#abrasax

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Abraxas is one of those figures who stands at the crossroads of mysticism, philosophy, and cosmic weirdness. Not a simple “god” in the classical sense, more like a symbol of totality, paradox, and the strange unity of opposites. He comes from Gnostic traditions, mystical movements from the first centuries of Christianity that believed the material world was flawed or incomplete, and that hidden knowledge (gnosis) was the key to liberation. In certain Gnostic systems, Abraxas is described as a supreme or transcendent being. He is not just “good.” He is not just “evil.” He is both. Abraxas represents a divine principle that contains light and darkness, creation and destruction, spirit and matter — all woven together. This was radical. Most religious systems split reality into binaries. Abraxas dissolves the binary. Ancient amulets often depict him as: A rooster-headed humanoid with a human torso and serpent legs, holding a shield and whip. The rooster symbolizes vigilance or solar power. The serpents represent hidden wisdom and chthonic (underworld) forces. A being that refuses clean categories.

A 2000 year old Greco-Egyptian magic spell

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

[PGM V 54 – 69]

So sick of all these fake bs Tumblr and Pinterest spells-

"what color candle means what lol" with zero cultural or historical significance, it's like they just pulled things out of their ass.

So, here is a real 2000 year old Greek and Egyptian syncretic spell from Thebes to receive a direct vision from the beyond....WITH cultural and historical context.

Because, yes, history is important, and anyone giving you "spell tips" without telling you where the fuck they're from or what they mean is bullshitting you.

Ancient Greek oracular spells were rituals and invocations performed to gain insights or predictions from the gods, the Theoi, as well as Daemons and the Dead, particularly through seers known as oracles.

The Spell: PGM V 54 – 69 from the Greek Magical Papyri

Context of the Spell:

This spell is an interesting blend of Egyptian and Greek oracular practice: the use of Coptic or Egyptian eyepaint, kohl, here is interesting– as well as it's mixture with water from a sunken ship. Water from such locations are normally reserved for love spells, as we see previously in the PGM. The relationship or correspondence between a literal sunken vessel and sinking into the throes of passion. However, here, with its use in an oracular spell, it seems to correspond more to the chthonic or otherworldly realm, giving te wearer the ability to see past the normal, mundane world; past the ‘veil’ so to speak and into the beyond.

The use of the magical mystery word or voces magicae “Akrammachamarei” here is also notable; it is quite often seen throughout the PGM, and is associated with the God/Daemon/Archon of both Gnostic (Jewish-Egyptian) as well as Greek origin, Abrasax.

In spell PGM V. 96-172, Abrasax is identified as part of the "true name which has been transmitted to the prophets of Israel" of the "Headless One, (also known as the Egyptian god Bês) who created heaven and earth, who created night and day ... Osoronnophris whom none has ever seen ... awesome and invisible god with an empty spirit"; the name also includes Iaō and Adōnai, the ineffablenames of the Jewish god. "Osoronnophris" represents Egyptian Wsir Wn-nfr, or "Osiris the Perfect Being.” Another identification with Osiris is made in PGM VII. 643-51: "you are not wine, but the guts of Osiris, the guts of ... Ablanathanalba Akrammachamarei Eee, who has been stationed over necessity, Iakoub Ia Iaō Sabaōth Adōnai Abrasax."

Instructions:

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

After you have purified yourself (through ritual bathing and declarations) you must put on your clean linen robes and sandals of Papyrus.

Then, taking a purified bronze censer, place the laurel leaves inside and light them until the smoke fills the room. Walk clockwise around the room, and your workspace, Chanting the Ephesia Grammata:

ΑΣΚΙ(ΟΝ) ΚΑΤΑΣΚΙ(ΟΝ) ΛΙΞ ΤΕΤΡΑΞ ΔΑΜΝΑΜΕΝΕΥΣ ΑΙΣΙΟΝ (or ΑΙΣΙΑ)

“askion kataskion lix tetrax damnameneus aision”

Then, taking the olive oil, pour it into the waiting bronze dish.

With your right hand, anoint your right eye with the prepared water from a shipwreck.

With your left hand, mix 1 part kohl with 1 part water until it is a viscous paint, from the same dish, and anoint your left eye so that it is completely surrounded by the paint.

Then, pronounce the incantations:

"EEIM TO EIM ALALĒP BARBARIATH / MENEBREIO ARBATHIAÔTH IOUĒL IAĒL OUĒNĒIIE MESOMMIAS,

let the god who prophesics to me come and let him not go away until I dismiss him,

OURNAOUR SOUL ZASOUL / OUGOT NOOUMBIAOU THABRAT BERIAOU ACHTHIRI MARAI ELPHEŌN TABAŌTH KIRASINA LAMPSOURĒ IABOE ABLAMATHANALBA AKRAMMACHAMAREI.”

Once the incantations are finished, present any offerings and ask over the prepared olive oil dish what your question(s) are. Stare into the oil, lit only by candle or oil lamp light, and you will receive a direct vision.

─── ⋆⋅𓂀⋅⋆ ──

To the Gnostics, Abrasax is the great archon who created the whole world. There is quite a bit of nuance considering how Basilides Gnosticism views this deity. Nuance that I am not qualified to go over at the moment. Carl Jung refers to Abrasax as a truly terrible entity that encompasses all evil and all good, in his Red Book. I've seen negative reactions from people on Discord to this entity, but also some positive reactions.

