Magical formula
Encyclopedia
A magical formula or spell is generally a word whose meaning illustrates principles and degrees of understanding that are often difficult to relay using other forms of speech or writing. It is a concise means to communicate very abstract information through the medium of a word or phrase. A spell is used in magic
and spellcasting
by a spellcaster
.
These words often have no intrinsic meaning in and of themselves. However, when deconstructed, each individual letter may refer to some universal concept found in the system that the formula appears. Additionally, in grouping certain letters together one is able to display meaningful sequences that are considered to be of value to the spiritual system that utilizes them (e.g. spiritual hierarchies, historiographic data, or psychological stages). Many can be understood only by using various literal Qabalistic
techniques such as gematria
.
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
and spellcasting
Spellcasting
Spellcasting is the act of casting spells and is most often found in a variety of communities. Within the Dungeons & Dragons and other fantasy roleplaying gaming communities, spellcasting is a skill often used by druids, clerics, and wizards. Spellcasting is also associated with occult communities,...
by a spellcaster
Spellcaster
A spellcaster in role-playing games refers to a creature capable of casting magic spells.See also:*Mage *Magician , a practitioner of magic as portrayed in works of fiction...
.
These words often have no intrinsic meaning in and of themselves. However, when deconstructed, each individual letter may refer to some universal concept found in the system that the formula appears. Additionally, in grouping certain letters together one is able to display meaningful sequences that are considered to be of value to the spiritual system that utilizes them (e.g. spiritual hierarchies, historiographic data, or psychological stages). Many can be understood only by using various literal Qabalistic
Hermetic Qabalah
Hermetic Qabalah is a Western esoteric and mystical tradition...
techniques such as gematria
Gematria
Gematria or gimatria is a system of assigning numerical value to a word or phrase, in the belief that words or phrases with identical numerical values bear some relation to each other, or bear some relation to the number itself as it may apply to a person's age, the calendar year, or the like...
.
Formulae
- AbracadabraAbracadabraAbracadabra is an incantation used as a magic word in stage magic tricks, and historically was believed to have healing powers when inscribed on an amulet...
a common incantationIncantationAn incantation or enchantment is a charm or spell created using words. An incantation may take place during a ritual, either a hymn or prayer, and may invoke or praise a deity. In magic, occultism, witchcraft it may be used with the intention of casting a spell on an object or a person...
used by stage magicians and used in ancient times as a cure for fevers and inflammations.
- ABRAHADABRAAbrahadabraAbrahadabra is a word that first publicly appeared in The Book of the Law, the central sacred text of Thelema. Its author, Aleister Crowley, described it as "the Word of the Aeon, which signifieth The Great Work accomplished." This is in reference to his belief that the writing of Liber Legis ...
. This formula, used by author and occultist Aleister CrowleyAleister CrowleyAleister Crowley , born Edward Alexander Crowley, and also known as both Frater Perdurabo and The Great Beast, was an influential English occultist, astrologer, mystic and ceremonial magician, responsible for founding the religious philosophy of Thelema. He was also successful in various other...
, is the Word of the Aeon of HorusAeon (Thelema)In the religion of Thelema, it is believed that the history of humanity can be divided into a series of Aeons, each of which was accompanied by its own forms of "magical and religious expression"...
and represents the accomplishment of the Great WorkGreat WorkThe term Great Work is a term used in Hermeticism and in certain occult traditions and religions such as Thelema.-In Hermeticism:...
.
- AGAPEAgapeAgape is one of the Greek words translated into English as love, one which became particularly appropriated in Christian theology as the love of God or Christ for mankind. In the New Testament, it refers to the fatherly love of God for humans, as well as the human reciprocal love for God; the term...
. A Greek word meaning "Love," whose enumeration in Greek isopsephyIsopsephyIsopsephy is the Greek word for the practice of adding up the number values of the letters in a word to form a single number. The early Greeks used pebbles arranged in patterns to learn arithmetic and geometry....
equals 93.
- AGLAAGLAAGLA is a notariqon for Atah Gibor Le-olam Adonai,"You, O Lord, are mighty forever." Also seen as Athah gabor leolah, adonai, Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers has suggested an arbitrary interpretation of AGLA as "A the one first, A the one last, G, the trinity in unity, L, the completion of...
