Puns as Magic

"Does not a pun do with words what magic does with objects?" —Lee Siegel, Net of Magic: Wonders and Deceptions in India

Relatedly, we previously posted Momus' revelation concerning the magic of words:

http://mysteryarts.blogspot.com/2010/05/if-life-is-joke-retell-it-your-own-way.html

We can't get our heads around the Blogger content management system.  We're now blogging daily on magic words and imagery at Spotted in the Wild.  Please join us there and update your bookmark/feed.

A Magic Word's Turbulence

From our outpost at Twitter:

"A magic word—merely pronounced, it creates a turbulence, an agitation." —Thomas C. Heller

Sim Sala Bim

Here's some of the history and trivia we've dug up about the famous magic phrase "sim sala bim."

Another reason we're so extraordinarily leery of Big Science:

"The magic is gone, the sage is a technocrat, the nymphs are departed, the dryads are nothing, the rocks and trees are only that." —Lee Gutkind, Becoming a Doctor (2011)

The Reason Magic Has Survived

"The reason magic has survived and is slowly overpowering religion is that of the two, magic is the stronger. Religion is an offshoot of magic.  Because it does not have roots of its own, it lacks true strength and credibility.  Magic is real, so it commands belief.  In magic man meets the transcendental, and he comes face to face with God." —Migene González-Wippler, The Complete Book of Spells, Ceremonies, and Magic

[We're now blogging daily on magic words and imagery at Spotted in the Wild.]

The "Closed" Character of the Mysteries

“The word mystery (mysterion in Greek) derives from the Greek verb myein, ‘to close,’ referring to the closing of the lips or the eyes. This ‘closed’ character of the mysteries may be interpreted in two ways. First of all, an initiate, or mystes (plural, mystai) into the mysterion was required to keep his or her lips closed and not divulge the secret that was revealed at the private ceremony. Vows of silence were meant to ensure that the initiate would keep the holy secret from being revealed to outsiders. . . . A second way to interpret the ‘closed’ nature of the mysteries relates to the closing and the opening of the eyes. Closed eyes brought darkness to the prospective initiate both literally and metaphorically, and the opening of the eyes was an act of enlightenment.” —Marvin W. Meyer, The Ancient Mysteries (1987)

[This is an excerpt from our dictionary of magic words.]

[Our frequent updates on magic words and symbols are now at the Spotted in the Wild blog.]

The World Changed by One Little Word

From our new, steadily updated blog called Magic Words & Symbols Spotted in the Wild:

The idea of the world changed by one little word gratifies my delight in smallness.
—Richard Zimler, The Seventh Gate, 2012

The Words Are Life

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

We speak and the words are life, they are material and substantive.
—Molefi Kete Asante

For new items about magic words and symbols posted every two or three days, see us over at our Spotted in the Wild blog.

Tracing One's Magical Genealogy

We're pleased to announce our new guide to tracing your magical genealogy, entitled Heirs to the Queen of Hearts. To stand upon the shoulders of the mighty requires not only a colossal step up but also concerted balancing and adjusted perspectives. What a hefty responsibility comes with owning exalted heritage. What an effort of imagination it takes to draw our birthright into the limelight so as to illuminate the missing branches in our family trees. When missing branches are of royal and/or magical origin, we find ourselves facing some rather profound questions and challenges. To what crown (or crowning glory) are we the natural successors? To what dignities? What traditions are our responsibility to keep alive? What untapped powers? If our Weltanschauung does not account for an Otherworld, how can we reconcile our nymph-glands? How are the descendants of an exotic deity to appease another holy ghost? Truly, to quest for the higher echelons of human life, to scale ancestral branches, is to hang topsy-turvy with Odin on the World Tree.

Catch up on our ongoing research into magic words and symbols here:

http://mysteryarts.typepad.com/magicwords/

A Weird Magic Drummed In His Blood

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

There was magic in the words, a weird magic that beat through Matt’s head and drummed in his blood.

In other news, after long years of studying both the mystical Tree of Life and color symbolism, we're honored to be a part of this new release.

