Witchvox Article

Author: Kerr Cuhulain
Posted: October 14th. 2002
Times Viewed: 8,015

Next in the NIN manual one finds the chapter "The Basics of the Occult." It starts with a 16 page glossary entitled "Definitions, Terminology & Symbolism". This includes the following "definitions":

"Ancient One: The officiating priestess at a Black Mass".⁽³³⁾

NOTE: In the Hebrew Qabbalah, Chesed or Gedulah, the seventh Sephiroth on the "Tree of Life," represents the sphere of the "Ancient Ones," associated with order and building. In the Necronomicon, a well known hoax based on Babylonian and Assyrian myth, the "Ancient Ones" are a race, representing darkness and/or evil, which strives to escape from their world and plague man. According to the Necronomicon, the leader of the ancient ones is Cthulhu. The term "Ancient Ones" isn't a person's title in any of these cases. In fact there is no such title in any Satanic ritual that I am aware of.

"Cauldron: Like a cup; Medieval witches were said to stir their magical concoctions in a cauldron".⁽³⁴⁾

NOTE: A cauldron, is of course a large, iron pot. The Middle English word was "caldron" or "caudron", and first appeared in Gower's Confessio Amantis before 1393. Before 1300 it was spelled "caudrun." This word comes from the Old French "caudron" or "chaudron." It derives from the Late Latin "caldaria" ("a kettle for hot water").⁽³⁵⁾ The cauldron is an ancient symbol of the Celtic Goddess Cerridwen, found in many Pagan ritual circles. It is a Celtic symbol of rebirth and regeneration. What Westhoelter is obviously alluding to here is the well known scene in Shakespeare's play MacBeth, where the three "weird sisters" were stirring a brew in a cauldron. The three "weird sisters", are never referred to by Shakespeare or the characters in the play as "witches," although director's notes inserted in the margins by someone other than Shakespeare at a later date labelled them "witches." They actually represent the three mythical Norse Wyrds, three sisters who controlled man's fate. The Wyrds are cognate with the Greek Moirae (Fates). Modern Wiccans often use their cauldrons (if they own one) to contain fires, not liquids.

"Chaldeans: Generic name for adepts in the Black Arts".⁽³⁶⁾

NOTE: When Theodosius I made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire in 391 CE, orthodoxy and heresy became political issues. The Chaldean Church, also known as the Assyrian or East Syrian Church, declared their autocephaly in 424 CE, rejected the decrees of Ephesus (431 CE) at a synod in 484 CE and became a Nestorian Church. Nestorians held that Christ's divinity was separate from his humanity. Because the mainline Church considered them to be a heretical sect, they were identified in later times as being Satanic. As a result I often the term Chaldeans used as a "Generic name for adepts in Black Arts" in books such as this NIN manual.

"Contact: Demon, deceased human or god coven instructor."⁽³⁷⁾ Later in the same list Westhoelter defines "Spiritism" as "Worship or communication with the supposed spirits of the dead; the Bible seems to indicate that these are demons in disguise."⁽³⁸⁾

NOTE: Contact is a common New Age term used to describe the entity that a medium "contacts" or "channels" when in trance. While in many channelling practices this entity is believed to be the spirit of a "deceased human," it is only Christians who claim that these entities are "demons." The peculiar term "god coven instructor" is a complete mystery to me. There is no such title used in any occult group that I have ever encountered.

"Cowan: Uninitiated intruder."⁽³⁹⁾

NOTE: The term Cowan originated in Scotland, where it was a term to describe a stone mason who had picked up his trade without serving an apprenticeship. From the Scottish masons it was adopted by the Freemasons to describe those not initiated into their brotherhood. It was subsequently adopted by modern Wiccans to describe someone who is not a Wiccan. It may have been synonymous with "Warlock" (oath breaker) at one point, but is now generally a benign term for an outsider or non-initiate. This is not a Satanic term.

"Crossbone Skull: The symbol for death; the last sign put on a spell to mark the end result which is death."⁽⁴⁰⁾

NOTE: The symbol of the skull and crossbones was a symbol used in the ancient art of alchemy to represent putrefaction. This is what lead to the modern usage of the symbol to label packages of poisonous substances. While it is certainly recognized as a symbol of death, and later adopted in various forms as a symbol of various pirate leaders, I do not recall ever a spell listed in any grimoire that was concluded in such a fashion.

