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{{Short description|Words expressing a process in ceremonial magic}} 
{{Redirect-distinguish|Word of power|loaded language{{!}}power word}}
{{For multi|words used in stage magic|magic word|other uses|Magic formula (disambiguation)}}

[[File:Abracadabra triangle (cropped).jpg|thumb|Classic magic words]]

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{{thelema|expand=Related topics}}

In [[ceremonial magic]], a '''magical formula''' or a '''word of power''' is a word that is believed to have specific [[supernatural]] effects.{{sfnp|Lecouteux|2015|p={{pn|date=December 2021}}}} They are words whose meaning illustrates principles and degrees of understanding that are often difficult to relay using other forms of speech or writing. It is a concise means to communicate very abstract information through the medium of a word or phrase.

These words often have no intrinsic meaning in and of themselves. However, when deconstructed, each individual letter may refer to some universal concept found in the system in which the formula appears. Additionally, in grouping certain letters together one is able to display meaningful sequences that are considered to be of value to the spiritual system that utilizes them (e.g., spiritual hierarchies, historiographic data, or psychological stages).

A formula's potency is understood and made usable by the magician only through prolonged meditation on its levels of meaning. Once these have been internalized by the magician, that person can then utilize the formula to maximum effect.{{Cn|date=May 2024}}

Since most of these permutative arrangements have their origin in [[Hermetic Qabalah]], many of the formulae listed below can be best understood by using various techniques of [[Kabbalah|Hebrew Kabbalah]] such as ''[[gematria]]'' (or ''[[isopsephy]]''), ''[[temurah (Kabbalah)|temurah]]'', and ''[[notariqon]]'' to analyze them.{{Cn|date=May 2024}} 

