Magickal Names - How do you choose?

i am sorry to make this old thread reappear, but i have my magickal name and i don’ know how to claim it, if you will. so if someone will be so kind as to explain this to me i am quite sure of it.

6 Likes

No worries on reviving the thread :blush: it’s okay!

I know you’ve already claimed your magickal name here on the forum (congrats, by the way!) but do you mean you want to claim it outside of Spells8? I’m not quite sure I understand :sweat_smile:

6 Likes

hello megaanB, i posted here first because i didn’t know how else to get ahold of anyone. then i browsed a little further and remembered where to go and thank you very much

5 Likes

Wonderful - I’m glad you got it figured out! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

5 Likes

My grandmother’s given name was Sabine. She changed it legally in her 20’s due to the anti-immigrant sentiments against Italians in the US. It was only mentioned in passing, but her family never stopped calling her Sabine. My grandmother was a full assimilation believer. I imagine she saw the difficulties her parents faced as a child and wanted as much distance from being Italian as possible. She was torn of course, continuing to cook traditional Italian dishes and even had a pizelle press that was her families and cranked out those anise delicate cookies for holidays and celebrations. I researched the name and realized it was often given to women to identify them as descendants of the Sabine women who were so résiliant in the face of kidnapping and rape by the romans. The region where this is said to occur is the region her family is from. It’s an ancient name and I have always felt connected to it. Sounds very magical to me. Are there any ceremonial things to do when adopting a Magical name?

9 Likes

Hi there @Sabine_Estella and welcome to the forum!

My name is Megan and I’m one of the moderators here at Spells8 :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: it’s nice to meet you!

Your grandmother sounds like an amazing person. I can only imagine how difficult something like that must have been for her, too. I don’t know too much about the name Sabine other than what you’ve shared here, but I imagine it’s not a name you would take lightly!

I don’t believe there are any traditional rituals or ceremonies to perform, though you can create one if that’s what you would like to do! There is a Taking the Name ritual in a book titled The Witch’s Name: Crafting Identities of Magical Power by Storm Faerywolf. I’ve included it here for you as well as a link to the book if you’d like to check it out.

The Taking of a Name

This rite is intended to be a spiritual catalyst for the adoption of—and identification with—a Witch name. It can be performed as given here or adapted to better suit your particular needs. It can also be included in a larger ritual of dedication or initiation. Feel free to use this basic idea as inspiration for writing your own. As always, the most potent magic comes from within.

Items needed:

  • A black candle
  • A white candle
  • Some oil, suitable for anointing
  • A small bowl
  • A cup or chalice with your favorite magical beverage
  • A small bit of celebratory food, such as chocolate, or a special savory treat
  • Matches or a lighter
  • Some unlined paper
  • Pens, markers, pencils, or paints of your choosing
  • A silver mirror (i.e. normal reflective, as opposed to black for scrying)
  • A cauldron or other fire-safe pot

Ground, align, and center. Do whatever you would normally do to create a more formalized ritual space, such as casting a circle, invoking the elements/directions/cross-roads, and so on. Perform a simple cleansing or purification rite.

Light the black candle and say:

From the darkness into form
Between the worlds I here avow:
This holy rite I here perform
Shall change my fate,
Both here and now.

In the center of the paper, write out your magical name. Make it clear and bold and beautiful. You may wish to use calligraphy or some other stylized technique to make it really stand out. Adorn the rest of the paper with personal symbolism, drawings, even just doodles, all to make the paper into a bona fide work of art that represents the different layers of meaning for your chosen name. Take your time with this. The point is to immerse yourself in the process and allow your creative energies to flow freely, which establishes momentum for the rite.

When it is complete, focus your attention on the paper, especially on the name itself. Place your hands over the paper as if to direct energy into it while looking at the artwork you have created. Contemplate the symbolism and meaning. Say your chosen name out loud three times, each vocalization spoken with passion and authority. Say:

I stand before the open gate
Ready here to change my fate
Between the words I now proclaim
I here adopt the Witch’s Name!

