Glossary
Common vocabulary for people exploring deconstruction, shadow work, and earth-based practices.
A dedicated space (table, shelf, corner) where you place meaningful objects. Not worship—more like a visual reminder of what you value or who you honor. Can be seasonal, ancestral, or personal.
Honoring those who came before you through remembrance, storytelling, or ritual. Sacred in many cultures (Latinx, Asian, African diaspora, Celtic, Indigenous). For those raised without it, can mean reconnecting to your own lineage.
The right and ability to make your own choices. In deconstruction, reclaiming autonomy means trusting yourself after being taught that your desires, questions, or intuition were sinful or wrong.
Celtic festival (Apr 30-May 1) celebrating fertility, passion, and the height of spring. Historically marked with bonfires and maypole dances. Themes: creativity, desire, growth.
Limits you set to protect your well-being, time, or energy. Can be physical, emotional, or relational. Essential in healing from religious trauma where boundaries were often violated or shamed.
Intentional breathing practices used to regulate emotions, calm anxiety, or access deeper states. Examples: box breathing (4-4-4-4), deep belly breaths. Somatic technique, not spiritual ritual.
A practice of returning to yourself—your breath, your body, your values—when feeling scattered or overwhelmed. Similar to grounding but emphasizes internal alignment.
Spiritual or cultural practices that belong to specific communities and require permission, initiation, or heritage to participate in. Example: white sage is sacred to Indigenous peoples. Respecting closed practices honors cultural sovereignty.
Freely given permission. In spiritual contexts, means learning from living practitioners, honoring closed practices, and not taking from cultures without relationship or credit.
Taking elements from a culture (especially marginalized cultures) without permission, understanding, or credit—often for profit or aesthetic. Differs from cultural appreciation, which involves learning from and honoring origins.
Examining and unlearning beliefs or practices imposed by colonial power structures (including religious colonialism). In wellness, means honoring Indigenous knowledge and not appropriating it.
The process of examining and questioning beliefs you were taught, especially those rooted in fear or control. It's not about losing faith—it's about choosing what you believe based on curiosity, compassion, and personal experience rather than fear or authority.
Practices used to gain insight or guidance (tarot, pendulums, runes, etc.). Can be approached as accessing intuition, not supernatural forces. Many use it as creative decision-making tools.
Earth, air, fire, water (sometimes spirit). Used across cultures as symbolic categories. In practices, represent qualities: earth (grounding), air (thought), fire (passion), water (emotion).
Living in and through your body, rather than dissociating from it. Many people raised in purity culture were taught to distrust or shame their bodies. Embodiment is reclaiming physical presence.
Practices involving awareness of subtle sensations or emotions in the body (sometimes called 'energy'). Cross-cultural concept: prana (Hindu), qi (Chinese), life force (Indigenous). Can be approached somatically without supernatural belief.
A period of intense doubt or questioning about religious beliefs you once held. Often feels destabilizing but can lead to deeper, chosen faith or peaceful letting go.
A technique to help you feel present in your body and surroundings. Used in psychology, meditation, and trauma recovery. Common methods include deep breathing, noticing your senses, or feeling your feet on the floor. Also called 'earthing.' It's somatic, not spiritual.
Religious systems that use fear, shame, isolation, or manipulation to control members' behavior, relationships, information access, and thoughts. Often discourages questioning or leaving.
Celtic festival (Feb 1-2) celebrating the first stirrings of spring. Associated with Brigid (Celtic goddess/saint) and themes of creativity, new beginnings, and returning light.
Teaching someone to accept beliefs uncritically, often through repetition, fear, or control. In religious contexts, can include teaching that questioning equals sin, or that doubt leads to hell.
A psychological concept representing the part of you that holds childhood experiences, wounds, and wonder. Inner child work involves offering compassion to younger versions of yourself who experienced pain or unmet needs.
In shadow work, the process of acknowledging and accepting parts of yourself you've rejected or hidden. Not about fixing yourself, but about making peace with all of who you are.
A conscious aim or purpose you set for an action, ritual, or practice. Not a magical spell—more like focusing your attention and energy on what matters to you.
Writing to process thoughts, emotions, or experiences. Not just diary-keeping—can include prompts, shadow work questions, or stream-of-consciousness. Therapeutic tool for self-discovery.
