What's In A Name?

Many years ago, when Araignee Arcane Services didn’t yet exist, we were in the midst of our journey into the Voodoun pantheon. When we say “many years ago”…we’re talking about almost ten years ago, give or take. At this time, we were already rendering our services locally on a small scale, bits here and pieces there, and we were generally unknown in the grand scheme of the Occult scene.

One night, while we were discussing the possibility of going global, a conundrum presented itself to us – you see, when presenting yourself, especially in the scene of the Occult, people tend to expect a certain something…they expect you to seem different from others, they expect an air of the mysterious and metaphysical. This is odd and honestly, at the time, although we wanted to remain true to ourselves, we decided to succumb to this expectancy and decided to give ourselves our pseudonyms.

So, on that fateful night, Baron Araignee and Baronessa Araignee (or simply Araignee for the both of us) were born. Our choice of “Araignee” (which means “spider” in French by the way) is no flight of fancy – apart from our natures, our choice of pseudonyms have a deeper meaning – one which we will get to in a moment.

Since then, over the years and in delving into a number of other paradigms, we have been given many other names as well. Given this time – not chosen by us – by different Deities and Beings we have worked with over the years. Lucifer, Frey and Freya and many others have taken it upon themselves to name us anew.

Yet…what exactly is the point of this blog post, you may wonder – the point is that just as words hold power (as discussed by us before) – so do names hold power. By naming something, you grant it power…and depending on the intent of the naming, you also gain power over that which you name.

To illustrate this in action, allow us to present you with another situation – as many of you may know, we adore cats. We have many of our own, and we also take care of the ferals in our area, making sure they are fed, happy and healthy. Well, one day we saw a kitten from a litter that one of our usual ferals had – he was a bit small, but perfect in every way, except for a perpetual head-bobbing, especially once he gets excited or focusses on something. This confused us, yet saddened us greatly, as we didn’t know what was going on. After researching the matter, we found out that he probably has Cerebellar Hypoplasia – a condition that causes the very same thing that he experiences…head-bobbing. We considered taking him in at that time, since he was so small and due to his condition we didn’t know if he would make it. Yet, we decided to watch and wait.

We named him Mercury – after the Deity Mercury (Hermes) – as Mercury, among other things is the Patron of all conditions that are caused by the mind, brain and central nervous system. We hoped that, in so doing, his condition may better itself a bit.

Long story short, we eventually took him in and he now lives with us. His head is doing better – and he indeed has Cerebellar Hypoplasia – however, a few things has happened in the meantime that can all be described in one statement: he now resembles his namesake. His nature and character has changed to that of Mercury/Hermes in extent and degree…and his condition has greatly improved.

Now, why did we decide to name that kitten Mercury? Because names hold power. By naming something after something else, some of the energy, nature and character of the namesake will automatically transfer unto that which you name…whether you Will this to be so or not – the effect is automatic.

This is the same reason why, when making a poppet for a Magickal operation, you go through great lengths to name it after the person you want to effect with the poppet. Likewise how you may name knots in a binding, or any number of other acts of naming in a Magickal setting. Names hold power. Inversely, by knowing the name of something, you automatically gain power over it.

You see, a name is more than just an identity – it is energy, it is character, it is the subtle essence of a thing or person. If, as an example, you call a pet “Diablo”, you will no doubt have a moody nightmare on your hands in no time…yet, if you revoke it and call that same animal something peaceful, then the animal’s behavior will change in accordance.

Now, what differentiates “names” from “words”? Simply put – a name is something that makes reference to something specifically, whereas words can mean anything really. So, if you say that you are depressed, as an example, even if your intent is to convey your feelings to another, you are referring to yourself as “depressed”, which, in turn, will simply elevate that within you, as you referred to yourself as depressed…like a name. In turn, you are naming yourself “Depressed”. Likewise, if you say that you are successful and happy – even if you may not feel that way at that point in time, you are not bullshitting yourself (don’t worry) – you are elevating those traits within you, as you named yourself as such. Do you understand?

Guard your tongue (and mind) and think carefully before you speak, as your words hold power, and naming something is more than just “giving it an identity” – you are transposing the namesake unto it. Again, this will happen whether you actively Will this or not – so be wary and thoughtful…names mean far more than what you may think.

Some Asian systems believe that a name serves as a spell in an of itself, and this is indeed true. By what we have described above, hopefully you will come to understand this as well, and realize the potential of names in all aspects of your life.

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Plagiarism is an extremely damaging and annoying thing – and by plagiarizing our work (or another’s) you are not just stealing – you are damaging your own name, as things like this always come to light. Don’t be a typical human.