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| T |
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| Talisman |
From the Arabic 'tilasm', ultimately from the Greek 'telesma'
or 'talein' (which means to initiate into the mysteries), a talisman consists of any object intended to bring good luck and/or protection to
its owner. It is an object believed to be charmed or imbued with magical powers, normally used to ward off evil. However, the
purpose of a talisman is not simply to protect or to bring good fortune, but to achieve a particular objective. When unsuccessful in
achieving its desired goal, the talisman is discarded, since it has proved itself not to have the powers required. See also
Amulet. |
| Talmud |
This is more or less a term for the Mishna and
Gemara when they are considered as one unit. Mishna derives from 'to repeat', and nowadays incorporates the meanings 'to
learn' or 'to teach' by
repetition. The Mishna came into being basically because the oral law was too vast for any person to remember. Gemara is
basically an extension of the oral law and contains complete transcripts in question and answer format enlarging upon the Mishna. See also
Torah (below) and Kabbalah. |
| Taromancy |
Divination by
Tarot cards. |
| Tarot |
The earliest known extant specimens of
Tarot cards are three decks of North Italian origin dating back to the early to mid-fifteenth
century, and made for the then rulers of Milan, the Visconti family. The Tarot is a deck of 78 cards used for
divination and
meditation purposes, comprising the
Major Arcana, consisting of twenty-two trump cards (or twenty-one plus 'The Fool'),
and the Minor Arcana, consisting of fifty-six 'suit
cards'. 'Arcana' is the plural form of the Latin word 'arcanum', its meaning being 'closed' or 'secret'. Like a standard deck of playing
cards, there are four suits in the Minor Arcana, each consisting of ten cards numbered from Ace to ten, traditionally batons (wands), cups, swords
and coins (pentacles) - forty cards in total. The difference between the Tarot and a normal deck of cards, apart from the Major
Arcana, is that a Tarot deck has four court cards (or honours) in each suit. Instead of Jack, Queen and King we find Page, Knight,
Queen and King, thus sixteen court cards as opposed to twelve. |
| Tasseomancy |
Tasseomancy is a form of
divination or fortune telling in which the diviner interprets patterns seen in tea leaves at
the bottom of a teacup. The term also refers to the reading of coffee grounds, particularly in the Middle Eastern tradition. |
| Taurus |
 Taurus, the Bull, is an earth sign and the 2nd
sign of the zodiac. Taurus is ruled by the 'planet' Venus. |
| Telekinesis |
See
Psychokinesis. |
| Telepathy |
Telepathy is the communication between minds by means
other than normal sensory channels, i.e. the transference of thought without the use of speech, gestures or other physical means.
F.W.H. Myers (a co-founder of the SPR) coined the term ‘telepathy’ during his research into the possibilities of thought
transference. He defined it as ‘transmission of thought independently of the recognised channels of sense’. Telepathy could be
described as mind-to-mind communication, a means of obtaining the mental state or thought of another person existing in the 'here'
or 'hereafter'. |
| Temura |
Temura
is basically permutation which follows certain
rules. One letter is substituted for another letter in the alphabet, and thus from one word another may be formed. |
| Tetractys |
 The
tetractys
(from the Greek, tetras, meaning four) is an equilateral triangle containing the integers one to ten, aligned in four rows in the shape of a
pyramid. The tetractys was devised by Pythagoras as a symbol of the Cosmos. |
| Tetragrammaton |
 The four-letter Tetragrammaton is supposed to be the true
name of the God in the Hebrew scriptures. Its pronunciation is considered to have great power, and is never spoken aloud, except for once
a year in the inner sanctuary of the Temple during Yom Kippur. The Tetragrammaton is central to the doctrines of both the Jewish and
Kabbalistic traditions, where it is equivalent to the
four worlds of creation, the four
elements, the four archangels, and the four cardinal directions. |
| Theban Alphabet |
Theban was introduced to
Wicca by its founder,
Gerald Gardner, as a result of which the Theban alphabet is used almost exclusively by
Wiccans as a substitution cipher to protect magical writings from prying eyes. Although it is sometimes referred to as the runes of
Honorius, Theban is not a runic alphabet. It first appeared in print in 1531 in Henry Cornelius Agrippa's Third
Book of Occult Philosophy, where it was ascribed to the legendary magus 'Honorius of Thebes'. |
| Thelema |
Thelema,
from the Greek, meaning 'will', is the embodiment of Aleister Crowley's doctrine of
'True Will', after François Rabelais (c 1494 - 1553), the French Catholic monk who envisioned an 'Abbey of Thelema' in his Adventures of
Gargantua and Pantagruel. In 1920, Crowley, along with Leah Hirsig (the Scarlet Woman), founded the Abbey of Thelema in Cefalù,
Sicily. Followers of Crowley are called Thelemites. |
| Theosophy |
A theory of
philosophy which believes that humans are
capable of intuitive insight into the nature of God, which involves
meditation using
Yoga to gain wisdom and self-knowledge. The modern
Theosophical Society was established by
Madame Blavatsky in 1875 and continued by her protégé
Annie Besant. |
| Theurgy |
Kabbalah and Hermetic Magick are both theurgic practices. Theologically speaking,
theurgy is divine intervention in human affairs, or the performance of miracles, for example, the harnessing of spiritual forces through ritual to
cause transcendent spiritual change. |
| Thoth |
 In Egyptian mythology, Thoth was the ancient Egyptian God of
writing, magick, and learning. He is credited with the creation of language, numbers, and the measurement of time, and is often depicted
as the scribe of the Gods. Thoth is considered the patron of magicians and sages, and has been credited as the originator of the
Tarot. |
| Tiphareth |
Tiphareth is the 6th Sphere (Sephirah) of divine
emanation according to Kabbalah. The word Tiphareth means beauty. See also
The Sephiroth. |
| To Mega Therion |
One of many epithets used by
Aleister Crowley to describe himself. It stems from the Greek, meaning ‘The Great Beast’. |
| Torah |
A Hebrew word meaning 'teaching', 'instruction', or 'law'.
It is written in Hebrew (there are translations), the oldest Jewish language, and is the central and most important document of Judaism, revered by
Jews through the ages. It is also known as the Law of Moses, primarily referring to the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament
attributed to Moses. It is accepted that when Moses received the written law on Mount Sinai he also received the oral law, so the Torah
includes both the written and oral law, which encompasses the entire spectrum of authoritative Jewish religious teachings. See also
Kabbalah. |
| Tree of Life |
 In the Book of Genesis, this is a tree whose fruit gives
everlasting life, i.e. immortality. After eating of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve were exiled from the Garden of Eden,
after which God set angels to guard the entrance to the Garden fearing they would also eat of the Tree of Life and so become immortal. The
Tree of Life is also the symbolic representation of the
Kabbalah, comprising the ten
Sephiroth and the twenty-two paths of spiritual wisdom. It is a powerful means
of gaining personal and spiritual realisation. |
| Triangle of Art |
 The
Triangle of Art is the protected space outside the
magick circle, into which spirits are compelled to appear in Solomonic Ritual Magic.
The central circle is usually inscribed with the sigil (seal) of the spirit to be evoked. The usual form is of a triangle, circumscribed with
various words of power, containing an inner, blackened circle. The purpose of the triangle is to contain the manifested entity. |
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