Ayla
April 3rd, 2001, 07:38 AM
I wrote this article for my own website, but wished to share it with you here. I hope that's okay.
Love & Hugs,
http://ayla.brinkster.net/ayla/images/signatureT.gif
Magick names, Craft names, Coven names, Witch names, Circle names... all phrases we use to describe the special names that Witches and other Pagans traditionally take on.
A magickal name is as much your name as the one you were given at birth, many of us have three or even four names at a time and may change them as we ourselves grow and change. I'd like to thank Shae O'Herne, Kaelyn Dair, Gwelldyn Garr, froggy, Amethyst Skye, NorthernWolf, Cinder Blackthorne, Undine, Isian Warrior and Albatross for their advice and opinions given whilst researching for this article.
Why have a magickal name?
There are many reasons for having a magickal name, and many ways of finding one, but nomatter what it is or where it comes from, ultimately it is sacred to you and describes a part of your greater being. A lot of magickal names are chosen partly because they describe who a person is, and what stage they are at in their Journey. It's descriptive of your nature, it shows your strengths and weaknesses, it should be as much a guide for you as it is to others about who you are.
Your magickal name has practical purposes too. The name that you use in Circle attracts certain energies to you, it may appeal to a particular force, entity, element or deity. By taking the correct name for you, you are affirming your Journey: who you have been, who you are and who you will, or hope to, become. Your name is also a trigger, when you go to cast Circle and perform a ritual, you do so with your magickal name, and in so doing you trigger a change in your conciousness. It is a name just for your Craft, not tied with associations like your VISA card, your payslip or your friends down the pub. It is the name by which you identify yourself to Goddess and God, it's a symbol of your return to the Craft.
Why not to have a magickal name.
Despite the reasons I've mentioned to take a magickal name, there are many who find cause not to. For some solitaries, they simply see no reason, many people live every facet of their lives as a Witch and so have no need to mark a separation. In fact, there are those who believe that to create such a schism between your mundane and magickal selves is actually detrimental rather than beneficial, they simply use their birthname.
How many names can you have and what for?
There is more than one reason to have a magickal name, and because of this, some people have more than one magickal name. From speaking to people, recently, and in the past, it seems that the average is three, the number of the Goddess.
The first of these is a name that only they, Goddess and God know, and maybe the High Priestess and Priest if they are in a Coven. The second is a Circle name, only known to other Coven members and used in Circle. Some people have a Circle name even if they are not a member of a Coven to use around friends who are also Witches. The third is a much more public name, sometimes called an Outer Circle name. For the majority it seems as though this name is the one you might use a little like an author's pen name or an internet nickname where the subject matter, or company, is pagan. Using a pseudonym can also be an issue of safety, allowing you to communicate freely with other pagans without fear of recriminations or being discovered if they haven't told their family, friends or colleagues.
For others it is, or is akin to, a tribal name, a name used by those who you consider to be a part of your greater family or Clan. "Ayla" is my name which equates to this. I have several names, some derived from my Guardians (or "Totems"), some private names known only by people very close to me, one mundane name, used less and less these days as my Witch self becomes indistinguishable from the mundane one, and one name known only by myself and the Gods which is rarely spoken and never written down.
How do you get your name/s?
I have heard a large variety of opinions on how a person can, or should, get their magickal name or names. The one concept that seems to run across the board, is that your name will come to you - you can't force the issue, only be open it. Receiving a name isn't just something you do, it's something you experience.
The general feeling amongst pagans appears to be that your private and inner circle magickal names are something that should be given to you, whereas a public name can be less of a revelation when chosen. Your name holds power and when you receive it you'll feel those energies: that's how you'll know it's the one for you.
Once you make the decision to Seek a name you must be open and aware of the world around you so that you won't miss any signs being shown to you. Actively, you could do some research into myths and legends, you should definately meditate on it, I even know one person who divined their name with a pendulum and a book of baby names. Your name will be shown to you in the way that is most appropriate for you, it can come in any way and at any time, but when it does, you'll know.
In many traditions, the magickal name is given to a Witch at their initiation by the High Priestess and Priest of their Coven. Obviously, this isn't right for everyone, or possible for those who are solitary from circumstance rather than choice. Even a Coven name is not necessarily given by an Elder, it may be found when Journeying, in dreams, during meditation, as a sudden flash of "just knowing"... you might hear it in the wind, or hear the voice of Goddess or God. Basically, unless in your tradition, for example Gardnerian or Hereditary, you are given your magickal name by your Elders, then it's up to you to let the universe know you are Seeking, and then go out with your eyes open... all three of them :)
Announcing your name to Goddess and God *is* an initiatory experience though, whether self-performed or guided. Initiation is a topic that I'll cover in depth in another article, but some of it needs to be explained here. Your magickal name is a symbol of rebirth. Your initiation is a little death, followed by your rebirth. When you are reborn you are cleansed, named, blessed and introduced, just like an infant at their Saining.
Names have to describe who we are, my birth name achieved that for a time, it's the name I held until I found my adult path, and persona, it represented an entire stage of my life, my Child's Journey. Then, I took another name, originally my Circle name... "Ayla" was the beginning of a Great Journey. These days there's no difference between the Ayla you'd meet in Circle and the Ayla you'd meet in Sainsburys - being a Witch became something I could no longer separate from my being anything else. One day I might put aside the name "Ayla" and take up a new one, just as I put aside my birthname when it no longer described who I was.
