Magical alphabet
A magical alphabet, or magickal alphabet,[1] is a set of letters used primarily in occult magical practices and other esoteric traditions. These alphabets serve various purposes, including encoding secret messages, conducting rituals, creating amulets or talismans, casting spells, and invoking spiritual entities.[2][3][4] Several magical alphabets, including the Celestial Alphabet, Malachim, and Transitus Fluvii, are based on the Hebrew alphabet, which itself has a long history of use in mystical and magical contexts.[4][5]
As ordered letter-sets, magical alphabets are distinct from the various non-alphabetic, non-sequential "magical/magickal scripts" which contain symbols representing entities, festivals, ritual objects or practices, alchemical/astrological/astronomical objects or events,[6] or other ideas,[7] rather than sounds. Some alphabets, like runes, may serve both purposes,[8] thus acting as both alphabets and logographic/ideographic scripts according to their use at the time.
Examples
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![]() | This section includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (July 2024) |
The following are examples of alphabets considered magical:
- Alphabet of Daggers: presented in occultist Aleister Crowley's The Vision and the Voice[9]
- Alphabet of Desire, or Atavistic Alphabet: created by occultist Austin Osman Spare, influential to chaos magic.
- Alphabet of the Magi: used by some members and emulators of the Order of the Golden Dawn; strictly speaking, an abjad.[citation needed]
- Celestial Alphabet, or Angelic Alphabet: used by some pagans; another abjad.[citation needed]
- Enochian: tied to the language of that name, and used in some ceremonial magic.[citation needed]
- Malachim: used by high-ranking Freemasons to a limited extent; an abjad.[citation needed]
- Ogham: especially used by modern Druids and Celtic reconstructionists.[citation needed]
- Runes: especially used in northern-Europe-oriented religions like Heathenry, but also widely elsewhere.[citation needed]
- Theban alphabet: especially used by Wiccans, though it predates Wicca by centuries.[citation needed]
- Transitus Fluvii or Passing the River: shown in the movie The Blair Witch Project; an abjad.[citation needed]
A natural language's alphabet can also be used for spellwork or encryption,[10] so the above list cannot be exclusive.
Using such an alphabet may or may not involve using the language from which it came, e.g. users might transcribe their own language's words between its alphabet and another. Some traditions, but not all, expect members to inscribe their own tools;[11] thus it is possible an item's owner might not be able to read it.
See also
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- Alchemical symbol – Symbols used in pre-19th-century chemistry
- Astrological symbols – Symbols denoting astrological concepts
- Astronomical symbols – Symbols in astronomy
- Category:Historical runic magic
- Category:Magic symbols
- Constructed writing system – Writing system specifically created by an individual or group
- Fulu – Daoist talisman incantations and magic symbols
- Jindai moji – Purported ancient Japanese characters
- List of occult symbols
- Magic (supernatural) – Rituals or actions employed to manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces
- Magical formula – Words expressing a process in ceremonial magic
- Ogham inscription – Primitive Irish writings on standing stones
- Planets in astrology – Astrological interpretations of the planets of our solar system
- Planet symbols – Graphical symbols used in astrology and astronomy
- Religious and political symbols in Unicode – Characters representing cultural, political and religious symbols
- Runic inscriptions – Inscription made in a runic alphabet
- Runic magic – Ancient or modern magic performed with runes or runestones
References
[edit]- ^ Zell-Ravenheart 2004, pp. 144–146; Bogdan 2012, p. 12; Bailey 2018, pp. 22–23.
- ^ Buckland 1986.
- ^ Pennick 1992, back cover.
- ^ a b Rabinovitch & Lewis 2004, p. 153.
- ^ Pennick 1992, pp. 39–42.
- ^ E.g. 🜁 Air 🜂 Fire 🜄 Water 🜃 Earth, the four classical elements.
- ^ E.g.
Pentagram, or
Pentacle, representing the human essence and role in the universe; the lower four points are said to stand for the four classical material elements, while the fifth point on top is said to stand for either Aether or Spirit. E.g., Tyson 2001, p. 147: "In the system of the Golden Dawn, the top point of the pentagram is assigned to Spirit, the upper-left point to Air, the upper-right point to Water, the lower-left point to Earth, and the lower-right point to Fire. These elemental forces are summoned and banished by projecting the pentagram in various ways."
