Outline · [ Standard ] · Linear+ A Magical Name, Is it important

I have been giving a lot of thought lately to a magical name and how i feel about having one.I am not sure i wish to seperate myself by using two names (one for mundane life and one for magic)I am very happy with my given name and feel my god and goddess know me as that so why change it ?

I understand using a different name for internet stuff and i happy to have an alias(i think)But as far as magic work goes i am not sure ?
Is it that important to have a magical name ?
I am not even sure were i would get a name from,I had problems naming my son as i had so much choice .I think the more i think of this the more undecided i become and maybe some guidence would help

Did you chosse a magical name ? and if so how did you come about the name?
Is the name used for other things as well as magic ?

Any replies are handy

I don't have one and to be honest don't find the need for one.

I know that it does seem to be a very Wiccan-y thing, in order for your "true self" to communicate with the Gods, but my own view is that the Gods know you for who you really are anyway, and having another name doesn't make any odds to them.

Mine used to actually be Ebony-rose. Why? coz went through a bit of an obsession with black roses a few years ago during my gothic days. It suited me well then and i was proud to have a second name and when i called myself by ebony-rose I felt all magickal and mystic. I loved it. These days I have out grown it - it just doesn't feel right any more. As I've progressed on my journey I no longer feel I need a magical name, I don't need to have an "ordinary" part of me and a "pagan" part of me any more - they're one and the same thing. Now ebony-rose is nothing more than a name to use for logging into websites.

well I can see that there are circumstances where a craft name would be of use.

Firstly it might be the only name that you are called within your group, as such it could help you to sepparate your mundane life from your magical life. This could be a good thing but as a well balanced Pagan I don't see two mes to begin with.

It could however be for your security as if your group only know you by your craft name then they can't betray you to the authorities....er sorry some one must have slipped some 'essence of Burning Times' into my cocoa

The only times I would say that they are needed if:

You feel that your real name stops you from freeing your mind to pursue your craft

the group you work with requires a craft name, possibly so they can get on without feeling tied to the real world (oh dear)

a deity gives you a name, which might be an honour or indicate that they are a bit absent minded with names (all mortals look the same don'cha know) though be wary about looking it up if in a foreign tongue as it might mean 'honoured accolyte' but could just as easily translate as 'pet'

Kev - Cosmic Fool on the web and worringly sometimes in real life

Me I have my dragon name,(not the name I use online) which took over four years to remember, and my given name, never felt the need for a magick name.

This post has been edited by EarthDragon: Mar 23 2006, 10:54 PM

When first coming onto this path, I joined a pagan forum , that had a chat group.
I had to come up w/ something.. and I was just given this name. by the Divine, whatever.. 2 seconds and .. whoosh there it was..

Its always fit.. tho some say I'm more of a hurricane, than a whisper! lol

I love this name, it just suits me, I also love my "real" other name, given name.

I do have 2 sets of friends, it seems. Older friends.. who are sigh very xian, lol.. So for me, I like my pagan friends, calling me Whispered. I even talk to myself, saying Whispered! lol

but hey then, I'm a gemini!! duality rules

I have a few names by which I am known, but none are soley connected with my path, but all reflect different aspects of myself and are appropriate to the time / place I am using them in. I don't feel the need to seporate mundane from magical... my path seeps into all parts of my life and the Gods know who I am no matter what I call myself.
I guess magical names are only really needed if you feel the need to seporate mundane from magical or have a need to protect yourself (like online) with a psudonyme. (sp)

For me I have the following names...

There is my given name. Which mostly gets used in work and other formal / mundane places. I like it as a name and I am proud of the heritage / family that it links me to, but beyond that it is not esspecally magical or anything. But it does define me in a very unique way.

Most of my IRL friends and family know me as Frog, even my husband calls me it. This nickname goes back years and is very special. At times it fits me very well and I do have an affinity for amphibia and frogs in particular. As I have progressed on my path it has grown in depth as I have read up on some of the symbolism and mythology surrounding Frog. I guess it is kind of a totam animal to me, crossed with a magical name, but it is hardly a secret!

As a devrivative of this I am sometimes know as Lady Rana or Squire Rana on the re-enactment circit. Rana being Latin for frog and the Lady / Squire part dependant on if I am dressed male or female. With this the name change is more to do with protecting our idenities from MoPs (Members of the Public).

