Magickal Naming

General Discussion
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I’ve studied the history of Native American naming traditions so I understand why they do it but I have always wondered why those who practice magick also have customs of alternate naming. I’ve read and heard many ideas over the years but am curious what opinions are held here on this forum.

I’ve heard names based on everything from the moon and stars to cartoon characters the magician most identifies with. Some choose their own names, some are given a name by a coven or group leader, others are named by their deity, guardian or demon of choice. Some choose to share their names openly or use them as an alias for a book they authored while others loathe the thought of ever sharing something so personal.

Magickal naming seems to be a tradition as unique and varied as the magicians themselves. Even some catholics have a tradition of choosing a 2nd name for yourself around the age of puberty, something to do with saints maybe? Not sure, I only very briefly heard one of my favorite actresses talking about that. And just as Native Americans may have their tribal name changed as they grow older if the original name is no longer relevant to them, do you think it’s okay for a magician to change their name as needed?

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[quote=“RavensAscent, post:1, topic:6346”]I’ve studied the history of Native American naming traditions so I understand why they do it but I have always wondered why those who practice magick also have customs of alternate naming. I’ve read and heard many ideas over the years but am curious what opinions are held here on this forum.

I’ve heard names based on everything from the moon and stars to cartoon characters the magician most identifies with. Some choose their own names, some are given a name by a coven or group leader, others are named by their deity, guardian or demon of choice. Some choose to share their names openly or use them as an alias for a book they authored while others loathe the thought of ever sharing something so personal.

Magickal naming seems to be a tradition as unique and varied as the magicians themselves. Even some catholics have a tradition of choosing a 2nd name for yourself around the age of puberty, something to do with saints maybe? Not sure, I only very briefly heard one of my favorite actresses talking about that. And just as Native Americans may have their tribal name changed as they grow older if the original name is no longer relevant to them, do you think it’s okay for a magician to change their name as needed?[/quote]

The act of naming something is an act of authority and control over it. If you can name something you can control it and if you give something a name and they accept it, you own them.

This is why I am weary of using names that that deities have given me. Jesus, for example, had given me a second name, but I don’t go by it now because Jesus doesn’t own me anymore.

I do have a magical name, and it’s a full name, with a first, a middle, and a last name. Many people know parts of it, no one knows all of it. I don’t share it because then they have authority over me.

Yes, you are right about the Catholic practice. On your Christening, you can choose to take on the name of a saint, or you can just keep your name.

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I have always wanted a magical name and I will get around to this as I think it serves a very positive purpose. Our birth name has picked up all of our life experiences so far and is therefore associated with a lot of energies we may not always want to bring into our magical world. I think the taking of a magical name can birth us with a new personality and also separate us from our normal life. This of cause can give us an ‘alto-Ego’ thereby allowing us to develop in different ways and rise up the ladder of knowledge without the restraints from our old broken selves.

The taking of a new name could be worked into a full blown initiation rite to act as a birthing of the magician. This obviously shows devotion and honour to the craft. Many orders and priests tend to change their name as they reach a new stage of learning or development, I would never knock the Indians for doing this as they are the true natives of America and I hate the way they are repressed and patronised by the authorities.

Just think if they were allowed to develop their culture to its maximum?..America would be a more spiritual and peaceful place.

1 Like
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Yes, I have one name given by the spirit I’m in a pact with (he doesn’t “own me” through it, but we do have a very deep connection), I’ve had that one for many years now, and one I chose myself quite recently, that was last year when spirits were all like, “Gotta pick what you want to be goddess of, and your name” - I mean that’s oversimplifying a bit :slight_smile: but that’s kind of how it worked out.

It’s pretty cool, the one I chose turned out to have all kinds of gematria stuff that I had no idea about when I picked it, it just kind of came to me and I liked it right away. :slight_smile:

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I have had two actually. One that I used during my wiccan white lighter crusades…Hail to the rainbows and fluff warriors! LOL But another that I switched to last year after my practices turned dark and not so fluffy. I have been into dark magick longer than that but last year was when I finally felt as if the original name I chose no longer suited me.

The name I use on Facebook (Serenity) is not my magickal name, it’s just an alias I picked for myself to avoid broadcasting my real name across the web to a bunch of strangers that I don’t know personally. I am online friends with those people because they share common interests similar to those here on this forum but I have never met them so they don’t need to know my real name.

However, some facebookers have taken to calling me warrior goddess Serenity because they say, I always seem to be in control of my world like a god and am usually very down to earth and content but I have no problem defending my beliefs even it means ripping someone a new asshole to do so. So the name is actually very fitting for me but most of them are Satanists so they mean goddess in a self godhood kind of way. But it’s just an alias, just as Raven is another one of my aliases.

But my actual magickal name is a combination of personal meanings, words of empowerment, and also one word that Lucifer chose for me and revealed to me (while inside of an astral temple) that represents fierce power.

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My public godname, Xerross was given to me by Athena.

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Howdy.

I chose my name, which will become my legal name, to be “Jimmy Thomas Kirkbride”. My original legal name was chosen for me, and inherited from my family, and I don’t see myself as part of that clan any longer. Thus, by choosing my own name, I am expressing self-mastery (or at least self-ownership). I am pleased that my family and long-time friends call me by my given name, as it exemplifies the divide between us (that is, who I am, and who I was; the same person they still see me as). It would be far more difficult to grow on my own terms if the people who know me so intimately (and simply for so long), and who also have the ability to hurt me in ways unfamiliar and inaccessible to most anyone else also tried to relate to me in the context of the life path / direction I have chosen, through the use of my name of preference. Simply put, the use of that name by people I don’t necessarily like or trust sullies it, and they have no right to speak it.