A threshold or in-between space. In seasonal terms, liminal times include dawn, dusk, equinoxes, and transitions between seasons. Describes states of change or transformation.
The practice of focusing thoughts and actions toward a desired outcome. Often misunderstood as 'magical thinking'—in reality, it's about clarifying goals and noticing opportunities. Not a substitute for action.
A practice of focused attention or mindful awareness. Many forms exist across cultures. Can be secular (mindfulness), spiritual (prayer), or somatic (body scans). Not about emptying your mind.
Paying attention to the present moment without judgment. Rooted in Buddhist practice but often taught secularly. Helps interrupt anxious thoughts about past or future.
The lunar cycle (new, waxing, full, waning). Observed across cultures for millennia. Many use phases as metaphors for personal cycles: new moons for beginnings, full moons for completion.
Spiritual or cultural practices that are freely shared and available to anyone to explore, regardless of heritage. Still important to acknowledge origins and learn from practitioners when possible.
Card decks with themes or messages used for reflection (similar to tarot but with varied structures). Often used as prompts for journaling or clarifying thoughts.
A set of teachings (primarily in evangelical Christianity) that centers sexual 'purity' before marriage, often causing shame about bodies, sexuality, and desire. Disproportionately harms women and LGBTQ+ individuals.
Taking back parts of yourself, your intuition, or practices that were forbidden or shamed. Common in deconstruction: reclaiming pleasure, curiosity about nature, or connection to your body.
Psychological harm caused by fear-based religious teachings, spiritual abuse, or high-control religious environments. Can include anxiety, shame, difficulty trusting yourself, and fear of punishment. Often requires professional therapeutic support to heal.
A repeated, meaningful action done with intention. Can be spiritual, cultural, or personal. Examples: lighting a candle for a loved one, journaling at the same time daily, or seasonal celebrations.
One of the eight seasonal festivals in the Wheel of the Year (Samhain, Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Litha, Lammas, Mabon). Neopagan term for marking solstices, equinoxes, and cross-quarter days.
Celtic festival (Oct 31-Nov 1) marking the end of harvest and beginning of winter's darkness. When 'the veil is thin.' Modern Neopagan celebration; historically from Gaelic traditions. Not Halloween, though related.
Treating yourself with the same kindness you'd offer a friend. Especially important in deconstruction, where shame and self-criticism were often taught as 'humility.'
The practice of exploring the parts of yourself you've been taught to hide, reject, or fear. For those raised in fear-based systems, it often means reclaiming intuition, pleasure, worthiness, and connection to your body. It's compassionate self-reflection, not therapy.
A painful feeling that you are fundamentally bad or wrong. Different from guilt (feeling bad about an action). Shame is often weaponized in high-control religions to control behavior.
Symbols created to represent intentions or goals. Modern Western occult practice (20th century). Many use them as visual anchors or creative focus tools, not magical spells.
Relating to the body. Somatic practices focus on physical sensations and body awareness to process emotions and trauma. Grounding, breathwork, and movement are somatic techniques.
Using religious authority, scripture, or spiritual power to control, manipulate, or harm someone. Includes teaching that questioning is sin, using fear of hell to control, or claiming divine authority for abuse.
Using spiritual practices or beliefs to avoid dealing with uncomfortable emotions, unresolved trauma, or personal responsibility. Examples: 'Everything happens for a reason' to dismiss pain, or 'just think positive' to avoid grief.
A deck of 78 cards used for reflection and self-discovery. Originated as a Renaissance card game. Not fortune-telling or summoning spirits—most users treat it as journaling prompts or symbolism for introspection.
Poetic language for the boundary between the physical world and the unseen. In seasonal traditions, 'the veil is thin' at Samhain (Oct 31-Nov 1), suggesting easier connection with ancestors or intuition. Not literal.
Your nervous system's reaction to perceived danger, rooted in past trauma. Includes fight, flight, freeze, and fawn. Understanding your trauma responses helps you recognize when you're reacting from past pain.
Stimuli (sounds, words, situations) that activate past trauma responses. Not about being 'oversensitive'—triggers are neurological. Common in religious trauma: certain hymns, Bible verses, or church settings.
A modern Neopagan framework (developed mid-20th century) marking eight seasonal festivals, primarily drawing from Celtic and Germanic traditions. One way to honor seasons—not the only or 'original' way.
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