  Free will is emphasized. 

Happy writing!

Magic for Fantasy Writers III: Basic Wiccan Terminology

Following on the heels of yesterday's post on wiccan basics, a few random terms. 
I'll leave you to do research on these things, but a few common terms you will hear bandied about follow.  Do a bit of reading from the forthcoming reading list, and you will certainly learn a few more.  I haven't alphabetised, codified or otherwised organized this list; it is just a bunch of ideas and thoughts about common elements and terms you would benefit from knowing and understanding something about them.  I also will give you some ideas about how I think you  might be able to use them.

Organization.
Coven.  Group of witches who work together, generally with a distinct heirarchy and led by the priest/priestess or a paired priest and priestess.  Perhaps read some of the ceremonial tradition books, such as Witches' Bible by Janet & Stewart Farrar, in order to get a handle on the heirarchical aspects of the formal coven.  An informal coven may be a group of like-minded solitary witches who get together in order to do something.  I've even seen internet spells, where a group agrees to get together at the same time to do the same rituals.  There are plenty of online groups for pagans of various flavors on yahoo.groups.  You could have an internet coven...

Solitary.  Witch who practices solo, doesn't belong to a coven.  Many solitary witches are self-taught.  This implies a lack of traditional training and (sometimes) a stigma.  Snobbery is human, after all, and sometimes witches belonging to a coven that imparts traditional passed-down closed traditions and training may feel superior to the self-taught variety of witch.  However, with the plethora of books on the subject, self-taught, solitary witches are common; and, depending upon the witch in question, not necessarily an 'inferior' practitioner.  However, you can see an opportunity for a social schizm in your writing from this dichotomy...

Closed tradition.  Many elements are hidden, not transferred to outsiders except through the process of training.  Initiatory rites instill successive levels of power to the practitioner, tying them to the sacred Ancestors and Guardians (who are usually considered ancestors of near godlike power) and thereby incresing their magical oomph.  Rank indicated in various ways, cord, robes, wands.  May be given ritual tools or have them consecrated as part of the ritual.   Training is offered to the new witch; it is not requested, because a priest(ess) doesn't advertise (or didn't used to).  Which goes with the whole tradition of keeping the practices quiet over the milennia.For fictional purposes, you can use the 'secret handshake' litmus test.  Meaning, one of the members of a closed trad can recognize another by certain words or phrases, rather like the Freemasons.  I haven't seen this in practice; but it would work in fiction.

Open tradition.  Everything in the tradition is public.  Generally, an open tradition is one you get from a book.  It's 'Witchcraft Lite' compared to the closed traditions, in that one receives no secret, passed-down work, and in theory at least does not receive a psychic tie-in to the Elders of the tradition.  (Here is where the Ancestors and Guardians who are sometimes thought of as Ancestors are important.)  You could show a weakness in your self-taught witch's skills, part of the plot conflict in the story.  Or you could have a running argument between a witch from a closed trad and a self-taught witch.  Any number of variations to add reality grit or plot complications.

Wand ranking.  Some traditions issue wands to show degree of initiation.  (Some use cords or both, and some use neither.) Black wand is the highest.  I have heard of sytems that include red, yellow, green and black wands.  Your mileage may vary on this one.  It's not a much-discussed topic amongst Eclectics, but seems to be fairly important in the more formal, ceremonial trads.  An element you can name drop to add reality grit, such as having a snobby wannabe characterized by the use of a put-down to another character.

Hiving.  When a coven breaks off from the original.  Often can occur as ideological differences develop or as the group's size makes group concensus more difficult.  (herding pagans = herding cats, remember?)  Could be a sub-plot, or pot-stirring background element in a novel with a character dealing with magical community, either her own or one she is investigating.

Spiritual Protection.
Protection.  Protection 'bubbles' or shields can be cast outside of circles.  They are a common enough practice, a psychic and magical protection from random negative energy and from deliberate attacks.  Or, if you are a sensitive around sensitives, you don't want to have your personal stuff picked up by others and vice versa.  Some visualize protections as blue, lavender or silver.  Some use white energy, which to me seems very Christian.  Whatever works for the person.  The idea is simply to not allow specific stuff in.  For fictional purposes, you might add a tiny bit of realism to the shielding you character uses by having them need to maintain it.  Most of these stories with magic or psychic shields (it will work for both) is 'once thought of, always there' and that is just too easy to my way of thinking.  Please have your character need to meditate to remain a clear channel for energy and to be able to maintain a shield.  Otherwise, they become susceptible to letting in things that are in the person's mind.  (Like attracts like, sympathetic magical principle, right?  Thus, if your mind is cluttered with anger, unacknowledged fear, etc. you can unconsciously allow those things through shielding because your subconscious sees that sort of junk as acceptable, no matter what your conscious thinks.) For fictional purposes, you might have a person who has issues around sexual matters due to a rape or childhood trauma, and he/she cannot keep a succubus from assaulting her in her sleep?  It might make a good subplot for someone having to deal with suddenly-discovered magical powers.  I am sure there are many sorts of applications.

