Did you know…?
The word “Abracadabra” was originally used to cure malaria.
In the second century A.D., Serenus Sammonicus, the physician to the Roman emperor Caracalla, prescribed malaraia sufferers to wear an amulet with the word “abracadabra” inscribed in the form of a triangle, like so:
A - B - R - A - C - A - D - A - B - R - A
A - B - R - A - C - A - D - A - B - R
A - B - R - A - C - A - D - A - B
A - B - R - A - C - A - D - A
A - B - R - A - C - A - D
A - B - R - A - C - A
A - B - R - A - C
A - B - R - A
A - B - R
A - B
A
He claimed wearing this amulet would remove the hold that the spirit of the disease had over the patient. The word was also used by the Basilides sect of the Gnostics; they thought the word would bring the good spirits to help against misfortune.
Did you also know…?
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