The Magic of Abracadabra!
When somebody asks you for a magic word - one of the most popular that comes up is Abracadabra! But how has it become a general term used by magicians and almost as a throwaway line in movies? Looking back at its history you will see there is so much power behind it!
According to the Dictionary, the word is described as follows:
abracadabra
noun
ab·ra·ca·dab·ra ˌa-brə-kə-ˈda-brə
1: a magical charm or incantation
2: unintelligible language
Although nobody knows where it came from initially, there are a few ideas from the etymology, - a kinder term than “unintelligible language”.
Hebrew phrase - “I will create as I speak”
Aramaic phrase - “I create like the word”
The word can date back to the 2nd Century recorded in works by Serenus Sammonicus in his book “Liber Medicinalis”. Sammonicus was a physician to the Roman Emperor Caracalla and in this book, he prescribed an Abracadabra amulet for people suffering from malaria.
“The malady the Greeks call hemitritaeos is more deadly. None of our ancestors could name this disease in our own language, nor did they feel the need to. On a piece of parchment, write the so-called ‘abracadabra’ several times, repeating it on the line below; but take off the end, so that gradually individual letters, which you will take away each time, are missing from the word. Continue until the (last) letter makes the apex of a cone. Remember to wind this with linen and hang it around the neck. Many people say that the lard of a lion is effective . . .”
This is where we see it in the form of the cone.
Many other Roman Emperors used the power of this amulet over the years and has been found on Abraxas stones, in gnostic artefacts and even appears today in more bizarre ways!
Abracadabra was used during the Medieval times when the Black Death appeared in 1346, and was used all the way through till the Great Plague of London in 1666.
In the 18th Century though, it was still utilised it was starting to become viewed as superstition and almost perceived as “fake magic” which is what we are used to today - hence the magician using it at children’s birthday parties.
Daniel Defoe wrote about it in his book Journal of Plague Year from 1722.
“People deceiv’d; and this was in wearing Charms, Philters, Exorcisms, Amulets, and I know not what Preparations, to fortify the Body with them against the Plague; as if the Plague was but a kind of a Possession of an evil Spirit; and that it was to be kept off with Crossings, Signs of the Zodiac, Papers tied up with so many Knots; and certain Words, or Figures written on them, as particularly the Word Abracadabra, form’d in Triangle, or Pyramid…”
Then enter Aleister Crowley, a member of the London chapter of the Hermatic Order of the Golden Dawn. A very controversial character, who was very competitive over the mystic arts - especially with S L MacGregor Mathers - one of the founding members. This ended up with them both being expelled from the society in 1900.
This is where Abracadabra comes back but with a slight twist. Crowley introduced “Abrahadabra” which first appeared in 1904 in The Book of the Law. This is the sacred text of Thelema. This word is used to invocate Horus - the Egyptian God of Kingship and the Sky, hence the slight spelling change. We find this throughout history that words will get misconstrued and slightly changed but luckily we can bring us up to the present day.
In the Harry Potter series, author JK Rowling uses the killing curse Avada Kadeva. In an interview, she explained she utilised the Aramaic phrase “Avra Kadavra” which means “let the thing be destroyed”. This “thing” originally was an illness and was used to cure but she turned it on its head.
So next time you hear Abracadabra and think it is just a made-up word - think again. This is a great example of the power of intent and why is it something I hold on to very strongly in my craft.
Sources:
Upton, E. (2013) “THE FASCINATING ORIGIN OF THE WORD ‘ABRACADABRA,’” Today I Found Out, 4 November. Available at: https://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/11/origin-word-abracadabra/ (Accessed: December 29, 2022).
Abracadabra definition & meaning (no date) Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. Available at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abracadabra (Accessed: December 29, 2022).
Guiley, R.E. (2008) The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft. New York: Facts On File.
Fraser, L. (2004) J K Rowling at the Edinburgh Book Festival, Sunday, August 15, 2004. Available at: http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2004/0804-ebf.htm (Accessed: December 29, 2022).
Sammonicus, Q.S. and Pearce, S.L. (1974) Liber Medicinalis.
Defoe, D. (1722) Journal of Plague Year.
EsoterX, Geoff Barasits and Rick Henderson (2020) Pandemic magic: A brief history of Abracadabra, Pandemic Magic: A Brief History of Abracadabra. Available at: https://esoterx.com/2020/07/02/pandemic-magic-a-brief-history-of-abracadabra/ (Accessed: December 29, 2022).