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Cabala:

Alternate spelling of Kabbalah.

 

Cacodaemon:

From the Greek term meaning evil spirit. In medieval times, sometimes used to name the 12th house of the horoscope figure.

 

Caduceus:

The name given to a number of ancient symbolic wands, originating in Mesopotamia around 2600 BC.

 

Cagliostro, Count Alessandro:

(1743-1795) An Italian magician and psychic who was well-known in European royal courts.

 

Caliban:

In Shakespeare's The Tempest, the name of a deformed half-human offspring of a devil and a witch.

 

Cambion:

Half-human offspring of an incubus and a succubus.

 

Capnomancy:

A method of divination by interpreting patterns of smoke, especially smoke from sacrificial offerings.

 

Caput mortuum:

Latin for "death's head". In alchemy, the residue from an alchemical operation such as distillation or sublimation.

 

Cartomancy:

Any method of divination using playing cards. Tarot is a form of cartomancy.

 

Cayce, Edgar: 

(1877-1945) American psychic and healer.

 

Cerberus:

In Greek mythology, a three-headed dog that guards the gate to the infernal regions.

 

Ceroscopy:

A method of divination using melted wax poured into cold water. The congealed shapes are interpreted by the diviner.

 

Chain of Being:

Originally developed by Plato, a philosophical idea which orders life from the highest spiritual beings to the lowest inanimate objects.

 

Chakra:

A yogic term meaning a series of circular "life force" vortices in a person, at which point energy is received, transformed and distributed.

 

Champ:

Common name for the cryptozoological Monster of Lake Champlain.

 

Channelling:

The process of communicating with non-physical beings (spirits, etc).

 

Charm:

A magical formula recited or sung in order to achieve a desired effect. Sometimes used in the making of amulets and talismans.

 

Cheiromancy: 

Palmistry. A method of observing the characteristics of a person's hand to understand their personality. Some palmists also claim that future events can be predicted by hand-reading.

 

Chichevache:

A mythical female monster, believed to have subsisted by eating good and virtuous women.

 

Chimera:

In Greek mythology, a beast with a lion's head, goat's body and dragon's tail.

 

Chiromancy:

A form of Palmistry.

 

Chupacabra:

A creature of legend said to inhabit areas of Northern and Southern America.

 

Clairaudience:

Similar to clairvoyance, but specifically related to sounds. The ability to hear paranormal voices and sounds.

 

Clairsentience:

A general term to describe "clear sensing", or paranormal sensing ability. An umbrella term which includes clairvoyance, clairaudience, etc.

 

Clairvoyance:

French for "clear seeing", the ability to sense paranormal people, objects, etc.

 

Cleidomancy:

Any method of divination using a key.

 

Cleromancy:

Any method of divination using dice.

 

Climacterics:

The belief that certain years in a person's life are more significant in terms of fortune and change. The important septenary years are 7, 14, 21, 28, etc.

 

Close Encounters:

A system of classifying UFO sightings, originally suggested by ufologist Josef Allen Hynek in 1972.

 

Cloud dissolving:

The practice of making clouds disappear at will. Sometimes used as an easy illusion, as small fair-weather clouds tend to dissolve naturally within twenty minutes of forming.

 

Cluricaune:

In Irish folklore, a leprechaun.

 

Cockatrice:

A mythical creature with bird wings, a dragon's tail and a cock's head. Said to be able to kill with a glance.

 

Cocytus:

Classical name of one of the five rivers of Hell. The unburied were said to walk beside the rivers for a hundred years.

 

Cold reading:

A technique commonly used in sessions such as psychic readings, in which the person conducting the session elicits information from the subject without their awareness, then uses this information to create the illusion of supernatural ability.

 

Conjuration:

The practice of attracting the attention and involvement of spirits by means of ritual activities.

 

Cottingley Fairies:

A famous series of photographs claimed to depict fairies, since revealed as a hoax.

 

Croiset, Gerard:

(1909–1980) Dutch psychic and psychometrist.

 

Crop circles:

Large circles and other patterns left in crop fields. Crop circles have been reported widely in England, Europe and the United States since the 1980s. Most have been shown to be hoaxes but some remain mysterious.

 

Crowley, Aleister:

(1875-1947) Controversial English magician and occultist who described himself as "The Beast of the Apocalypse".

 

Cryptid:

Any species of animal which has not been formally identified or categorized by science, e.g. Yeti.

 

Cryptozoology:

The study and search for those animals whose present-day existence is not formally recognized by mainstream science.

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