Abracadabra

Abracadabra is a well-known magic word. de Plancy, J. C., (1863). Dictionnaire Infernal. 6ed. pg.3
== Use ==
It can be used to make a protective phylactery, used as to cure illnesses and fevers, as well as inflammations, asthmaSpence, L. (1920). An Encyclopædia of Occultism. 2 ed. pg. 1, and, rarely, general misfortuneUnknown. (1972). "abracadabra", in Leach, M. (ed) Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend. 3rd ed. p.4. It is worn about the neck and created by writing on it in a triangle arrangement the letters "Abracadabra", removing the last letter with each subsequent row, as shown in the image:
This supposedly worked by linking the potency of the malady to the length of the word "ABRACADABRA", and as the word diminished, so too would the malady. According to Spence, it could also be written upside-down, with the name getting built up from row to row. 
Julius Africanus stated that the word would also work just by saying it, instead of having to wear it in a phylactery. 
== History ==
The first recorded use of "abracadabra" is in the writings of Severus Sammonicus, a gnostic physician from the 2nd century. 
Some Jewish scholars claim it originates from kabala, owing to its similarity to the spell protecting someone from Shabriri, the demon of blindness, and if this is true, Abracadabra may have originally been the name of a demon associated with fevers, and Spence suggests it is another name for Abraxas.
If it was not the name of a demon, the use of "abracadabra" in spells evolved from earlier invocations where an entity's name would be evoked to gain power over that entity. Over time, the idea that a word or formulaic phrase could be manipulated to greater effect than a simple evocation allowed meant that magic words became more important than the name of the entity. As part of this evolution, the more incomprehensible or supernatural a word was, the greater its power. 
"Abracalan" and "Aracalan" are variants of the word, and are reputed to have been the names of an ancient Syrian deity. 
== See Also ==
* Abracax
* Name Taboo
== References ==
Category:Dictionnaire Infernal
Category:Amulets
Category:Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend
Category:An Encyclopædia of Occultism