Magickal Names - How do you choose?

[MeganB]

The idea of choosing a magickal name - or craft name - has a history shrouded in mystery. There is no historical reason for people to choose a magickal name, but some have speculated that it was due to Christianity and persecution. This makes sense because, when captured and tortured for practicing witchcraft, you would be made to give up the names of your fellow witches. But what if you all only knew each other by your craft names, and those were names kept from everyone else? It would make it difficult for the church to find the other witches. That is a theory, anyway.

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

The Purpose of a Magickal Name

There are a variety of reasons why one might choose to use a magickal name. Maybe they are afraid of getting caught and “outed”. Maybe they simply like the anonymity it provides. Maybe it means something to them. Or maybe, like Lady Althaea, their magickal name is chosen for them by their Gods.

The magickal name can become part of your identity and, when used, is like donning your robes for a ceremony or ritual. It becomes who you are at that moment, and it is a reminder to yourself and those around you that this is a time separated from the mundane.

How to Choose a Magickal Name

Pick something that has meaning

It was speculated that the mottos people went by in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn had some significant meaning in their life. Names like Sapere Aude and Perdurabo sound mystical to those of us who do not speak Latin, but these names simply mean “Dare to be wise” and “I will last through”. If you are going to choose a magickal name for yourself, you can do so by choosing something that has meaning for you. If English is not your native language, choose something in your mother tongue for a deeper connection.

Pick something you like

Instead of picking something that has a deep meaning, you could always just pick something that you like. There is nothing wrong with this if it fits in with your practice! Just be sure you are not appropriating from other cultures and the name you choose does not have an alternate meaning that could be misinterpreted by others.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Use numerology

If you fancy numerology, you can use that to your advantage when choosing a magickal name. Figure out your birth number and then choose a name that has the same birth number. To figure out your birth number, add the digits in your date of birth together until you get a single digit. Let’s use mine as an example.

My birthday is on November 8, 1991. So, let’s break that down into digits. 11 8 1991. Now you add them together.

1+1+8+1+9+9+1=30

Since I have a double-digit number, I then add those together as well.

3+0=3

My birth number is 3.

Do this with your birthday until you have a single digit. Then, when choosing a birth name, choose one that has the same numerological number as your birth number. You can do this by using the table here that has the alphabet and their corresponding values.

Wait for it to be chosen for you

If you do not want to choose a magickal name, you can wait for one to be chosen for you. This is what happened with Lady Althaea, and I highly recommend you read her post about her experience.

In Conclusion

A magickal name is not something that I have found to be a requirement of any Gods. It might be a requirement of certain traditions of Wicca and witchcraft, but I could not tell you for certain.

I do not have a magickal name. I have not chosen one, and one has not been chosen for me. At this point, I do not see the necessity of having a magickal name because I do not have to practice in secret, and my craft encompasses every part of my life anyway. My craft is who I am, and who I am at this point is Megan.

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Sources and Further Reading

• Choosing your Magickal Name - Llewellyn
• Craft Name and Choosing One - Raven and Crone
• The Magickal Name - Llewellyn

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Do you have a magickal name? How did you choose yours?

[nichole]

I woke up from a dream one day and the name Arandun came to me…I knew immediately that it was important so I wrote it down and crafted a middle and last name around it. Arandun Nichole Elsre… Upon later investigation I found out that Arandun actually used to be the name of a city in Africa which just clarified its importance in my life. Maybe a past life thing idk but it means something so despite it not being the most graceful magical name I decided to keep it

[roxanne]

I got my majical name in a dream also, I use Sacred Feather, Thank you for posting Nichole! Merry Meet!

[roxanne]

@MeganB why they used majical names makes sense, It was a way to cover up, and I think in some ways a way to get out of the mundane world and Identify with your true self, Who knows? Interesting topic and article, Thank you!

[jodie2]

About a year ago or maybe longer I had a dream, the dream was just wow!! Anyways people were calling me moon tear… I have looked that up and came up with nothing… could this be my magical name?

[BryWisteria]

I think “Moon Tear” is a beautiful name, @jodie2! The meaning of a magickal name is sacred and personal, so no worries if you couldn’t find anything about it in a search. If it is a name that resonates strongly with you, then yes- I think it could be your magickal name

[robin77]

I’ve never heard of the concept of magickal names so this was very informative to me. I also loved reading Lady Althaea’s experience too. Hmmm this one may take some time, but I’ll be opening to receiving a magickal name!

[Garnet]

OMG, I got another math headache! Decided (out of shear laziness) to call myself Garnet. It’s my birthstone.
If I went by my dreams it would be (Run Away, ,Run Away!) Night terrors.

[elizabeth7]

I was always called sage Grandma’s moonbeam by my Grandmother; so I know go by Sage Moonbeam.

[BryWisteria]

May a beautiful and meaningful magickal name come to you when the time is right, @robin77! Feel free to share it when you feel you’ve found the one for you!

