AGLA
Atah gibor le-olam Adonai
- Known today as
- A name of God formed, as Agrippa explains, from the first letters of a Hebrew verse, “the mighty God for ever”; his modern editor notes that the words open the second benediction of the Shemoneh Esreh.
- Kind
- Amulet, in 1 older authority
- Earliest authority here
- The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York, 1907–1914)
Revised October 3, 2026: An authority added from a text read in full. Checked against its sources, each read in full, in part, or in its abstract. Version 1, first published September 28, 2026.
AGLA: what was it used for?
Written and graven, with the other names of God, on the wands and knives and in the conjurations of early modern Christian magic.
AGLA: what does modern science say?
Found in the conjuring texts, such as those Reginald Scot printed in 1584.
AGLA: what lore surrounds it?
A Hebrew name of God taken into Christian magic: Agrippa explains its Hebrew origin, while Scot’s conjurers simply invoke it among “these holie names of God.”
AGLA: what did the older authorities say?
- The Catholic Encyclopedia
- The Catholic Encyclopedia remarks that the Gnostics “were especially notable for their employment of amulets; the names found most frequently in their invocations are Adonai, Sabaoth, Jao, Michael, Raphael, Souriel (Uriel), and Gabriel,” and that in magic “all rely on the power of words, the utterance of a hidden name, or the mere existence of the name on an amulet or stone.” On a demotic papyrus stands the prescription, “in time of storm and danger of shipwreck cry Anuk Adonai and the disaster will be averted.”
Sources
- Kieckhefer, R. (1989). Magic in the Middle Ages. Cambridge University Press. Verified against its record · doi:10.1017/9781108859721
- The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York, 1907–1914), “Amulet.” newadvent.org/cathen/01443a.htm Read in full · the text read
- The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York, 1907–1914), “Occult Art, Occultism.” newadvent.org/cathen/11197b.htm Read in full · the text read
- Scot, R. (1584). The Discoverie of Witchcraft, book XV. Ed. B. Nicholson (1886). Read in part · the text read
Verification
- Checked
- October 1, 2026, and October 3, 2026
- Passes
- Every dated or regulatory claim checked by category across the database
- Each quotation from the older authorities checked word for word against the text, read in full
- Every source read, in full, in part, or in its abstract, and every sentence checked against what was read (October 3, 2026)
- Sources
- 4 cited: 2 read in full, 1 read in part, 1 verified against its record.
- Corrections
- None were needed.
What was checked, how, and what was found is set out on the Verification page. A checked source is one whose record was found; it does not make the entry medical advice.
Cite This Entry
Version 1 · first published September 28, 2026 · last revised October 3, 2026
- Chicago
“AGLA.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified October 3, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/agla.
- MLA
“AGLA.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 3 Oct. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/agla. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
- APA
AGLA. (2026, October 3). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/agla
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See Also
Also in The Catholic Encyclopedia
Agnus Dei in The Catholic Encyclopedia · Abracadabra in The Catholic Encyclopedia · The aspergillum in The Catholic Encyclopedia · Witch marks in The Catholic Encyclopedia · everything The Catholic Encyclopedia names →
Drawing on the same sources: Kieckhefer, Scot
The SATOR square · Tetragrammaton · Hagstone · the bibliography →
Nearby in the alphabet
Agarwood (oud) · Agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria) · Aflatoxin mould · Alkanet (Alkanna tinctoria (syn) · Adder’s-tongue fern (Ophioglossum vulgatum) · Aloe (Here the aloe of John 19) · Aconite (of the buttercup family)
Historical description, not medical advice.