Magic word
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Magic words or words of power are words which have a specific, and sometimes unintended, effect.[1] They are often nonsense phrases used in fantasy fiction or by stage prestidigitators. Frequently such words are presented as being part of a divine, adamic, or other secret or empowered language. Certain comic book heroes use magic words to activate their powers. Magic words are also used as Easter eggs or cheats in computer games, other software, and operating systems (For example, the words xyzzy, plugh, and plover were magic words in the classic computer adventure game Colossal Cave Adventure).
Invocations of magic[edit]
Examples of traditional and modern magic words include:
- Abracadabra – magic word used by magicians.[2]
- ABRAHADABRA. This formula, used by author and occultist Aleister Crowley, is the Word of the Aeon of Horus and represents the accomplishment of the Great Work.
- Ajji Majji la Tarajji – Iranian Magic Word (Persian).
- Alakazam – a phrase used by magicians.[2]
- ALHIM. This is a spelling of Elohim, a Hebrew name of God—or "Gods" in this case, since the spelling makes the name a masculine plural of the feminine noun. According to Crowley, it is a formula best used for consecration, since it "is the breath of benediction, yet so potent that it can give life to clay and light to darkness."[3]
- Hocus pocus – a phrase used by magicians.
- INRI. ינרי Yod, Nun, Resh, Yod. Hebrew translation of the Christian Jesus, King of the Jews formula,[4][5][6] This magical formula represents the passing of life to death and Resurrection, Used in many rituals including the Rose Cross and the Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram by many offshoots of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn,[7], the magical organization first to so describe its power.
- IPSOS. the word of the aeon of Ma'at other spellings include IPSOSh, IPShOS, IPShOSh from Liber Pennae Praenumbra by Nema.[8]
- Jantar Mantar Jadu Mantar – a phrase used by magicians in India.
- Presto chango or Hey Presto – used by magicians (probably intended to suggest "quick change").[9]
- Shemhamforash – used by Satanists in rituals of Modern Satanism as outlined in The Satanic Bible.[10]
Magic words in fiction[edit]
- Aajaye – used often by the clowns in Jaye's magic circus.
- Ala Peanut Butter Sandwiches – used by The Amazing Mumford on Sesame Street.
- Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo – used by Cinderella's Fairy Godmother.[11]
- By the Power of Grayskull, I HAVE THE POWER – used by the Prince Adam, of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, to transform him into He-Man.[12]
- Cei-u – used by the DC Comics superhero, Johnny Thunder, to summon his magical genie-like Thunderbolt.
- Izzy wizzy, let's get busy – Used on The Sooty Show when using Sooty's magic wand.
- Joshikazam – used by Josh Nichols, a character from the popular Nickelodeon show Drake & Josh.
- Klaatu barada nikto – A phrase used in the 1951 movie The Day the Earth Stood Still. While not intended as magical words in that movie, they were used as such in the spoof horror movie Army of Darkness.
- Mecca lecca hi, mecca hiney ho – Jambi on Pee-wee's Playhouse
- Meeska, Mooska, Mickey Mouse – used on the children's TV series Mickey Mouse Clubhouse to make the Clubhouse appear.
- Oo ee oo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang, phrase used in song "Witch Doctor" performed by Ross Bagdasarian Sr., and released in 1958 by Liberty Records under the stage name David Seville.
- Open sesame – used by the character Ali Baba in the English version of a tale from One Thousand and One Nights.[13]
- Sim Sala Bim – a phrase used by Harry August Jansen a.k.a. Dante The Magician, circa 1940. "Sim Sim Sala Bim" are the magic words said by Hadji on the shows The Adventures of Jonny Quest and The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest. The line was used by Oscar "Oz" Diggs in Oz the Great and Powerful.
- Shazam – used by the comic book hero Billy Batson to change into Captain Marvel.
- Hey, Shadow, remember who YOU are (Russian: Тень, знай своё место (Ten’, znai svoё mesto, literally “Shadow, know your place) - an incantation used by a Scientist in a movie “The Shadow” to return his lost shadow to its proper place.
- Shimbaree, Shimbarah, Shimbaree, Shimbarah – used on the children's video and TV series Barney and the Backyard Gang and Barney & Friends
- Treguna Mekoides Trecorum Satis Dee – written on the Star of Astoroth in the movie Bedknobs and Broomsticks
- Walla Walla Washington – Bugs Bunny in Looney Tunes
Craig Conley, a scholar of magic, writes that the magic words used by conjurers may originate from "pseudo-Latin phrases, nonsense syllables, or esoteric terms from religious antiquity", but that what they have in common is "language as an instrument of creation".[14]
Magic words in technology[edit]
Software like MediaWiki uses "magic words" to make system information available to templates and editors, such as {{CURRENTTIME}}, which displays the server time: 12:45, see Help:Magic words.
Hexadecimal "words" used in byte code to identify a specific file or data format are known as magic numbers.
"The Magic Words are Squeamish Ossifrage" was the solution to a challenge ciphertext posed by the inventors of the RSA cipher in 1977.
Manners[edit]
The term "magic word" may also refer to the word please when used by adults to teach children manners:
"Gimme ketchup right now!"
"What's the magic word?"
"Sorry. May I have some ketchup, please?"
The single word changes an imperative order into a conditional request, concisely communicating "Do as I say, if it pleases you."
See also[edit]
- Eight Magic Words political use
- Incantation
- Mantra
- Kotodama
- True name
References[edit]
- ^ Lecouteux, C. (2015). Dictionary of Ancient Magic Words and Spells: From Abraxas to Zoar. Inner Traditions/Bear. ISBN 978-1-62055-375-6. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
- ^ a b Mingren, Wu. "Say the Magic Word: The Origins of Abracadabra and Other Magical Mutterings". ancient-origins.net. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
- ^ Crowley, Magick (Book 4), p.155
- ^ 777 p. 16-23
- ^ p. 37(30) Repletion
- ^ sepher sephiroth
- ^ The golden dawn, v. III p. 308
- ^ MAAT MAGICK p. 107
- ^ Peter Monticup. "Magic Glossary". magictricks.com.
- ^ LaVey, Anton (1969). The Satanic Bible. New York: Avon Publishing. pp. 130, 134. ISBN 0-380-01539-0.
- ^ "Magic Words: A Dictionary". The Magician's Hidden Library. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
- ^ "Panda director 'for He-Man movie'". BBC News. 2009-01-30. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
- ^ "Sesame: Origin, History, Etymology and Mythology". MDidea.com. 2015-11-30. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
- ^ Conley, Craig (2008). Magic Words: A Dictionary. Weiser Books. p. 18. ISBN 9781609250508.
External links[edit]
Media related to Magic words at Wikimedia Commons
