ABRAHADABRA: THE WORD OF POWER, REBORN
From Ancient Incantations to Thelemic Magick—And Now, Echoing Through Lady Gaga’s Latest Anthem
Millions of voices across the world are now speaking a word of power without realising it.
Thanks to Lady Gaga’s latest single, Abracadabra has once again entered the global lexicon, rolling off tongues in clubs, cars, and headphones—a syllabic echo of an ancient spell. But those three familiar syllables hold far more weight than a pop lyric.
As fellow author Mat Auryn explores in his latest article, Gaga’s visual and symbolic references weave a rich tapestry of occult resonance, drawing from a lineage of mysticism that stretches back centuries.
Yet beneath the surface of pop-culture sorcery, another word waits. A word not of dissipation, but of completion. A word not to banish, but to declare. That word is Abrahadabra.
Aleister Crowley, ever the transmuter of symbols, took the well-worn talisman of Abracadabra and reforged it in fire, altering a single letter to birth an entirely new formula—one that stands at the very core of Thelemic magick. To understand why, we must unravel the hidden mechanisms of magical language, the transformation of an old charm into an esoteric cypher, and the way in which this single word crystallizes the Great Work itself.
THE FORMULA OF POWER
Magical formulae are not random incantations—they are encoded keys, each syllable constructed with the precision of an alchemical equation. They do not merely describe reality; they shape it.
As I discuss in The Aleister Crowley Manual, such words act as conduits for the practitioner, distilling immense metaphysical principles into utterances that can be meditated upon, invoked, or woven into ritual. Each letter bears weight, each vibration aligns with forces both internal and cosmic. To speak a true magical formula is to engage in the art of creation itself.
Before Abrahadabra, there was Abracadabra, a word inscribed onto amulets, whispered in healing rites, and traced in ink to ward off misfortune.
This linguistic origin reveals a fundamental truth: words are not mere symbols of meaning but vehicles of creation. To speak is to shape, to declare is to define—language itself is a force that brings realities into being. This understanding lies at the core of ancient magical traditions, where the spoken word was revered as an act of manifestation.
The roots of the term remain debated, but one of the most compelling interpretations ties it to the Aramaic phrase Avra Kehdabra—"I create as I speak."
Historian Don Skemer offers another possibility, suggesting that Abracadabra may stem from the Hebrew phrase ha brachah dabarah—meaning "the name of the blessed"—which, if true, would imply a deeper sacred resonance within its use as an incantatory charm.
However, not all scholars support Semitic roots for the term. Aramaic linguist Steve Caruso contends that Abracadabra is neither Aramaic nor Hebrew, arguing that the widespread belief in this etymology may stem from a modern misinterpretation. He traces the popularization of this mistaken derivation to an early internet discussion, where rabbi Lawrence Kushner was credited—perhaps erroneously—with proposing a Hebrew connection.
Traditionally, Abracadabra was written in a diminishing triangular pattern, a visual incantation designed to erode disease and expel negativity. The letters would collapse upon themselves until nothing remained—a spell of reduction, of negation.
But Crowley sought something different. Not a charm of banishment, but a formula of arrival. A word that would not fade, but stand unbroken.
ABRAHADABRA: THE WORD OF THE AEON
In The Book of the Law (Liber AL vel Legis), Abrahadabra is given as the final word of Chapter III, Verse 75—an exclamation of completion. Crowley declared it the Word of the Aeon, the formula of the Great Work fulfilled.
Unlike Abracadabra, which visually collapses into absence, Abrahadabra remains whole, unwavering. It does not banish—it integrates.
The key lies in a single letter: the transformation of the ‘C’ into an ‘H’. This shift was no arbitrary alteration but a deliberate qabalistic act, anchoring the word to the number 418—a number of profound significance in Crowley’s system. Among its many attributions, 418 corresponds to the phrase Achath-Ruach-Elohim-Chiim (One is the Spirit of the Living God), reinforcing the concept of divine union. This number is also the value of Ra-Hoor-Khuit, the god-form presiding over the current Aeon, and the completion of the magical formula of the Great Work.
Crowley wrote1 that Abrahadabra represents the union of the microcosm (the individual) and the macrocosm (the All). It is the bridge between self and cosmos, the synthesis of opposites rather than their dissolution. In this, it encapsulates the entire spiritual trajectory of Thelema: to know and execute one’s True Will, to stand fully realised as a sovereign star within the infinite.
A SHIFT IN MAGICAL PHILOSOPHY
Crowley's adaptation of Abracadabra into Abrahadabra reflects a deliberate shift from a formula of banishment to one of integration and completion, aligning with the core Thelemic tenet of discovering and executing one’s True Will.
In this transformation, we see the dissolution of fear-based magical practices that seek only to ward off darkness, replaced instead with a system that embraces the totality of existence—both shadow and light—as essential components of the self.
Abrahadabra does not shrink away from the abyss; it embraces it, seeking not to dispel external forces but to transmute them, to weave all aspects of being into a singular, harmonious whole.
THE FINAL WORD
So now, in 2025, Abracadabra echoes across the airwaves once more, uncoiling from millions of lips on neon-drenched dance floors and humming beneath the breath of those who sing along without knowing its history. But behind it, hidden like a sigil waiting to be spoken, Abrahadabra remains. It does not fade, it does not dwindle—it stands.
To those who walk the path of magick, this word is not a relic but a declaration. It is the sound of the Work fulfilled, the final exhale after initiation’s long and winding road. It is not a whisper, nor a question.
It is a statement.
ABRAHADABRA.
"Thus, the formula of Abrahadabra concerns us, as men, principally because each of us represents the pentagram or microcosm; and our equilibration must therefore be with the hexagram or macrocosm."
Liber ABA: Magick In Theory And Practice, Chapter 7
The whole chapter is a Thelemic masterclass, and I heartily recommend that anyone genuinely interested in these topics read and understand it.
I’ve often wondered whether the change of the letter to D making the word a palindrome has a significant numerological value. The table in this article comparing the C and H has helped. Thank you.