Due to the first place I went online already having a Frog and a Rana, I picked the name Fillionous as my online persona. And for conveniance I have stuck with it. The name has some complex and deep meanings to me beyond conveniant online naming, but they would fill up a whole post on thier own and are mostly personnal. So again, while it is magical in some regards, it is no secret...

Just thoughts,
Be bright, be bold
Fillionous

Personally I don't feel the need for a different name for magic purposes or anything. I kind of figure no fancy name will change who I am or what I am truely thinking. I love my real life name. I love my nicknames.

...As I've progressed on my journey I no longer feel I need a magical name, I don't need to have an "ordinary" part of me and a "pagan" part of me any more - they're one and the same thing...

I think Ebony Rose has hit the nail on the head with this one.

For myself as many of you will know I have been through several online names and to a lesser degree offline 'magical' ones (though I never really used them). I guess a magical name serves to mark a phase on your path, especially in the early years when you are still finding your feet.

I would also add that in certain company where you wish to either remain anonymous or it is the norm to go by a magical name (in the case of some working groups) that such a thing is handy. And of course when meeting people offline that have only ever known you as "The Great High Bo-Bo", you might get a few puzzled looks when introducing yourself by your offline, birth name. This is why it is wise to choose a name that you wouldn't feel embarrassed about using in public

A magical name is a matter of personal choice. Take one if you feel it will benefit you on your path. But don't worry if finding that name takes a lot of searching - it might just be that you don't need one after all.

When I went through my Wiccan phase, I spent a lot of time and effort coming up with a magickal name for myself. I hunted through naming books and websites, and did every ritual and meditation I could get my hands on before I finally came up with something I liked.

The Wiccan phase didn't last, thank gods (I was not a good example of the breed), but the name has stuck. It's morphed over the years. The original name, with six syllables and three languages incorporated within it, is a little pretentious for everyday use. Over the years it has been abbreviated and shortened into a tag that can be worn anywhere


Nowadays it's more than a name. It's a part of me. I use it everywhere, online, in my diaries, on my art, even on the clothes I make. I have friends who call me that; a whole community who know me as that rather than by my real name.

I am Crecerelle Drachenfach, or Drachenfach, or Drach. It's no longer a magical name, it's my name.

I've never felt the need for a 'magical' name.

However, I did dream the other night that I was given the magical name of...

CHLAMYDIA!!!

Very mystical eh? Needless to say don't think I'll be using it anytime soon.

Q

These days I have out grown it - it just doesn't feel right any more. As I've progressed on my journey I no longer feel I need a magical name, I don't need to have an "ordinary" part of me and a "pagan" part of me any more - they're one and the same thing.

So spot on

When I went through my Wiccan phase, I spent a lot of time and effort coming up with a magickal name for myself. {snip } The Wiccan phase didn't last, thank gods (I was not a good example of the breed),

Oh me neither

When I first started out as I thought I was wiccan I felt a need to have a magical name. Oddly during a meditation the name came to me and although I used it I was never totally happy with it, it did not feel right for me to use or have a magical name. That said, some five years later I realise that the name given was a major clue to my main Goddess who waited so patiently but with exasperation for me to catch up and twig it was her calling

I have no need for magical names, in todays field the solitary has no need and within a coven there is no longer the desperate need for false names to protect your life. I am me, weatherwitch is an online name, which was a nickname given by a neighbour about seven years ago. (Actually it was 'that bloody weatherwitch' but that's beside the point and wouldn't quite have sounded right for online ) my own name is one I like very much, it is one not heard very often and I like it very much. It also appears only in fiction as the names of titled or distinguished ladies or witches So very right then, my parents named me well

But my Gods know me for who I am, the land knows me for who I am, no name given will change that for they know my heart and my soul and no name can hold that

I have been giving a lot of thought lately to a magical name and how i feel about having one.I am not sure i wish to seperate myself by using two names (one for mundane life and one for magic)I am very happy with my given name and feel my god and goddess know me as that so why change it ? 

I understand using a different name for internet stuff  and i happy to have an alias(i think)But as far as magic work goes i am not sure ?
Is it that important to have a magical name ?

Depends on your point of view. Some people believe that to know the "true" name of something is to have control over it.

So, I guess its up to you if you wish to choose a magical name.

Did you chosse a magical name ?

I have one, but I did not choose it.

Is the name used for other things as well as magic ?

It is known only to myself, my deity and my "group".

Cheers,
Webwitch

I understand what the others are saying, but I really LIKE having a magickal name, that was just given to me.. it feels special.