Hex.  A deliberate act of malice via a witch's spellwork.  It is not the intent (which may be for a good cause) which makes this an act of malice; it's the nature of the working, which is considered 'evil' if it goes against the will of the person who is being affected as well as if the result is intended to harm.   We've all seen bad acts of magic in books.  I haven't, however, generally seen the bad karma catching up with the Evil Overlord.  Perhaps you could make this rebound effect be part of your whizbang plot?

Binding.  A working that is meant to prevent someone or something from committing a certain act.  This is generally interpreted as a lower-ranking hex, a means of preventing someone from committing harmful acts, such as keeping a serial rapist from succeeding again.  The 'evil' is in the result, which is to force something upon another against their will.  Even a healing spell can be a hex, if done without permission by the recipient.  How you can use this in fiction is to have some ignoramus try to 'help' someone and create havoc in both their life and the life of the person they 'helped.'  I'll have a later post on the whys and wherefores of 'bad' magic; but basically the results of any spell are also cast upon the ones casting said spell, in addition to the Law of Threefold Return.  Messy to fix.  But one could have a 'good' binding spell if you did it with the full consent of the recipient-- say, to aid a person with multiple personality disorder stay integrated.

Mirror spell.  This is a no-karma means of returning a negative spell.  It metaphorically hangs a "no solicitors" sign out there on one's aura, bouncing back specified energies.  In fiction, this could be the somewhat ubiquitous "shielding" which we hear so much about.  Magical or psychic, you can use the concept of a mirror spell as the basis for your own fictional character's shields.  Magical Practices.
Consecration.  Dedication.  Refers to ritual objects, generally.  If it's a person being dedicated, then it's an initiation or sometimes just a dedication. In fiction, it might prove significant that certain articles are or aren't consecrated.

Dressing.  Refers to the practice of anointing a candle with oil and charging it with the required energy for a working.  For example, you might dress a pink candle with rose oil for a love spell.  You might anoint or dress any ritual article to consecrete it, as well.  A fictional dilemma may be the need for a ritual element, such as an annointing oil.

Cleansing space.  Using salt water, incense, or just energy, a witch can clean or adjust the psychic resonance of a space.  Visualization and physical assistance will vary according to purpose, witch, and the witch's tradition.  I believe Christians sometimes use a white candle and prayer in a similar manner. Common cleansings are frequently just the burning of a favorite incense, or one that suits the mood of the ritual about to be performed.  If one is seekign to clear negativity in a new or polluted space, first step is usually to burn white sage, which is in leaf form or in a smudge stick Native American style. A step stronger in cleansing effectiveness is to burn dragon's blood, a resin incense that must be burned on charcoal.  The industrial strength incense to burn is asfoedita, which is also a leaf, and which smells like burning dog poop and something worse I've never found a name for.  Guaranteed to clear anything out of a house, especially people.  Witches generally keep their ritual and home spaces cleansed of negative energies and charged with postive energies (as well as protected).  You can use any of this for reality grit in your writing; but I personally have used the asfoedita angle in my vampire novel for humor.

Handfasting. Marriage ceremony, which can be intended for forever of for 'a year and a day.'  I've also heard the term 'for as long as you both shall love.'  Like any other magical rite, the Circle is cast and the gods invoked, as well as the quarters.  Jumping over a broom can be included.   In fiction, you could have someone explaining that this is the only way that brooms get used except for actually sweeping; no flying on them in the 'real' world.  Could be used as a put down, too.

The Great Rite.  This is a considerably bandied-about term engendering much outcry among non-pagans.  Basically, in some traditions, the element of worship includes re-enacting the essentially sexual nature of the cosmos:  The heiros gamos, or Sacred Marriage.  The Lord and the Lady having sexual intercourse and creating the world, to put it bluntly.  Some traditions do this literally (with adults only present); others do not.  A common, non-literal re-enactment, though, is in the  blessing of the cakes and wine, where the Chalice and Athame stand in for the Lady and Lord.   

Poppet.  Doll used as a similacrum in spellwork.  From poppet comes the concept of the voodoo doll, not from African traditions, I believe.  A tool used in symbolic magic. 

Skyclad.  Nudity in ritual.  "Going skyclad," is the common phraseology.  Nakedness is considered a way to honor sacred sexuality of the universe, and is not intended to be sexual (see Great Rite, where the opposite holds true.)

