Language has always been central to witchcraft. The words we use to describe spiritual practices, tools, and beliefs are more than labels, they are cultural artifacts that reveal how societies have understood power, gender, and the unseen. Over centuries, the vocabulary of witchcraft has evolved through linguistic shifts, religious persecution, and modern reclamation. Understanding these roots helps demystify what it means to be a witch today, and restores context to terms that have often been misused or misunderstood.
Witch
The word witch originates from the Old English wicce (feminine) and wicca (masculine), both derived from the verb wiccian, meaning “to practice witchcraft or sorcery.” Linguists trace wicce further to Proto-Germanic roots associated with bending or shaping, possibly from wikkjaz, “one who bends”, suggesting early associations with those who could bend or shape reality through will or ritual.
In early Anglo-Saxon England, the term wicce did not necessarily imply evil. It was applied to healers, seers, and midwives who worked with herbs and charms. Over time, as Christianity spread across Europe, the meaning shifted dramatically. Pagan healing and divination became framed as heresy or devil worship, and witch took on a negative connotation. By the 15th and 16th centuries, during the height of witch hunts, it became synonymous with a person accused of maleficium, the act of causing harm through supernatural means.
Today, witch has been reclaimed by many as a title of empowerment, spirituality, and connection to nature, reflecting its older associations with knowledge and transformation rather than fear.
Magick
The spelling magick, popularized by 20th-century occultist Aleister Crowley, distinguishes spiritual and transformative practices from stage illusion or performance magic. Crowley defined magick as “the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will.” The additional “k” is thought to reference the Greek letter kappa, symbolizing the number 11, a number Crowley associated with divine energy and the crossing of boundaries.
Historically, the word magic derives from the Greek mageia, referring to the practices of the magoi, priestly scholars from ancient Persia (the Magi). These magi were advisors, astrologers, and interpreters of dreams who held respected positions in early civilizations. Their knowledge of astronomy, ritual, and natural science later became viewed with suspicion by Christian theologians, who equated mageia with deception or demonic influence.
Thus, magick today reflects a linguistic restoration, a return to the term’s original sense of sacred knowledge and intentional transformation, distinct from illusion or trickery.
Coven
The modern word coven comes from the Latin convenire, meaning “to come together” or “to assemble.” In Middle English, it appeared as covent, referring to gatherings of people bound by shared purpose, a term also used for monastic communities. By the 14th century, covent had become coven, and by the time of the witch trials in early modern Europe, the term was applied to alleged meetings of witches who worshipped the devil or performed forbidden rites.
This association arose largely from the writings of demonologists such as King James VI of Scotland, whose Daemonologie (1597) described supposed witch gatherings. In truth, many accused “covens” were ordinary village women or healers meeting for social or spiritual reasons. The idea of the “witches’ sabbat,” a nocturnal assembly, was often a projection of ecclesiastical fear rather than evidence of an organized underground religion.
In modern practice, coven has been redefined as a group of witches who meet for ritual, study, or community, returning to the original meaning of people coming together in shared purpose.
Familiar
The term familiar entered English in the late Middle Ages from the Latin familiaris, meaning “household servant” or “domestic.” In witch trial records, a familiar referred to a spirit or animal believed to assist a witch in her workings. Cats, toads, and crows were among the most common alleged familiars, thought to feed on the witch’s blood and act as her emissary to supernatural forces.
The concept may have older roots in Roman household spirits called lares and penates, and in Norse mythology’s fylgja, a protective spirit that could appear as an animal form linked to an individual’s fate. Over time, Christian theology reinterpreted such spirits as demons, further stigmatizing pre-Christian beliefs about protective companions.
Today, the familiar is viewed symbolically, representing intuition, animal wisdom, or the energetic bond between practitioner and nature. Linguistically, it retains its original sense of closeness: something “familiar,” intimate, and known.
Grimoire
The word grimoire originates from Old French grammaire, meaning “grammar” or “book of learning.” In medieval France, grammaire referred to Latin textbooks, the language of scholarship and sacred texts. To those outside the educated elite, the Latin writing of scholars appeared mysterious, even magical. Over time, grammaire came to denote books of secret or occult knowledge.
By the 18th and 19th centuries, grimoire had solidified as the term for books containing spells, rituals, and magical correspondences. Famous examples include The Key of Solomon and The Lesser Key of Solomon, which drew from Jewish mysticism and ceremonial magic. In a linguistic sense, grimoire captures the idea of a “grammar” of magic, a structured language through which practitioners articulate and codify spiritual practice.