Just a reminder: the new home to our ongoing research into magic words and symbols is here:

http://mysteryarts.typepad.com/magicwords/

Prescriptions for Better Magic

When we're not studying mysterious old words, we're most likely making pictures of them. We had the pleasure and honor of illustrating the hysterical wordplay in the chapter titles of famed magician Jeff McBride's new book, The Show Doctor.

Catch up on our ongoing research into magic words and symbols here:

http://mysteryarts.typepad.com/magicwords/

Chiaroscuro

I have the magic word, chiaroscuro, and I shall pass through the labyrinth.
—Teresa Flavin, The Crimson Shard (2012)

Chiaroscuro is the interplay of light and shadow.

The illustration is from an 1895 issue of The Canadian magazine.

A reminder: our posts about magic words and symbols spotted in the wild have officially moved here:

http://mysteryarts.typepad.com/magicwords/

A Lovely Mention

We're honored by this delightful mention:

Craig Conley, bless him, has given us plenty of literary treats - but his Magic Words: A Dictionary is one of the excellentest. The entries are essay-style, so they're fun to read (like I would ever recommend anything that wasn't), and feature words and symbols from around the world - each with its own etymology, as well as mythical, historical, and cultural background. Illustrations of symbols and icons are included where applicable. Bippity boppity boo.
—"Books by Design: Reference Books You'll Actually Use"

A reminder: our posts about magic words and symbols spotted in the wild has officially moved here:

http://mysteryarts.typepad.com/magicwords/

We're Moving

You're cordially invited to join us at our new digs over at Typepad. From here on, that's where we're posting magic words and symbols spotted in the wild:

http://mysteryarts.typepad.com/magicwords/

We'll allow this spot at Blogger to lie fallow.

(Photo by Bruce Harlick)

Zodiac

"And the magic word is ...?"
"Zodiac, sir. It was the only word I could think of offhand that starts with Z."
—Roger Keevil, Feted to Die: An Inspector Constable Murder Mystery (2012)

Reading Shifts Reality

We've been constructing a series of tests (the first of their kind) for proving that the act of reading shifts reality. Perhaps appropriately (given the whimsies of quantum physics), the test results are proving to be simultaneously mind-blowing and funny. We'll share this project as it nears completion.

Meanwhile, here's the latest review of our companion to magic's greatest magazine, and please note that while people are selling used copies of our book for $195, Amazon still offers it new for a mere $18.

[Jinx Companion] might be the book that starts you on a vibrant path toward new and more creative magic. ... The authors have done a herculean task in researching every word of The Jinx to mine the best material; they sorted carefully through it and pulled out the best of the best for you. ... I applaud their intense research. It is the kind of investigation and mind-expansion that we all should be doing. ... It is not for everybody, but for those of you who have the time and inclination to see why what is old is often new again, this is a nice journey at a very reasonable price. —Jim Kleefeld, M-U-M Magazine

You Do The Math

"I believe in the magic of words, in the magic of books, in the magic of being a Reader. There are three kinds of people in the world, those who are a Reader, and those who are not. You may think that this only adds up to two types of people. But that is only if you are one of those people who indeed can count."
—Max G. Bernard, "The Reader Suffers the Theft of Dostoyevsky"

(Dedicated to Jeff Hawkins)

Magic as Reassurance

A magician begins “doing incredible things with big silver hoops” for no less a purpose that to REASSURE a spectator. (This we learn in an intriguing illustration in The Saturday Evening Post, Nov. 12, 1904.) We don’t typically associate reassurance — the restoration of confidence — to tricksters; we all know that a “confidence man” is ironically named.

How exactly does the demonstration of a mystery serve to put a spectator’s mind at rest? See our article in Secret Art Journal:

http://www.secretartjournal.com/archives/467

Rosewood Mysteries

A friend writes:

The first writing I ever did -- I was about 7 or 8 -- was to make up 'magic' words -- some kind of incantation about rosewood (which I thought literarily meant the wood of a rose..which I harvested from the garden) which I then wrote on cue cards and recited from time to time, and hid in a little grey box. We are always in search of ourselves in words, in the world, in mystery and confusion.

Beautiful, eh?