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

GOBLINS

Wandering spirits, found in French folklore, who attach themselves to households both to help and to plague the residents. Goblins usually live in grottoes, but frequently are attracted to homes having beautiful children and lots of wine.

According to folklore, their behaviour when moving in is performing household chores at night and disciplining the children by giving them gifts when they are good and punishing them when they are naughty. These goblins can be unpredictable though, they can display a mischievous nature, instead of doing chores during the night they sometimes keep everyone awake by banging pots and pans, knocking on walls and doors and snatching bedclothes off of people. Goblins who become worrisome can be gotten rid of by spilling flaxseed on the floor. They grow tired of cleaning it up each night.

These spirits are known be different names in various countries. They are brownies in England and Scotland, kobolds in Germany, and domoviks in Russia. They are associated with Samhain (see SABBATS) and supposedly roam the night when the veil is the thinnest between the worlds of the living and the dead.

see also: FAIRY

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