Cord.  A ritual cord that is 'made to measure,' i.e. of a particular length that is traditionally the lenth of a person's outline with an additional 3 feet.  Another definition is that the cord should be 9 feet in length.  I'm sure there are others. The Chord, however, is an integral process of some witches' initiatory process.  Cords are given or made by practitioner for initiation.  Frequently newer cords are bound to or braided/woven with the old cord(s) for successive initiations.  Colors and styles may vary according to the tradition.  They are generally only used by closed, initiatory traditions.  Can be tied together during a working to form a circle, as well.  Probably best used as just another bit of reality grit.

Deosil.  Clockwise.  Important to go clockwise for invocation.  The distinction between clockwise and counterclockwise has been oft debated.  Some apparently feel that using counterclockwise is 'negative' and clockwise is 'positive'; but the opening/closing usage makes more sense to me, like closing or opening a door. For fiction, bear in mind that the symbolism of direction is important.  After all we still hold the left-hand, right-hand significant.  There is even reference to Left Hand and Right Hand magical paths in some places.  Most commonly in fiction, it seems to me.

Widdershins.  Counter-clockwise. This direction is for undoing or devocation.  Some believe this direction imparts a destructive or negative aspect to a work.  As I said above, I do not agree with this interpretation.  However, sometimes such symbolism can add to your spellwork.  Whatever works in the situation, go with the gut so that the symbolism fits the needs of the spell.  Sometimes that will mean you use a widdershins invocation.  Say, if you are binding an evil entity, or casting a hex in your story.

Scrying.  Means of fortelling the future.  Can involve reading smoke or tea leaves, looking into a crystal ball or a flame.  Reading Tarot cards is akin to this, but the difference is that the cards are interpreted, and a scrying witch just gets psychic input they have to interpret.  For comic effect, you could have someone scry dog poop instead of entrails (due to their Vegan lifestyle & PETA membership) because the poop was in the entrails, therefore it should by reason of the sympathetic principle by just as effective (or nearly so).  Or have the degrees of messiness in scrying indicate the seriousness of the user's intent.  Many variations possible here.

The Elements.  The five sacred elements of Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit (Aether or Ether).  These are represented by the points of a pentacle.  Some systems vary, including the use of Metal and Stone for Earth.  Elements are associated with directions, and these can change according to who you talk to.  Generally, however, East is Air, South is Fire, West is Water, and North is Earth.  If the spell justifies it to the given witch's intuition, she may adjust her elements to be more specific. For example, in a fictional world you could have a cybermage use electricity for Fire and Metal for Earth.  Or you could have elemental beings (salamander (fire), undine (water), sprite (air), dryad (earth) for elements).

Common sayings. 
Not an all-inclusive list, but a few useful/common terms.  Every scifi or fantasy great has its catchphrase, after all-- Star Wars' "May the Force be with you," for example.  You can take this concept and create your own phrases that enliven your made-up magical systems, giving it a weight it might otherwise lack.

• "Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again."   Usually the group says this when the circle is opened.  Often prefaced by "The Circle is open but is not broken."
• "Blessed be."  Somewhat like Amen.  Also, a common bumper sticker.
• "So mote it be."  Generally indicates one's will.  Like a period for punctuation at the end of the work.
• "As above, so below."  Refers to the expectation that the enactment of the spell/ritual will be reflected in the universe.
• "In perfect love and perfect trust."  Used in various ways during ritual.  Indicitative of trust among circle members and between the supplicant and the gods.  This is a rather vague definition.
• "For the free will of all and with harm to none." (aka "An it harm none.")
• "Ever mind the rule of three, what you send out comes back to thee."  (Law of Threefold Return.)

Magic for Fantasy Writers, Part II: What is Wicca & Basic Circle-Casting

The basic thing that I want you, the writer, to take away from this article is that magical ritual is a process of distillation.  It is a focusing process whereby the magical practioner hones the possibilities of error down, protects her intent from outside interference, and invokes the 'big guns' of diety to aid and protect them while they go about it.  The means are less important than the basic knowledge of how the process works, even in the real world.  (A basic primer on the Craft is at witchvox.com.)

Of course, the whole concept of learning about real world magical systems is moot if you, the author, decide to chuck it all and create your own rules.  And more power to you, I say.  However, this post on the topic of real-world magic for fantasy writers should be of use to you if you are set on compiling a ritual system of your very only-own.  Or at least I hope so!  So pay attention to the basic principles with your fictional witch's magical practice in mind.

The witch's view of the world.  In the witch's cosmology, the world is very sexual.  From the body of the Goddess, the God was born.  From their union, the World was born.  Many ancient religions have a similar sexual basis, so this is nothing new.  And ancient religious rites, especially the Rites of Spring, with rutting in fields, to the putti (phallic symbols) dotting the architecture of the Romans.  Sex is everywhere in pagan beliefs.  Sex to these guys, as well as the witches, is what makes the world go 'round.

