Abracadabra
Abracadabra is the first word almost anyone associates with magic (with the exception of Hocus Pocus, which has only been around since the 17th century, and was the name of a stage magician). Used by stage magicians the world over, the world over, the word Abracadabra is featured throughout pop culture, and can be widely seen in Bugs Bunny cartoons, a hit song from the Steve Miller Band in 1982, and even a villain featured in Flash comics from DC Comics (who just happens to be a magician), and many other places.
The first written occurance of the word Abracadabra is found in the writings of the 3rd Century physicist Quintus Severus Sammonicus, and its use was thought to protect people from evil spirits that caused disease, and to invoke benevolent spirits into protecting people from the same. Placing the word in a particular pattern on an amulet (repeatedly, in the shape of a triangle pointing down, with each successive line removing the last letter from the previous line) was said to cure various ailments, including fevers and inflammation.
The word’s origin is older, believed to have derived from the Aramaic word “Avarah K’Davarah” which means “I will create as I speak.” Being a “magic” word, Abracadabra has even made its way into modern occult groups, notably Aleister Crowley’s Thelema, who believed the word to be linked to the Gnostic God Abraxas (believed to be the supreme deity of the ancient Assyrians), whose name totals 365 when written in Greek. While not notable on its own, the persistence of Gnostic and occult traditions over the centuries and through the dark ages has kept that ancient Aramaic word alive, and allowed it to pervade through culture and become the single most recognizable word to the common person with links to magic.