"Devil: In witchcraft, devil is a 'little god' title for the magister as representative of one of the Mighty Ones."⁽⁴¹⁾

NOTE: "Devil" is a Middle English term derived from the Anglo Saxon "deoful." The idea that the male leader of the "witches sabbats" was called the "devil" originated in the minds of the demonologists of the Office of the Inquisition. Some authors in the 1920s picked up on this idea when writing about the supposed Witchcraft cults of Western Europe. Wiccans do not recognize the Devil, and there is no such title given to any male participant in Wiccan rituals.

Magister is a word derived from a Latin root meaning "teacher". It is a title commonly used by groups practising Occidental Ceremonial magick. For example, a "Magister Templi" is the eighth rank above the beginner's rank of probationer and the lowest rank within the highest order of Aleister Crowley's Argentium Astrum. It is not and has not ever been a title used by Wiccans.

"Freya": Scandinavian Goddess of love, Queen of lower regions. Freya's sacred day was Friday. Witches held weekly assemblies on Friday."⁽⁴²⁾

NOTE: Freya, also known as Freyja, was a Norse Goddess whose name means "well beloved, spouse, lady." Freya was the wife and sister of the God Odin and the mother of the God of Light, Baldur. She flew through the air with a falcon plumed robe. Freya was the Goddess of love and beauty and the protector of marriages. She was a warrior Goddess, who commanded the Valkyries. As Valfreyja she chose half of the battle-slain (Odin got the other half). She originally had a lunar aspect, riding through the night sky in a chariot drawn by two cats. Westhoelter is correct in saying that Friday is named for Freya. But Witches don't hold gatherings on Fridays unless that Friday corresponds to one of their Sabbats or a full moon. The nonsense about Witches meeting on Fridays is Inquisitional fantasy.

"Hand of Glory: In witchcraft, a lighted candle positioned between the fingers of a dead person's hand-usually that of a criminal condemned to death."⁽⁴³⁾

NOTE: The hand of glory is a piece of European folklore based on the writings of Inquisitional demonologists and Judeo-Christian grimoires that appears in Hollywood pictures such as The Wicker Man. Wiccans don't use hands of glory.

"Pagan: A person who is not a Christian or has no religion."⁽⁴⁴⁾

NOTE: The word "Pagan" first appeared in its modern spelling in 1425 in Higden's Polychronicon. In Mallory's Morte D'Arthur (circa 1400) it was spelled "paygan." It can be traced back to the Latin root "pagus," which originally meant "something stuck in the ground as a landmark." In other words a "peg." "Pagus" was derived from the root "pag," meaning "fix." A whole family of English words can be traced back to this same root, including page and pole. The noun "paganus," meaning "country dweller," was ultimately derived from "pagus."⁽⁴⁵⁾

Etymologist John Ayto theorizes that because early Christians considered themselves "soldiers" of Christ and because "paganus" later came to be used to refer to "civilians", that the Christians adopted it to refer to non-Christians.⁽⁴⁶⁾ Others have speculated that "paganus" was used by the predominantly city-dwelling early Christians in much the same way as we would call someone a "hick" or "country bumpkin" today. We may never know for sure which of these theories is correct, but the fact remains that "pagan" ultimately became a term used by Christians to refer to non-Christians. In recent years theologists and folklorists have used the terms "Pagan" or "Neo-Pagan" to refer to followers of many earth based tribal religions such as Wicca.

"Pit Bull: Official dog of Satan."⁽⁴⁷⁾

NOTE: The pit bull is a dog which was originally bred to participate in the ancient blood sport of pit fighting, in which people bet on the outcome of a fight between two dogs. Pit fighting is illegal in most Western States today. While pit fighting is a sport which is repugnant, it was not started by Satanists and in its hey day many who were at least nominal Christians participated in it. This manual was the first and instance that I had seen where the Pit Bull is so designated, but I have since come across other examples in evangelical literature, some of which are listed elsewhere in this series.

"Rock Stars: Saints of Satan."⁽⁴⁸⁾

NOTE: This is so silly it requires no other comment.

"Salt: Used in rituals by Satanic groups."⁽⁴⁹⁾

NOTE: This is true, but Westhoelter fails to mention that many other non-Satanic groups use it too.

"Satanism": The NIN manual presents an interesting definition that divides Satanists into two groups:

"1. Luciferians= evil is good, devil can offer abundant material in life" (sic)."⁽⁵⁰⁾

NOTE: This is a continuation of the earlier nonsense about Luciferians.

