Word
Abrahadabra
is a word that first 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
(another name for "The Book of the Law") heralded a new Aeon for mankind that was ruled by the god
Ra-Hoor-Khuit
(a form of
Horus
). Abrahadabra is, therefore, the supreme
magical formula
of this new age. It is not to be confused with the Word of the Law of the Aeon, which is
Thelema
, meaning "
Will
".
Description
[
edit
]
Crowley replaced the 'C' in "
Abracadabra
" with an 'H', which the
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
in their Neophyte ritual linked with Breath and Life
[a]
as well as with the god Horus.
[b]
Aleister Crowley had taken the place of Horus or the Hierus officer
[b]
in the Golden Dawn's Neophyte ritual,
which means that he personally gave the response explaining the meaning of the letter 'H'.
Crowley explains in his essay "Gematria" that he changed the magick word to include 'H' because of
qabalistic
methods. He appears to say that this happened before his January 1901 meeting with
Oscar Eckenstein
, one of his teachers. At this meeting, Eckenstein ordered Crowley to put aside
magick
for the moment, and to practice meditation or concentration.
In "Gematria", Crowley says he took great interest in Abrahadabra, and its qabalistic number 418. In the Book of Thoth, Crowley refers to Abrahadabra as a 'cypher' of the Great Work.
[
citation needed
]
The word "Abrahadabra" appears repeatedly in the 1904 invocation of Horus that preceded the writing of
Liber Legis
and led to the founding of
Thelema
.
[4]
It also appears in a May 1901 diary that Crowley published in
The Equinox
.
The essay "Gematria" gives
Hindu
,
Christian
, and "Unsectarian" versions of the problem that Crowley intended this magick word to answer. He also gives a qabalistic equivalent for each phrasing, and a brief symbolic answer for each. The unsectarian version reads, "I am the finite square; I wish to be one with the infinite circle."
[
This quote needs a citation
]
Its equivalent refers to "the Cross of Extension" and "the infinite Rose."
[
This quote needs a citation
]
Crowley's numerological explanation of "Abrahadabra" focuses mainly on this last formulation and the answer to it.
[
citation needed
]
"Abrahadabra" is also referred to as the "Word of Double Power". More specifically, it represents the uniting of the
Microcosm
with the
Macrocosm
?represented by the
pentagram
and the
hexagram
, the
rose and the cross
, the circle and the square, the 5 and the 6 (etc.), as also called the attainment of the Knowledge and Conversation of one's
Holy Guardian Angel
. In "Commentaries" (1996), Crowley says that the word is a symbol of the "establishment of the pillar or
phallus
of the Macrocosm...in the void of the Microcosm."
[6]
Mystical interpretations
[
edit
]
Gematria
[
edit
]
As with most things found in the mystical works of
Aleister Crowley
, the word "Abrahadabra" can be examined using the
qabalistic
method of
gematria
, which is a form of numerology, whereby correspondences are made based on numerical values.
[
citation needed
]
- ABRAHADABRA = 418
- ABRAHADABRA has 11 letters
- ABRAHADABRA = 1+2+2+1+5+1+4+1+2+2+1 = 22
- The five letters in the word are: A, the Crown; B, the Wand; D, the Cup; H, the Sword; R, the Rosy Cross; and refer further to Amoun the Father, Thoth His messenger, and Isis, Horus, Osiris, the divine-human triad.
- Also 418 = ATh IAV, the Essence of IAO, translated from Hebrew as “Thou art IAO”
- 418 = BVLShKIN, or Boleskine
- 418 = RA HVVR, or Ra Hoor
- 418 =
???-??-??
, a Hebrew spelling of
Heru-Ra-Ha
- 418 =
ΑΙ?ΑΣΣ
, a Greek spelling of
Aiwass
- 418 = The sum of all integers between 13 and 31 inclusive.
- Abrahadabra is from
Abraxas
, Father Sun, which = 365
- 418 = 22 x 19 Manifestation
Other
[
edit
]
- "ABRAHADABRA is 'The key of the rituals' because it expresses the
Magical Formulae
of uniting various complementary ideas; especially the Five of the Microcosm with the Six of the Macrocosm."
[8]
- "Abrahadabra is the glyph of the blending of the 5 and the 6, the Rose and the Cross."
[8]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Regardie (1989)
, p. 118: "
Hiero
: Is there any peculiarity in these names?
Hierus
: They all commence with the letter 'H'.
Hiero
: Of what is this letter a symbol?
Hierus
: Of life; because this letter 'H' is our mode of representing the ancient Greek aspirate or breathing, and Breath is the evidence of Life.
- ^
a
b
Regardie (1989)
links Horus with the letter 'H' on p. 345, and with the Hierus, p. 338, 352.
Citations
[
edit
]
Works cited
[
edit
]
Primary sources
[
edit
]
- Crowley, Aleister
(Autumn 1910).
"The Temple of Solomon the King"
.
The Equinox
.
I
(4). London: Privately printed – via Sacred-texts.com.
- Crowley, Aleister
(1974).
Magical and Philosophical Commentaries on the Book of the Law
. Montreal: 93 Publishing.
- Crowley, Aleister (1991).
The Equinox of the Gods
. New Falcon Publications.
ISBN
978-1-56184-028-1
.
- Crowley, Aleister (1996).
The Law is for All
. Tempe, AZ: New Falcon Publications.
ISBN
1-56184-090-4
.
- Crowley, Aleister (1996b). "Commentaries on the Holy Books and Other Papers".
The Equinox
.
IV
(1). York Beach, Maine: S. Weiser.
- Crowley, Aleister (1997).
Magick: Liber ABA, Book 4, Parts I-IV
(2nd rev. ed.). Boston: Weiser.
ISBN
0-87728-919-0
.
Secondary sources
[
edit
]
Other sources
[
edit
]
- Thelemapedia. (2004).
Abrahadabra
.
Retrieved April 16, 2006.
Further reading
[
edit
]
|
---|
Organizations
| |
---|
Personalities
| |
---|
Thelemic texts
| |
---|
Concepts and ideas
| |
---|
Magick
| |
---|
Ceremony and ritual
| |
---|
Godforms
| |
---|
Symbolism
| |
---|
Related topics
| |
---|