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

HIGH MAGIC'S AID

The historical novel by Gerald Gardner, published in 1949, which acts as the preface to his Book of Shadows and which contains his earliest description of the old traditional rites on which he claimed modem Wicca ceremonial to be based.

It was, he claimed, a truthful revelation about the medieval cult. However, it was derived, at least in part, from his experience with Dorothy Clutterbuck's Southern Coven of British Witches. It has been argued that Gardner's fictional writing has done more to promote understanding of Witchcraft than his more factual works.

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

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