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

LEVITATION

A phenomenon of Psychokinesis (PK), in which objects, people, animals and so on rise into the air without known physical means and float or fly about. Levitations are said to occur in mediumship, mystical trance, Magick, bewitchment, hauntings and possessions.

Both Christianity and Islam record numerous cases of levitation. In the 1st century, Simon Magus is said to have levitated himself in a challenge to St Peter, as proof of his magical powers. According to legend, Peter prayed to God that Simon's deception be stopped, and Simon fell to earth and was killed.

Roman Catholic hagiography includes many cases of levitations among saints Levitation is also recorded in Hinduism and Buddhism, and the Ninja warriors of Japan also reportedly had this ability.

During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, it was common to blame any unusual phenomena upon witchcraft, fairies, ghosts or demons. LevItation was, and still is, commonly reported in demonic possession cases.

Similarly, Poltergeist cases and hauntings are sometimes characterised by levitating. At the height of Spiritualism in the late 19th century, certain mediums were famous for their alleged levitations.

Daniel Dunglas Home reportedly did so many times over forty years. In 1868 he was seen levitating out of a third-storey win-dow; he floated back indoors through another window.

Although Home was never exposed as a fraud, many other mediums were discovered to 'levitate' objects with hidden wires and contraptions. According to sceptics, most levitation may be explained by hallucination, hypnosis or fraud.

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