. Hebrew name of God constructed through notariqon.
- ALHIMElohimElohim is a grammatically singular or plural noun for "god" or "gods" in both modern and ancient Hebrew language. When used with singular verbs and adjectives elohim is usually singular, "god" or especially, the God. When used with plural verbs and adjectives elohim is usually plural, "gods" or...
. This is a spelling of ElohimElohimElohim is a grammatically singular or plural noun for "god" or "gods" in both modern and ancient Hebrew language. When used with singular verbs and adjectives elohim is usually singular, "god" or especially, the God. When used with plural verbs and adjectives elohim is usually plural, "gods" or...
, a Hebrew name of God—or "Gods" in this case, since the spelling makes the name a masculine plural of the feminine noun. According to Crowley, it is a formula best used for consecration, since it "is the breath of benediction, yet so potent that it can give life to clay and light to darkness."
- AUMGN. Augmented form of the Sanskrit mantra AumAumOm or Aum Om or Aum Om or Aum (also , written in Devanāgari as and as , in Sanskrit known as (lit. "to sound out loudly"), ', or ' (also as ') (lit. "Auṃ form/syllable"), is a sacred/mystical syllable in the Dharmic or Indian religions, i.e...
.
- BABALONBabalonBabalon—also known as The Scarlet Woman, The Great Mother, or the Mother of Abominations—is a goddess found in the mystical system of Thelema, which was established in 1904 with English author and occultist Aleister Crowley's writing of The Book of the Law...
. A goddessBabalonBabalon—also known as The Scarlet Woman, The Great Mother, or the Mother of Abominations—is a goddess found in the mystical system of Thelema, which was established in 1904 with English author and occultist Aleister Crowley's writing of The Book of the Law...
in ThelemaThelemaThelema is a religious philosophy that was established, defined and developed by the early 20th century British writer and ceremonial magician, Aleister Crowley. He believed himself to be the prophet of a new age, the Æon of Horus, based upon a religious experience that he had in Egypt in 1904...
, whose name means "Gate of the Great God ON" according to Liber Samekh.
- HRILIU. used in Liber XV, The Gnostic MassLiber XV, The Gnostic MassAleister Crowley wrote The Gnostic Mass — technically called Liber XV or "Book 15" — in 1913 while travelling in Moscow, Russia. In many ways it is similar in structure to the Mass of the Eastern Orthodox Church. However, the comparison ends there, as Liber XV is a celebration of the principles of...
- IAODemiurgeThe demiurge is a concept from the Platonic, Neopythagorean, Middle Platonic, and Neoplatonic schools of philosophy for an artisan-like figure responsible for the fashioning and maintenance of the physical universe. The term was subsequently adopted by the Gnostics...
.
- IHVHTetragrammatonThe term Tetragrammaton refers to the name of the God of Israel YHWH used in the Hebrew Bible.-Hebrew Bible:...
. See YHVH.
- INRI.
- IPSOSIPSOSIPSOS, meaning "themselves", is the magical formula of the Aeon of Ma'at as transmitted by Nema in her inspired magical work, Liber Pennae Praenumbra...
. the word of the aeon of Ma'at from Liber Pennae Praenumbra by Nema
- JAHBULONJahbulonJahbulon is a word which was used historically in some rituals of Royal Arch Masonry. According to Francis X. King, it is also used in Ordo Templi Orientis rituals.There has been much debate over the origin and meaning of this word...
.
- LVX. Lit.= Latin word; Lux, or light. Part of the formula of the, "analysis of the key word," used in the Adeptus Minor ritual of the Hermetic Order of the Golden DawnHermetic Order of the Golden DawnThe Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was a magical order active in Great Britain during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which practiced theurgy and spiritual development...
, in which it is described in a ritualized manner, linking each letter with an Egyptian Godform. Perhaps most popularized amongst the occult community at large by being included as the opening part to the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Hexagram in Donald Michael KraigDonald Michael KraigDonald Michael Kraig is an American occult author and practitioner of ceremonial magic. Kraig has published six books, including his 1988 introduction to ceremonial magic, Modern Magick...