==Formulae==
*'''[[Abracadabra]]'''. A common [[incantation]] used in ancient times as a cure for fevers and inflammations.{{sfnp|Sammonicus|1786|p=4}}{{sfnp|Shah|2010}}{{sfnp|Chisholm|1911}}
*'''[[Abrahadabra|ABRAHADABRA]]'''. This formula was coined by occult writer [[Aleister Crowley]], who described it as "the Word of the [[Aeon (Thelema)|Aeon]], which signifieth the [[Great Work (Hermeticism)|Great Work]] accomplished."{{sfnp|Crowley|1997|loc="Liber Samekh"}}
*'''[[Abraxas|ABRAXAS]]'''.{{sfnp|Crowley|1997|p=169}}
*'''[[Agape|AGAPE]]'''. A Greek word meaning "the highest form of love, [[Charity (virtue)|charity]],"{{sfnp|Liddell|Scott|2010|p=4}} which enumerated in Greek [[isopsephy]] equals [[Thelema#93|93]].{{sfnp|Skinner|1996|p=79}}{{sfnp|Crowley|1997|p=169}}
*'''[[AGLA]]'''. A ''[[Notarikon|noṭariqōn]]'' ([[kabbalistic]] acronym) for {{Script/Hebrew|אַתָּה גִּבּוֹר לְעוֹלָם אֲדֹנָי}} ''ʾAtā gībōr ləʿōlām ʾĂḏōnāy'', "Thou, O Lord, art mighty forever." It is said daily in the ''[[Amidah#The_nineteen_blessings|Gevurot]]'', the second blessing of the ''[[Amidah]]'', the central [[Jewish]] prayer.{{sfnp|Mesler|2019|p=88}}
*'''[[Elohim|ALHIM]]'''. This is a transliterated Hebrew spelling of [[Elohim]], a name of God—or "Gods" in this case, since the name is a masculine plural of a feminine noun. According to Crowley, it is a formula best used for consecration, since it "is the breath of benediction, yet so potent that it can give life to clay and light to darkness."{{sfnp|Crowley|1997|p=155}}
*'''ARARITA'''. According to Crowley, "a formula of the [[Macrocosm]] potent in certain very lofty operations of the [[Luminous mind|Inmost Light]]."{{sfnp|Crowley|1997|p=168}}
*'''[[Aumgn|AUMGN]]'''. For both symbolic and [[Hermetic Qabalah|numerological]] reasons, Aleister Crowley adapted ''[[Om|Aum]]'' into a Thelemic magical formula, adding a silent 'g' (as in the word '[[gnosis]]') and a nasal 'n' to the ''m'' to form the [[Trigraph (orthography)|compound letter]] 'MGN'; the 'g' makes explicit the silence previously only implied by the terminal 'm' while the 'n' indicates nasal vocalisation connoting the breath of life and together they connote knowledge and generation. ''Om'' appears in this extended form throughout Crowley's [[Ceremonial magic|magical]] and philosophical writings, notably appearing in his ''[[Liber XV, The Gnostic Mass|Gnostic Mass]]''.{{sfnp|Crowley|2016}} Crowley discusses its symbolism briefly in section F of "[[Liber Samekh]]",{{sfnp|Crowley|1997|loc="Liber Samekh"}} and in detail in chapter 7 of ''[[Magick (Book 4)]]''.{{sfnp|Crowley|1997|pp=170-73}}
*'''[[Babalon|BABALON]]'''. A [[Babalon|goddess]] in [[Thelema]], whose name means "Gate of the Great God ON" according to ''Liber Samekh''.{{sfnp|Crowley|1997|loc="Liber Samekh"}}
*'''[[HRILIU]]'''. used in ''[[Liber XV, The Gnostic Mass]]''.{{sfnp|Crowley|2016}}{{better source needed|date=December 2021}}
*'''[[Tetragrammaton#Magical papyri|IAO]]'''. [[Isis]] – [[Apep|Apophis]] – [[Osiris]].{{sfnp|Crowley|1997|pp=158-165}}
*'''[[Tetragrammaton|IHVH]]'''. See YHVH.
*'''[[INRI]]'''. {{langx|he|ינרי}} Yod, Nun, Resh, Yod. Hebrew translation of the Christian [[Jesus, King of the Jews]] formula,{{sfnp|Crowley|1986|pp=16-23}} This magical formula represents the passing of life to death and [[Resurrection]], Used in many rituals including the [[Rose Cross]] and the [[Ritual of the Hexagram]] by both [[O.T.O]], [[A∴A∴]], and the [[Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn]].{{sfnp|Regardie|1971|loc=v. III, p. 308}}
*'''[[IPSOS]]'''. the word of the [[Aeon of Ma'at]], other spellings include IPSOSh, IPShOS, and IPShOSh from ''[[Liber Pennae Praenumbra]]'' by [[Nema (occultist)|Nema]].{{sfnp|Nema|1995|p=107}}
*'''[[Jahbulon|JAHBULON]]'''. According to [[Francis X. King]] in ''The Secret Rituals of the O.T.O.'', the word is used in two rituals of [[Ordo Templi Orientis]]: ''the Lodge of Perfection'', in which the candidate receives the Fourth Degree (which is called ''Perfect Magician and Companion of the Holy Royal Arch of Enoch''); and the ''Perfect Initiate'' (or ''Prince of Jerusalem'') degree, which falls between the fourth and fifth degrees. King prints in his book the lyrics of a song that contains the word "[[Jahbulon]]."{{sfnp|King|1973|p={{pn|date=December 2021}}}}
