Schemhamphoras are seventy-two angels who bear the Names of God, and are used in invocation and in magic.
The
Schemhamphoras are
names of power. The concept of "names of power" dates to the time of the
ancient Egyptians,
Greeks,
Assyrians and
Gnostics, as well as the
Hebrews, who believed that
incredible power could be
unleashed through the use of words. The
Egyptians invented names of power for
magical rituals, which were passed into texts absorbed into
Western culture.
The most powerful of all the names of power is the
Tetragrammaton. The
Tetragrammaton is usually expressed as
YHVH, the
Hebrew letters
yod, he, vau, he. The exact
pronunciation of the
Tetragrammaton is not known; the most commonly accepted is "
Yahweh." So awesome is the
Tetragrammaton that for centuries it was considered to be
ineffable and was rarely spoken. As early as the time of
Jesus, it was whispered only on
Yom Kippur by a
high priest in the inner sanctuary in the
Temple of Jerusalem. In the
sacred texts, substitute names of power were used, such as "
Adonai" or "
Adonay" or "
Elohim," and the names of the
Schemhamphoras.
Jehovah: was the german translation of YHVH, it is a wrong translation of the Hebrew words, but is still recognized.
Yahweh: is the Hebrew word for God, God revealed this to Moses. It means "I am who am".
Tetragrammaton: the personal and sacred name of God in Hebrew Scripture.