Book of Shadows

How To Choose (And Not Choose) Your Magick Name

Many Witches (not just Wiccans) decide to choose a name to use in the craft. This is fine, and is actually very common, but people wonder how to chose the name. Just like a birth name, this is not something you want to change every week or so, and you should have it last.
Now if you're really struggling, you might decide to use one of those name generator websites. Please don't. I believe you don't want to be in a room full of witches and when they ask for your craft name, to reply with Atlantia Raindrop. First of all, what does that name even mean to you? Second, trying hard to find the right name is always amazing in the end. It also makes your name mean much more to you.
So you may be wondering how to choose the name. First of all, you should focus on who you are as a person. This name could describe you in ways you don't even know. For example, if you chose the name plutonia (just a random name) witches assume you worship the Roman God Pluto. They also may assume you have characteristics of this God. See what I mean?
Some covens require you to have a name, and would call you that name during and out side of rituals and celebrations. If this is the case, then they might tell you to choose the name from a certain language; Latin, Greek, Celtic, and so on. If this is the case, stick with those guidelines because it's there for a reason, even if the reason is that the high priestess prefers those names.
Another thing to keep in mind when choosing a name is how long it is. Please do not chose this gigantic name that is incredibly hard to pronounce. And if you must, have a nickname. Please. It will be easier then having someone mispronounce your name the entire time.
Finally, some people prefer having their numerological number have something to do with their name. If you don't know how to find out your numerological number, this is how:

Step One: Write Out Your Birthdate
Example: March 11th, 1989 (random birthday)
03,11,1987
Step Two: Add All The Digits Until They Are A Single Digit
Month: 0+3=3
Day: 1+1=2
Year: 1+9+8+9=27
Year (cont'): 2+7=9
Month, day, and year: 3+2+9=14
Month, Day, and Year (cont'): 1+4=5
This person's numerology number is 5.

Now, you might wonder how a name can match the number. This is because every letter is given a number. Below is a chart of each letter with it's number.

1...2...3....4... 5... 6... 7... 8...9
A...B...C...D...E...F...G...H...I
J...K...L...M...N...O...P...Q...R
S...T...U...V...W...X...Y... Z

So now that you know which letter belongs to which number, it is time to see if the name matches the number. For an example let's use the name Abilio.

Step One: Match Each Letter With A Number
A-1
B-2
I-9
L-3
I-9
O-6

Step Two: Add The Numbers
1+2+9+3+9+6=30
3+0=3

Step Three: Add Letters Until The Name Matches Your Number
For this, we can try adding another letter or letters to get to the desired number (in this case, 5.)
ABILIO can become ABBILIIO which would be pronounced the same, but now an extra 2 and 9 will be added. Let's see how this works.

1+2+2+9+3+9+9+6= 41
4+1=5

In this case, it worked! Instead of adding you could always remove letters, but always try to keep the root of the name the same so it keeps it's meaning
Never, EVER, take the name of a God or Goddess and use it. It can be disrespectful and they may not like that and could get angry. Also, it can also be seen that you are mocking, or trying to replace them. Even though it isn't your intention, it is rude and you wouldn't like it if someone took your name and worked under it. You could, however, use it as a root and add to it. For example, Athena is the Greek Goddess of wisdom. Let's say you worship her and find intelligence important, or think of yourself as wise. Then you can take the name Athena, but add/remove from it. For example with this name, you can change it to Aethenia or something like that. Where the goddess comes to mind, but it isn't her name all the same.
I hope this helps, and if you have questions or ideas for this book, don't be shy!

Blessed Be;

☽♡☾✾✽❃❋ єямιи ❋❃✽✾☽♡☾