Garnet is a gorgeous name, @Garnet! Enjoy your new witchy name

A lovely name, @elizabeth7! I think it is wonderful that the name Sage Moonbeam connects you with your grandmother

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For anyone on the hunt for a witchy name, I was putting together this week’s Merry Meet Monday news post and learned that this Friday (April 9th) is a national day called Name Yourself Day

The energy may be good to do a meditation or deep soul dive as you search for a new name!

Blessed be!

[Liisa]

My real name is Lisa (English version) and I recently found out through my studies into rune magick that the Liisa has Norse Origins. I’m a Norse Pagan as well as a witch so i thought ir very fitting for me

[susan4]

Garnet is beautiful…much better than the latter one! ha ha

[Amethyst]

I have a question about cultural appropriation. When I picked my pen name for fan fic writing I wanted to use my witchy name. Which is Amethyst. But there were a hundred and one thousand Amethysts around and I wanted to be different, so I just used a Babblefish and translated it to Japanese, because I was in a big anime mood at the time.

Now I realize I probably shouldn’t have done that, but I’ve been Amejisuto, or Ame for so long, I answer to it in real life. Can you use another language as your witchy name? Or am I messing it up? I wouldn’t want to offend people.

[Francisco]

Interesting question! It’s an open ended argument because there will be different opinions and views regarding cultural appropriation or appreciation.

My rule of thumb is: Are you profiting from using that name/concept? Are you using it to obtain an advantage or privilege (economic, political, social)? Are you exploiting someone in the process?

Another approach would be to ask a Japanese person directly. Personally, I imagine that the person would feel honored or at least joyful that you chose a name out of admiration for their language/culture.

[BryWisteria]

That’s a really important thing to consider when choosing a name- thanks for bringing it up, @Amethyst! Cultural appropriation can be a pretty controversial subject, but I think Francisco summed it up wonderfully.

If it helps, Kasie, I have attended numerous cultural activities with JASSO and the Japan Society - groups formed with the goal of supporting cross-cultural exchange and promoting Japanese culture and language.

While I am not Japanese and cannot speak for those that are, my experiences living in Japan and studying there have shown me that Japanese people tend to take great pride and enjoy when others respectfully pursue Japanese culture and language

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Across the board, it is always a good idea to take a deep look and research a word when considering it as a name- not just it’s meaning in English, but also it’s cultural/linguistic importance. Words have power, after all- names can have a lot more to them than what first meets the eye!

[Amethyst]

@Francisco

My rule of thumb is: Are you profiting from using that name/concept? Are you using it to obtain an advantage or privilege (economic, political, social)? Are you exploiting someone in the process?

I’m not profiting or anything, I just truly thought the translation was beautiful. I’ve never claimed to be Japanese or anything.

@BryWisteria

While I am not Japanese and cannot speak for those that are, my experiences living in Japan and studying there have shown me that Japanese people tend to take great pride and enjoy when others respectfully pursue Japanese culture and language

I’m glad because I really am attached to the name now, even my email address has this name in it. I’d hate to go and switch all my emails to it. Let that be a lesson to you folks, think carefully. I don’t think I would have chosen it today.

[MeganB]

I think that’s acceptable, @Amethyst, especially since you answered Francisco’s questions and you’re not profiting from it or anything. It’s just a name in another language, I believe. Then again, I’m not Japanese so I can’t speak for them.

@Francisco

Another approach would be to ask a Japanese person directly.

This is good advice.

[Amethyst]

I wonder if there are any Japanese lurkers here who would help me out. Direct Messsage me if you don’t feel like talking on the forum!

[Susurrus]

I found a name that I resonated with from before I had children & that I can resonate with relating to my life’s path over the last 5 years and the last year or so especially. I found Siofra by accident when I was looking up some things about Ireland & my Irish heritage. It started with a subscription box ad for Irish at Heart that I declined but I was looking that the different items & their meanings from past boxes. This led me down a rabbit hole & I found the name Siofra, it’s a more modern Irish name starting around the 18th century & means changeling & is closely related to fairies through the lore & heritage of Ireland & the name. I have a more in-depth synopsis in my weekly challenge entry Wizardry of Words Weekly Challenge Entry. I am now using that name within the coven!

[IrisW]

I’ve been looking at magical names over the last few days with numerology as a starting point, and trying to find something meaningful to me.

I have blue hair and rainbows are important to me given their association with LGBT+. I was very pleased to discover that Iris means both blue and rainbow, and it’s already a name I love. But from a numerology perspective wasn’t ideally compatible with my birthday on its own so I looked at suitable second names.

I love crows and ravens, you could say they’re my spirit animal. I considered obvious corvid based names before stumbling across Wolfram which I immediately liked.

In Cheiro numerology Iris Wolfram is compatible with my birthday and it feels right. So that’s what I’ve chosen. Is it possible to change my username to match? I can’t see an option to do so under preferences…