''Eko Eko Azarak'' is the opening phrase from a Wiccan chant. It is also known as the "Witch's chant", the "Witch's rune", or the "''Eko Eko'' chant". The following form was used by Gerald Gardner, considered as the founder of Wicca as an organized, contemporary religion. The ''Eko Eko'' chant appeared in his 1949 occult novel, ''

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''. In Chapter XVII, it was used in first-degree initiation. :''Eko, eko, azarak. Eko, eko, zomelak.'' :''Bagabi lacha bachabe, Lamac cahi achababe.'' ::''Karrellyos.'' :''Lamac lamac bachalyas.'' :''Cabahagy sabalyos. Baryolos.'' :''Lagoz atha cabyolas. Smnahac atha famolas.'' ::''Hurrahya.'' Another variant of the chant expanded the ''Eko, eko'' opening to four lines, using these words to salute various Wiccan

deities A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...

, typically Cernunnos and

Aradia Aradia is one of the principal figures in the American folklorist Charles Godfrey Leland's 1899 work ''Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches'', which he believed to be a genuine religious text used by a group of pagan witches in Tuscany, a claim tha ...

Lady Sheba Jessie Wicker Bell or Lady Sheba (July 18, 1920 – 2002) was a writer of the U.S. Wiccan Celtic Tradition and founder of the ''American Order of the Brotherhood of the Wicca'' with the aim to unite all practitioners of Wicca (covens, groups, trad ...

", '' The Book of Shadows'' (Llewellyn, 1971; repr. 2002. ) Other combinations include Karnayna and Aradia,

Hern Hern is an England, English Male, masculine given name meaning "mythical hunter". There are variants including the English ''Herne the Hunter, Herne'' ("mythical hunter God"), associated with Herne the Hunter. Hern is also common as a surname, inclu ...

and Hecate, Osiris and Isis, and Kernunnos and Arida. By the mid-1980s, there were many versions of the ''Eko Eko'' chant used by Wiccans, some with alternate spellings for Azarak and Zomelak .

Sources

There are two sources for the text Gardner used to make this chant. The opening lines, with their repeated ''Eko eko'' refrain, apparently come from an article published in a 1921 edition of the journal ''Form'' by

J. F. C. Fuller Major-General John Frederick Charles "Boney" Fuller (1 September 1878 – 10 February 1966) was a senior British Army officer, military historian, and strategist, known as an early theorist of modern armoured warfare, including categorising pr ...

, on "The Black Arts", reprinted in ''The Occult Review'' in April 1926, though "The Occult Review" 1923 is frequently mis-cited. See Hutton's sources. Fuller's version goes: :''Eko! Eko! Azarak! Eko! Eko! Zomelak!'' :''Zod-ru-koz e Zod-ru-koo'' :''Zod-ru-goz e Goo-ru-moo!'' :''Eko! Eko! Hoo...Hoo...Hoo!'' Fuller gives no source for this spell. In ''Eight Sabbats for Witches'' (1981), the Janet and Stewart Farrar provided a version of the ''Eko Eko'' chant which they received from Doreen Valiente. :''Eko Eko Azarak'' :''Eko Eko Zomelak'' :''Zod ru koz e zod ru koo'' :''Zod ru goz e goo ru moo'' :''Eeo Eeo hoo hoo hoo!'' In private correspondence to the Farrars, Valiente explained that this was the version Gardner had given to her. The second source is a thirteenth-century French miracle play, ''

Le Miracle de Théophile ''Le Miracle de Théophile'' (The Miracle of Theophilus) is a thirteenth-century miracle play written in Langues d'oïl, circa 1261 by the trouvère Rutebeuf. The play is a religious drama, drawn from traditional accounts of the lives of the S ...

'', by the trouvère

Rutebeuf Rutebeuf (or Rustebuef) (fl. 1245 – 1285) was a French trouvère (poet-composers who worked in France's northern dialects). Early life He was born in the first half of the 13th century, possibly in Champagne (he describes conflicts in Troyes i ...

. The original text from the French play is given to the character Salatin — apparently a version of '' Saladin'' — who in this play is labelled a sorcerer; Salatin uses these words to

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the Devil: :''(Ci conjure Salatins le deable.)'' :''Bagahi laca bachahé,'' :''Lamac cahi achabahé,'' ::''Karrelyos.'' :''Lamac lamec bachalyos,'' :''Cabahagi sabalyos,'' ::''Baryolas.'' :''Lagozatha cabyolas,'' :''Samahac et famyolas,'' ::''Harrahya.''

Interpretations

The meaning of the source texts is unclear. Pennethorne Hughes, in his 1952 monograph on '' Witchcraft'', claimed that the text from ''Le Miracle de Théophile'' is a garbled version of a Basque language original. Michael Harrison, in ''The Roots of Witchcraft'', attempted to give a more specific interpretation of the entire chant in Basque; his translation has the chant speak of flying through the air,

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, feasting and drinking, and then washing the dishes. Victor Anderson, the blind poet and founder of the Feri Tradition, claimed that ''Eko'' is Basque, meaning "here is". According to

Raven Grimassi Gary Charles Erbe (April 12, 1951 – March 10, 2019), known as Raven Grimassi, was an American author of over 20 books, including topics on Wicca, Stregheria, witchcraft and neo-paganism. He popularized Stregheria, the religious practice of witch ...

, some Wiccans believe that the chant is an invocation of the forces of the four elements.

, "Eko Eko Azarak", in ''Encyclopedia of Wicca and Witchcraft'' (Llewellyn, 2001; ).

Popular culture

The ''Eko Eko'' chant is well enough known outside of Wicca proper to provide the title of a

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, also adapted into a TV series and several live-action films, , also known by the title ''Wizard of Darkness''. Electric Wizard, a

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band from England, recorded a song called "Eko Eko Azarak" on their 2004 album ''

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''. A variation of the chant was also featured in the 1971

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serial ''

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'', and Shelley Winters' character, Mrs. Erica Hunter, uses the phrase "Eko Eko Azarak" in a ceremony in the 1978 TV movie ''

The Initiation of Sarah ''The Initiation of Sarah'' is a 1978 American made-for-television supernatural horror film directed by Robert Day. It first aired on ABC on February 6, 1978, and starred Kay Lenz as a shy, withdrawn young woman who discovers that she has psychi ...

''. It is also used in the 1985 movie '' Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf''. British band Cloven Hoof used the phrase in the lyrics of their eponymous song "Cloven Hoof." The chant is used in scenes depicting Wiccan ceremonies the 2016 film '' The Love Witch''.

References

{{WiccaandWitchcraft Texts used in Wicca