's bestselling book, "Modern Magick," (Llewellyn Publications, 1989.) "LVX," may also be used as a closing to a letter, in the same manner as the word, "Sincerely," amongst initiates of some ceremonial magicCeremonial magicCeremonial magic, also referred to as high magic and as learned magic, is a broad term used in the context of Hermeticism or Western esotericism to encompass a wide variety of long, elaborate, and complex rituals of magic. It is named as such because the works included are characterized by...
orders.
- MVAVM. Neophyte word and formula according to Frater Achad.
- ON. Looks like the CopticCoptic languageCoptic or Coptic Egyptian is the current stage of the Egyptian language, a northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century. Egyptian began to be written using the Greek alphabet in the 1st century...
name for HeliopolisHeliopolis (ancient)Heliopolis was one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt, the capital of the 13th Lower Egyptian nome that was located five miles east of the Nile to the north of the apex of the Nile Delta...
, literally meaning "pillar" or "pillars". This city claimed to hold the Primeval MoundBenbenBenben or Ben-ben, in Egyptian mythology, specifically in the Heliopolitan tradition, was the mound that arose from the primordial waters, Nu, and on which the creator god Atum settled. In the Pyramid Texts, e.g. Utterances 587 and 600, Atum himself is at times referred to as "mound"...
where AtumAtumAtum, sometimes rendered as Atem or Tem, is an important deity in Egyptian mythology.- Name :Atum's name is thought to be derived from the word 'tem' which means to complete or finish. Thus he has been interpreted as being the 'complete one' and also the finisher of the world, which he returns to...
(sometimes identified with the mound) created the world. By Crowley's numeration, ON equals the Hebrew word SamekhSamekhSamekh or Simketh is the fifteenth letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Hebrew, and Aramaic, representing . The Arabic alphabet, however, uses a letter based on Phoenician šin to represent ; however, that glyph takes Samekh's place in the traditional Abjadi order of the Arabic...
(a prop or support), which also serves as the name of a Hebrew letter.
- YHVHTetragrammatonThe term Tetragrammaton refers to the name of the God of Israel YHWH used in the Hebrew Bible.-Hebrew Bible:...
. The formula TetragrammatonTetragrammatonThe term Tetragrammaton refers to the name of the God of Israel YHWH used in the Hebrew Bible.-Hebrew Bible:...
refers to the four-letter Hebrew name of God, JehovahJehovahJehovah is an anglicized representation of Hebrew , a vocalization of the Tetragrammaton , the proper name of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible....
, or Yod, He, Vau, He (יהוה). These letters have been attributed to numerous four-part symbols, including the classic elements, cardinal directions, TarotTarotThe tarot |trionfi]] and later as tarocchi, tarock, and others) is a pack of cards , used from the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play a group of card games such as Italian tarocchini and French tarot...
suits, and so on. The formula is often represented by the Father (Yod) joining with the Mother (He), to produce the Son (Vau) and the Daughter (He-final). Within YogaYogaYoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
it is possible to see this formula as describing the union of the subject and the object to produce the exalted state of mind and the resulting ecstasy. Within a Thelemic framework, the first letter can also be interpreted as the original creative force, or HaditHaditHadit refers to a Thelemic version of the Egyptian god Horus. Hadit is the principal speaker of the second chapter of The Book of the Law .- Descriptions :...
, who "marries" the eternally fertile, co-equal female force, NuitNuitNuit is the speaker in the first Chapter of The Book of the Law, the sacred text of Thelema written or received in 1904 by Aleister Crowley....
, resulting in the twins, Ra-Hoor-Khuit and Hoor-Par-Kraat (both of whom make up the deity Heru-ra-haHeru-ra-haHeru-ra-ha is a composite deity within Thelema, a religion that began in 1904 with Aleister Crowley and his Book of the Law. Heru-ra-ha is composed of Ra-Hoor-Khuit and Hoor-par-kraat...
, perhaps meaning "Horus and Ra be Praised!"). There are many other uses of this formula within the realm of mysticism.
- VIAOV. Thelemic variation of IAO whose enumeration using gematria equals 93.