Hallowe'en and Candlelight

In this incantation from Life magazine, 1903, "Hallowe'en and candle-light" are summoned to reveal one's true love.

Odin

A line taken out of context, from our dictionary of magic words:

“In desperation, Samuel grasped the ring pin tightly in his hands, closed his eyes and shouted, ‘Odin, Odin, Odin.’"

(For a picture of Odin and a note about the "Odic Force," see this page from our book entitled Jinx Companion.)

The Magic Word Fled to California

One day, the magic word made a dumb decision and fled town to the mythical far away land of California.
—Tj Klune, Bear, Otter, and the Kid (2011)

Love stands at the gateway of each human soul, holding in his hands a rose and a drawn sword—the sword is for the many, the rose for the one.

We love this visionary passage in which love is defined as a "magician whose word can change water to blood." Here's the full context:

Love is the immortal essence of mortal passion, together they are as soul and body, one being; separate them, and the body without the soul is a monster; the soul without the body is no longer human, nor earthly, nor real to us at all, though still divine. Love is the world's maker, master and destroyer, the magician whose word can change water to blood, and blood to fire, the dove to a serpent, and the serpent to a dove—ay, and can make of that same dove an eagle, with an eagle's beak, and talons, and air-cleaving wing-stroke. Love is the spirit of life and the angel of death. He speaks, and the thorny wilderness of the lonely heart is become a paradise of flowers. He is silent, and the garden is but a blackened desert over which a destroying flame has passed in the arms of the east wind. Love stands at the gateway of each human soul, holding in his hands a rose and a drawn sword—the sword is for the many, the rose for the one.

(F. Marion Crawford, The Witch of Prague, 1890)

A Review of The JINX Companion

Thanks to magician Jamy Ian Swiss for his Genii review of our book The JINX Companion. Swiss concludes: "This is like taking a jungle safari with a guide who loves the terrain. It’s a trip you shouldn’t miss."

Now You See It, Now You Don't

A line taken out of context, from our dictionary of magic words:

The magic trigger in now you see it, now you don’t is actually in the silence between the two phrases.

(See our previous note about "now you see it, now you don't.")

Words as a Playground for Mojo

"Can the right words evoke magic? As a mojo doctor, I can tell you emphatically YES. A single word can bring on sudden and profound transformation. Through spontaneity, words also free up the tension between opposite or extreme ideas, allowing them to be teased and played with, which leads to even greater transformation."
—Bradford Keeney, The Flying Drum: The Mojo Doctor's Guide to Creating Magic in Your Life (2011)

An Air of Authentic Secret Knowledge

A line taken out of context, from our dictionary of magic words:

Medieval conjurors first began using exotic words to “give their performances an air of authentic secret knowledge.”

The Only Thing Worth Pursuing in This Life

"No sane person really wants to live scientifically, they simply did magic wrong and became disenchanted with it. But saying you believe in 'science' and 'reason' is like saying you believe in tape measures and staple guns. Those things are just tools. Transcendence is the only thing worth pursuing in this life." —Christoper Knowles. Here are his suggestions on re-enchanting one's life.

Azabache

Black jet crystals: I swear to you that azabache
is a magic word. If you repeat
the incantation for a thousand million years
black shiny fossils will appear
in the carbonized tears of Araucaria
—Mariana Romo-Carmona, Sobrevivir y Otros Complejos

(Azabache means a deep black, glistening color.)

Savoring Even the Tiny Silence

A line taken out of context, from our dictionary of magic words:

"She would utter them slowly, savoring even the tiny silence between the two syllables, and the almost inaudible t."