There are many forms of spellcasting.  There are myriad ways to cast a spell, but there are two main sorts of spell, at least in the tradition of paganism in the US.  First, there is the informal sort of spell, like dropping lemon juice into a cup of milk to see your true love's face.  This is simple, kitchen-witch magic.  Wishcraft.  Prayer.  Etc.  A lot of these practices stem from ancient beliefs in sympathetic magic.  Second, there is the formal type.  This is done in circle.   

The beginnings: Sympathetic magic.  Omens and portents.  As above, so below.  The concept of psychic resonance. 

In the world of the ancient peoples, there was no science to explain the cycles of the seasons or the rising of the sun. Life and death were full of mysterious occurrences that needed explanations.  They wanted reassurance, some semblance of control over the big elements in their life.  Because these folk were never certain the long days of summer would come again, or that their gods would support their prosperity.  Over and over, a commonly recurring idea developed: Ritual acts can influence the gods.  Offerings or sacrifice, songs of praise or temples.

The formal circle.
For our purpose here, we are discussing Wicca (otherwise known as the Craft, witchcraft,  or paganism) as seen in the US today.  The general rule is that a formal ritual involves a circle.  The order of events may vary, but the general process is that a formal circle is cast, space is cleansed, dedicated, diety is invoked upon the altar, guardians are called, the participants are drawn into the energy, a magical rite is followed, the energy is created and sent to accomplish the working, and then a ritual meal is eaten before the opening process is reversed and the circle is opened once again. 

The concept of the circle is simple:  The creation of sacred space, a barrier between the real world and the magical world is created.  Participants use ritual to focus upon a shared goal, and then gather energy and send it via the priest(ess) of the rite to the gods to achieve the goal.  Also, a lot of fun is had.  The work may be bloody serious, but it can be a heap o' fun at the same time.

The elements of the rite.  The order of these elements can vary.  As you can find a variety of scripts on the internet or in various books, I will not give you a script to use. Read a few varieties and make your own up.

Pre-ritual cleansing.  Participant(s) clears their mind and spirit of extraneous elements and distractions which may interfere with the pure transmission of their will.
Preparing the altar.  Generally the altar is placed to the North.  Upon it are representations (icons) of the gods, generally the Lady and the Lord.  Each generally has a candle which will be lit during invocation.  Elemental representations are generally also placed upon the altar: Dishes of salt or earth for earth; candle lit to represent fire; shell or cup of water to represent water; feathers or incense to represent air.  The ritual tools of magic also reside on the altar:  Chalice (cup), pentagram (five-pointed star), athame (ritual knife), bell, sword, etc.
Cleansing the space.  Ritual cleaning of the space, either using incense, salt water, the sweeping of the besom (broom) or other means.  Intent is to remove negative influences, prep the area to become a sacred space for the rite.
Charging the space.  Generally using incense, the space is charged with an appropriate energy for the rite.  Will and intent is the key to this part. 
Casting the circle.  A priest(ess) begins at the North, and progressively moves clockwise (deosil) to East, South, and West before returning to the North.  Above and Below are also invoked in many circle castings. 
Invoking the god(s).  The priest(ess) invokes the gods, generally selected aspects of the Lord and the Lady relevant to the working.  This is done in a number of ways but generally includes lighting a candle for each god.
Calling Quarters, or Calling on the Guardians.  Every direction has what you might refer to as a patron.  Some call these the Watchtowers, others, Guardians.  I have even heard them called as angels (Michael, Uriel, etc. as in Kate Bush's song, Lily, on the Red Shoes album. That's a beautiful invocation of guardians as angels.) 
The working.  This is the amorphous part.  A working (spell) is generally composed of several parts, however:  Clarification of purpose, clarification of the participants, focus upon the desired results, then sending the energies/power raised during Circle to do the job.  To put it as generically as possible, the priest(ess) leading the ritual gets everyone on the same page mentally and energetically.  Trance, scrying, chanting, ritual pageantry can all be used, as well as other means.
Sending the Cone.  The means of accomplishing the magical working.  The participants dance, chant or raise energy by other means.  The lead priest(ess) gathers this energy and sends it to the gods to do the working, then grounds any excess so the energy won't wander about and cause havoc by doing whatever it wants.
Cakes & Wine.  A ritual meal shared with the god(s) by placing portions upon the altar for them.  It is generally consumed within the circle so that the meal is part of the ritual, part of the sacred celebration that is a circle.  This may involve actual alcoholic beverages, but this is up to the participants.  I've been to plenty clean-and-sober circles.
Ritual Blessing.  This is done to bless the food of the ritual meal before it's consumed by the participants.  Usually the athame and the cup from the altar are used, as they represent the male and female of the Sacred Union. 
Devoking.  The priest(ess) who invoked the god(s) devokes, thanking them for their participation in teh work.  Usually closed with "blessed be."
Thanking the Guardians/Quarters.  The participants who called specific quarters will thank and devoke these entities, generally ending with "So mote it be," or "Blessed be."
Undoing the Circle.  The priest(ess) who cast the circle begins at the North, moving counterclockwise (widdershins) and devoking at each quarter.

