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Abracadabra
Also spelled Abrakadabra and Abrahadabra. A word
with many ties to the occult and the ancient world of Mythology,
Numerology,
Kabbalism,
Magic,
Witchcraft, the
Gnostics and folkloric
medicine; possibly derived from the initials of the Hebraic words Ab, Ben
and ruach a Cadesch ('Father, Son and Holy Ghost').
The term has been used for
Kabbalistic charms, magical
connotations in
Gnostic
writings, and it could also be related to
the Greek word
Abraxas, which also
happens to be the name of the supreme deity of the
ancient
Assyrians.
It often appeared on amulets,
and it is said to have been used by ancient Jewish physicians
to cure fevers and certain ailments.
The first written record of the word is by the 3rd-century physician
Quintus Severus Sammonicus,
a Gnostic physician to Roman
Emperor Septimius Severus.
Sammonicus used the word as a 'shrinking formula' to treat
tertian fever,
asthma
and
agues.
Abracadabra is often used
by stage magicians and conjurors during the performance and culmination
of tricks, and by conjuretors to invoke and banish certain
spirits. If written, it was usually seen in a diminishing triangle configuration, like so:
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ABRACADABRA
ABRACADABR
ABRACADAB
ABRACADA
ABRACAD
ABRACA
ABRAC
ABRA
ABR
AB
A |
A
AB
ABR
ABRA
ABRAC
ABRACA
ABRACAD
ABRACADA
ABRACADAB
ABRACADABR
ABRACADABRA |
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Invoking Configuration
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Banishing Configuration
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It was widely
believed that demons and certain evils would diminish, lessen and finally vanish
in the same manner the word did. Sometimes, as a mean of protection, it was worn written
on parchment hanging from the neck by a linen thread.
See
Magic,
Casting Black Magic Spells,
Commanding Spirits,
The Tarot Store and
Divination & Scrying Tools and
Supplies.
Sources: (1)
Dictionary of the
Occult, Caxton
Publishing;
(2)
The Encyclopaedia
Britannica Eleventh Edition Handy Volume Edition, Oxford University Press.
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