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Lady-bird
A rustic mode of divination was that practised with the lady-bird or lady-fly. The lady-bird was captured by a maid and bidden to fly…
Lady of Lawers
One of the Breadalbane family, of Scottish origin, and married to Campbell of Lawers. This gentlewoman was believed to be gifted with…
Lamb
Dr. Lamb was a noted sorcerer in the time of Charles the First. The famous Richard Baxter, in his Certainty of the World of Spirits…
Lancashire Witches
A story with many pathetic and pitiable features, and one which is eloquent of the ignorance and credulity of the age, is that of the…
Lapis Exilis
A name applied to the Graal itself. It is this stone which causes the phoenix to renew her youth. Lapis Exilis, according to Wolfram von…
Lapis Judaicus
Also identified with the Graal and the Talismanic stone of inexhaustible feeding power. It is sometimes called Theolithos, and seems but…
Lapland
The Laplanders have a reputation for magical practice which is almost proverbial throughout Europe, and certainly so among the peoples of…
Lascaris
(Alchemist of the Eighteenth Century.) It is impossible to determine the date at which this mysterious personage was born, or to say…
Latent Impressions
(See Telepathy.) Launay, Jean: A celebrated doctor of the Sorbonne, born in 1603 at Valderic, in the diocese of Contanas. He has left a…
Laurel
A tree which Apuleius classes among the plants which preserve men from the influence of evil spirits. It was also believed to give…
Laya Yoga
That practice of the yogi by which he listens to sounds which can be heard within his own body when the ears are closed. These sounds are…
Leannan Sith
Gaelic words meaning "fairy sweetheart" who may be of either sex. Mortals are advised to have nothing to do with such beings, as no good…
Leg Cake
The name given in the Highlands of Scotland to a cake given to a herd when he came with the news that a mare had foaled, or to a dairy-maid…
Lemegcton
(See Key of Solomon.) Leo, Pope: (See Enchiridion.) Lescoriere, Marie: A witch of the sixteenth century, arrested at the age of ninety…
Lesser Key of Solomon
(See Key of Solomon.) Levi, Eliphas: Alphonse Louis Constant, better known by his pen-name of Eliphas Levi, was a French occultist of the…
Levitation
A term in use among spiritualists to denote the raising in the air of the human body or other objects without visible means, and presumably…
Leviticon
A gospel adopted by the French Templars, and alleged by them to have been discovered in the Temple at Paris, along with other objects. It…
Libellus Merlini
(Little Book of Merlin.) A Latin tract on the subject of the prophecies of Merlin written by Geoffrey of Monmouth about 1135. Geoffrey…
Light
Spiritualistic Journal. (See Spiritualism.) Lignite is a beautiful stone, like glass; being hung about a child it preserves it from…
Lilith
According to Wierus and other demonologists, Lilith was the prince or princess who presided over the demons known as succubi. The demons…
Limachie
This little curiosity, resembling a chip of a man's nail, is to be squeezed out of the head of a slug, which must be done the instant it is…
Linton Charles
(See Automatic Writing and Speaking.) Lippares or Liparia: He who has this stone "needs no other invention to catch wild beasts." On the…
Litanies of the Sabbath
On Wednesdays and Saturdays, if the accounts speak truly, it was the custom to sing at the witches' Sabbath the following Litanies…
Lithomancy
A species of divination performed by stones, but in what manner it is difficult to ascertain. Gale, in a "note upon Iamblichus," confesses…
Little World
The name given to a secret society which conspired in England, in the eighteenth century, to reestablish the Stuart dynasty. Many stories…
Lodestone
A precious stone believed to possess magical properties of diverse kinds. If one is ill, one must hold it in one's hands and shake it well…
Logos
Fohat-is the term very commonly used in theosophy to designate the Deity. Along with the great religions, theosophy has as the beginning of…
Loki
(See Devil.) Lombroso, Professor Cesare: A celebrated Italian anthropologist. A few years before his death he took up the study of…
London Dialectical Society
In 1869 an important enquiry into the phenomena of spiritualism was undertaken by the London Dialectical Society. A committee of more than…
Lost Word of Kabbalism
Lost Word in Masonry. A word relating to some mystic plan, which though it is held to have disappeared, will at some time be restored, and…
Loutherburg
(See Spiritualism.) Loyer, Pierre Le: Sieur de la Brosse, royal councillor and demonographer, was born at Huillé in Anjou in 1550. He was…
Lubin
The fish whose gall was used by Tobias to restore his father's sight. It is said to be very powerful against ophthalmia, and its heart is…
Lucifer
Literally light-bringer, a name applied to the conception of the devil, who has often been likened to a fallen star or angel. The Miltonic…
Lugh
In Irish romance, son of Kian, and father of Cuchulain. He was brought up by his uncle Goban, the Smith, and by Duach, King of Fairyland…
Luminous Bodies
Dead bodies are frequently supposed to glow in the dark with a sort of phosphorescent light. Possibly the belief arose from the idea that…
Lycanthropy
The transformation of a human being into an animal. The term is derived from the Greek words, lukos a wolf, and anthropos a man, but it is…
Lacteus – Lux
A stone applied to rheumatic eyes. A magical word in Hindu yoga practice.