In the digital era, grimoires have evolved again. Personal notebooks, blogs, and online archives now serve as modern extensions of this tradition, continuing humanity’s instinct to record the languages of transformation.
Alchemy
Alchemy comes from the Arabic al-kīmiyāʾ, itself derived from the Greek khēmia or khēmeia, likely referencing ancient Egypt (Khemia or “the black land”). It was practiced across Hellenistic Egypt, the Islamic world, and medieval Europe, blending early chemistry, philosophy, and spirituality. Alchemy aimed not only to transform base metals into gold but to purify the soul, an idea that deeply influenced later occult and mystical thought.
Linguistically, the prefix al- means “the,” and kīmiyāʾ denotes the art of transformation. The word’s journey from Greek to Arabic to Latin reflects the transmission of knowledge across cultural and religious boundaries. By the Renaissance, alchemy had become associated with both science and esotericism, giving rise to modern chemistry on one hand and symbolic language on the other.
In witchcraft vocabulary, terms like “transmutation,” “elixir,” and “philosopher’s stone” trace directly back to alchemical roots, all symbols of transformation, both material and spiritual.
Sabbat and Esbat
The word sabbat derives from the Hebrew Shabbat (Sabbath), the Jewish day of rest. During the late medieval period, inquisitors and demonologists appropriated the term to describe supposed gatherings of witches who met in opposition to Christian worship. These “witches’ sabbats” were largely inventions, symbolic inversions of church rituals rather than accurate accounts of pagan practice.
In modern witchcraft, sabbat has been reclaimed to represent the eight seasonal festivals of the Wheel of the Year, each marking a phase in the agricultural and solar cycles. These include Samhain, Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Litha, Lammas (Lughnasadh), and Mabon, a synthesis of Celtic, Germanic, and modern neopagan influences.
The word esbat is of French origin, from ébat, meaning “rejoicing” or “frolic.” It refers to gatherings held during the full moon for ritual and reflection. Together, sabbats and esbats form the rhythm of the modern witch’s calendar, integrating ancient linguistic traditions with contemporary spiritual cycles.
Craft
The word craft stems from Old English cræft, meaning “skill,” “art,” or “strength.” In early English usage, cræft applied to both physical and intellectual ability, from woodworking to poetry. The phrase “the Craft” as shorthand for witchcraft emphasizes this sense of skilled practice and disciplined creation.
In medieval guild systems, crafts were structured traditions passed down through apprenticeship. The parallel in witchcraft is striking: knowledge of herbs, symbols, and ritual was similarly preserved through oral transmission and personal instruction. When modern witches refer to their practice as “the Craft,” they invoke this lineage of artistry and intention.
Thus, craft in witchcraft vocabulary bridges artistry and spirituality, the understanding that transformation, whether of self or world, requires skill, discipline, and care.
Book of Shadows
The Book of Shadows is a relatively modern term, first appearing in the mid-20th century within the Wiccan tradition. British civil servant and occultist Gerald Gardner used it to describe a personal record of rituals, spells, and experiences. The phrase may have been inspired by a 1940s article in The Occult Observer that referenced a “Book of Shadows” from Sanskrit divination texts, though no direct link has been proven.
While the title itself is modern, the concept is ancient. From Egyptian papyri to medieval grimoires, practitioners across cultures have kept records of sacred knowledge. Gardner’s Book of Shadows blended this historical impulse with modern secrecy, a text meant to be copied by initiates and expanded through practice.
Today, many witches keep their own Books of Shadows or journals, using them as living documents of learning. The linguistic metaphor of “shadows” reflects both mystery and introspection, knowledge that is personal, hidden, and evolving.
The language of witchcraft is a living history of culture, conflict, and reclamation. Words like witch, coven, and grimoire have traveled through centuries of transformation, from reverence to condemnation, and back to respect. Each term carries the imprint of shifting power structures, from ancient healers to persecuted women to contemporary practitioners reclaiming their heritage.
To understand witchcraft terminology is to recognize that these words were never static. They are mirrors of human imagination and identity, evolving alongside the people who speak them. In tracing their roots, we honor the continuity between ancient wisdom and modern expression, remembering that language itself is one of the oldest and most enduring forms of magic.