Seasons Of The Witch

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

Abaddon, (Also known as Apollyon, Appolyon and Appolion) is a Biblical Hebrew word that translates into "Destruction" or "Place of Destruction". It comes from the term "Abad" which means "To Perish".

In Job 26:6 and Psalms 88:11, it is associated with Sheol (hell) and is described as a place of destruction, or as later translated, into the realm of the dead. It is sometimes referred to as the second of the seven names of the underworld in the Babylonian Talmud.

He/it is also mentioned as being a part of Gehenna.

In Revelation 9:11, it is first given a demonic imagery. Labeled the Angel of the Abyss, in Greek it becomes Apollyon. In demonology he is the chief of the seventh hierarchy of demons. He is given names such as the destroyer and The King Of Grasshoppers. In Job 28:22, Abaddon is also read to speak and hear.

Abaddon and Death say,
'With our ears we have heard a report of it.'

In Satanism, it means the destroyer and comes first alphabetically on the list of infernal names.

But is it a place?

In the The Biblical Antiquities of Philo and the Thanksgiving Hymns which were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, Abaddon becomes a place more than an entity. It is mentioned as "the Sheol of Abaddon" which leads some philosophers to conclude Abaddon is a synonym for Hell. Also the line "torrents of Belial [that] burst into Abaddon" further draws many to this conclusion. Indeed in these scripts Abaddon is Sheol, and not just an inhabitant of such a place. Later Milton wrote Paradise Regained in which he also claimed Abaddon was a place instead of a demonic/angelic being. In his works he refers to Abaddon as "The Pit", in which it stands as a place of corruption and is bottomless in it's depth and depravities.

Or is it a demon?

The role of Abaddon in biblical references is ambiguous, sometimes being described as a good angel who serves God, and sometimes also being described as a fallen angel who succumbed to evil. In demonology, Abaddon falls as the head of the seventh circle of demon hierarchy. He became known as the King of Grasshoppers (or demon locusts described as having the bodies of winged war-horses, the faces of humans, and the poisonous curved tails of scorpions) as was written by St. John in the Book of Revelation. He is also almost always known as the destroyer by whatever group refers to him. Still, usually it is credited to St. John where we first get his mention as something besides a term for hell. In Revelations we get "And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon". In the Acts of Thomas, Abaddon becomes a demon, perhaps even Satan himself depending upon your point of view. Other uses of his name include Bunyan comparing him to the Devil in Pilgrim's Progress, The Greater Key of Solomon using his name as in invocation made by Moses to bring deadly rain and an angelic ruler of the furies in "The Magus". Anton LaVey listed him as one of the infernal demons in the Satanic Bible when he founded the Church of Satan. He also used the name extensively in the performance of his Black Mass in the Satanic Rituals. In the magical system of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Abaddon is one of seven infernal abodes mentioned in the initiation of the Theoricus grade. In alchemic texts he became the Angel of the Apocalypse, an evil demon set to bring about the end of the world. Later Abaddon was associated with the Greek god Apollyon. Cornelius Agrippa was the one that equated Abaddon with Apollyon, and positioned him as the monarch in the lower shadow of the sphere of the planet Venus, which is the Sephirah of Netzach on the Kabbalistic Tree:

"The seventh mansion the Furies possess, which are powers of evil, discords, war and devastations, whose prince in the Revelations is called in Greek Apollyon, in Hebrew Abaddon, that is destroying and wasting" ~ Occult Philosophy, Book 3, Chapter 18 ~

As described in Revelation, Apollyon opens the gates of the abyss and unleashes upon the earth his swarms of demon locusts, who then proceed to torture those of mankind who do not bear the seal of God upon their forehead. After that, he is supposed to seize Satan himself, bind him and toss him into the bottomless pit for a thousand years. In the Diabolicon, Abaddon is the daimon of temporal death and life in death.

Abaddon is one of the kings that has ruled over the nations of the earth. The scriptures indicate that he ruled over both Egypt and Sodom at some point in history, and will endeavour to rule over Jerusalem in the final days. Jerusalem will figuratively be called Sodom and Egypt at that time. At the end of times he is given the key to the abyss and releases these demon hordes on the people of the earth. Not long after Judeo-Christian teachings taught the name of this demon, Abaddon referred to the pit or cave that was used in mystery religions and schools as a rite of passage into the greater mysteries. Often the experience would entail the use of ritual substances that put the aspirant into an altered state in which he or she could receive divine revelation. Because the experience was sometimes unpleasant, this rite came to be viewed as being "hellish." However, it was considered absolutely necessary so that the seeker may become pure enough to encounter the "mind of God", as an angel is described as the "Angel of the bottomless pit who binds Satan for a thousand years". Abaddon is an enigma. At times, he is an angel of judgment, not of satan but of God, destroying at God's bidding. Both Heaven and Hell claim him as an ally, other times as an enemy. It is clear that he is the angel who will command the monstrous horde from the Abyss that will rampage over the earth in the tribulation period as Judgment approaches. What is not clear is whose orders he will be following at what time. To hear him described by Daniel, he would be the Anti-christ, but many disagree.

Other things Abaddon is related to include:

• Blood Red
• Insects
• Brown & Green Colors
• Winter
• January
• Saturday
• Intuition
• Sacrifice & Challenge
• The Ruby
• The Sword
• The Tarot Symbol of Judgment

But The big question after all this is... is Abaddon a place or a being?

Further Links

DeliriumsRealm
The Biblical Antiquities of Philo
Key of Solomon
Wikipedia Entry 1
Wikipedia Entry 2
Who Is The Destroyer?

Helpful Reading

Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible by Karel van der Toorn
Dictionary of Angels Including the Fallen Ones by Gustav Davidson
Essentials of Demonology: A Study of Jewish and Christian Doctrine by Edward Langston
Paradise Regained by John Milton
The Magus a Complete System of Occult Philosophy by Francis Barrett
The Biblical Antiquities of Philo by Philo
The Goetia the Lesser Key of Solomon the King: Lemegeton, Book 1 Clavicula Salomonis Regis by S. L. MacGregor Mathers & Samuel Liddell
Demonology: The Hierarchies of Hell by Michealk Szul