The language of earth-honoring and pagan-Christian spirituality has its own vocabulary. This glossary defines the terms we use most often at the Pagan Church of Christ, in plain language. If a word here points you to a longer piece, follow the link.
Last updated: May 2026
Altar
A focal point for sacred attention, typically a small surface holding candles, seasonal items, photos of loved ones, or symbols of meaning. Altars are universal across spiritual traditions, including Christianity. Personal altars are common in pagan and Christo-pagan practice.
Beltane
A Celtic cross-quarter festival on May 1st, marking the height of spring. Traditionally celebrated with bonfires, dancing, and the Maypole. One of the eight points of the Wheel of the Year. (Read more about how we celebrate Beltane.)
Christo-paganism / Pagan Christianity
A spiritual orientation that holds the teachings handed down through the Christian thread alongside earth-honoring practice drawn from pre-Christian European wisdom. Practitioners observe both the older church calendar and the Wheel of the Year. The Pagan Church of Christ is one expression of this movement.
Coven
A small Wiccan or witchcraft group, typically 3 to 13 members, often led by a High Priestess or High Priest. Membership is usually by initiation. Distinct from a “church” model of organized spiritual community.
Cross-Quarter Day
One of four festivals falling halfway between a solstice and an equinox: Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh, and Samhain. Together with the solstices and equinoxes, the cross-quarter days form the eight sabbats of the Wheel of the Year.
Cunning Folk
Pre-modern European village practitioners of folk healing, herbalism, and prayer-based intercession. Often Christian, often persecuted as witches anyway during the witch trials. A historical antecedent to modern earth-honoring practice.
Druidry
A modern reconstructionist tradition inspired by the spiritual practices of ancient Celtic priestly classes. Emphasizes reverence for trees, the natural world, and seasonal cycles. Distinct from Wicca.
Earth-Honoring Spirituality
An umbrella term for spiritual traditions that hold the natural world as sacred rather than merely material. Includes pagan traditions, indigenous spiritualities, certain mystical strands of Abrahamic religions, and contemporary eco-spiritualities. The Pagan Church of Christ is earth-honoring.
Equinox
One of two days each year (around March 21 and September 21) when day and night are of approximately equal length. In the Wheel of the Year, the spring equinox is Ostara and the autumn equinox is Mabon.
Esbat
A Wiccan or pagan gathering held on or near the full moon, typically for ritual, working, or devotion to the Goddess. Distinct from a sabbat (which marks the Wheel of the Year). Our New Moon Circle is loosely analogous but distinct.
Heathenry
A modern reconstructionist tradition based on the pre-Christian religions of the Germanic and Norse peoples, including reverence for deities such as Odin, Thor, and Freya. Distinct from Wicca and from pagan Christianity.
Imbolc
A Celtic cross-quarter festival on February 1–2, associated with the goddess Brigid and the first stirrings of spring. One of the eight points of the Wheel of the Year. In Christian tradition, this date is also celebrated as Candlemas.
Liturgical Calendar
The Christian sacred calendar that includes Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost. The Pagan Church of Christ observes the liturgical calendar alongside the Wheel of the Year, finding the two complementary.
Litha
The summer solstice (around June 21), marking the longest day of the year and the height of solar power. One of the eight sabbats of the Wheel of the Year.
Lughnasadh
A Celtic cross-quarter festival on August 1, the first harvest festival of the year. Named for the god Lugh. One of the eight sabbats of the Wheel of the Year. Sometimes spelled Lammas in Anglo-Saxon tradition.
Mabon
The autumn equinox (around September 21), the second harvest festival of the year, and a time of gratitude and balance. One of the eight sabbats of the Wheel of the Year.
New Moon Circle
A monthly evening gathering at the Pagan Church of Christ held on or near the new moon, focused on intention-setting, release, prayer, and shared silence. (Read more about what happens at a New Moon Circle.)
Ostara
The spring equinox (around March 21), named for the pre-Christian goddess Eostre, the same root word from which “Easter” derives. Marks renewal, planting, and the return of light. One of the eight sabbats of the Wheel of the Year.
Pagan
From the Latin paganus, meaning “rural person” or “country-dweller.” Originally a geographical and cultural term referring to non-urban people who retained pre-Christian religious practices. Today, an umbrella term for earth-honoring spiritual traditions including Wicca, Druidry, Heathenry, and others. The word does not have a single agreed-upon definition.
Paganus
The Latin root of “pagan,” meaning “person of the land” or “country-dweller.” A geographical term that became theological as Christianity spread through urban centers first.
Sabbat
One of the eight festivals of the Wheel of the Year: Samhain, Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Litha, Lughnasadh, and Mabon. The four solstices and equinoxes plus the four cross-quarter days.
Samhain
A Celtic cross-quarter festival on October 31 to November 1, marking the end of the harvest season, the Celtic new year, and a time when the veil between living and dead is considered thin. One of the eight sabbats of the Wheel of the Year. Christian tradition celebrates All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day at the same time.
Seasonal Ceremony
A gathering held at one of the eight points of the Wheel of the Year to mark the turning of the seasons. (Read more about our seasonal ceremonies.)
Sermon on the Mount
The most extended single teaching of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of Matthew (chapters 5–7), including the Beatitudes and the Lord’s Prayer. Considered foundational to the moral teaching of the Pagan Church of Christ.
Solstice
One of two days each year (around June 21 and December 21) when the sun reaches its highest or lowest point in the sky. The summer solstice is Litha; the winter solstice is Yule. Both are sabbats in the Wheel of the Year.
Spiritually Homeless
A term for the experience of holding genuine spiritual longing without belonging to a religious community that holds your whole self. Common among former evangelicals, lifelong seekers, and people whose spiritual instincts don’t fit conventional categories. (Read more.)
Sunday Gathering
The weekly worship and community gathering of the Pagan Church of Christ, held on Sunday mornings. The central regular event of community life.
Threefold Law
A Wiccan ethical principle holding that whatever a practitioner sends out into the world returns to them threefold. Often paired with the Wiccan Rede. Not a doctrine of the Pagan Church of Christ.
Wheel of the Year
The cycle of eight sabbats marking the turning of the seasons: the two solstices (Yule, Litha), the two equinoxes (Ostara, Mabon), and the four cross-quarter days (Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh, Samhain). Central to most earth-honoring traditions including the Pagan Church of Christ.
Wicca
A specific contemporary religious tradition founded in mid-twentieth-century England by Gerald Gardner. Centers on a Goddess and a God, observes the Wheel of the Year and the moon cycle, and follows the Wiccan Rede. Distinct from pagan Christianity. (Read our comparison of Pagan Christianity and Wicca.)
Wiccan Rede
The central ethical statement of Wicca: “An it harm none, do what ye will.” Functions as a guiding principle rather than a comprehensive moral code.
Witch
A word with many meanings depending on tradition and context. Can refer to a practitioner of Wicca, a folk-magical herbalist, a contemporary eclectic pagan, or simply a person who works with earth-based spiritual practices. The Pagan Church of Christ does not require or discourage the label. (Read more on the question of Christian witches.)
Witch Trials
The persecution and execution of accused witches in Europe and colonial America from the fifteenth through eighteenth centuries. Most victims were women; tens of thousands died. Now widely understood as a moral catastrophe rather than legitimate religious practice.
Yule
The winter solstice (around December 21), marking the longest night of the year and the return of light. One of the eight sabbats of the Wheel of the Year. Christian tradition celebrates Christmas in the same season.
Missing a term? Email us and we’ll add it.
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