A
Origins: Abba is of Aramaic origin.
Facts: Some etymologists consider the root ab, meaning father, to be the
first part of the magic word abracadabra, translating that word as a sentence:
Ab, Ben, Ruch a cadasch (reading as father, son, and holy spirit).10
In the Bible, Jesus uses the word Abba to address God, marking what
religious scholar Rufus Goodwin calls a "psychological leap" in the sphere
of prayer as well as a social reform. The spoken word Abba marks "a turn
ing point in time, indeed, of the evolution of consciousness. In prayer, Jesus
does not propitiate a tyrant -- he is not a slave, but a son. This is a shift in
consciousness for humankind, a sign of a new personal, conscientious ego
in a personal relation to God."11 "'Abba' is a very intimate word," explains
Abbot Thomas Keating. "Apparently, it expressed Christ's consciousness of
the Ultimate Mystery, as a paternal-maternal, loving, intimate, and tender
presence -- all the things that might be summed up when one says 'Poppa' to
a very dear earthly father."12 Jesus' use of the "homely family word" Abba in
his invocation of God was unprecedented in the immense prayer literature
of ancient Judah.1
Variations and Incantations:
• Aba
This is the name of an angel mentioned in a work attributed to Peter de
Abano, Heptameron, or Magical Elements (1 th century).
• Abba Abba Abba Ablanatha Nafla Akrama Chamari Ely Temach
Achoocha
This unusual summoning spell from ancient Egypt conjures the divine
power of God's tattoos. On the original Coptic manuscript is "a rather
exotic image [showing] the seven holy vowels of the Greek alphabet . . .
tattooed across god's chest. We also have forms of the names Ablanatha
nalba and Akramachamari." -- Marvin W. Meyer, Ancient Christian Magic:
Coptic Texts of Ritual Power (1999)
• Abba zabba
• Abba zabba cadabra
-- Beefheart.com (2002)
In Literature:
• "'[I]t's a magic place, just like the forest is magic,' Daffonia said. 'Abba
made it that way.'" -- Rosemarie E. Bishop, Noah's Garden (2000)
10 Llewellyn Encyclopedia (2002)
11 Give Us This Day: The Story of Prayer (1999)
12 Sundays at the Magic Monastery (2002)
1 John R.W. Scott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (1978)