In closing.  I want to stress that, for most traditions, casting a circle is religious worship, such as at the Sabbats and Esbats.  Just bear in mind that not all circles are done specifically for worship.  But a circle is always a celebration, even when you don't have the ritual meal of cakes and wine, even if you don't involve the gods other than to invoke their presence during your spellwork.  Because, to a witch, the everything is connected.  That connection is the reason magic works, after all.

Magic for Fantasy Writers, Part I: What is Wicca?

This is the first part in a series of articles I'm writing on the basics of paganism/witchcraft for writers.  It is not to be taken as Gospel [she says, snickering at her pun] but is intended to aid you in adding verisimilitude to your work (should you wish to have it.)  That sense of gritty reality that makes for excellent worldbuilding.

Why this stuff may be useful for writers.
It is my observation that witchcraft, magecraft, spellwork or what have you in fiction is often portrayed poorly-- with the prejudice of ignorance or too much Hollywood influence.  It is also frequently not used to best effect. 

I do not mean for this information to limit you.  It is not intended to be dogma for writers.  However, I believe that if you understand the thinking behind the practices involved, you will be better at adapting real world practices to your almost-real-world urban fantasy; or better create your own world of witchcraft from whole cloth.  (For the best example of 'real world' witchcraft that I've seen used in a novel, check out the Rowan Gant book, Harm None, by M.R. Sellars.)

The basics. 
The basic difference between pagan and the Christian religions is that the Christian religions focus on the afterlife, and pagan religions generally focus on the present.  Most of the Pagan religions (and in this I include the Afro-based ones) have no 'devil fetish' and no baptism.  (Satanism, for the purposes of this talk, is considered a version of Christianity.)  The Pagan focus is generally perceived, among many witches, as clarity of spirit, spiritual balance, etc.-- not dissimilar to Buddhism or other Eastern religions in this.  The magical aspect is often less important, just as to an Alchemist the spiritual aspect was (supposedly) the paramount focus.  (Of course, I base this on my brief stint as a Rosicrucian, and that understanding may be flawed, lol.)

Wicca is a 'nature-based religion with its roots in old Europe.'  Wikipedia's article has many good points.  In particular, "Wicca is only one variety of pagan witchcraft, with distinctive ritual forms, seasonal observances and religious, magical and ethical precepts. Other forms of witchcraft exist within many cultures, with widely varying practices. Many Wiccans, though not all, call themselves Pagans, though the umbrella term Paganism encompasses many faiths that have nothing to do with Wicca or witchcraft. Because there is no centralised organisation in Wicca, and no single orthodoxy, the beliefs and practices of Wiccans can vary substantially, both among individuals and among traditions. Typically, the main religious principles, ethics, and ritual structures are shared, since they are key elements of traditional teachings and published works on the subject." (my emphasis)

Wikipedia says it's a religion 'first popularized in 1954 by Gerald Gardner,' but it is a common conceit (which probably holds some truth) that many traditions are infused by Family Traditions that lay hidden through the years of Christian persecution.  Overall, however, it is safe to state that witchcraft today is not the nature religion(s) practiced by our ancestors.  I mean, our ancestors did not gather on the village green to dance naked under the moon after a hard day of farming; more likely, there were few, if any, actual priests and priestesses in the agricultural communities, so the ritual observances were more likely kept to small ritual observances(like leaving small offerings to goddesses at the well, etc.) and with big parties held on major celebration days. 

What do you call those nekkid people dancing around the fire? 
Witchcraft is also known as Wicca or the Craft.  Before I say any more, let me stress that 'Wicca' is not an all-encompassing label.  'Pagan' is another oft-used, generic label-- probably used due to the plethora of magical, non-christian traditions, many of which are not generally associated with the term witchcraft.  (A common perception is that witchcraft is descended from primarily Celtic traditions, e.g. Merry Olde England, Ireland or the Druids.)   

Etymology. 
The word wicca seems to stem from Old English wicca for witch, reinstated by Gerald Gardner's calling the practitioners of his 'revised' religion Wica; but, despite various arguments, it appears the word originally stems from wit, meaning wise.

Terminology & tid bits. 
Wicca = the religion.  Wiccan = refers to the practitioners.  One does not say, "I am Wicca," or "I am a Wicca."  One says, "I am Wiccan."  Please remember that, as this is an immediate way to brand yourself a know nothing.