At the other end of the spectrum, my handle “Tiberius James” is simply that. It is an online tag with no inherent magical or mundane significance, save that I think it’s kinda neat, and the etymological significance for which it was chosen represents a great deal of what I believe.

As I am currently working through the Abyss, and (hopefull) soon will be entering the Golden Dawn grade of Magister Templi (alhough I would like to make it clear that I am not a member of the GD or any other magical order). With that grade comes the adoption of a new name, but one which is provided by providence, rather than any particular spirit or via being consciously chosen by myself. That will be my true magical name, and represents who I am (on a magical level) and who I will be, during this period of my development. I’m afraid I most likely won’t be sharing it. If I do, however, it will be on account of my having developed (or encountered) a sigilised form of the name which I definitely won’t be sharing, and which trumps the name in terms of their both being unique identifiers (magically speaking, of course), as a sigil is even more specific than even a full name.

So, in answer to your question… Names are both simply labels used for identification, and at the same time, the entire, encapsulated sum of all that the name represents. To this end, the adoption of several names for different purposes (of which, magic may be just one purpose, or a particular kind of magic as distinct from the rest of one’s practise) makes perfect sense, and would likely aid in compartmentalising the various dynamic aspects of one’s self that seem to be part-and-parcel of a magical life (and which the vast majority of the mundane world will not have, as they struggle with their unrelenting disappointment over just the one persona they permit themselves!)…

Naturally, the inclination to change, modify, discard and invent new names at will (albeit according to their existing a worthwhile, symbolic reason for doing so) also makes perfect sense, and is the logical continuation of one’s deciding to adopt multiple names, in the first place:)

Kind regards, Tj.

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Great topic.

I’m on, I believe, my fourth name or motto now. I took my first one in the late eighties which was a combination of two Latin words that was an appropriate reflection of where I was as a beginner.
It seems each decade I change my name like a serpent shedding an old skin to something new that reflects where I am in my occult evolution. In the nineties I changed to a new name and then in the first decade of this century I changed to a name that was an amalgamation of Norse words.
This decade, actually recently, I have changed it again in congruence with where I am mentally and gnostically. This time it is a combination of Old English words which is appropriate considering my ancestral heritage and the tugs I’ve been feeling on my DNA as of late.

I do not take this aspect of the art lightly. I think one’s motto or name should have a meaning that resonates with you and should give you a sense of pride when you speak it. After all, it’s supposed to be a name synonymous with the most powerful aspect of your being.

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For me, the idea of having a magickal name is about having an alter-ego that represents who I am on the inside. That inner part of me that others on this forum are aware of but those in my immediate life would not understand. It’s a way to break free from the expectations others have placed on me with my birth name and a way of shedding that dried up old snake skin (as someone else called it) that is associated with a certain stigma and any prior life events that came with it.

Like people who know me by my birth name know a completely different side of me. Now, I’m not a poser and never have been. I have no problem standing up for my beliefs even if it means chasing my immediate friends away and honestly, most of my immediate friends are no more because they are too afraid to speak for themselves and they cling to the false beliefs of their parents just to appease everyone around them so much so, that they are afraid to even associate with someone like me who is not afraid to be open for fear that their families will shun them.

Several years back my family tried to dictate my beliefs and since I did not give in like everyone else they tried the usual methods like the silent treatment, we’re not going to help you with anything so if you end up homeless or hungry don’t come ask us for help because you’re not a christian. But I put my foot down and disappeared for a few years, leaving with them with no way to contact me and no clue where I was living to not only show them that I am independent enough that I can take care of myself without needing to give in to my families demands to do so but also to prove a point of just how much I was NOT bothered by them shunning me away because of my beliefs. When I finally came back, they had changed and they now accept me for who I am even if they dislike it deep down. And the rest of my younger family members that share beliefs similar to mine, hate me because they’re jealous that I am able to put my foot down like that and be accepted for the real me while they are still stuck pretending, too afraid to be honest with everyone.

They still call me by my birth name but my magickal name offers me another escape from this reality and provides me with empowerment and reinforces my drive to succeed, the positive ascpects of my life. Because all others who call me by my birth name do not see any positive qualities in me. They see my drive to be the real me as a stubbornness and a hinderence which results from my refusal to give into societal and familial demands. I see those traits as a divine will to succeed and not just live outside of the box, but the throw the entire box away all together.

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That’s called Christian charity :slight_smile:

And if we do away with names altogether, for a moment - either given names, one’s we’ve chosen for ourselves, magical names / mottos etc (as a thought exercise) - then where does that leave us? Sure, names are a means of labeling and identification, but if we are not our names (which of course we are not, and it seems silly to even write something like that!), then what are we, by definition?

While we would all know that we are not really even our “selves”, in that the physical form is but a vessel for consciousness, and consciousness itself just an outward manifestation of the divine spark (or “soul”, if you will), then how do we quantify the progression from physical body, to mind, to soul if not by the use of such a convenient device as an appropriate name?

To put it another way… Assuming that there is an afterlife for the moment, how would one identify themselves in such a place, if out mortal names no longer apply (seeing as our bodies would have surrendered its consciousness and everything that goes along with it)? If nothing else, this highlights the arbitrary nature of even the most carefully-chosen name, but I have always wondered how we would go about identifying ourselves on the astral plane and above, once we die.

Those who are particularly adept at astral travel may be able to lend some insight as to how they identify themselves while projecting, and / or how they perceive others (but especially human spirits, as opposed to more complex entities such as angels and demons) on the astral plane. Unfortunately, I can’t offer much in this department, as my ability to consciously project is woeful at best LOL.

Kind regards, Tj.