Abracadabra is usually called a meaningless set of letters, symbols, words or phrases - this, for example, happens if you enter text into a computer in the wrong encoding. In fact, the word "abracadabra" is very ancient and associated with magic.
Where did the word "abracadabra" come from?
It is believed that the word "abracadabra" (in Latin abracadabra) originated at the end of the 2nd century AD. It is first found in the medical treatise De Medicina Praecepta, written by Serenus Sommonicus, who was a physician under the Roman emperor Septimius Severus. Since medicine in those days was closely related to magic, Sommonicus ordered his patients, suffering from fever and other ailments, to wear an amulet in the form of a tablet, on which "abracadabra" was written in a column 11 times. The last letter was cut off in each line. The result is a triangle. The ritual was supposed to drive out the evil spirit from the person who sent the disease.
According to one version, "abracadabra" comes from "abraxis". In Greek numerology, these letters added up to the number 365, which could indicate the number of days in a year. According to another, the term originated from the Hebrew "Father, Son and Holy Spirit". Another hypothesis claims that it was based on the Aramaic expression "Avra Kadavra", which in translation means: "I will create as I say."
The English researcher of the Old Testament John Allegro suggests that "abracadabra" goes back to the Mesopotamian expression "AB-BA-TAB-BA-RI", which was used during religious rituals among the ancient Sumerians. In addition, according to Allegro, it is consonant with the Aramaic pronunciation of the name of God in the New Testament and the main Christian prayer "Our Father". Another researcher, G. Higgins, ascribes a Celtic origin to the word, believing that it is formed from two words - "Abra" (god) and "cad" (saint). His colleague Juan Kerlot traces the origin of "abracadabra" from the Hebrew phrase "abreg ad habra" - "swords your lightning even into death." Sampson Mackey in the book "Mythological Astronomy of the Ancients" hypothesizes that Abracadabra is one of the names of the ancient Egyptian deity,depicted in the form of a bull and symbolizing the sign of Taurus and at the same time other signs of the zodiac.
The founder of the Theosophical Society in Russia, Helena Blavatskaya, believes that the word "Abracadabra" is a distorted "Abraxas" - this was the name of the highest deity Basilidians - followers of the teachings of the ancient Gnostic Basilides from Alexandria.
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Use in magic
A number of esotericists, in particular Eliphas Levi, see in "abracadabra" a magic formula, possibly a modification of the Chaldean magic spell "ab bada ke daabra" - "perish like a word." Some claim that in the sum the letters of the word form the cabalistic number 66. "Abracadabra" is mentioned by the famous magician and Satanist Aleister Crowley in his "Book of Laws". True, he writes it as "abrahadabra", assuring that this is the only correct spelling.
It is known that the spell "abracadabra" in the Middle Ages was actively used by magicians, alchemists and other warlocks. However, the priests warned that true believers should not utter this word, much less write it, since it could attract the devil.
Divine or Devilish?
The result is a contradiction. According to some sources, "abracadabra" is a divine term, the pronunciation or writing of which can even protect against the effects of dark forces. According to others, this is a magic spell, which, on the contrary, attracts these very forces … But who knows where the border between religion and the occult lies?
Of course, there is no exact information that as a result of the use of the mentioned word, troubles happened to someone, but just in case, do not say "abracadabra"!
