Editing Magic and religion (section)

=== Names of the gods as true names ===
{{main|Names of God|Magical formula}}
There is a long-standing belief in the power of [[true name]]s, this often descends from the magical belief that knowing a being's true name grants  power over it.<ref>{{cite book | title=The Necessity of Art: A Marxist Approach | last = Fischer | first = Ernst | author-link = Ernst Fischer (writer) | year = 1981 | publisher = Penguin Books | location = New York, NY | page = 31}}</ref>

If names have power, then knowing the name of a god regarded as supreme in a religion should grant the greatest power of all.  This belief is reflected in traditional [[Wicca]], where the names of the Goddess and the Horned God – the two supreme deities in Wicca – are usually held as a secret to be revealed only to initiates. This belief is also reflected in ancient Judaism, which used the [[Tetragrammaton]] (YHWH, usually translated as "<span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span>" in small caps) to refer to God in the [[Tanakh]]. The same belief is seen in [[Hinduism]], but with different conclusions; rather, attaining transcendence and the power of God is seen as a ''good'' thing.  Thus, some Hindus chant the name of their favorite deities as often as possible, the most common being [[Krishna]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Gonick | first = Larry | author-link = Larry Gonick | title = [[The Cartoon History of the Universe]] | publisher = Doubleday}}</ref><!-- Don't laugh, it's a scholarly, well-researched source.-->