- ^ As for instance the sundry rune-poems discuss the runes in terms of their names' meanings rather than their sounds – though most stanzas' first line "head-rhymes" (alliterates) with that sound, the rune's name being the first word.(Page 1999, p. 188.) E.g. the first line of the Old English rune poem, "ᚠ [Feoh] bẏþ frofur fira gehƿẏlcum", uses the rune for its name's meaning "wealth": "Wealth is a comfort to all men".(Page 1999, p. 65.) A runic talisman might use that single rune to attract wealth. In the sole extant manuscript of the poem Beowulf, the ēðel rune ᛟ was used as a logogram for the word ēðel (meaning "homeland", or "estate"), per Page 1999, p. 221. Cf. Lebensrune as a symbol for life or (inverted) for death.
- ^ "Daggers alphabet". Omniglot. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
- ^ Including both the original Latin alphabet (see Sator square, Abracadabra amulet) and the modern Latin alphabet, as with the spells and talismans in the folk magic book: Hohman, John George (1820). Der lange verborgene Freund [The Long Lost Friend ]. (published first in German, then in English). Reading, Pennsylvania. (Entire text online; Internet Archive copy of 1850 edition; printed replicas in each language are still sold.) Viz. the amulet at p. 17, resembling the Abracadabra triangle.
- ^ Buckland 1986, p. 57.
Works cited
[edit]- Bailey, Michael D. (2018). Magic: The Basics. Abingdon and New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-80961-1.
- Bogdan, Henrik (2012). "Introduction: Modern Western Magic". Aries. 12 (1): 1–16. doi:10.1163/147783512X614812.
- Buckland, Raymond (1986). Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft. Woodbury, Minnesota: Llewellyn Worldwide. ISBN 9780875420509.
The Theban alphabet is used quite a lot in the Craft. In Gardnerian [Wicca], for example, it is used for writing the High Priestess's name on her bracelet. It is an attractive form of writing. ... But the Theban was written on parchment, as well as being engraved and etched on talismans....
- Page, Raymond Ian (1999). An Introduction to English Runes (2nd ed.). Woodbridge: Boydell. p. 188. ISBN 9780851159461.
If the rune-names are recited, they can form part of the verse form for they may carry stress and alliteration.
- Pennick, Nigel (1992). Magical Alphabets. Newburyport, Massachusetts: S. Weiser. Back cover. ISBN 9780877287476.
Using the premise that languages and the alphabets that comprise them are metaphorical microcosms of our world, Nigel Pennick demonstrates how various alphabets function as a metaphysical description of reality. Magical alphabets actually enable seekers to experience a transformative process. This inner transformation is one of the main objectives of all esoteric traditions, and it can be accomplished by using any of the alphabet systems described in this book.
- Rabinovitch, Shelley TSivia; Lewis, James R., eds. (2004). "Magical Alphabets". The Encyclopedia of Modern Witchcraft. New York: Citadel Press, Kensington Publishing. p. 153. ISBN 9780806524078.
Although most often associated with the practice of Western ceremonial magic, magical alphabets are used by other neo-Pagans as well. ... [illustration: 'Theban alphabet (partial)'] ... Among neo-Pagans, the two most commonly used magical alphabets are runes and Theban. ... Magical alphabets are used in spellwork and for the keeping of records that one wishes to make difficult to decipher. ... Magical alphabets are also used when personalizing talismans.
- Tyson, Donald (2001). The Magician's Workbook: Practicing the Rituals of the Western Tradition . Llewellyn Worldwide. ISBN 978-0-7387-0000-7.
- Zell-Ravenheart, Oberon (February 4, 2004). "Magickal alphabets". Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard. Newburyport, Massachusetts: Red Wheel/Weiser. pp. 144–146. ISBN 9781601639714.
Any of various magickal alphabets created and used by magicians, alchemists, and Wizards.
Further reading
[edit]- Kynes, Sandra (2020). Magical Symbols and Alphabets: A Practitioner's Guide to Spells, Rites, and History. Woodbury, Minnesota: Llewellyn Worldwide. ISBN 978-0-7387-6200-5.
- MacLeod, Mindy; Mees, Bernard (2006). Runic Amulets and Magic Objects. Martlesham, England: Boydell Press. ISBN 978-1-84383-205-8.
- Osborn, Marijane; Longland, Stella (1982). Rune Games. London & Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul. ISBN 978-0-7100-9303-5 – via Internet Archive. [Discusses the meanings and divinatory uses of the Anglo-Saxon runes. Includes the Old English rune poem.]
- Wigington, Patti (April 27, 2019). "Magical Alphabets". Learn Religions. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
External links
[edit]- "Alchemical Symbols". unicode.org.
- "Interesting and Useful Occult Unicode Characters". Grimoire Babylon.