*'''LAShTAL'''.{{cn|date=December 2021}}
*'''LVX'''. Lit.= Latin word; Lux, or light. Part of the formula of the "analysis of the key word" used in the [[Adeptus Minor]] ritual of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, in which it is described in a ritualized manner,{{sfnp|Regardie|1971|loc=v. III, p. 308}} linking each letter with an Egyptian [[godform]]. Perhaps most popularized amongst the occult community at large by being included as the opening part to the [[Ritual of the Hexagram]].{{sfnp|Kraig|1989|p=168}} See also [[Liber Resh]].
*'''[[Mithras Liturgy|MEITHRAS]]'''.{{sfnp|Crowley|1997|p=169}}
*'''[[Night of Pan|NOX]]'''. According to Crowley, "It is explained that this triad lives in Night, the Night of Pan, which is mystically called N.O.X., and this O is identified with the O in this word. N is the [[Tarot]] symbol, [[Death (Tarot card)|Death]]; and the X or Cross is the sign of the [[Phallus]]. NOX adds to 210, which symbolizes the reduction of duality to unity, and thence to negativity, and is thus a [[hieroglyph]] of the [[Great Work (Hermeticism)|Great Work]]."{{sfnp|Crowley|1980|pp=12-13}}
*'''ON'''. Looks like the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] name for [[Heliopolis (Ancient Egypt)|Heliopolis]], from an original meaning "pillar" or "pillars". This city claimed to hold the [[benben|Primeval Mound]] where [[Atum]] (sometimes identified with the mound) created the world.<ref>Utterance 600 in the Pyramid Texts, quoted at http://www.philae.nu/akhet/NetjeruA.html#Atum {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220200810/http://www.philae.nu/akhet/NetjeruA.html |date=2008-12-20 }} retrieved November 9, 2006</ref> By Crowley's numeration, ON equals the Hebrew word [[Samekh#Hebrew samekh|Samekh]] (a prop or support), which also serves as the name of a Hebrew letter.{{sfnp|Crowley|1986|loc=''[[Sepher Sephiroth]]'', entry for 120}}
*'''[[Thelema|THELEMA]]'''. Per Crowley, "Th - [[Babalon]] and [[Therion (Thelema)|the Beast]] conjoined; e - unto [[Nuit]]; L - the Work accomplished in [[Maat|Justice]]; E - the [[Holy Grail|Holy Graal]]; M - the Water therein; a - the Babe in the Egg ([[Harpocrates]] on the Lotus)."{{sfnp|Crowley|1997|p=169}}
*'''VIAOV'''. Thelemic variation of [[Tetragrammaton#Magical papyri|IAO]] whose enumeration using gematria equals [[Thelema#93|93]].{{sfnp|Crowley|1997|loc=Pt. III, ch. 5}}
*'''[[Vitriol|VITRIOL]]'''. ''Visita Interiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultem Lapidem'' ('Visit the interior parts of the earth: by rectification thou shalt find the hidden stone').{{sfnp|Crowley|1974|p=104}} Ancient alchemical formula:{{sfnp|Crowley|1997|p=168}} [[Sulfuric acid]] was called "oil of vitriol" by medieval European alchemists because it was prepared by roasting "green vitriol" ([[iron(II) sulfate]]) in an iron [[retort]]. The first vague allusions to it appear in the works of [[Vincent of Beauvais]], in the ''Compositum de Compositis'' ascribed to Saint [[Albertus Magnus]], and in [[pseudo-Geber]]'s ''Summa perfectionis'' (all thirteenth century AD).{{sfnp|Karpenko|Norris|2002|pp=1002–1004}}
* '''XNOUBIS'''.{{sfnp|Crowley|1997|p=169}}
*'''[[Tetragrammaton|YHVH]]'''. The formula [[Tetragrammaton]] refers to the four-letter Hebrew name of God, [[Jehovah]], or Yod, Heh, Vav, Heh (יהוה). These letters have been attributed to numerous four-part symbols, including the classic elements, cardinal directions, [[Tarot]] suits, and so on. The formula is often represented by the Father (Yod) joining with the Mother (Heh), to produce the Son (Vav) and the Daughter (Heh). Within [[Yoga]] it is possible to see this formula as describing the union of the subject and the object to produce the exalted state of mind and the resulting ecstasy.<ref>Crowley, ''[[Eight Lectures on Yoga]]'', "First Lecture"</ref>
*'''[[Yahshuah|YHShVH]]''', also known as the Pentagrammaton.{{Cn|date=May 2024}}

