A magical alphabet, or magickal alphabet, is a set of
letters used primarily in
ceremonial magic ('magick'),
occult
The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...
practices, and
esoteric traditions. These
alphabets serve various purposes, including
encoding secret messages, conducting
rituals, creating
amulets or
talismans,
casting spells, and
invoking spiritual entities. 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.
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, or other ideas, rather than sounds. Some alphabets, like
runes
Runes are the letter (alphabet), letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, a ...
, may serve both purposes, thus acting as both alphabets and logographic/ideographic scripts according to their use at the time.
Examples
The following are examples of alphabets considered magical/magickal:
*Alphabet of Daggers: presented in occultist
Aleister Crowley's ''
The Vision and the Voice''
*
Alphabet of Desire
Austin Osman Spare (30 December 1886 – 15 May 1956) was an English artist and occultism, occultist who worked as both a draughtsman and a painter. Influenced by Symbolism (arts), symbolism and art nouveau his art was known for its clear use o ...
, or Atavistic Alphabet: created by occultist
Austin Osman Spare
Austin Osman Spare (30 December 1886 – 15 May 1956) was an English artist and occultism, occultist who worked as both a draughtsman and a painter. Influenced by Symbolism (arts), symbolism and art nouveau his art was known for its clear use o ...
, 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.
*
Celestial Alphabet, or Angelic Alphabet: used by some pagans; another abjad.
*
Enochian: tied to the language of that name, and used in some
ceremonial magic.
*
Malachim: used by high-ranking
Freemasons
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
to a limited extent; an abjad.
*
Ogham: especially used by
modern Druids and
Celtic reconstructionists.
*
Runes
Runes are the letter (alphabet), letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, a ...
: especially used in northern-Europe-oriented religions like
Heathenry, but also widely elsewhere.
*
Theban alphabet: especially used by
Wiccans
Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and was ...
, though it predates Wicca by centuries.
*
Transitus Fluvii or Passing the River: shown in the movie ''
The Blair Witch Project''; an abjad.
A natural language's alphabet can also be used for spellwork or encryption,
[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: ]
Entire text onlineInternet Archive copy of 1850 edition
printed replicas in each language are still sold.) Viz
resembling the Abracadabra triangle. 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; thus it is possible an item's owner might not be able to read it.
See also
*
Alchemical symbol – Symbols used in pre-19th-century chemistry
*
Astrological symbols – Symbols denoting astrological concepts
*
Astronomical symbols – Symbols in astronomy
*
:Historical runic magic
*
:Magic symbols
*
Constructed writing system – Writing system specifically created by an individual or group
*
Fulu – Daoist talisman incantations and magic symbols
*
Jindai moji
''Jindai moji'' or ''Kamiyo moji'' (Japanese: "characters of the Age of the Gods") are characters said to have been used in ancient Japan. Some have claimed since the mid- Edo period that such ancient characters, for example such as Chikushi ...
– Purported ancient Japanese characters
*
List of occult symbols
The following is a list of symbols associated with the occult. This list shares a number of entries with the list of alchemical symbols as well as the list of sigils of demons.
__TOC__
List
See also
* Iconography
*Planet symbols
A planet s ...
*
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
Unicode contains a number of characters that represent various cultural, political, and religious symbols.
Most, but not all, of these symbols are in the Miscellaneous Symbols block.
The majority of them are treated as graphic symbols that are ...
– Characters representing cultural, political and religious symbols
*
Runic inscriptions
A runic inscription is an inscription made in one of the various runic alphabets. They generally contained practical information or memorials instead of magic or mythic stories. The body of runic inscriptions falls into the three categories of El ...
– Inscription made in a runic alphabet
*
Runic magic – Ancient or modern magic performed with runes or runestones
Notes
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
Ogham
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magical Alphabets
Alphabets
Artificial scripts used in mysticism
Ciphers
Language and mysticism
Magic (supernatural)
Modern pagan beliefs and practices
Wicca