Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

CIRCLE

The circle is a symbol of 'all things' because it can be imagined as a line drawn round everything but at the same time it is a symbol of 'one thing', because it is a single figure. It is therefore an emblem of the proposition that 'All is One', that all the various phenomena of the universe are linked together in a unity.

The alchemical symbol called the ourobouros is a demonstration of this. It is a circle formed by a snake or a dragon swallowing its own tail, and sometimes bearing the Greek phrase En To Pon, 'all is one'. This phrase is made of three words having seven letters, and 3 + 7 = 10. Again, ten means 'all things' because it completes the series of the primary numbers, of whose combinations all other numbers are constructed, but ten also means 'the One', because it is made of 1 and 0, and 1 + 0 = 1.

The circle is a whole but also a hole. It is the symbol of nought, 0, and so it stands for emptiness, non-existence, nothing. But it is the Nothing which contains the poten-tial existence of everything, the primeval chaos from which God made the world, the 'abyss' or 'ground' or 'womb' of all being.

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one definition may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc