The prophet's dictionary guide to the supernatural

under the Orion constellation. 1013. Pharmakeia—A) Used only twice in the New Testament (Galatians 5:20 and Revelation 18:23), this word is a translation of the New Testament terms for witchcraft and sorcery. Pharmakeia is an appropriate word for these practices since many of the ancient divinatory rituals induced spiritual activity and revelation through intoxication. B) The word defines that which produces a magic spell for witchcraft purposes. C) The root word pharmakeus defines a drug used for spell casting and potions. D) More innocuously relates to a pharmacist. E) Refers also to magicians who prepare magical remedies and the potions they concoct for magic and sorcery purposes. 1014. Phobos—God of fear and alarm. 1015. Phoenicia—A) Ancient land noted for worship of Tammuz, which evolved into worship of Venus and Adonis. B) Baal was also worshipped there. Its people, the Canaanites, were specifically called the Sidonians. C) Also the home of Jezebel, whose marriage to Ahab (Israel’s seventh king) introduced Israel to Baal and Astarte worship. 1016. Phoenix—A) A mythical Egyptian bird that symbolizes sun worship. B) Credited with the power of infernal regeneration. For this reason, its symbol was equated with the undying. C) The phoenix was the patron deity of the Egyptian city Heliopolis. There is an ancient constellation named for this creature. Some ancient writings place the phoenix as a constellation that represents a spiritual creature responsible for the sun’s fire power and rejuvenation in eternity. 1017. Phylacteries—Mentioned in the New Testament, this word identifies religious amulets worn for the same reasons as their mystic counterparts. Matthew 23:5. 1018. Pillar—A) A symbol of support stemming or originating from a sacred axis. B) A neck. C) Pillars represent the undergirding presence of divine powers. D) Pillars also signified the lifeforce of its structure, the transcendence and ascension of its adherents, and strength and stability. E) Pillars were thought to serve this purpose and/or function on both the terrestrial and the celestial plane. Pillars as support beams were recognized as being the conduits of the gods of the heavens, which supplied the earth through their tubing. Their centers were never felt to be hollow by the ancients but to contain channels through which the