#theban

Alphabets

Some practitioners write their grimoires in alphabets that feel magical or spiritually resonant. For others, it's about privacy; encoding their knowledge so it’s only understood by themselves or those they deeply trust enough to have shared the alphabet with. Above are two of the most commonly used alphabets in magical and pagan communities:

Theban Alphabet: Sometimes referred to as the “Witches’ Alphabet,” Theban is used widely in modern witchcraft for inscriptions, spellwork, and grimoire entries. It has no known spoken form and is primarily symbolic and secretive in nature.

The alphabet was first seen in Johannes Trithemius's 1518 book, Polygraphia, and was later popularized by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa in De Occulta Philosophia, and then later repopularized by Wicca's adoption of the alphabet as a standard secretive magical text to write your book of shadows in. There is no phonetic version of this alphabet, it is a writing system only.

Nordic Runes (Elder and Younger Futhark): An ancient runic script used by Germanic and Norse peoples. Many witches use these runes for writing, divination, talismans, and connection to ancestral or Norse energies.

The Elder Futhark runes are widely believed to have been inspired from either the North Italic or Etruscan or Latin alphabet, around 2 BCE, and the Elder Futhark runes as we know them today were primarily used between 150 AD and 700 AD. The Younger Futhark runes originated around 800 AD as an adaptation of the Elder Futhark to match phonetic changes in the evolving languages of the area.

Theban: DaFont

The Sacred Band of Thebes ⚔ Sword Training The Sacred Band of Thebes was no myth. It was a real military unit in 4th-century BCE Greece, made up of 150 male couples—lovers, partners in life and death. Chosen not just for strength or skill, but for devotion. They believed that no soldier would fight harder than one fighting beside his beloved. These men trained relentlessly—sword to sword, side by side—until their movements became pure instinct. Plutarch writes that their bond made them fearless in battle and unshakable in formation.

The Theban Triad: Amun-Re enthroned, accompanied by a lion-headed Mut and their son Khonsu (1), and an example of Mut in her more common human form (2).

My magical working circle

“ As Above So Below Earth Air Fire Water”

With the powers of the planets and the sun and moon to call these powers into my spell work.

During quarantine I designed these pronoun shirts in latin and theban alphabets.