EKO EKO AZARAKThis version of the EKO EKO chant was usually attached to the end of the "Wiccan Chant" aka the "Witches Rune" and was used to raise power in a spiral or circular dance. See EKO EKO chant on "Yet Another Wicca Site".
EKO EKO ZANILAK
EKO EKO KARNAYNA
EKO EKO ARADIA
According to some speculations by some Wiccans, EKO EKO was from the Basque language of Spain and meant "here is." ARADIA, of course, was the Italian Witch Goddess. KARNAYNA stood for Cernnunos, the Celtic male figure in artwork, depicted with horns or antlers and often surrounded by animals. AZARAK and ZANILAK were likewise assumed to be names of deities--possibly very old names.
Therefore it was also assumed that these four deity names might be summoning powers from the four directions to strengthen the circle and empower its magic. KARNAYNA (Cernnunos) was associated with the North, the element of earth. ARADIA, being a moon Goddess, was associated with the ocean and its tides, which associated her with the element of water and the direction of West. Thus, AZARAK and ZANILAK ought to be attached to the East, air, and the South, fire.
These speculations were the sort of thing we sat around and talked about in the mid-1980's when we were having "discussion groups" and "classes." There is no proof that AZARAK and ZANILAK are deity names. Neither is there proof that the oldest or original form of the chant was connected to the four directions or four elements. I am primarily sharing and summarizing sundry comments and ideas that I heard/read from various sources.
Where did some of these speculations come from?
In Janet and Stewart Farrar's Eight Sabbats for Witches (1981), the Farrars give a version of the EKO EKO chant they got from Doreen Valiente.
Eko Eko AzarakIn a footnote, the Farrars quote Valiente, "No, I don't know what they meant! But I think somehow that 'Azarak' and 'Zomelak' are God names." Doubtless, Valiente's speculation, published in the Farrar's extremely influential book, encouraged people to speculate the four names might be four deities.
Eko Eko Zomelak
Zod ru koz e zod ru koo
Zod ru goz e goo ru moo
Eeo Eeo hoo hoo hoo!
Certainly Raven Grimassi noted in his Encyclopedia of Wicca and Witchcraft (2001) that some Wiccans believed this chant is an invocation of the forces of the four elements.
Victor Anderson, the blind poet and founder of Faery or Feri Tradition, is apparently the source of the speculation that the chant has orgins in the Basque language. According to Anderson, "...Eko means 'here is'..." 1
copyright 2003, 2012 Myth Woodling
In the years between 2003 and 2012, I have received several friendly notes from practitioners of both Wicca and Stregeria about this Alexandrian EKO EKO chant.
Wiccans have pointed out that a Wiccan altar is not always set up as described above with the Goddess image on the left, in the West. Another traditional Wiccan setup was the altar in the North, but the Goddess image was on the right in the East and the God image was on the left, in the West.
When I was serving as Maiden in my salad days of the 1980's, the coven HPS taught us to set up the altar in more than one configuration as part of our training. I am merely describing one configuration here with one possible interpretation of its symbolism.
Another Wiccan contacted me about a piece of information in Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone's excellent Progressive Witchcraft. "Karnayna", which was the name of the God in Alexandrian Wicca was not a mispronunciation of the God, Cernnunos, but rather was a divine name assigned to the historical Alexander the Great. The whole quote can be found in my article, Aradia in Wicca.
Some practitioners of Stregeria have also explained to me that they do not view Aradia as a "goddess." For them, Aradia is either a "lunar spirit," a "woman who lived in the 14th century, the daughter of Diana," or a "go between". In no way am I attempting to tell practitioners of another path how to define Aradia in their own path.
However, "Aradia" was the name of the Goddess in Alexandrian Wicca. Indeed, many Wiccans continue to define Aradia as a "Goddess of the Moon" and the "daughter of Diana."
One of the purposes of this web site is to preserve and share as much information as about Aradia from different points of view.
Myth's Notes, 2003:
The ultimate origin of the EKO EKO chant is unknown. According to James W. Baker, the original version of the EKO EKO chant first appeared in an article by J. F. C. Fuller, "The Black Arts," Form, vol. 1, no. 2 (November/December), 1921.
Eko! Eko! Azarak! Eko! Eko! Zomelak!Baker stated the chant was apparently quoted from "some Victorian source." (James W. Baker, "White Witches: Historical Fact and Romantic Fantasy," Magical Religion and Modern Witchcraft, Editor James R. Lewis, 1996, p. 175)
Zod-ru-koz e Zod-ru-koo
Zod-ru-goz e Goo-ru-moo!
Eko! Eko! Hoo...Hoo...Hoo!
In comparing this version with the one provided to the Farrars by Doreen Valiente, it is apparent that it is the source of the chant she received from Gardner.
There are many versions of this chant used in Wicca. The version I prefer does not mention Aradia:
EKO EKO PARALDAThis version clearly invokes the rulers of the four elements.
EKO EKO JINN
EKO EKO NIKSA
EKO EKO HOB
ZOD RU KOZ E ZOD RU KOO
ZOD RU GOZ E GOO RU MOO
EEO EEO HU HU HU
I have also seen a version, similar to the Alexandrian one, sewn onto the beginning of an invocation of the Auld Hornie, allegedly the pre-Christian Scotish Horned God:
EKO EKO AZAREKThe last nine lines were actually a garbled version from a 13th century French story called, Le Miracle de Theophile, involving the sorceror, Salatin. The passage was used as an invocation of the devil. According to Baker (ibid, p. 175), the passage can be found in the first English edition of Grillot de Givry's Picture Museum of Sorcery, 1931. Some Wiccans have speculated that this 13th century passage might have been a piece of an old Latinized-Gaelic folk spell which invoked the ancient Horned God of some Gaelic tribes in France. This speculation explained why these nine lines in sundry versions kept reappearing in Wiccan rituals connected with the God.
EKO EKO ZOMELEK
EKO EKO ARADIA
EKO EKO KARNAYNA
BAGABI LACHA BACHANTA
LAMACH KAHI ABRAKANTA
KARNANLYOS KAHI ACHABANTA
LAMACH LAMACH BACHARAS
KARBAHAJI SABALYOS
BARYLOS
LAZOS ARTHAMEE KALYOLAS
SAMAHAC ET FAMYOLAS
HARRAHYA
1Inni Baruch, Speaking with Victor Anderson, 2001. This particular interview by Inni Baruch with first appeared in PagaNet News (PNN), in the Imbolg 2001 Victor Anderson issue (Volume VIII, Issue I). It was later reprinted in the Winter 2001 issue of Connections Journal, a magazine published by CUUPS. I thought I had remembered reading/hearing this speculation earlier.
Aradia in Wicca
EKO EKO Chant on
"Yet Another Wicca" site
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