Magic Words

(Besides please and thank you)

Saturdays are perfect days for eldritch surprises. Surprise—we’re talking about the words related to magic today!

Magic is all around us, but more in the sense of general wonder than that of casting fireballs or conjuring actual rabbits out of hats. The beauty of most fictional systems of magic is that they tend to follow systems and structural constraints. Can the same be said for words describing magic, specifically the eight classic schools of magic in Dungeons & Dragons?

abjuration - protection and warding
BREAKDOWN: AB- (away from) + JUR- (swear, law)

conjuration - summoning and teleportation
BREAKDOWN: CON- (with) + JUR- (swear, law)

divination - detection and revealing information
BREAKDOWN: DIV- (god, heaven) + -INE (pertaining to)

enchantment - charms and mind control
BREAKDOWN: EN- (into) + CANT- (to sing)

evocation - calling or channeling magical energy
BREAKDOWN: E- (out) + VOC- (call)   

illusion - deceiving the senses
BREAKDOWN: IL- (at) + LUD- (to play)

necromancy - manipulating the energies of life and death
BREAKDOWN: NECRO- (death) + -MANCY (divination, magic)

transmutation - changing the properties of creatures and objects
BREAKDOWN: TRANS- (across) + MUT- (change)

“The real secret of magic is that the world is made of words, and that if you know the words that the world is made of you can make of it whatever you wish.” —Terence McKenna