Category: Information

This category houses most of the posts on Pagan Roots; basic information for those new to Wicca; herbal and gemstone encyclopedias with detailed entries for many plants and crystals; a collection of data on gods and goddesses from various pantheons; pages on different forms of divination such as Tarot cards and rune stones; and a lot more.

If you are looking for specific information you may want to use the drop down menu at the top of the page, or the list in the right hand column, to narrow down the category of posts.

Elder Futhark Runes

The Elder Futhark is the oldest of the runic alphabet systems and was in use from the second to eighth centuries, before giving way to the Younger Futhark and Anglo-Saxon Futhorc. We don’t actually have any direct evidence for the names of these runes, but there have been reconstructions made using Proto-Germanic, Old Norse and Old English. What is known is that as well as being used as a writing system, runes were probably used for magic in some way from their earliest appearance.

Minor Arcana

The 56 Tarot cards of the Minor Arcana are comparable to those in a deck of standard playing cards. There are four suits – wands, cups, swords and coins / pentacles, and the cards range in value from an ace to a king in each suit. One difference is the court cards of the tarot consist of a page, as well as a knight, queen and king. Each card has its own individual meaning, but this can be changed when it is considered in combination with the other cards present in the reading.

For full information on the Minor Arcana cards check out this complete guide for beginners.

Major Arcana

The Tarot cards in the Major Arcana can be seen as more important than their counterparts in the Minor Arcana as they tend to relate to life changing events, or themes of deeper significance. Each card in the Major Arcana has a number, and a traditional name in both English and French. The cards can also be associated with an astrological ruler; this either an element, planet or zodiac sign. Finally, given that the cards have a history in Hindu religious customs it is perhaps unsurprising that the modern day cards have a link with Qabalah, a Hindu philosophical question. For each card I have given the Hebrew letter it relates to, as well as the path number which places it on one of the branches of the Qabalistic Tree of Life. Click the image above to see a larger version of the Tree of Life, or click any of the cards below for a very large version of it.

Tarot Spreads

Below I have given examples of a few different Tarot card spreads that you can use in different situations. This assumes that you have already shuffled the cards, as described in the main page on the Tarot cards. In each case the number given on the card tells you what order to lay them out in – place card number 1 first, 2 second etc. Deal from the top of the deck, and place the cards face down. If you are taking the cards from someone else who has shuffled them, make sure you note which edge they had closest to their body, and hold the deck the same way yourself when you are dealing.

Tarot

The Tarot cards began as a Hindu religious custom, keeping religious texts on cards, bound together by string. The cards were illustrated to explain the basic elements of the faith to the populace who were, at the time, largely illiterate. It is highly likely that they were brought to Europe by gypsies, migrating from Asia and as they spread so too did the Tarot, both as a card game, and as a fortune telling device.

Candle Divination

If you want to know the future of a relationship, try using candle divination. Think about your relationship, what it means to you and what you’d like to know about the future. Light a candle and gaze into the flame while holding those thoughts in your mind. Watch the candle flame and compare to the list below to get your answer.

Rises straight up: A good sign, you should continue with confidence.

Rises to the left: Proceed only with caution, else stop and wait for better timing.

Whatever Works

“Whatever works” does not equate to “anything goes“.

Wicca is not a tightly structured religion, and a lot of the time you are advised to use ‘whatever works for you’, or ‘whatever feels right to you’. This is not license to do just anything that you feel like. There are reasons behind the various practises in Wicca, and only when you understand why you are doing something can you think about changing it. I think a brilliant example of this is in Terry Pratchett’s Nation.

The natives of the nation in question create a traditional drink, and part of this involves spitting in the drink and singing a song over it. When foreigners come, they don’t know why these things are done and so omit them – with disasterous results. On the other hand, the girl that studies the culture learns that there’s some property in human spit that neutralises the deadly properties of the plant used in the drink, and the time it takes to sing the traditional song is the time it takes for the whole drink to be made safe.

The Wiccan Rede

The term Rede, or Wiccan Rede, refers, apparently interchangably, to either the long poem I have provided a link to or, more accurately I believe, to the eight-word form below;

“An it harm none, do what ye will.”

If you’ve read any modern books on Wicca, or searched the internet for it, you’ll probably have found both versions repeated quite often. The Rede is the cardinal rule in Wicca, but half the websites present its text without exploring its origin or meaning.

The Threefold Law

The Threefold Law is attributed to Gerald Gardner, and the basic idea behind it is that any energy you send out will return to you three times as strong. It is first suggested in High Magic’s Aid;

“Thou hast obeyed the Law. But mark well, when thou receivest good, so equally art bound to return good threefold.”

The Burning Times

The ‘Burning Times’ was a period of history when around 60,000 people were tried and convicted as witches. The majority of these trials took place between 1550 and 1650 CE, however most of the victims of the witch-hysteria were not actually Pagan, and they most certainly were not Wiccan as this is a much newer form of Paganism. In reality, most of them were Christians who had the misfortune to be in the wrong situation, at the wrong time.

In an attempt to answer the question of why these people died, I’ll give you a brief look at the factors that combined to open the way for witch burnings to occur.