Gender of witches.  Another way to look ignorant is to call a man a sorcerer/warlock yet call a woman a witch.  Perhaps there are some traditions which do so outside of Harry Potter and Bewitched, but I am not familiar with them.  If you practice witchcraft, you are a witch.  (Just read the OED article cited above, and you will find that wizard did not predate witch and, in fact, wica was the original-- and male-- form of the word-- making the wizard vs. witch distinction utterly ridiculous.)

Wiccan vs. witch. Not all witches call themselves Wiccan or their practice Wicca.  Some call themselves 'pagan' and others stick with 'witch.' Some use a different term entirely.  My suggestion is to use the term pagan unless they tell you otherwise.

Magic.
One definitive quality of witches, however, is that witches practice witchcraft, i.e. spellwork, or magic.  This can be in the form of 'wishcraft'  (mind over matter, prayer, so-called wishful or positive thinking) or 'witchcraft' (magical workings involving tools, ritual and formal invocation of diety.)  The magic is not playacting to practitioners; the belief is that one's spellwork can and does affect the world in tangible ways.  I will not debate that here; suffice it to say that this is the mindset of the witch and carry on from there.

Religious nature of Wicca/Witchcraft.  Witchcraft involves religious worship as well as magical workings.  This is not playacting.  To practitioners, the rituals of their Craft are real elements of worship as well as of magic, just as the rituals of a high Catholic mass are essential elements.  The magical working is not even required, in most cases; but a magical working is an act of worship as well insomuch as it involves diety and ritual observances and dedications to them. Of course, that said, some witches just practice spellwork, and do not see any religious nature in their practice. 

Ritual tools.
Altar - Ritual workspace, generally holds symbolic representations of the Goddess and the God as well as representations of the elements.  Usually salt or soil for earth, water, incense for air, candles for fire.  Also where most witches keep their sacred tools when not in use.
Athame - May be a knife, a sword, or other knife-like object.  The knife also represents the sacred masculine, and is used with the Cup during ritual blessings.  (pronounced "a-THAM-ay" or "ATH-a-may.)
Bell - Not frequently used.  Some say it represents Air because of its music.  Also the sacred feminine via it's resemblance to the cup.   
Black Mirror - Magical tool used for scrying (seeing what is unseen).
Besom or Broom - Used for ritually cleaning a space.  Also, jumped over in pagan weddings.
Cauldron - Can hold water and be used for scrying, or small bonfires can be burned in them.  Celtic trads relate it to the story of rebirth from the cauldron in the tale of Cerriddwyn/The Mabignogion. 
Chalice - Sacred cup on the altar.  Cup represents the sacred feminine.  Used with the Athame during ritual blessings.  Also can represent Water and the West.
Clothing - Ritual clothing may vary.  Some traditions have ritual clothing.  Some practice naked.  Witches who go unclothed during ritual call this practice 'skyclad.'
Girdle - Some traditions issue ceremonial cords as candidates reach initiation.  Girdle is the old-fashioned term and I've never heard anyone call it that, myself.  The cords' colors can indicate the degree of initiation (first degree, second degree, etc.), just as wands do.  Colors vary according to traditions, but white is usually the first initiation, or Novice stage; with black being the highest initiatory rank.  The tradition about length varies.  One says cords are nine feet long, others that they are 'made to measure,' i.e. the length of one's outline plus a span, or arm's length (about 3 feet.)  Often the candidate must make this. 
Measure - A length of cord the length of one's outline plus three feet.  Also, a magical object, or tie, that an initiating witch may use to psychically aid a newly initiated witch.
Payton or Pentacle - five-pointed star enclosed in a circle where the points intersect the circle.  Altar pentacle may be inscribed upon a disc of wood or metal.  Sometimes upon the black mirror.  Associated with female North.
Pentagram - Five-pointed star.  The points can represent the various aspects of personality, the limbs of a human, and the alchemical elements.  Also known as a pentangle.  Sometimes the pentacle and pentagram are used interchangeably, but the enclosing circle is the only difference.  Not to be confused with the inverted pentagram or pentacle with a goat's head: synonymous with satanic practices.
silver-handled knife - Used for cutting herbs for ritual use.  Time of day and phase of moon purportedly affects the efficacy of the plant.
Staff - Important in some trads (traditions).  Sometimes used to cast circle or invoke compass points.  Traditionally, the staff is shoulder high on the witch who wields it.  (Nothing like Gandalf's staff in usage, in other words.)
Sword - may be used as the athame or in addition to it.
Thurible - incense burner.  I've never heard anyone actually call it a thurible, however.
Wand - similar to the staff in usage.  Considered a male symbol, it represents Air and the East.  (Nothing like Harry Potter in usage, in other words.)

Esbats.
The ritual for the full moon.  Sometimes referred to as "drawing down the moon.'  Not quite the same thing, though, as you'll see if you read the excellent discussion on the linked page. 

