O
Oak Tree
The oak, from time immemorial, has held a high place as a sacred tree. The Druids worshipped the oak, and performed many of their rites…
Obeah
(See West Indian Islands.) Obercit, Johnan Hermann : Swiss Mystic and Alchemist, 1725-1798. Born in 1725 at Arbon, in Switzerland, Johann…
Obsession and Possession
Obsession, from Latin obsessionem -obsidere, to besiege, is a form of insanity caused, according to traditional belief, by the persistent…
Od Force
(See Emanations.) Odyle (also Od, Odic Force, Odyllic Force): The term first used by Baron von Reichenbach to denote the subtle effluence…
Okey Sisters
(See Spiritualism.) Olcott, Colonel Henry Steel: The founder, together with Madame Blavatsky, of the movement known as Theosophy, and…
Om
A Sanskrit word of peculiar sanctity in the Hindu religion. It is pronounced at the beginning and end of every lesson in the Veda, and is…
Omar Khayyam
(See Assassins.) Onimancy, or the observation of the angel Uriel, is thus performed. Upon the nails of the right hand of an unpolluted boy…
Onion
The Onion was regarded as a symbol of the universe among the ancient Egyptians, and many curious beliefs were associated with it. It was…
Onychomancy
Divination by the finger-nails. It is practised by watching the reflection of the sun in the nails of a boy, and judging the future by the…
Onyx
Its properties resemble those of Jasper, besides which it increases saliva in boys, and is said to bring terrible shapes to the dreamer. If…
Ooscopy and Comantia
Two methods of divination by eggs. An example under the former name is related by Suetonius, who says, that Livia, when she was anxious to…
Opal
Recreates the heart, preserves from contagion in the air, and dispels sadness; it is also good for weak eyes. Pliny's description of this…
Ophites
This gnostic sect seems to have dated from the second century. A full system of initiation was in vogue among the members, and they…
Oracles
Shrines where a god speaks to human beings through the mouths of priests or priestesses. The concept of the god become vocal in this manner…
Orbas
The name given by the French to a species of metallic electrum. According to Pliny a vessel of this substance has a certain magical…
Orenda
A magical force. (See American Indians.) Orleans, Duchess of: (See France.) Orleans, Duke of: (See France.) Ornithomancy is the Greek work…
Orton
Alluded to by Froissart as the familiar of the Lord of Corasse, near Orthes. A clerk whom his lordship had wronged set this spirit the task…