But to the Hermeticist…who and what is this weird rooster head, snake-legged deity that is found all throughout the Greek Magical Papyri (PGM)? Let’s find out? 

In the Discourse of the Ogdoad and Ennead (D89) we are given strings of vowels and nomina Barbara for the Hermetic student, namely Tat as he is being taught by Hermes. To Christian H. Bull in his The Tradition of Hermes Trismégistōs, the string of Greek vowels and nomina Barbara/voces magicae is the totality of the Kosmos. Tat asks to receive the imprint of fullness by ways of hymns of praise to God. Bull seems to agree with Alberto Camplani that the “imprint of Fullness (Pleorma)” is coded within these string of vowels and voces magicae. 

From personal experiences — I have to agree with this, but I had to fuck around and find out for myself as I read this book many months ago when vowels and voces magicae were not big in my praxis. Anyways, here is the full hymn: 

Great! So how does this tie into ΑΒΡΑΣΑΞ and what is this names value to a Hermeticist? For starters — This name, has a numerical value of 365, according to isopsephy. 365, as the majority of you know, is the totality of days our Earth revolves around the Sun. In PGM VIII. 1-63, specifically in lines 45-50… we see a love spell invoking Hermes to which we are given the name of ABRASAX equaling 365 explicitly, and quite possibly a voces magicae for Hermes.

The Sun's importance in Hermeticism is ever-present. Most explicit in my opinion is SH 2a from M. David Litwa’s Hermetica II:

Also important to note: Thoth. Many believe Thoth is just the god of the Moon, yet Thoth has a Solar form: the Baboon. Baboons and their screeches are believed to be connected to the language of the gods. This is confirmed in the Demotic Book of Thoth. Where a scribe of Thoth’s Scribal College: The House of Life [𓉑], says this about the great teacher, Thoth: "The signs revealed their form. He called to them and they answered to him. He knew the form of speech of the baboons and the ibises." Thoth is also believed to be the creator of not just words and language but also vowels (Philebus 18b-c). For clarity's sake, Thoth is an extremely important figure in Hermeticism. Our teachings are based upon a syncretic god: Hermes & Thoth — Hermēs Trismégistōs. 

More evidence for the importance of ΑΒΡΑΣΑΞ is found in PGM XIII.1-343 — the famed Heptagram Rite, which we can perform more clearly and neatly here. This is a ritual that invokes Aiōn. Aiōn is believed to be the power of the Unknowable, Ineffable Godhead in Corpus Hermeticum XI. In lines 80-89 of PGM XIII, we are given voces magicae to Aiōn in 7 different languages as seen below.

Birdglyphic: ΑΡΑΙ Hieroglyphic: ΛΑΙΛΑΜ Hebraic: ΑΝΟΧ ΒΙΑΘΙΑΡΒΑΘ ΒΕΡΒΙΡ ΕΧΙΛΑΤΟΥΡ ΒΟΥΦΡΟΥΜΤΡΟΜ Egyptian: ΑΛΔΑΒΑΕΙΜ Finally, in Baboonic: ΑΒΡΑΣΑΞ 

(The voces magicae for Aiōn is continued in 'Falconic' and lastly hieratic languages). Thus, we can see a clear link to baboons and Thoth, the name Abrasax to the baboons, and their "language." We see a connection between Aiōn and Abrasax, and we also saw above in PGM VIII that it could also be used as a voces magicae to Hermes!

But let’s look at the imagery as well. A rooster head with snake legs. The legs, to me, are Chthonic of course, and curl up to shape an Ω, the seventh sphere, Saturn. The connection to Omega is something Christian H. Bill points out. The rooster is also a Solar animal. So to me, we have a beautiful image representing the totality of All Things from the Sun whose an image of Truth, directly subordinate to the One Primal Deity (SH 2a), down to the Du’at/Underworld. Both Hermes and Thoth are connected to the Underworld as well as the Sun. Hermes' planet, Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. Hermes is also famously known as a psychopomp, a traveler and mediator between Hades and Mount Olympus, Death and Life. Thoth, with His solar connections stated above, is also a key member of the Ancient Egyptian Underworld. In the Ani Papyrus, we see Thoth as the recorder/scribe that lists every heart that is weighed up against the Divine Feather of Truth -- Ma'at.

Thus what we have here, from a Hermetic standpoint, is that Abrasax is not a malevolent archon or a demon as denoted by the early Catholic Church, but rather a beautiful deity that is worthy of reverence whose name equals our revolution around the Sun, the Image of God. Abrasax — a name that is connected to both Hermes and Thoth, for reasons stated above. A name that also has a connection to Aiōn, an extremely important power/god in Corpus Hermeticum XI.

That is my interpretation, from a Hermetic standpoint. There are many interpretations of this elusive yet captivating deity. Abrasax can be a voces magicae for Hermes, or for Aiōn, it can be what I said, or you can take the Gnostic approach, or Jung, or Catholic approach to Abrasax. Regardless of what you do with the information, I shall continue to raise my voice in jubilation and cry out:

ΧΑΙΡΕ ΑΒΡΑΣΑΞ ! 

“The bird fights its way out of the egg. The egg is the world. Who would be born must first destroy a world. The bird flies to God. That God’s name is Abraxas.”

dark passages sounding with a dull roar of passing millenia

drilling me hollow

I am suffocating with my memories

they choke my throat with invisible fingers

I am not alone, facing the cruel grin of time