"2. Palladists= believe in devil as the goat deity (Baphomet of the Templars) and do evil for evil's sake."⁽⁵¹⁾

NOTE: There is no such thing as a "Palladist". This dates back to a book in 1892 entitled The Devil in the 19th Century in which the French author, a mysterious Dr. Bataille, claimed that Freemasons were in fact devout Satanists, based in Charleston, South Carolina. Bataille alleged that the Freemasons performed animal sacrifices. Bataille also made the bizarre allegation that the Freemasons had a direct telephone line hooked up to Hell, through which their leaders spoke to Lucifer. In 1897 Gabriel Jogand, a French Journalist, publicly admitted that he was "Dr. Bataille" and that he had written The Devil in the 19th Century as a practical joke. Arthur Lyons states:

"The stories recounted by Dr. Bataille were backed up by another mysterious figure, one Diana Vaughan, in the book published in 1895 entitled Memoirs of an Ex-Palladist, in which she gave a detailed account of her experiences with the 'Satanists' in Charleston. She had been, according to her own admission, Grand Mistress of the Temple and Grand Inspectress of the Palladium, a diabolic Masonic order, allegedly founded in Paris in 1737. She claimed to have been descended from Thomas Vaughan, a seventeenth century alchemist, and due to her hellish origin was chosen to be High-Priestess of Lucifer and the bride of Asmodeus. The book went on to describe the orgiastic Black Masses that were taking place at that very minute in south Carolina under the guise of Freemasonry."⁽⁵²⁾

This was all a hoax, but the notion that Freemasonry was Satanic was very popular at that time in history. Westhoelter has probably included the remark about the Templars since the Scottish Rites of Freemasonry are supposed to have borrowed some of their ritual from the Knights Templar, another group often incorrectly accused of being Satanic.

Baphomet is a bisexual idol or spiritual symbol, usually with goat attributes, that the Knights Templar were accused of worshipping in the 14th Century CE. There are several theories about how this name was derived. Some suggest that it is simply a corruption of Mohammed, a theory probably first advanced by the Crusaders who considered the Islamic faith demonic. Some say that it comes from the Arabic "abu-fihamat" ("father of wisdom"). Some say that it is from the phrase "Baphe Meteos" ("baptism of Metis"), Metis being a Greek Goddess of knowledge. Others suggest that Baphomet is "Tem ohp ab" backwards, this being an abbreviation for the expression "Templi omium hominum pacis abbas" ("the father of the temple of peace of all men"). The only thing for sure is that it had nothing to do with Satan.

The Knights Templar, also known as the "Poor Knights of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon" or simply as the "Templars", were a Judeo Christian military order founded by a group of French knights led by Hugues de Payens around 1120 CE in Jerusalem. Its original purpose was to protect the pilgrims from marauding Muslim bands. Under the influence of Bernard of Clairvaux they grew into a large, wealthy military order, ready to fight any who opposed Christianity. The were also apparently vocal in their criticism of the corruption rampant in the church. King Philip IV of France, jealous of their power and wealth, accused them of immorality and heresy in the early 1300s, seeking their destruction. On March 22, 1312 Philip convinced Pope Clement V to suppress the Templars, and two years later their grand master, Jacques DeMolay, was burned at the stake. This was simply a power struggle between rival Christian groups, but it has lead to the erroneous belief that the Templars were Satanists.

"Seal: A demon's signature of summoning diagram (sic)."⁽⁵³⁾

NOTE: "Seal" is a word that can be traced back through Middle English and Old French ("seel") to the Latin root word "sigillum" ("seal", "mark"). In Occidental Ceremonial magick, a seal is a design, initial or device used on a document or an object. Medieval magicians believed that each spirit had a seal which identified or was related to it, probably because it was a common practice in those times for persons to have personal seals or sigils made up which they used to seal letters as a sort of signature. Westhoelter's definition has some truth to it, but he neglects to point out that seals were used in Judeo Christian magic and that they were used to summon angels as well.

"Toad: Originally considered to be poisonous, used in many witches spells and brews to do harm."⁽⁵⁴⁾

NOTE: This is Inquisitional nonsense, the kind of things that the Inquisitors tried to get people to confess to under torture. Ancient folk beliefs did hold that toads were poisonous, but their use in "witches spells and brews" is Inquisitional propaganda.

