voces magicae

voces magicae

English

Etymology

From Latin vōcēs magicae (“magic words”).

Noun

voces magicae pl (plural only)

1. Magical formulae, typically consisting of incomprehensible words or syllables, as used in ancient and early-modern amulets and magical texts.
   • 1982, Jan Bergman, in M Heerma van Voss et al. (eds.), Studies in Egyptian Religion, p. 29:

     After that follow 5 passages, all introduced by the anaphorical “You are…” (sy ei) and separated from each other by voces magicae.

   • 2006, David Edward Aune, Apocalypticism, Prophecy and Magic in Early Christianity, p. 412:

     Bonner contends that while the two might have sounded similar, glossolalia was “spontaneous, unmediated utterance”, while the voces magicae consisted of carefully transmitted, stereotypical formulas.

   • 2017, Ronald Hutton, The Witch, Yale University Press 2018, p. 106:

     Jewish authors took over the voces magicae in particular, on a large scale, and with them the associated tradition of making geometric shapes out of words to combine the power of texts and mathematics.