This blog post was inspired by an answer I submitted on Quora. Much of the text from that answer was used as a basis for this blog post.
“Words of Power” seem to be a common idea that comes up in certain magical traditions. A lot of ceremonial magic1 involves invoking the various names for God and/or the names of angels. As near as I can tell, the idea seems to be that by invoking the names, you are effectively directing the very power of God and/or those angels toward whatever it is you’re trying to accomplish.
I’ve also seen this manifest itself in the form of using just the right words in a chant, incantation, or spell. I’m reminded of the tales in which a djinn is obliged to grant some human a number of wishes and the human quickly learns that they must be careful how they phrase the wish, lest the wish-granting spirit finds a way to fulfill the request so that the person making it comes to regret it. Indeed, I think this need to get the words (and everything else) “Just right is rooted in this fear that if the witch or magician doesn’t, things will go horribly wrong.
I think this idea of “words of power” in any conceptualization is giving words way too much power. And I say that as a blogger and writer who values my ability to communicate through language greatly.
But that’s the thing, i value language and the way it allows me to communicate ideas. This means to me that power is not contained in individual words by themselves. Power and meaning are created through how we string them together to communicate ideas.
To me, what matters is not using “the right words” or invoking “the right names” when doing magic, but communicating and clarifying my intent. So in that sense, I do think that the idea that carefully choosing words when writing a chant or something similar to be used in magic (or any other ritual) is important than the idea that having the right words will compel any deity or any other being to do our bidding.
To be honest, I don’t think we can compel anyone — even other humans — to do our bidding merely through using the right words. Sure, we can use our words to implore, negotiate, and otherwise influence others. And if we’re less than ethical, we can manipulate them or gaslight them to the point where they rely on us to tell them what to do.2 But ultimately, the final decision to act a certain way is theirs to make. So the idea that gods and spirits are going to do whatever we want just because we “say the magic word” is just laughable to me.
As for the need to clearly communicate our intent and desired outcome through language, I think some people take this too far and even get unreasonably afraid. Such people seem to live in fear of what might happen if they use the wrong word(s). To be frank, they seem to think they live in a universe that’s out to get them, and I don’t think that’s a realistic perception. I certainly don’t think it’s healthy.
So what about you, dear reader? What are your thoughts on “words of power” and the importance of language in magic in general? Do you tend to see things similarly to the way I do? Or do you have a different take? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
Post History: I wrote the first draft of this post on July 31, 2024. I proofread revised, and finalized it on August 3, 2024.
Footnotes
- I should note that these statements are based on my extremely limited knowledge of ceremonial magic and should probably be taken with a grain of salt. Any readers more familiar with the tradition are welcome and encouraged to point out where I’m misstating or oversimplifying things here. ↩︎
- Even if you are morally reprehensible enough to engage in gaslighting and other abusive behavior, I would not recommend trying that approach with a deity for…practical reasons. ↩︎
