Magic words or words of power are words which have a specific, and sometimes unintended, effect. 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 empoweredlanguage. 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.
Invocations of magic
Examples of traditional and modern magic words include:
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."
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.
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 movieThe Day the Earth Stood Still. While not intended as magical words in that movie, they were used as such in the spoof horror movieArmy of Darkness.
Mecca lecca hi, mecca hiney ho – Jambi on Pee-wee's Playhouse
Meeska, Mooska, Mickey Mouse – used on the children's TV seriesMickey Mouse Clubhouse to make the Clubhouse appear.
Shazam – used by the comic book hero Billy Batson to change into Captain Marvel.
Hey, Shadow, remember who YOU are - an incantation used by a Scientist in a movie “The Shadow” to return his lost shadow, who became to live its own life, 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
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".
Magic words in technology
Software like MediaWiki uses "magic words" to make system information available to templates and editors, such as , which displays the server time: , see. 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
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."
