Abraxas
With Abrasax (Greek ΑΒΡΑΣΑΞ ) - this term is considerably more common than the more popular Abraxas in the sources ( ΑΒΡΑΞΑΣ ), which is believed to have originated from the confusion between the Greek letters Sigma and Xi in the Latin translation - called the Egyptian Gnostic Basilides, the order has lived the 2nd century AD, the symbol of the highest primordial being, from which, after him, the five elemental forces spirit, word, providence, wisdom and power have emerged. Basilides ' followers worshiped Abraxas as the supreme God who has allegedly also sent Jesus to the world, although they considered only as a spirit, but as a son of the Old Testament God YHWH and Messiah.
The word is found but before Basilides, such as in Hellenistic magical papyri, where it apparently refers to a powerful demon, or even on ancient amulet stones, where it apparently stands as the true name of God. Without question Abraxas played with many magical practices play an important role (see abracadabra ).
The cult of Abraxas has survived to the Middle Ages and the Renaissance also had many followers. Even today there are many artists who have been inspired by the atavistic nature of Abraxaskultes. Abraxas is today often associated with satanic tendencies in connection due to its blasphemous possible interpretation.
Origin and Name
The word is a sequence of seven Greek letters that stand for the weekdays and in numerology together yield a numerical value: Greek αβρασαξ results
So the following applies:
365, which is the number of days in the solar year. Thus embodied Abraxas, just like the Persian god Mithras, the time in which the sun once wandered through the zodiac, and beyond, in his capacity as a god of numerology, the or 365,000 years 365 eons, in which the world is to exist. A " day of God " is equivalent to 1000 human years, as also of the Bible ( Psalm 90.4 ) can be inferred.
Other interpretations bear the name of the Egyptian words Abrac sax and back (see Johann Joachim Bellermann ).
In addition, the word Abraxas symbolizes the seven planets and the seven stages of enlightenment of the people. In the early Christian period it should have been even synonymous with " Our Father" and " Lord of Hosts ", which means equating with Mithras and Yahweh. Later, the Christians then began the Gnostic " Lord of the World " to be regarded as demon.
Abraxas also coined the magic word Abara - kadabara, today better known as " abracadabra ".
Representation
The appearance of this creature is characterized by manifold animal images: a human torso, a cock's head and snake feet. With him he carries a whip and a shield, which is a like a double cross -designed branch surrounds. These images are representative of the primal forces mentioned above.
- Snake Feet: Spirit and the Word (Logos and Nus )
- Cock head: Providence ( phronesis ); Herald of daylight and the morning
- Whip or scourge: power ( dynamis ); served to expel spirits
- Shield: Wisdom ( Sophia )
This " cock -headed god " is considered a guiding light, a symbol of procreation and the sign of victory and happiness.
The Abraxassteine with this word, or even with the image of being served as amulets for protection against negative forces.
Quotes
"... Our God is called Abraxas, and he is God and Satan, he has the clear and the dark world in itself. [ ... ] The bird struggles out of the egg. The egg is the world. Who wants to be born, must destroy a world. The bird flies to God. The god called Abraxas. "
CG Jung describes in his September sermones ad mortuos Abraxas as:
" ... God is a God [ ... ]. God, from whom you knew not, because people forgot him. We call him by his name ABRAXAS. To distinguish God from him, we call god Helios, or the sun. Abraxas is effect, it is nothing to prevent, as the unreal, so his acting nature unfolds free. The unreal is not, and does not resist. Abraxas stands above the sun and above the devil. He is the unlikely Likely, the unreal acting. Had the pleroma a being, Abraxas would be its clarity. Although he is the acting itself, but no particular effect, but effect at all. He is unreal acting, because he has no particular effect. He is also a creature, as it is distinguished from the pleroma. The sun has a certain effect, as the devil, so they appear to us more effective than indefinite Abraxas of. He is force, duration, change. "
Aftereffect
Thomas More calls in his novel Utopia Abraxas as the former name of the island before it was renamed by King Utopus in Utopia.
In Hermann Hesse's novel Demian Abraxas amulet is mentioned, also the myth of " Abraxas " is briefly explained in its context.
In Otfried Preußler children's book The Little Witch (1957 ) called the raven as the little witch Abraxas.
On the Therion album Lemuria the ninth title Abraxas is dedicated. Thomas Karlsson writes there, among other things: "The sign of Abraxas / The circle of the solar year / Deep in the winter you will see how the sun is born. "
Abraxas is also the name of one of the most successful albums of Carlos Santana with the well -known song Black Magic Woman, published in 1970.
Terror Abraxas is the title of an EP of the Australian band Deströyer 666 of 2003, the founder, singer and guitarist KK Warslut picks up the in the symbolism of the band always appears Caduceus to express the dualism of the Gnostic deity Abraxas and not to represent the archetype Hermes, the Greek god of magic.
Abraxas is the title of a ballet in five scenes of Marcel Luipart ( choreography ) and Werner Egk (music and libretto ) premiered on June 6, 1948 at the Prince Regent Theatre in Munich.