"this charm was used throughout the middle ages. 'one only had to write it down in the triangular pattern shown below and wear it round one's neck as a sort of phylactery or charm to be protected from various diseases and to be cured of fever':
ABRACADABRA
ABRACADABR
ABRACADAB
ABRACADA
ABRACAD
ABRACA
ABRAC
ABRA
ABR
AB
A
the word derives from the hebrew abreg ad habra meaning 'strike dead with thy lightning'. in hebrew it comprises nine letters. 'placing aleph on the left side of the triangle - and its ninefold repetition- is the magical element'.
by arranging the letters in a reverse triangle, the celestial energies which the charm claims to entrap are directed downwards. accordingly, the figure should be seen three-dimensionally as a funnel. the magic letters slanting down from the wide mouth to the narrow spout comprise the lines of force of a mighty whirlwind. woe betide the powers of evil which it strikes since they will vanish for ever from the world above into the abyss from which there is no return.
in this sense, the charm, abracadabra, was a response to those same fears which inspired the invention of the amulet, charm or pentacle. it is only one of the many charms based upon a very ancient symbolism and it has been compared with one of the names of mithras, the sun-god and saviour who offers sacrifice.
like amulets, talismans and pentacles, this charm seeks to give the individual a sense of protection through communication with the higher powers and with the mysterious laws which govern the universe."
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