Carefully roll up the paper so that it becomes a thin tubular wand, lighting the end of it from the black candle. As it begins to burn and transforms into light, heat, and ash, imagine all that has been keeping you from being your true, authentic, witchy self is likewise being transformed into pure energy—energy that you now reclaim by way of gazing at the bright flames, allowing the light to enter your eyes and your spirit. Use this wand to light the white candle, saying:

Transformed here to ash and light
My heartfelt name, I now rewrite.

As the paper continues to burn, drop it into your cauldron and allow it to finish burning down into ashes. If the paper needs help to finish burning, you may use the white candle to carefully ignite the rest.

When complete, gaze at yourself in the mirror and recall that sense of magical power and strength that went into the crafting of your magical persona.

Contemplate the symbolism and the layers of meaning in your name and how this reflects a deep part of your soul, now given new life and vigor.

Begin to repeatedly chant: Change my name and change my fate!

Continue chanting while you raise power, still gazing at your reflection and focusing on the meaning of your name. Checking to ensure that it has finished burning, carefully procure some of the paper ash and add it to the small bowl along with some of the oil. Mix well.

As you continue to look at your reflection in the mirror, use this mixture to anoint yourself on your forehead, heart, lower belly, hands, and feet. As you anoint each area of your body, proudly affirm: I am !

Take a deep breath to gather all this energy up and then with a forceful exhale, send this power out into the universe, to your god soul, higher self, spirit, the Goddess, etc. to formalize your prayer. As with any major life passage (and this is certainly one of them) we now mark the occasion with a celebratory “feast,” thus sealing the magical intentions into ourselves and embodying them.

Enjoy your chocolate or other treat along with your chosen beverage. Savor them. Make a toast to yourself. You have taken a huge magical step forward on your journey to deepen your Witchcraft. Honor the moment and enjoy. Open your ritual space as normal. Allow the candles to burn down.

The Witch’s Name: Crafting Identities of Magical Power

13 Likes

Thank you! That is perfect! I am so excited to do it. Perhaps the New moon.

~Sabine

8 Likes

You’re very welcome! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: If you’d like, we can change your username here on the forum as well. Just let me know :pray: :sparkles:

7 Likes

I was wondering how to do that! Yes please!

Sabine

7 Likes

I’ve sent you a message :blush: :heart:

7 Likes

meganB, that’s what i did with my grandmothers name, but i didn’t even think of extra rituals to make it work.?? will my name still stick? blessed be :sparkles:

7 Likes

Hello :wave: @Sabine_Estella

I’m Marsha, an Eclectic Solitary Witch, from Colorado, and I just wanted to send you a quick note to welcome you! :hugs:

With love :heart: and magick :dizzy: always
The Other Marsha

P.S. I love the name Sabine, it’s beautiful! :heart:

8 Likes

Oh yes, it will be just fine. There’s nothing to worry about! The extra rituals are just that - a way to ritualize and make a ceremony out of choosing your name. It isn’t fully necessary at all, just something one may choose to do. :pray: :sparkles:

7 Likes

My name is Ravenmoon given to me by a medicine woman family friend . The name means a lot to me . I have had and use it for over 40 years she named me as a teenager. My little store to my name lol :grinning:

6 Likes

That is an absolutely beautiful name- how wonderful that it was a gift from someone dear to you! :heart:

If you’d like, there is a way to update your username here in the forum to your chosen magickal name. The How to Change Your Name Guide has step-by-step instructions on how to do so, and if you have ay trouble just give a shout- I (or another Mod) will be happy to make the change if you wish it! :blush:

Blessed be!

6 Likes

Thank you very much … I’m not accustomed to using it or even telling others … I just get strange looks back lol… thank you again :grinning:

6 Likes

Ravenmoon is already taken when I tried to change it .

6 Likes

I’ll send you a PM, @Raven_Moon! :envelope_with_arrow:

5 Likes