The power of a name

(I apologize for Blogger's messing up with the script throughout the article...)

I initially wanted to include this in Words, but I would have digressed even more. Suffices the first two chapters are already somewhat of a rollercoaster ride. Adding yet another "side story" would have probably confused readers. I did have an excellent opportunity to do so at the beginning, after I added the scripture verses.

The verses themselves talk about Man being co-creator with God, naming things into Creation. Thus each thing became its own thing having received that identity from its Creator(s). A similar thing happens to newborns when they receive their name or names from their parents. They already have a family name, marking their membership in a larger group, but their given names makes them stand apart from every other individual in that family group.

I also talked about the concept of ren in that book and how knowing a person's ren makes someone have power over them. In our mundane existence this would loosely translate into parents having power over their children by speaking their name in a serious tone. A child that is usually spoiled and called in all sorts of ways by his or her parents as a sign of affection is usually reminded of the parents' authority over them whenever they speak their given name to them, thus becoming more compliant. By extension, teachers and superiors at work often use this method to compel a person into doing something as coercive means.

There is yet another side to the name. There is a Romanian tradition that I'm sure is common in other cultures as well. It was believed that evil spirits would not harm someone if they couldn't find them by name. Therefore, a person would be called by a name other than their given names to avoid such spiritual attacks. That other name was not part of their name as mentioned during their baptism and in their birth certificate.

Another belief spoke of not calling the Devil by name, otherwise he will show up. As a result people here came up with all sorts of nicknames for the Devil and they often made use of them, usually when verbally cursing. Some of the widely used nicknames were Aghiuțã, Michiduțã, The Unclean One, The Sly One, or... Scaraoschi.

Getting back to a person's name, it is an energy in itself. We know from numerology that a name has certain energies based on the number or numbers to which it resonates depending on specific calculations. Each of those calculations results in a number corresponding to certain specific things such as the person's life path, their personality, etc. 

There is also the belief around here that a newborn should not bare the name of any of their direct relatives, especially the parents' or the grandparents'. This is because of the fact that, should this occur, the child will steal the other's energies and vice versa. In the long run this can result in all sorts of health issues or worse.

For example, if the father is named John and he will name his son John, there is a risk either or both of them will experience an energetic depletion. In turn, that can generate further complications. Over time I became aware of more than a few such cases, the most severe of which being that of a girl named as the feminine version of her father's name who became severely ill in her late teens. In another case, a man who named his daughter in a similar way started experiencing complex health issues while still being middle-aged.

I'm not saying this applies all-around and I'm sure there are many out there who bare the names of their parents and they're all healthy and well. But from what I've been told by people who know more about these things than I do, as well as from what I've been observing over time, this is more than a mere coincidence or superstition. I think Señor Shaman would be able to explain it it better although I have yet to ask him about it, since he's much more knowledgeable about the spiritual implications in the horizontal plane than I am. Off the top, I imagine such occurrences would generate some sort of energetic imbalance within the energetic field of that family line.

A good example also comes from Romanian literature, even though the author does not talk about it specifically. The novel Baltagul (The Axe) by Mihail Sadoveanu is about a man named Nechifor Lipan, a shepherd who was murdered on a mountain pass by two others who stole his sheep and goods. Unknowing of his fate, his wife Vitoria set off to find him along with their son, Gheorghițã (Little George). They finally found the man's remains the following year, at the sight of which the woman screamed "Gheorghițã!" obviously terrified and heartbroken. While it may seem she screamed her son's name, she was actually screaming that of her late husband. It appears Nechifor was the name he was called by to protect him from evil spirits. Unfortunately, it could not protect him from evil men...

A person too can use their name to exert authority and power over others. It usually happens in the case of strong willed individuals, who are often above average in terms of selfishness and self-centeredness. This isn't always the case although the person doing it would have to have a large enough ego that others would quickly notice it and at least become slightly intimidated. 

While I mentioned naming a baby after one of the parents was considered not such a good thing, naming it after a figure of the past was usually preferred. This is meant for the baby to receive certain traits and qualities of the one who's name they bare. Biblical and even historical figures are often used for this purpose.

Names like Mihail (or simply Mihai) and Gabriel come from angels. Ion (and its variations), Gheorghe (or George), Andrei and many more come from saints. Maria is a common name for girls, after the Virgin Mary. Likewise, Iulian and Cezar are named after Julius Caesar, Elena after Helen of Troy and so on.

Moreover, nature has been used as a source of inspiration for names. People thus seek to draw various natural energies into their children. Crina, Margareta and Camelia, for example, are named after the lily, daisy and camellia, respectively. Codruț literally means "small forest", Laura (and the male equivalent of Laur or Laurențiu) after the laurel. 

Even more so, other natural energies inspire parents to name their children. This time they look to the heavens for inspiration. Sorin (and Sorina) have a solar connotation. Steluța means "little star", while Diana obviously comes from the lunar Goddess. 

In practical occultism it is often the case of people taking magical names. Some of them end up calling themselves Frater or Soror, something which means nothing if they're not part of an established magical order. "Frater This" or "Soror That" simply becomes the equivalent of a social media avatar and bares no magical power. 

As we have seen, names have their own importance and bare their intrinsic powers and qualities. A magical name thus has an even greater importance for the individual's connection to the spiritual world. It should represent the core of that person in their magical endeavors. Given one's involvement in the occult is not usually shared with others, this magical name becomes even more intimate. 

I will not dwell on the importance of magical names since there are readily available sources that talk about these things. Quite a few freely available blog articles and YT videos can be looked up for more details, although some are better than others. But even if you're calling yourself Melchizedek Levi or Morgana Blavatsky, you should keep it between yourself and the spiritual world (and your magical order). 

Maybe I will write more on this in the future. We shall see...