==See also==
*{{annotated link|Barbarous name}}
*{{annotated link|Ceremonial magic}}
*{{annotated link|English Qaballa}}
*{{annotated link|Enochian}}
*{{annotated link|Goetia}}
*{{annotated link|Great Work (Thelema)|Great Work}}
*{{annotated link|Mantra}}
*{{annotated link|Monas Hieroglyphica|''Monas Hieroglyphica''}}
*{{annotated link|Renaissance magic}}
*{{annotated link|Vajrayana|Secret mantra}}
*{{annotated link|Incantation|Spell}}
*{{annotated link|True name}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Works cited===
{{refbegin|2|indent=yes}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Abracadabra}}
* {{cite book |last=Crowley |first=Aleister |author-link=Aleister Crowley |year=1974 |title=Book of Thoth: (Egyptian Tarot) |publisher=Red Wheel Weiser |isbn=978-0877282686}}
*{{cite book|isbn=978-0-87728-516-8|first=Aleister |last=Crowley|title=The Book of Lies|year=1980}}
* {{cite book |last1=Crowley |first1=Aleister |year=1986 |title=777 And Other Qabalistic Writings of Aleister Crowley |publisher=Weiser Books |isbn=978-0877286707}}
* {{cite book |last1=Crowley |first1=Aleister|title=Magick: Liber ABA, Book 4, Parts I-IV |date=1997 |publisher=Weiser |location=Boston |isbn=0877289190 |edition=Second revised}}
* {{cite book |last1=Crowley |first1=Aleister |title=Liber XV : Ecclesiae Gnosticae Catholicae Canon Missae |date=2016 |location=Gothenburg |isbn=978-8393928453}}
*{{Cite journal|last1=Karpenko|first1=Vladimír|last2=Norris|first2=John A.|year=2002|title=Vitriol in the History of Chemistry|journal=Chemické listy|volume=96|issue=12|pages=997–1005|url=http://www.chemicke-listy.cz/ojs3/index.php/chemicke-listy/article/view/2266}}
*{{cite book | edition = 1st | publisher = Samuel Weiser | isbn = 0877281440 | editor-first=Francis |editor-last=King | title = The Secret Rituals of the O.T.O | year = 1973}}
* {{cite book | last = Kraig | first = Donald Michael | authorlink = Donald Michael Kraig | year = 1989 | title = Modern Magick: Eleven Lessons in the High Magickal Arts | publisher = [[Llewellyn Worldwide]] | isbn = 0-87542-324-8 }}
* {{cite book | last=Lecouteux | first=C. | title=Dictionary of Ancient Magic Words and Spells: From Abraxas to Zoar | publisher=Inner Traditions/Bear | year=2015 | isbn=978-1-62055-375-6 }}
*{{cite book|first1=H. G. |last1=Liddell|first2=Robert |last2=Scott|title=An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon: Founded Upon the Seventh Edition of Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon|date=2010|publisher=Benediction Classics|isbn=978-1-84902-626-0}}
* {{cite book |last1=Mesler |first1=Katelyn |chapter=The Latin Encounter with Hebrew Magic |editor-last1=Page |editor-first1=Sophie |editor-first2=Catherine |editor-last2=Rider |title=The Routledge History of Medieval Magic |location=London |publisher=Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group |date=2019}}
* {{cite book |author=Nema |author-link=Nema Andahadna | title=Maat Magic: a Guide to Self-Initiation |year=1995 |publisher=Samuel Weiser |location=York Beach, ME |isbn=0-87728-827-5}}
* {{cite book | last = Regardie | first = Israel | authorlink = Israel Regardie | year = 1971 | title = The Golden Dawn: The Original Account of the Teachings, Rites and Ceremonies of the Hermetic Order of | publisher = [[Llewellyn Worldwide]] | isbn = 0-87542-664-6 }}
*{{cite book |last=Sammonicus |first=Quintus Serenus |author-link=Serenus Sammonicus |title=Quinti Sereni Samonici De medicina praecepta salvberrima |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y5FOAAAAYAAJ |year=1786 |publisher=In bibliopolio I.G. Mülleriano}}
*{{cite news |last1=Shah |first1=Sonia |title=The Tenacious Buzz of Malaria |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704111704575354911834340450 |access-date=17 June 2018 |work=Wall Street Journal |date=10 July 2010}}
*{{cite book |editor-last=Skinner |editor-first=Stephen |title=The Magical Diaries of Aleister Crowley: Tunisia 1923 |publisher=[[Samuel Weiser]] |year=1996 |isbn=0-87728-856-9}}

===Other sources===
<!-- This GFDL article was used as a source for text in the early development of this article, thus this link needs to be kept to satisfy GFDL licensing terms, even if this article can't be considered a reliable source. -->
*Thelemapedia. (2003). ''[http://www.thelemapedia.org/index.php/Magical_Formulae Magical Formulae]''. Retrieved May 14, 2006.
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book |last=Conley |first=Craig |year=2008| title=Magic Words: A Dictionary |publisher=Weiser Books |isbn=978-1609250508}}
*{{cite journal |last=Lycourinos |first=Damon |year=2017 |title=Sexuality, Magic(k) and the Ritual Body: A Phenomenology of Embodiment and Participation in a Modern Magical Ritual |journal=Journal of Ritual Studies |volume=31 |number=2 |pages=61–77 |jstor=44988498}}
{{refend}}

{{Thelema series}}

[[Category:Magic words| ]]
[[Category:Ceremonial magic|Formula, Magical]]
[[Category:Magic (supernatural)|Formula, Magical]]
[[Category:Thelema]]