Abracadabra (sometimes spelled Abrakadabra) is a word used as an incantation. An incantation is the words spoken during a ritual. ...

History

The word is now commonly used as an incantation by stage magicians. In ancient times, however, it was taken much more seriously as an incantation to be used as a cure for fevers and inflammations. The first known mention was in the 2nd century A.D. in a poem called De Medicina Praecepta by Serenus Sammonicus, physician to the Roman emperor Caracalla, who prescribed that the sufferer from the disease wear an amulet containing the word written in the form of an inverted cone: An incantation is the words spoken during a ritual. ... Magician redirects here. ... Quintus Sammonicus Serenus, Roman savant, author of a didactic medical poem, De medicina praecepta (probably incomplete). ... The Doctor by Samuel Luke Fildes This article is about the term physician, one type of doctor; for other uses of the word doctor see Doctor. ... Roman Emperor is the term historians use to refer to rulers of the Roman Empire, after the epoch conventionally named the Roman Republic. ... Caracalla (April 4, 186 – April 8, 217) was Roman Emperor from 211 – 217. ... An amulet from the Black Pullet grimoire An amulet (from Latin amuletum, meaning A means of protection) or a talisman (from Arabic tilasm, ultimately from Greek telesma or from the Greek word talein wich means to initiate into the mysteries. ...

This, he explained, diminishes the hold of the spirit of the disease over the patient. Other Roman emperors, including Geta and Alexander Severus, were followers of the medical teachings of Serenus Sammonicus and are likely to have used the incantation as well. Roman Emperor is the term historians use to refer to rulers of the Roman Empire, after the epoch conventionally named the Roman Republic. ... Publius Septimius Geta Publius Septimius Geta (March 7, 189–December 211), was a Roman Emperor co-ruling with his father Septimius Severus and his older brother Caracalla from 209 to his death. ... Alexander Severus Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexandrus (October 1, 208- March 18?, 235), commonly called Alexander Severus, Roman emperor from 222 to 235, was born at Arca Caesarea in Palestine. ...

Etymology

Theories about the source of the word are:

"I create as I speak"

A possible source is Aramaic: אברא כדברא avra kedabra which means "I will create as I speak," which is thought to be in reference to God creating the universe (in some belief systems, ex nihilo), by speaking (see also Fiat Lux). An alternative spelling is avra K'Davarah. Aramaic is a group of Semitic languages with a 3,000-year history. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... Ex nihilo is a Latin term meaning out of nothing. It is often used in conjunction with the term creation, as in creatio ex nihilo, meaning creation out of nothing. Due to the nature of this, the term is often used in philosophical or creationistic arguments, as a number of... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Let there be light. ...

The curse and the pestilence

There is the view that Abracadabra derives from the Hebrew, ha-brachah, meaning "the blessing" (used in this sense as a euphemism for "the curse") and dabra, an Aramaic form of the Hebrew word dever, meaning "pestilence." They point to a similar kabbalistic cure for blindness, in which the name of Shabriri, the demon of blindness, is similarly diminished. Other scholars are skeptical of this origin and claim that the idea of diminishing the power of demons was common throughout the ancient world, and that Abracadabra was simply the name of one such demon. Aramaic is a group of Semitic languages with a 3,000-year history. ... St. ...

Other Hebrew phrases that have been suggested as possible origins

Abracadabra may have been from:
• a corruption of avar k'davar which means roughly "it will be according to what is spoken;"
• abreq ad Habra meaning "hurl your thunderbolt even unto death."

Disappear like this word

Some have argued that the term may come from the Aramaic אבדא כדברא abhadda kedhabhra, meaning 'disappear like this word'. Rather than being used as a curse, the Aramaic phrase is believed to have been used as a means of treating illness. Aramaic is a group of Semitic languages with a 3,000-year history. ...

Abraxas

It has also been claimed that the word comes from Abraxas, a Gnostic word for God (the source of 365 emanations, apparently the Greek letters for Abraxas add up to 365 when deciphered according to numerological methods). It has also been claimed to come from Abracalan (or Aracalan) who is said to have been a Syrian god. Engraving from an Abraxas stone. ... Gnosticism is a blanket term for various religions and sects most prominent in the first few centuries A.D. General characteristics The word gnosticism comes from the Greek word for knowledge, gnosis (γνῶσις), referring to the idea that there is special, hidden mysticism (esoteric knowledge... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Thelema

Main article: Abrahadabra

The religion of Thelema spells the word "Abrahadabra", and considers it the magical formula of the current Aeon. The religion's founder, Aleister Crowley, explains in his essay Gematria that he discovered the word (and his spelling) by kabbalistic 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 him to abandon magick for the moment and practice meditation or concentration.) The Word Abrahadabra appears repeatedly in the 1904 invocation of Horus that led to the founding of Thelema. (The Equinox I, no. 7. 1912) It also appears in a 1901 diary that Crowley published in The Equinox. Abrahadabra is a word that first appears in The Book of the Law, the central sacred text of Thelema. ... Thelema is the English transliteration of the Ancient Greek noun : will, from the verb θέλω: to will, wish, purpose. ... Abrahadabra is a word that first appears in The Book of the Law, the central sacred text of Thelema. ... Aleister Crowley, born Edward Alexander Crowley, (12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947; the surname is pronounced // i. ... This article is about traditional Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism). ... Oscar Eckenstein (9th September 1859 - 1921) was an Anglo-German rock-climber and mountaineer. ... This article refers to the magical system of Aleister Crowley and Thelema. ... Horus is an ancient god of Egyptian mythology, whose cult survivved so long that he evolved dramatically over time and gained many names. ... Thelema is the English transliteration of the Ancient Greek noun : will, from the verb θέλω: to will, wish, purpose. ...

The essay Gematria gives Hindu, Christian, and "Unsectarian" versions of the problem that Crowley intended this magick word to answer. He also gives a kabbalistic 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. This article is about traditional Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism). ...

Avada Kedavra in Harry Potter

The "Killing Curse" in the Harry Potter stories may have been taken by J. K. Rowling from an Aramaic form "avada kedavra" or similar, which roughly means "what I speak is destroyed," influenced by the Latin word cadaver, meaning "corpse". This form differs from the "I create as I speak" form ("Avara Kedavra") by a single letter in the English transliteration; it is one of the few spells in Harry Potter not derived from Latin. In the magical world of the Harry Potter series of fictional novels, many spells are used by the characters. ... Cover of the first book in J. K. Rowlings series: Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone (British/Canadian/Australian/Irish version) The Harry Potter books are a series of fantasy novels by English writer J. K. Rowling. ... Joanne “Jo” Rowling, OBE (born July 31, 1965[1]) is an English fiction writer who writes under the pen name J. K. Rowling. ... Aramaic is a Semitic language with a four-thousand year history. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ...

(see also possibly "Disappear like this word", above.)

See also

Wikisource has an original article from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica about:

Abracadabra

• Hocus Pocus
• Presto
• Avada Kedavra (a Harry Potter reference. Note, this article contains Spoilers)