Apr 21
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ΑΒΡΑΣΑΞ -- ABRASAX From a Hermetic Viewpoint.
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 !
| Self-Cleansing Prayer to Nu 🪷|
{ O’ great god Nu, he of the Ogdoad, pour thy waters over me. Cleanse me with thy primordial purified waves. Dweller of the infinite lake, clean the actions of my Ka Wash the weight of my Ba Lift my Ib as you do the sun, thy child That not of my highest good is no more, by thy word Let the cool waters fill my body and soul Father of Fathers and Mother of Mothers Cleansed and washed away; returned to the pure state of origin Dua Nu 𓀀 🌊🪷
Welcome!
Name: Khaemwaset-Nakhthoreb, or Khaemwaset. Khaemwaset is an Egyptian name meaning "he who was in Thebes." Nakhthoreb means "victorious is Horus."
Pronouns: He/him.
What is this blog?: This is my blog for Kemetic polytheistic worship - which essentially means modern practice of the ancient Egyptian religion!
Gods I worship: I worship all Egyptian gods, however, I focus on the Ennead and Ogdoad, as well as Bastet, Neith, Thoth/Djehuty, and Nephthys/Nebet-Het (who is my patron). I will post about most/all of the gods at one point - or at least that's the plan! Egyptian religion spans a VAST amount of time, regions, and deities.
Extra: Feel free to ask me anything! My askbox is open. I don't have a DNI - I do not use them - but I also use the block button liberally. Don't let this scare you, though! I love talking to people about my practice and my religion! Please note that even if I post, I may not be online - I queue many posts to make sure I maintain a healthy relationship with social media.
May the Netjeru bless you! Other blogs: @androphonostheoi - Helpol blog
[MORE TO COME SOON]
Nu, Egyptian embodiment of the chaotic waters. The first of the gods, it’s been ever present throughout time, a permanent aspect of reality. For countless millennia, Nu’s waters rested without action, but suddenly the waters stirred and out arose the Benben, the first mound of land. Lying on top of the Benben laid a lotus flower, the flower bloomed, revealing the newborn Ra. Along with Ra emerged the serpent of Chaos: Apep. Nu’s waters encapsulated the world Ra had sculpted, surrounding it like a bubble. Nu remained detached from creation, watching it from afar. However Nu would provide Ra with their otherworldly wisdom, in one instance when Ra lost the worship of his followers Nu gave him the advice to tear out his eye, which when Ra followed transformed into the goddess Sekhmet. Nu upholds Ra’s solar bark all through out its journey across the sky, traversing the sea of chaos that surrounds the universe.
Nu’s presence within Egyptian religion is deeply rooted, as the vast majority of creation myths in ancient Egypt centered around and greatly featured Nu, with the only exception being in Memphis where they were replaced with Ptah. In Heliopolis, Nu was split into eight deities who formed the Ogdoad, the pantheon who embodied the primordial waters. Nu represents the primordial chaos, an archetype found in many other gods, such as the Chinese Hundun, the Sumerian Nammu, the Mesopotamian Tiamat, and the Irish Danu. The concept of Nu may have developed into Asherah, with both representing the primordial waters of chaos. The primordial waters is a very ubiquitous concept, with it being found in Hinduism, Abrahamic religions, Mongolian mythology, Hawaiian mythology among many others. Viewing this primeval void as an ocean is nigh universal across the earth, you’d be hard pressed to find a creation myth without a mention of primeval waters.
Here is Destiny of Dionysus' new look! Progress is going smoothly, I might be able to release the finalized version by the end of the month.
Description from Wikimedia Commons: "The sun rises from the mound of creation at the beginning of time. The central circle represents the mound, and the three orange circles are the sun in different stages of its rising. At the top is the "horizon" hieroglyph with the sun appearing atop it. At either side are the goddesses of the north and south, pouring out the waters that surround the mound. The eight stick figures are the gods of the Ogdoad, hoeing the soil." From the Book of the Dead of Khonsumes.
Where: Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna
When: Third Intermediate Period, 21st Dynasty