Why not try meditating or just ask and maybe eventually something will pop into your head.. or else you'll be told nah you don't need one..

Thats one of the great things, about this path tho, is that we get to follow who we are..

My magickal name, doesn't separate me, from whom I am.. it just adds more to me.. imo..and thats just me.. I'm not saying this right. but hopefully you'll know what i mean! lol

as one of my friends say, just trust your gut

bb

No problem having a Magical name, just don't use it as a name on messageboards, email address's & tell all & sundry at moot it. In fact don't tell anyone, unless you are in a coven, they will need to know it. And the Old Ones will already know it.
If you need to be recognised in the wider pagan scene & not divulge your birth name , you can always use a working name

However, I did dream the other night that I was given the magical name of...

CHLAMYDIA!!!

Sadly, I did read in one of the papers that someone did bestow that unfortunate name on their offspring

I was never really spured by the need for a magickal name for all of the reasons above.

However I've never been given an Earth name and I've always wanted one

This thought gives me a sense of belonging and exceptance within as I see it my Earth community whether rightly or wrongly.

Also due to the fact, like many others on our pagan paths, there has been the constant battling with those of more mainstreme religious traditions so establishing my right for who I was/am and putting that forward and making it known and excepted, for many years, as others will be familiar, has been ......hard work..

Ramble Ramble

Yes an Earth Name Would Be Nice

Blessings all round.

Ruby

er pardon me for being the thicko round here, but what's an 'Earth Name'?

A name gifted by Earth People



Rubyleaves

And who are they?

Maybe this is my age or place of upbringing.....but I thought the knowledge of Earth people was fairly commonplace , particularly within the Pagan Community,

Maybe then these so named are a mythical pagan group named by those of non-pagan origin.

I don't know as far as other people's knowledge or opinion is concerned.

But Earth People as far as I have known and believed to be (for many a year now)
are as thus "The Earth People"

Those that are here to look after the mother
Those that are here and live private lives in harmony with our world

And as Myths go..............

Those who help make "Crop Circles" in the quiet of night.

Maybe they are Fairies????

Blessing all round

Rubyleaves.

Oh dear gods, not the crop circles again...


Who is "the mother"?

Who is this "mythical pagan group"?

What are you talking about?

Pomona , Shame on you!

Blessings

Rubyleaves

I will publicly admit to being just as confused as Pomona.

But wait, I think I've got it...

Crop circles; are these mythical pagan groups a bunch of Scrumpy'd up mathematics and graphical design students from the West Country who show their devotion to the Mother (whoever she is) by stomping all over farmland to make pretty pictures in the wheat?

Pomona , Shame on you!

Blessings

Rubyleaves

Oh dear gods. Yes, I had a suspicion your response might be along those lines.


Crow, surely you know by now that crop-circles were created on the body of our great mother by the Earth beings? As a means of her communing with us mortals and sharing her love and sending us messages? I mean, isn't it obvious?

To put a halt to any further confusion I'll reserve these and my wish of an Earth Name to my own personal Path.....
And apologise for getting averyone in a twiddle.

As far as that possibility Crow I sincerley hope not.

Blessings

Rubyleaves.

Yeah these pleasant responses are hardly necessary

A play around with possibilities and myth doesn't deserve such agression surley

As far as my response Pomona being "what you would expect" I hardly think we know each other well enough for a comment such as that...

after all at the end of the day it was tongue in cheek.....

Not everything is Literal Pomona is it?

Blessings to your and tolerence levels anyway

Rubyleaves.

To put a halt to any further confusion I'll reserve these and my wish of an Earth Name to my own personal Path.....
And apologise for getting averyone in a twiddle.

As far as that possibility Crow I sincerley hope not.

Blessings

Rubyleaves.

You post in a cryptic style that is hard to comprehend and when your asked to explain clearly you decide that your going to remove yourself from the topic. Whats the point in posting at all if as soon as your asked to clarify your going to withdraw???

You Know just beacuse you havn't heard of something yourself it doesn't mean it's fit or up for ridicule

Or that it is a ridculous notion.

or doesn't anyone read the board rules around here.

Oh to speak with someone who has knowledge enough of life to have learned some tolerance of (All) of the fools that walk upon the face of the Earth.


Blessings all round.

Rubyleaves.

I don't remember in any post whatsoever stating that I was withdrawing from any topic

And If my topics are posted in a cryptic fashion then someone please save our education system

Blessings to you Hern

Rubyleaves.