Abraxas is word commonly associated with mysticism and arcane dieties. It is very often used as the name of a being with a rooster like head, and snakes or serpents for feet. He/It is most often depicted armed with a whip and shield. The imagery is Gnostic or possibly Kabbalistic, either way the name itself is associated with the solar cycle and the number 365. The word utilizes the seven greek letters that make up the number 365.
The term is also used in association with several stones that are inscribed with strange and unusual symbols that were more often than not forged into amulets, brooches and other protective jewelry.
Abraxas himself/itself was the supreme god of the Gnostics in the 2nd century. They believed he was a higher authoritive figure than Jesus Christ, and in fact Jesus was mearly a creation of his sent to Earth in amusement. They attributed 365 virtues to him, one for each day of the year and believed that he ruled over 365 lesser gods and goddesses.
Abrasax represented the 365 Aeons or emanations from the First Cause, and as a Pantheus, i.e. All-God, he appears on the amulets with the head of a cock (Phoebus) or of a lion (Ra or Mithras), the body of a man, and his legs are serpents which terminate in scorpions, types of the Agathodaimon. In his right hand he grasps a club, or a flail, and in his left is a round or oval shield."
Various assorted mythologists also place Abraxas as an Egyptian god, a Persian god of the sun, and as another name for the lao in Syria. In more recent years Abraxas has also become seen as a demon. Demonologists cite him similar in appearance to his Gnostic appearance, not an unusual situation, considering how often Christian writers converted pagan dieties into demonic or satanic beings.
"A god in certain Asian theogonies. From his name is derived the magical word Abracadabra. He is represented on amulets as having the head of a cock, the feet of a dragon, and a whip in his hand. Demonologists have made him a demon with the head of a king and with serpents for his legs. The Egyptian Basilides, second-century heretics, looked upon him as their supreme god. Finding that the seven Greek letters contained in his name amounted to 365, the number of days in the year, they placed at his command several spirits who presided over the 365 heavens and to whom they attributed 365 virtues, one for each day. The Basilides also said that Jesus Christ, Our Savior, was but a benevolent spirit sent to earth by Abrasax. They deviated from the doctrine of their leader." (Colin de Plancy, 'Dictionnaire Infernal', 1863)
He was utilized significantly in the sermon "Seven Sermons to the Dead" written by Carl Jung, a Swiss psychoanalyst. To Jung, Abraxas represented the polymorphous world spirit which permeates or even encompass the very fabric of existence:
"Abraxas is the god whom it is difficult to know. His power is the very greatest, because man does not perceive it. Man sees the summum bonuum (supreme good) of the sun, and also the infinum malum (endless evil) of the devil, but Abraxas he does not see, for he is indefinable life itself, which is the mother of good and evil alike.
[Abraxas] is truly the terrible one... the sun and also the eternally gaping abyss of emptiness...magnificent even as the lion at the very moment when he strikes his prey down. His beauty is like the beauty of a spring morn... He is the monster of the underworld... He is the bright light of day and the deepest night of madness... He is the mightiest manifest being, and in him creation becomes frightened of itself..."
(Carl Jung, quoted in Stuart Holroyd's The Elements of Gnosticism)
He/It was also known as Also Abracax, Abrasax, Abanathabla and Ablathanabla.
Some Links
DeliriumsRealm Entry
Occultipedia Entry
Jewish Encyclopedia Entry
Further Reading
Abraxas, Abraxaster and Abraxoid Gems by C. W. King
Abraxas: A History of the World in Verse by Anonymous
The Seven Sermons To The Dead, Written By Basilides in Alexandria, the City where the East Toucheth the West by Carl G. Jung
