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The Latin incantare, which means "to consecrate with spells, to charm, to bewitch, to ensorcel", forms the basis of the word "enchant", with deep linguistic roots going back to the Proto-Indo-European kan-prefix. So it can be said that an enchanter or enchantress casts magic spells, or utters incantations.
This design for an amulet comes from the Black Pullet grimoire.. A grimoire (/ ɡ r ɪ m ˈ w ɑːr /) (also known as a book of spells, magic book, or a spellbook) [citation needed] is a textbook of magic, typically including instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans and amulets, how to perform magical spells, charms, and divination, and how to summon or invoke supernatural ...
Magic words are phrases used in fantasy fiction or by stage magicians. 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 ...
Abracadabra is of unknown origin, and is first attested in a second-century work of Serenus Sammonicus. [1]Some conjectural etymologies are: [2] from phrases in Hebrew that mean "I will create as I speak", [3] or Aramaic "I create like the word" (אברא כדברא), [4] to etymologies that point to similar words in Latin and Greek such as abraxas [5] or to its similarity to the first four ...
The occult is a category of supernatural beliefs and practices, encompassing such phenomena as those involving mysticism, spirituality, and magic in terms of any otherworldly agency. It can also refer to other non-religious supernatural ideas like extra-sensory perception and parapsychology .
Medical magic and protective magic were regarded as helpful, and called ‘white’, while sorcery was considered evil and ‘black’. Distinguishing between black magic and white magic often relied on perspective, for example, if a healer attempted to cure a patient and failed, some would accuse the healer of intentionally harming the patient.
This concept remained pervasive throughout the Hellenistic period, when Hellenistic authors categorised a diverse range of practices—such as enchantment, witchcraft, incantations, divination, necromancy, and astrology—under the label "magic". [15] The Latin language adopted this meaning of the term in the first century BCE.
The Latin word evocatio was the "calling forth" or "summoning away" of a city's tutelary deity.The ritual was conducted in a military setting either as a threat during a siege or as a result of surrender, and aimed at diverting the god's favor from the opposing city to the Roman side, customarily with a promise of a better-endowed cult or a more lavish temple. [4]