"Venfica (sic): A witch who uses poisons and philters (potions)."⁽⁵⁵⁾

NOTE: This is straight out of Exodus 22:18 in the King James translation of the Bible: "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." The King James version was translated from Greek texts, and the original Greek line read: "Thou shalt not suffer a venefica to live." The Latin word "venefica" means "female poisoner." Thus, the correct translation should be: "Thou shalt not suffer a female poisoner to live." King James's translator decided that the term "witch" was synonymous with "poisoner." King James I was well known for his persecution of "witches" in England. In other translations of the Bible, this passage is translated differently. For example, in the Revised Standard Version of the Bible this verse is translated as: "You shall not permit a sorceress to live," which isn't any more accurate than the King James version. This is a good example of scripture being deliberately misinterpreted to support Satanic hysteria. As you can see, this is not a new idea.

"Warlock: 'Originally meaning 'one who breaks faith', it is more often used by non-witches to refer to a male witch. Also used to refer to a male practitioner of satanism and witchcraft, black magic."⁽⁵⁶⁾

NOTE: One of the most common misconceptions in society today is that male Witches are called "warlocks." Indeed, many non-Pagans think that Witches are only female. The modern term "Warlok" first appeared in Scotland before 1585 CE the spelling changing to the more familiar spelling "warlock" in 1685 CE. Before this it was variously spelled "warlag," "warlau" or "warlo," going back to about 1400 CE. It is derived from the Old English expression "woer loga," which means "traitor" or "oath breaker" ("woer", meaning "faith," "pledge" or "true" plus "loga," an agent noun related to "leogan" = "to speak falsely") which dates back to 900 CE and was used by early Christians in a manner similar to the original use of the word Pagan, as an insult. It seems that Westhoelter can't seem to make up his mind whether Witches use this term or not.

"Wizard: Male equivalent of a witch, wise man."⁽⁵⁷⁾

NOTE: Didn't Westhoelter just finish telling us that the term to use was "Warlock?" Wiccans do not use the term "wizard." A male Witch is referred to as a Witch.

The next thing that we find in the NIN manual is four pages of "occult" alphabets followed by 26 pages of symbols and talismans. They make the usual mistakes here, like announcing that an inverted pentagram "is strictly Satanic in nature," which it most certainly is not. Five pages of this section are supposed to have been "drawn by a Satanist during an interview."⁽⁵⁸⁾ It will come as no surprise to the reader to learn that they do not identify the "Satanist," the interviewer, or the source.

Three of these pages are hand drawn diagrams of magical circles of the traditional Occidental Ceremonial Magick variety, one is of the symbols inscribed on the blade of this alleged Satanist's ritual knife and one depicts a hodge podge of symbols from various sources. For example, the artist has a five-armed figure labelled "Celtic Cross." Actually a Celtic Cross has four arms of equal length, not five. The artist also depicts an inverted pentagram labelled "wisdom inspired by man" next to an upright pentagram labelled "wisdom inspired by God," which suggests Gnostic interpretations of these symbols, not Satanic ones. Most of the symbols that are given are unrecognizable squiggles that obviously only have meaning to whoever drew them.

Westhoelter then presents twelve pages purporting to describe Satanic and Witchcraft rituals. Westhoelter goes into lengthy detail, declaring that Satanists and Witches engage in "group sex, urinating upon each other, eating each others bowels (sic), all forms of perverted sex (with rotten corpse, animals, etc), self-mutilation, drug abuse, use of alcohol, violence, destruction and the like (sic)."⁽⁵⁹⁾ The grammar here is appalling. What on earth is "eating each others bowels" supposed to mean? Here again we see his fascination with aberrant sexual practices. Pagans do not engage in such activities.

[continued... Click HERE for page 4]

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Article ID: 4745

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ABOUT...

Kerr Cuhulain

Location: Surrey, British Columbia

Website: http://www.officersofavalon.com

Bio: Kerr Cuhulain the author of this article, is known to the mundane world as Detective Constable Charles Ennis. Ennis, a former child abuse investigator, is the author of several articles on child abuse investigation that appeared in Law & Order Magazine. Better known to the Pagan community by his Wiccan name, Kerr Cuhulain, Ennis was the first Wiccan police officer to go public about his beliefs 28 years ago. Kerr is now the Preceptor General of Officers of Avalon. Kerr went on to write four books: The Law Enforcement Guide to Wicca (Horned Owl Publishing), Wiccan Warrior and Full Contact Magick: A Book of Shadows for the Wiccan Warrior. (Llewellyn Publications), as well as a book based on this series: Witch Hunts: Out of the Broom Closet (Spiral Publishing).

Email Kerr: cuhulain@telus.net

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