Love & Hugs,
http://ayla.brinkster.net/ayla/images/signatureT.gif
Magick names, Craft names, Coven names, Witch names, Circle names... all phrases we use to describe the special names that Witches and other Pagans traditionally take on.
A magickal name is as much your name as the one you were given at birth, many of us have three or even four names at a time and may change them as we ourselves grow and change. I'd like to thank Shae O'Herne, Kaelyn Dair, Gwelldyn Garr, froggy, Amethyst Skye, NorthernWolf, Cinder Blackthorne, Undine, Isian Warrior and Albatross for their advice and opinions given whilst researching for this article.
Why have a magickal name?
There are many reasons for having a magickal name, and many ways of finding one, but nomatter what it is or where it comes from, ultimately it is sacred to you and describes a part of your greater being. A lot of magickal names are chosen partly because they describe who a person is, and what stage they are at in their Journey. It's descriptive of your nature, it shows your strengths and weaknesses, it should be as much a guide for you as it is to others about who you are.
Your magickal name has practical purposes too. The name that you use in Circle attracts certain energies to you, it may appeal to a particular force, entity, element or deity. By taking the correct name for you, you are affirming your Journey: who you have been, who you are and who you will, or hope to, become. Your name is also a trigger, when you go to cast Circle and perform a ritual, you do so with your magickal name, and in so doing you trigger a change in your conciousness. It is a name just for your Craft, not tied with associations like your VISA card, your payslip or your friends down the pub. It is the name by which you identify yourself to Goddess and God, it's a symbol of your return to the Craft.
Why not to have a magickal name.
Despite the reasons I've mentioned to take a magickal name, there are many who find cause not to. For some solitaries, they simply see no reason, many people live every facet of their lives as a Witch and so have no need to mark a separation. In fact, there are those who believe that to create such a schism between your mundane and magickal selves is actually detrimental rather than beneficial, they simply use their birthname.
How many names can you have and what for?
There is more than one reason to have a magickal name, and because of this, some people have more than one magickal name. From speaking to people, recently, and in the past, it seems that the average is three, the number of the Goddess.
The first of these is a name that only they, Goddess and God know, and maybe the High Priestess and Priest if they are in a Coven. The second is a Circle name, only known to other Coven members and used in Circle. Some people have a Circle name even if they are not a member of a Coven to use around friends who are also Witches. The third is a much more public name, sometimes called an Outer Circle name. For the majority it seems as though this name is the one you might use a little like an author's pen name or an internet nickname where the subject matter, or company, is pagan. Using a pseudonym can also be an issue of safety, allowing you to communicate freely with other pagans without fear of recriminations or being discovered if they haven't told their family, friends or colleagues.
For others it is, or is akin to, a tribal name, a name used by those who you consider to be a part of your greater family or Clan. "Ayla" is my name which equates to this. I have several names, some derived from my Guardians (or "Totems"), some private names known only by people very close to me, one mundane name, used less and less these days as my Witch self becomes indistinguishable from the mundane one, and one name known only by myself and the Gods which is rarely spoken and never written down.
How do you get your name/s?
I have heard a large variety of opinions on how a person can, or should, get their magickal name or names. The one concept that seems to run across the board, is that your name will come to you - you can't force the issue, only be open it. Receiving a name isn't just something you do, it's something you experience.
The general feeling amongst pagans appears to be that your private and inner circle magickal names are something that should be given to you, whereas a public name can be less of a revelation when chosen. Your name holds power and when you receive it you'll feel those energies: that's how you'll know it's the one for you.
Once you make the decision to Seek a name you must be open and aware of the world around you so that you won't miss any signs being shown to you. Actively, you could do some research into myths and legends, you should definately meditate on it, I even know one person who divined their name with a pendulum and a book of baby names. Your name will be shown to you in the way that is most appropriate for you, it can come in any way and at any time, but when it does, you'll know.
In many traditions, the magickal name is given to a Witch at their initiation by the High Priestess and Priest of their Coven. Obviously, this isn't right for everyone, or possible for those who are solitary from circumstance rather than choice. Even a Coven name is not necessarily given by an Elder, it may be found when Journeying, in dreams, during meditation, as a sudden flash of "just knowing"... you might hear it in the wind, or hear the voice of Goddess or God. Basically, unless in your tradition, for example Gardnerian or Hereditary, you are given your magickal name by your Elders, then it's up to you to let the universe know you are Seeking, and then go out with your eyes open... all three of them :)
Announcing your name to Goddess and God *is* an initiatory experience though, whether self-performed or guided. Initiation is a topic that I'll cover in depth in another article, but some of it needs to be explained here. Your magickal name is a symbol of rebirth. Your initiation is a little death, followed by your rebirth. When you are reborn you are cleansed, named, blessed and introduced, just like an infant at their Saining.
Names have to describe who we are, my birth name achieved that for a time, it's the name I held until I found my adult path, and persona, it represented an entire stage of my life, my Child's Journey. Then, I took another name, originally my Circle name... "Ayla" was the beginning of a Great Journey. These days there's no difference between the Ayla you'd meet in Circle and the Ayla you'd meet in Sainsburys - being a Witch became something I could no longer separate from my being anything else. One day I might put aside the name "Ayla" and take up a new one, just as I put aside my birthname when it no longer described who I was.