If someone learns your true name do they have power over you?

Question

I heard a legend that you are born with too names, the name your parents give you and your true name. Also if you or anyone learns your true name they will have complete power over you or your true power is unlocked, is that true?

Answer 1

Well ....here in Asia my mom did tell me of tales and customs of the past. When a child is born, he or she is given a formal name and another nick name. They would usually use the nickname to call upon the child. Some Asian cultures that still dwelt in the Dark Arts could hurt someone if they knew the person's real name. The spell would be most effective if the Witch knew of the exact date of Birth for the Child. That is why most Family in South Asia usually does not practise calling out to their love ones by their their real name. Even my parents gave me two set of name .Now even my relatives called me by my nick. Few knew my actual name.

Answer 2

Yes that is an old legend and deals mostly with people that practice magic if someone learns their real name and their craft name they migt be able to gain some control if only temorlarly. the person attacked that way may have more power than the attacker and will be able to break free.
The second part is that if you can find or remember your true name that you gave yourself then you can unleash the power within you.

Answer 3

The first power of Adam was Free Will
Naming is the second power of Adam and so is weaker than free will. So that even if your true name is known you cannot be controlled but you can be manipulated more easily

naming is what makes humans more powerful than animals. knowing the true name of something or someone means you recognize the thing/person for what it is and part of the recognition is how the thing/person can be used or manipulated. for example if you learned thing #1 was called savage hungry wolf and thing #2 was called loyal German shepherd. you know by the name which one will be harder to work with for your own purposes.

As for complete control by just knowing a true name no.
even for demons naming only summons a demon for control
other bindings need to be added.

so if a person knows your true name they can manipulate and use you and control you. but if you are aware and realize what they are doing then they cannot. Your own power of Free Will
will stop them.

Answer 4

Maybe this is what you are talking about.
"Besides the four parts of a Roman's name, every Roman also had a secret name -- I do not know the Latin term for it -- that would have been known only to that Roman and to his or her parents, but which was never revealed to anyone else.

Its purpose was to prevent enemies from doing harm through magic, because in popular Roman opinion, the delivery of magical harm required the complete name of the victim. So without including its target's secret name, a curse or malicious spell could have no effect.

This "secret name" custom seems striking in its implication that divine beings, forces of Nature, the Evil Eye, or whatever the Romans believed had the power or responsibility to enforce curses and spells -- perhaps the "genius" of the human instigator? -- are guided by the literal content, not by the unspoken intent. Perceiving value in having a secret name acknowledges the power of words in a domain outside the fields of law, politics, and propaganda to which modern civilization owes to the Roman Empire so great a debt (or perhaps "owes so much resentment", for those who question the value of our world's vast Roman legacy)."

Answer 5

There are some cultures that believe that your name has great power. Even today it is common among tribes in Africa, Australia, and South America to give a false name to people you aren't sure you can trust. Even in modern mysticism the belief in the power of the name is prominent. Whether there is an basis in this, I can't say..but a significant number of people believe it...and since belief shapes reality....

Answer 6

The only time they can take control over you is if you allow them the power to do so................but keep in mind that if anyone is aware of your true name even if you are not they may be attached to you through previoius association (such as previous lives) and more then likely have a place in your life or a message to be passed on.

Answer 7

You must be talking about nicknames. According to old folklore's when parents called their children home, they called them by their nicknames, so demons couldn't summon the child. My name is uncommon, but known to a few people. My name does not give anyone power over me, but gives them fair warning that I am a venerable opponent, should they choose to challenge me. Both the living, and anyone else for that matter. So I would say that the legend is false in my case. Regards!

Answer 8

Some cultures believe that this is true, but more often it is referenced in dealing with demons. It's rather like those cultures that still believe that to take their picture is to steal their soul. The primitive person within myself is superstitious & says that this might be true, yet the logical person within says that this is false.

No one holds any power over you that you don't give them in one way or another. Guard your heart & your mind closely & live in peace. No offense can truly be given, it can only be taken. True power is found in quiet stillness & the greatest power can conquer all.

Love.

Now *that* is true power.

Answer 9

They only have power you allow them to have. Each person has a free will. I believe you're referring to an ancient Canaanite ritual of invoking the power of a god by saying his true name. This is one of the reasons the Hebrews were forbidden from uttering the name of God: YHWH.

Answer 10

In Ancient Egyptian mythology there is the story of Isis gaining the power of the god Ra.

Isis was a great sorceress but wanted more power. She went to Ra and asked for his true name so she can be as powerful as him. Ra refused, he did not want anyone to be as powerful as him. Isis tricked Ra instead. She conjured a magic snake that had the ability to poison and kill a God. She waited behind a rock until she saw Ra walking down the road. She threw the snake in his path. Ra not seeing the snake kept walking and was bite on the ankle. Realizing he was poisoned he called for all the human healers to heal him. Isis steps into the open and says I poisoned you. I am the only one that can heal you. Ra demanded to be healed. Isis refused stating, "I will heal you only if you tell me your true name." No human healer could heal him.

Ra didn't want to reveal his true name so he called for all the Gods that were healers, again none could heal him. He would never reveal his true name; he would not allow her to have power over him. Ra was dieing and no one could heal him but Isis. Desperate he final agreed. "Heal me first," he said, "and I shall reveal to you my true name."

Isis said "Reveal your true name and then I will heal you” Realizing had only one option he agreed. Ra whispered his true name into Isis' ear. She muttered his name and became a Goddess. She gave Ra the antidote. By learning Ra's true name she became the most powerful Goddess in all of Egypt.