Finding Your Magical Name A little while ago on the forum we had a thread crop up on how you choose your magical name. Away from the forum, beginners to the path have emailed me asking how I chose my name and how they go about doing it. I'm of the mind that your magical name is given to you at birth by the God & Goddess when they bless your life. It remains unknown to you until the day that the powers that be think you are ready to accept it. Not everybody sees it that way, and for some people they never find there name, I think that may be down to missing the clues and cues that are subtlety given to them, others think the time has come before it has and choose a name that isn't really theirs, consequently they never feel 'quite right' using that name. So how do you find your magical name? Not everybody shares my view, some believe that you can choose a magical name for yourself almost out of a hat, the ones that are most commonly heard are the names of Gods or Goddesses, heroes, or characters out of science fiction or fantasy films and books. For example, there are quite a few Galadrials, Rhiannons and Morgan Le Feys about. There is nothing wrong at all using this approach, your name should fit like a skin and you have to feel comfortable in it, if you don't then it's most likely not the right name for you however powerful that name is! But if the name fits, then you may have found your given name. The God & Goddess work in many ways, sometimes they make life hard and sometimes it's easy. If they've chosen to make it easy for you, give thanks and embrace your name. Others feel an affinity with a name that holds some personal connection. They may have a connection with that name, be it from memory, mental, or physical. It could be a plant, bird, element or situation, that name speaks to them, examples are Moonstorm, Raindancer, Rose Witch and Tyto. The connection is there and the people who take those names seem somehow bonded to it, many people take inspiration for their magical names from nature and the animal kingdom. It isn't an instant thing, okay today I'm going to be a Witch and I'll be called Grotbags, if only things were that simple! No matter how hard you try, your magical name may be slow in coming, you can try to help it along by using meditation or by doing some path working. If you find it difficult to achieve a meditative state another way is to use numerology, runes or tarot cards anything that you feel an affinity with. There are some people who have many names, one for using in emails, one for forums and memberships, another for coven or solitary work and they have a 'Master' name known only to themselves and the God & Goddess. We all create names and online persona's, some use their magical name for everything. Myself I don't think its right to use your magical name in it's complete form except in ritual or prayer between yourself and the God & Goddess. When you find it, your magical name is a private name, a secret name, a name that unlocks a million magical possibilities, and the more you share it with all and sundry, the less the bond between you and the God and Goddess is strong. Moonshadow forms a part of my 'Magical Name', nobody but myself and my chosen deities know my full name. The Goddess whispered my name, on a oridinary night, whilst I sat contemplating in the garden. I sat there late one Summers night gazing up at the moon, watching the moonlight dancing on the silvery leaves of the sage and southernwood and listening to the peace and stillness bathing in the moonlight. All of a sudden I was hit by a whisper so soft yet so powerful, and inside my head sat my magical name. I saw it and felt it, it was like I'd come home, I felt complete at last, just then a fox wandered into the garden and instead of running away when it saw a human, it stayed still calming waiting. I softly spoke the name that had appeared to me, the fox regarded me for a moment or two and I gazed at the fox, then the fox bowed its head and calmly tuned around and walked away, leaving me feeling that I'd been given some kind of approval. Moonshadow in my opinion is me, the name Deborah, given to me by my parents never felt quite right. I was watching a scifi series called Babylon 5 last night, you may be familiar with the series? It doesn't matter if you're not. One of the characters, G'KAr, told how on his world, children are given a temporary name until they're about 10 and old enough to understand and decide for themselves what they wish to be called, that seems a rather sensible system to me. To sum up, you can wait to be shown your name, you can choose one or make one up. In the end it comes down to personal preference. You can just as easily use one of these methods or ignore them all and do what you feel is right for you. Keep in mind that on your path the goal really isn't the important part (in this case the name), it's the journey that gets you there, THAT is the important thing.