Thursday, December 1, 2011

Ancient Magic with the Theban Alphabet

The Theban Alphabet is a collection of writing letters with unknown origin. They were first published around the 16th century by Johannes Trithemius but was attributed to some unknown 12th or 13th century writers.



"All Magic Spells" written in the Theban Alphabet

The Theban Alphabet is also sometimes known as the "Witch's Alphabet" thanks to its widespread use in Wicca and other modern witchcraft belief systems as a way of crytpically hiding magical writings, spells and other important treasures.



The alphabet has a very mystical and magical appearance, perhaps why it was chosen by Wiccans and witches the world over. Each letter corresponds directly to one letter in the Latin alphabet (A-Z) with some omitions. For example, I/J map to the same Theban letter, as do U/V/W. Another difference is that there is no upper and lower case in the Theban alphabet.

The Theban Alphabet is also known as the "Theban Script" or "Angelic Script", and it is said that it's one of several different scripts used to communicate with angels. It's also said that when someone wants to petition an angel for help, it's more powerful if written with this script.

The Theban alphabet is used by witches, pagans, and Wiccans to cast spells, either by writing out the glyphs and then burning the paper, or carving them in ceremonial stones. It is believed that it may have been originally developed as a cipher for hiding messages from interfering observers.



There are many different styles of writing the Theban letters. The image you see above was generated using a font from 1001Fonts and has a distinct "handwritten", delicate feel. There are other versions though, such as the one found at Omniglot which has a much more deliberate and defined feel. How you choose to write the letters is a matter of personal preference.

Why not try using the Theban alphabet in your magic? Maybe you could write a few spells, or notes in your Grimoire or Book of Shadows. Maybe you could create charms with Theban writing on, or use Theban symbols on letters sent to friends.

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