Deaf Pagan Crossroads

Here are the answers to the Pagan Mini-Test… if there are any questions for which you would like more explanation of the answer, please leave a comment and I will be happy to explain it further.

1. In modern Paganism, the seasonal celebrations are reflections of the cycles of life, death, and rebirth. These festivals are said to be

a) the Lighting of the Flame

b) the Stirring of the Cauldron

c) the Circle of Life

d) the Wheel of the Year

2. The earliest form of Witchcraft was most likely

a) tribal Shamanism

b) temple Priestesses

c) divination experts

d) village wise women

3. What is a spell?

a) a period of time

b) mixing together different magical ingredients

c) the speaking of magical words

d) a wish sent with intent

4. The art of divination is based upon the assumption that

a) the diviner has supernatural powers

b) objects and symbols are independent sources of psychic power

c) there are links among humans, objects, and the forces found in Nature

d) divination tools are magical entities

5. This Celtic deity is known by name only from a single Gaulish altar inscription, yet He is popular within many Wiccan circles:

a) Dagda

b) Cernunnos

c) Herne

d) Gobniu

6. Deosil is __________, and widdershins is __________

a) forwards, backwards

b) counterclockwise, clockwise

c) positive energy, negative energy

d) clockwise, counterclockwise

7. After the Witchcraft laws were repealed in England in 1951, he came forward to expound upon the ideas of Margaret Murray. He is credited with being the founder of the modern Witchcraft religion known as Wicca:

a) Alex Sanders

b) Gerald B. Gardner

c) Charles Leland

d) Robert Cochrane

8. Of the following, which Wiccan practice comes out of the Golden Dawn?

a) elementals and color associations

b) assuming God forms

c) Watchtowers

d) all of the above

9. Who was the first to put forth the theory that the witches persecuted during the Inquisition were actually members of an organized Pagan religion, a fertility cult with roots that went back as far as Paleolethic times?

a) Jules Michelet

b) James Frazer

c) Margaret Murray

d) Gerald Gardner

10. At what time in the year does the Oak King traditionally challenge, fight, and kill the Holly King?

a) Midsummer

b) Beltaine

c) Winter Solstice

d) Lammas

11. The circle is __________ with salt and water; the circle is __________ with fire and air.

a) made wet, made sweet

b) charged, cleansed

c) cleansed, charged

d) cleansed, cleansed

12. The following is a Sanskrit word that is used to describe the essence or spirit. It is sometimes also called ether, the emptiness from which reality takes its form:

a) Rumi

b) Tatoli

c) Akasha

d) Chakra

13. What are the primary differences between Ceremonial Magic and Wiccan practices?

a) Wicca is more formal and organized in its practice

b) Ceremonial Magic focuses heavily upon theology and form

c) Ceremonial Magic uses an elaborate system of symbolism, numbers, colors, and timing

d) Wicca has an unbroken line reaching back to prehistoric times, while Ceremonial Magic

dates as far as the Middle Ages

14. This popular plant is used in everything from pickling to garnishes. It is also a very powerful antibiotic, and mixed with sage in tea form, can help sooth a common cold. During the summer, it can keep mosquitos at bay, and hung up in the home, can dispel negative energy:

a) lavender

b) Saint John’s Wort

c) parsley

d) garlic

15. Do magic that involves banishing or removing an obstacle during a _____ moon; and magic to increase your luck, fertility, health or to draw something to you during a _____ moon.

a) full, new

b) waxing, waning

c) blood, blue

d) waning, waxing

16. In astrology, a house is

a) a section of the chart with only one Zodiac sign in it

b) a building with four walls and a roof

c) a particular grouping of signs within an individuals’s astrological chart

d) a mathematical division of the sky

17. You are in desperate need of a job. Of the following, which is the best course of magical action?

a) do candle magic to send out a psychic call for a job

b) do chanting and power raising directed toward finding a job

c) empower the paper of your resume, that it gets into the right hands, and mail it out

d) burn a copy of your resume, and scatter the ashes to the winds

18. What is the difference between a Witch’s circle and a Ceremonial Magician’s circle?

a) the words used to create it

b) a Witch creates a circle to make a connection with the spirits; a magician’s circle is used to keep the spirits at bay

c) magicians visualize a purple light, Witches see it as white

d) there is no difference between the two

19. Which Celtic Goddess was the only one to have been worshiped in Rome itself and whose worship was spread through the regions of Roman occupation?

a) Bridget

b) Ostara

c) Epona

d) Nemesis

20. This is the “bible” which should be in any witch‘s library:

a) Drawing Down the Moon, by Margot Adler

b) The Spiral Dance, by Starhawk

c) there is no such thing as a Witches bible

d) What Witches Do, by Janet and Stewart Farrar

21. The Elementals are best described as

a) the four elements of life found within Nature, which form the foundation of natural magic

b) the spirits that personify the four elements

c) a Pagan music group that wrote many of the chants currently used within the Pagan

community

d) air, fire, water, and earth

22. This is the most significant of the Sabbats, because it marks the beginning of the new year for Wiccans and most Pagans:

a) Yule

b) Beltaine

c) Samhain

d) Imbolc

23. Collectively, the runes are called the

a) futhark

b) aettir

c) Eddas

d) mystical doodles

24. The Law of Thelema states

a) do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law

b) I am what is attained at the end of desire

c) live, laugh, and love

d) you shall honor and obey the High Priestess

25. A controversial occultist during the twentieth century, he was a Ceremonial Magician whose writing and ideas had a major influence on the founders of the modern Witchcraft movement:

a) Aleister Crowley

b) Gerald Gardner

c) Cecil Williamson

d) Raymond Buckland

26. He is hung upon the World Tree to gain knowledge (Norse Tradition):

a) Odin

b) Balder

c) Thor

d) Loki

27. Pantheism is

a) a religious concept that identifies the Gods as present in all matter

b) the worship or honoring of a collection of deities from the same culture

c) the celebration and worship of the God Pan

d) a famous temple in Greece dedicated to the Goddess Athena

28. The Inquisition was a campaign to eradicate

a) pagans

b) witches

c) heretics

d) midwives

29. Divination tells the reader

a) the likely course of events

b) the actual events that will occur

c) only past events

d) where the money is hidden

30. The Death card in a tarot reading means

a) that the questioner will die in the next year

b) that someone close to the questioner will die in the next year

c) the ending and transformation of a situation

d) the ending of a situation

Soooo… how many of you actually took this test? How did you do? Would you like to see more tests posted?