Wills's #14: Abraxas

Wills's Lucky Charms #14: THE ABRAXAS

This is one of 50 trading cards depicting amulets and talismans published in England during the 1920s by W. D. & H. O Wills, makers of Wills's Cigarettes. For a full list of cards in the set, see Wills's Lucky Charms #0: Introduction.

1920s-era cigarette trading card art and text:

THE ABRAXAS

Abraxas stones were commonly worn and highly
esteemed in the Roman Empire about the time
when Christianity was becoming established there.
Much importance was attached to the word Abraxas,
in the Greek notation making up the number 365,
signifying 365 heavens, occupied by the 365 gods,
who according to the Gnostic religion, formed the
earth and ruled its destiny. The Abraxas, the curious
device Jeo, or Jehovah of the Gnostics, has a fowl's
head, signifying watchfulness and foresight; the
shield, wisdom; whip, authority; two serpents,
mystery, eternity, vitality. These rings were worn
as talismans for protection against physical ills.

COMMENT

The talisman is a gold signet ring with an engraved greenish-grey stone in a simple, heavy bezel. The carving represents Abraxas, a monster with the head of a rooster, the body of a man holding a shield and a whip, and two upturned snakes for legs and feet. Surrounding the Abraxas is an inscription in Greek, the letters reversed so that the ring may be used as a signet.

Regarding the name "Jeo" carved on the stone, which the cigarette card's author refers to "Jehovah," Matthew Rabuzzi writes:

"A seal of a rooster-headed serpent-legged shield-bearing god clearly labeled YAHWEH can be found illustrated in Anne Baring & Jules Cashford's 'The Myth of the Goddess: Evolution of an Image.' I've also seen this god named Zeus Sabazius."

The fact that the name Abraxas works out to the auspicious number 365 does not satisfactorily explain why the creature has the head of a rooster, the body of a man, and snakes for legs. I have seen other Abraxas figures in which the entity was riding in a chariot, which reinforces the symbolism of the 365-day year rolling forward on circular solar wheels. Like many Gnostic symbols, Abraxas enjoyed a brief moment of popularity as a charm for magical protection during the late Roman era but was never a strong factor in European or Middle Eastern folk magic.

SEARCH THIS SITE: a local search engine and a named link to each Lucky Mojo page
Lucky Mojo Site Map: a descriptive entry-level index to the whole Lucky Mojo pile
Lucky W Amulet Archive Home Page: an online museum of folk-magic charms
Sacred Sex Home Page: essays on tantra yoga, karezza, sex magic, and sex worship
The Sacred Landscape Home Page: essays on archaeoastronomy and sacred geometry
Freemasonry for Women Home Page: a history of mixed-gender Freemasonic lodges
The Lucky Mojo Curio Co.: manufacturers of spiritual supplies for hoodoo and conjure
The Comics Warehouse: a source for back-issues of comic books and trading cards
catherine yronwode, the eclectic and eccentric author of all the above web pages
nagasiva yronwode: tyaginator, nigris (333), nocTifer, lorax666, boboroshi, !
The Lucky Mojo Esoteric Archive: captured internet files on occult and spiritual topics