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Abrahadabra is a significant word within Thelema, first received and revealed by Aleister Crowley in The Book of the Law (Liber AL vel Legis), the central sacred text of Thelema. This magical formula represents the Great Work accomplished—the union of the microcosm (individual) and the macrocosm (universe). It is considered the key to the Aeon of Horus and a word of power that symbolizes the realization of True Will.
Crowley's revelation of "Abrahadabra" marked a pivotal moment in the development of Thelema, providing a symbolic foundation for its core teachings and practices. This word is not just a magical utterance but encapsulates the essence of the new Aeon, representing a shift in spiritual consciousness and practice.
Description
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 as well as with the god Horus. Aleister Crowley had taken the place of Horus or the Hierus officer 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 magic 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.
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. 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." Its equivalent refers to "the Cross of Extension" and "the infinite Rose." Crowley's numerological explanation of "Abrahadabra" focuses mainly on this last formulation and the answer to it.
"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."
Mystical interpretations
Gematria
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.
- 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, Osiris, Horus, 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 = הרו-רא-הא, a Hebrew spelling of Heru-Ra-Ha
- 418 = ΑΙϜΑΣΣ, 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
- "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."
- "Abrahadabra is the glyph of the blending of the 5 and the 6, the Rose and the Cross."
See also
References
Notes
- 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.
- ^ Regardie (1989) links Horus with the letter 'H' on p. 345, and with the Hierus, p. 338, 352.
Citations
- Crowley (1997), "Liber Samekh".
- Sutin (2002); Kaczynski (2012).
- Sutin (2002); Booth (2003) sfnmp error: no target: CITEREFBooth2003 (help).
- Crowley (1991), ch. 6, "The Book of Results".
- Sutin (2002), p. 85.
- The Equinox, I (7), 1912.
- Crowley 1910.
- Crowley (1996b), p. .
- Crowley (1996), p. 24.
- ^ Crowley (1974), p. .
Works cited
Primary sources
- 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
- Booth, Martin (2000). A Magick Life: The Biography of Aleister Crowley. London: Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-71805-6.
- Kaczynski, Richard (2012). Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley (rev. & exp. ed.). North Atlantic Books. ISBN 978-1-58394-576-6.
- Regardie, Israel (1989). The original account of the teachings, rites and ceremonies of The Golden Dawn (6th ed.). Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications.
- Sutin, Lawrence (2002). Do What Thou Wilt: A Life of Aleister Crowley. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-312-25243-4.
Other sources
- Thelemapedia. (2004). Abrahadabra. Retrieved April 16, 2006.
Further reading
- Crowley, Aleister (1973). 777 and other Qabalistic writings of Aleister Crowley. York Beach, Maine: Samuel Weiser. ISBN 0-87728-222-6.