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

ORACLE

A method of Divination and prophecy in which gods or spirits are consulted through a human medium. In ancient Greece, the voices or mediums of the oracles were sibyls, women priests who lived in caves regarded as the shrines of deities.

Oracles were regularly consulted by rulers and leaders concerning matters of state and war. In addition to prophecy, advice was sought. The oracle provided illumination as to the best of several alternative courses of action.

Women served as oracles in ancient Babylonia and Egypt, but the most famous and powerful of them were the sibyls of ancient Greece and Rome. The best known oracle of this type was seated at Delphi, near the foot of Mt. Parnassus, in a temple built in the 6th century (see ORACLE OF DELPHI).

Consulting the oracle was a privilege determined by lot. The enquirer phrased a question and waited in an outer room of the temple while the Pythia entered a lower, inner chamber and went through the ritual of trance. She sat on a tripod, gazed into a flat dish and held a laurel branch, according to ancient art. Her trance was usually frenzied. The answers were so elliptical that they had to be interpreted by priests, who rephrased them in hexameter verse.

Other sibyls were located at Cumae, Phrygia, Libya, Samos, Erythrae, Cimmeria, Marpessa and Tibur.

In ancient Egypt, deities spoke primarily through oracular dreams but also through prophetesses, who were the women of important families. During the New Kingdom (1570-1342 B.C.), cult statues served as the mouthpieces for deities, primarily Amun, god of fertility, agriculture and "the breath of life." The statues were said to be able to nod and talk but probably were manipulated by priests.

A Psychic or witch who uses Psychic gifts for Divination and prophecy, sometimes in trance, is a type of oracle.

A Biblical Perspective:

The Scriptures clearly prohibit Divination or the reading of omens in any form. Divination is the attempt to divine the mind of Deity through some means other than God's way. It is an attempt to understand the past, present, or future by some means other than the revelation of God. The revelation may come through various means, but ultimately any revelation apart from God is Divination. God's revelation and Divination are opposites.

Divination or the reading of omens usurps the rightful place of the Scripture in the life of the Christian. It attempts to give direction and guidance to the individual. The Bible is clear on the subject. Divination, is an abomination to God. Some would have us believe the Bible endorses Divination as an art that offers mankind an understanding of his true self, an opportunity to create his or her own reality to suit his or her personal spiritual goals. The following Scripture indicates otherwise.

'When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices Divination or Sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.' - Deuteronomy 18:9-11

Scripture also calls each of us to place our faith in Jesus Christ rather than the created universe. The book of Colossians reminds the individual to "see to it that no one takes you captive through vain philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of man, according to the elemental principles of the universe, rather than according to Christ." - (Colossians 2:8)

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