A quick primer of the terminology of magick. Most of these terms are from such grimoires as the Ars Magnus, the Clavicula Salomonis Regis, and Arthur Edward Waite’s The Book of Black Magic and of Pacts. A few terms (such as nadach, nikraim, and yoking) are specific to the Dark Arts series.
adept – n., an initiate into the Art of ceremonial magick; often used as a synonym for apprentice.
Art, the – n., capitalized, a shorthand term referring to Renaissance-era ceremonial magick.
athamé – n., a black-handled knife with many uses in ceremonial magick.
dabbler – n., karcists’ pejorative for an amateur or poorly trained adept of ceremonial magick.
demon – n., a fallen angel; demons provide the overwhelming majority of magick in the Art, with the remaining small percentage coming from angels.
Enochian – n., the language of angels; adj., related to or originating from angels or their language.
experiment – n., in ceremonial magick, technical term for a ritual involving the conjuration and control of demons or angels.
familiar – n., a demonic spirit in animal form, sent to aid a karcist and amplify his or her powers.
grimoire – n., a book of magickal contracts between a karcist and the demons with whom he or she has struck pacts in exchange for access to them and the powers they grant.
incubus – n., a low-level (i.e., nameless) demon, a creature of pure meanness and spite, whose function is to seduce mortals or, in some cases, act as their sexual servant; an incubus can take any of a variety of masculine forms. When so desired, it can assume a feminine form; in such an event, it is referred to as a succubus (see below).
Kabbalah – n., a system of esoteric theosophy and theurgy developed by Hebrew rabbis; it is considered a system of “white magick,” though it has a “black magick” component known as Sitra Achra.
karcist – n., a master-level adept in the Art of ceremonial magick.
lamia – n., a low-level (i.e., nameless) demon summoned to act as a domestic servant; though they can be compelled to behave in a manner that seems docile or even friendly, they must be carefully controlled, or else they will turn against those who conjured and commanded them.
Lull Engine – n., a divination tool, often consisting of overlapping wheels made from stiff paper or cardboard, that can be called upon without invoking either demons or angels. Also known by the variant spelling Llull Engine, and sometimes called a Llull Machine.
magick – n., when spelled with a terminal “k,” a shorthand term for Renaissance-era ceremonial magick, also known as the Art. Not to be confused with theatrical or stage magic, which consists of sleight-of-hand, misdirection, and mechanical illusions. All acts of true magick are predicated on the conjuration and control of demons or, in rare cases, angels.
nadach – n., a human being whose soul has been spiritually bonded prior to birth with the essence of a demon; such a union persists for life and often confers one or more special abilities.
nikraim – n., a human being whose soul has been spiritually bonded prior to birth with the essence of an angel; such a union persists for life and often confers one or more special abilities.
operator – n., in the Art, the adept or karcist leading or controlling an experiment.
patient – n., an antiseptic term of the Art for the intended subject (often a victim) of a demonic sending resulting from an experiment.
rabble – n., karcists’ nickname for the world’s non-magickal majority of people.
rod – n., in the Art, a wand; used to impose punishments on demons and direct magickal effects.
scrying – n., a term for remote viewing, or clairvoyance (i.e., witnessing events in faraway places) by means of magick.
send – v., in the context of magick, to dispatch a demon by means of an experiment, with orders to perform a specified task. Such actions can include, but are not limited to, murder, assault, recovery of valued objects, and the acquisition of information.
succubus – n., a low-level (i.e., nameless) demon, a creature of pure meanness and spite, whose function is to seduce mortals or, in some cases, act as their sexual servant; an incubus can take any of a variety of feminine forms. When so desired, it can assume a masculine form; in such an event, it is referred to as a incubus (see above).
tanist – n., a karcist, adept, or other person who acts as an assistant to the operator during an experiment. Most experiments are designed to be performed either by a lone operator or by an operator with two or four tanists.
ward – n., a glyph, seal, or other sigil, whether temporary or permanent, that serves to protect a person, place, or thing from demonic or magickal assault, detection, or other effect.
yoke – v., to force a demon or angel into the conscious control of a karcist. Yoking a demon often entails deleterious side-effects, such as headaches, nosebleeds, nightmares, indigestion, and a variety of self-destructive obsessive-compulsive behaviors.