One day you walked through a door called Magick, and you began your journey. When that journey started you had a name, the one your parents gave you. One of the first things that happened on your journey was that you got a new name. As the years and the paths and the wisdom inside you grew, you got new names. Each name represented some new level that you had acquired. Each name indicates that you have evolved into deeper secrets of personal growth.
All traditions have a method for giving you names. Some allow you to name yourself; some anoint the name on you. Either is a valid way of getting that name, but in either method, there is a long and tedious path of self-discovery that takes you to a place where you know that name. Lots of trials and meditations occur on that path, but one day you hear the name, and you know it is you, or at least you in a higher form of who you are, or can be.
Some names can be shared publicly, others are meant only for the people with whom you stand in the sacred Circle. The use of those names has some pretty strong rules. If someone calls you by your most current Magickal name, you MUST respond. If that person holds a higher Magickal position to you, then there are consequences if you don’t respond. You do NOT have to follow others blindly just because they know your name. In fact, part of the reason you have that name is that it allows you to seek the Truth inside yourself. The Truth that is yours gives you the insight to say “Nay” if that is what you need to do. Here’s another note from an Elder, sometimes that is exactly what we want to hear. Calling your name means that you are being called upon to reach for the highest self that you have access to at that moment.
Magickal names, while they can be fun to use, are not to be taken lightly. You all know the old saying that if you know something’s name, then you can control it. There’s some truth to that. When you use your name, remember that it is the SYMBOL of your greatest self, your highest power, and use it with Perfect Love and Perfect Trust.