Sabbats.
Eight major days of observance on the Year Wheel (aka The Wheel of the Year).  See picture, which I took from the wikipedia article.  These are on what are known as the Quarter and Cross-Quarter days, otherwise known as the days of the Solstices (longest and shortest days) and the days when day and night are of equal length, the Equinoxes.  In between those are the days corresponding roughly to various times of year relevant to fertility and harvest. 

These are known, in order as
Samhain (Year's End, All Saint's Day, Feast of the Dead, Last Harvest) Pronounced "sow-wen" or sometimes "savven." [October 31st]
Yule (Midwinter, Winter Solstice) [December 19-23]
Imbolc or Brigit (Brigid's Day, Candelmas) [February 1]
Ostara (Festival of Trees) [March 20-23]
Beltane (May Day) [May 1st]
Midsummer or Litha (Summer Solstice) [June 19-23, the summer solstice]
Lugnasadh or Lammas (First Harvest, First Fruits) Lugnasadh is pronounced "Loo-nessa." [August 1-2]
Mabon (Second Harvest, Wine Harvest) [September 19-23, the autumn equinox]

Are you a good witch or a bad witch?
Insert eye roll here.  Don't even go there.  That one's so old it's got moss growing on it.  But, to answer the question, witches consider themselves to be highly ethical, because the famous Law of Threefold Return says that what you put out, good or bad, will come back to you threefold.  Again, however, your mileage may vary.  One sect's ethical standards are not everyone else's.  And, to make the point, even those religions (Santeria, for example) which practice animal sacrifice are acting morally according to their precepts.  What goes around, comes around; and Judge not lest ye be judged in turn.  Etc. (And, if I may point it out, the Jews still practice ritual sacrifice with kosher slaughtering practices.)

Topics for another day:
Casting the circle/spellwork.  The basic elements of a working (magical ritual.)
Ritual etiquette.  How not to offend your friends and put cooties on their ritual stuff.
Shamanism and other non-christian religions oft lumped in with the pagan scene. Native American and African-based, in particular. 
Why witches aren't Satanists (unless they want to be).  (Useful for your characters if they must defend themselves.)
'Bad magic'.  It's not what you think!
A seminal reading list.  In case you care, some sources of good, basic information.
And anything else I think of or which you request.

And, in interesting news article on the applications of witchcraft in the real world.

psychic talents & forms of magic

Got to thinking that it might be useful for idea development to start with the personality quirks (vis psychic or magical talents) of main characters or villians.  So here's a non-comprehensive list with links.  I suspect that this will be as useful as archetypes for character development, as there is nothing like a talent which either must be used, hidden or which stigmatizes a person to be a focal point of character development, as well as a likely source of childhood pain (e.g. backstory) or plot complications.  Nothing like a misfit with power for a bad guy or a shattered ego on a stick for your character in need of personal growth!

Psychic talents:

• Psychometry.  Perception of information via touch.
• Clairvoyance.  Ability to see psychically.  Can include dreams, visions, seeing auras.  Any of the 'seeing' can be mental or with the eyes.
• Clairaudience.  Ability to hear psychically.  Maybe be mental or physical experience.
• Clairsentience.  Ability to feel or sense psychically.  Can include sensory impressions or physical symptoms such as heat, cold, pain, scenting odors, or a 'feeling'
• Claircognizence.  Ability to know information psychially.  Can encompass the above or be interpretation of impressions.  Some lump claircognizence in with various forms divination.
• Divination.  Reading the future, generally via tool use, such as scrying crystals, tarot cards, reading entrails, numerology, etc.  Can be lumped with claircognizence by some. 
• Telepathy.  Ability to hear thoughts, whether as words or impressions.
• Empathy.  Ability to sense the emotions.
• Precognition.  Ability to know the future.
• Pyrokenesis.  Fire starting.
• Remote viewing.  Given a prompt, practitioner can pick up relevant information (images, words, etc.) for a target.
• Seeing ghosts.  This may be a random experience or a sort of active mediumship or clairvoyance.  I cannot find a specific term for being a Ghost Whisperer.
• Mediumship.  Via a psychic 'helper' or 'guide' relays information from the other side to this world.
• Channeling.  A form of trance mediumship where the channeler gives up control of his/her self to greater or lesser degree.  Includes automatic writing, ouija board use, and having another entity take over one's body to speak with an audience.  Reportedly, channelers get sick a lot.

Fictional references:

• The Dead Zone, Stephen King:  precognition after a car accident.
• Jean Grey of the X Men comics:  telepathy.
• Firestarter, Stephen King:  pyromancy
• Ghostwhisperer (tv show):  clairvoyance, seeing ghosts.

Magical belief systems:
My observation is that there are several general types of magical systems prevalent in the US. 

• Theurgy:  Ceremonial magic such as the Golden Dawn, Thelema, New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn (NROOGD). 
• Hermetic and alchemical traditions.  Involves transmutation of base element to finer element (e.g. lead into gold).  Probably refers to transference of gross flesh to spiritual perfection, with the lead-into-gold aspect being more a metaphore than a literal element to those who studied these traditions most closely.  Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, among others.  (May or may not include Freemasonry and the Rosicrucians.)
• African based:  Voudoun (Haitian system), Voodoo (New Orleans), spirit-ism, Hoo doo, Candomble (Brasilian system), Santeria/Lukumi (Cuban system that is most wide-spread in the US), the Orisa faith in Trinidad/Tobago, and several other systems in the Carribbean Islands.
• Wicca/Paganism/Neo-paganism/Witchcraft:  Earth-based religions that primarily focus on the nature practices of old Europe prior to Christianity's spread.  Wicca supposedly is based on passed-down family tradition (Fam Trad), but is probably nearly 100% reconstructed.
  
  The Big Three (most well known to mundane types) are the ceremonial traditions resurrected in the 1800s and early 1900s:  Gardnerian, Thelema (Aleister Crowley) and Golden Dawn.  Also includes Eclectic (kitchen sink magical practitioners), Faerie (3rd Road, a la Francesca DeGrandis)/Feri (a la Victor Anderson), Reclaiming (a la Starhawk); Circle Craft (a la Selena Fox); Church of All Worlds (Otter Zell, et al); Seax (Saxon-based) Wicca (Raymond Buckland), & etc.  Other systems include Druidic, Discordian, Tameran, Kemetism (Egyptian-based), Asatru (Nordic-based), Hellenism (Greek-based), Alexandrian, & Dianic (feminist).  Most of these admit to being old systems mixed with new systems.
  
  There are many wiccan traditions, and, in fact, it is a joke among pagans that for every pagan, there is a new tradition in the making.  Most of these are covered at witchvox.com. See their page for a link.  Also, note that this is a relatively brief list of fairly common flavors of paganism in the US.  For the best list I've found, I do recommend witchvox!
• Satanism.  Inverted Catholicism where its practitioners worship the Christian Devil as their god.  Created by Anton Levey in 1966.  For the purposes of this article, Satanism is a version of Catholicism.  It is not witchcraft nor is it Wicca.  It is, however, a magical tradition.  The official Church of Satan website is here.
• Various religious systems with ancestor worship:  Shinto, African-based religions.
• Various religious sytems that offer direct interaction with the god(s):  Shinto, Buddhism, Christian mysticism, kaballah, Sufi, Satanism, Wicca, Paganism of most sorts.
• Shamanism.  Various indigenous belief systems and religions, which are too numerous to include.  For those of us in North America, however, in brief:  there are the Mayan/Aztec derivitives from Central and South America, the Inuit, and the multitude of Native American tribal beliefs, which are decidedly NOT homogenous. Southwest and Pueblo, Plains, Eastern Woodland, Cherokee Nation, Iroquois Nation and etc. tribes all have distinct differences in their religious practices and beliefs just as they do in their cultures.
• Eastern traditions.  These will not be addressed here, as I admit to being desperately ignorant about their components and mythology.  However, I will say this:  There are many similarities between these cosmologies and pagan cosmologies I have studied.
• Demonology.  Not sure what to tell you about this one.  Never heard of it except in a historical context, and that is via Catholic persecutory activities and literature.  Seems like it should be lumped in with Satanism as a riff off of Christianity and as something outside the general pagan/Wiccan/witchcraft venue.  In fiction, this seems to be related to magecraft/ sorcery.

Fictional references:

• The Walker Papers (Urban Shaman, Coyote Dreams, Thunderbird Falls), by C.E. Murphy: Woman develops shamanic powers after a near-death experience.
• The Diana Tregarde books (Children of the Night, Jinx High, Burning Water, etc.) by Mercedes Lackey.  Ceremonial magic.
• The Rowan Gant investigations series by M.R. Sellars.  Witchcraft.
• Harry Dresden books (& TV show) by Jim Butcher.  Ceremonial magic and, I think Alchemy and demonology.

Reading magic in fiction confirms what I said earlier that much of it doesn't reflect pagan practices today.  For one thing, I've never seen witches able to blow things up or fly.  Etc. 

References:
Wikipedia articles on psychic ability, magic, and parapsychology.
For basic info on witchcraft, www.witchvox.com & here at dmoz.

Thinking about an article series.
For future reference, I am going to write an article or series of articles on how to portray "real" witchcraft in your stories.  Things like the basics of spells, circle casting, altars, pagan etiquette, levels of knowledge.  All general stuff that doesn't count as really learning the Craft, but which can give the gritty edge of realism.  Please, give me any questions you have regarding this subject!