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, edited by M Heerma van Voss et al., Studies in Egyptian Religion, page 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, page 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, published 2018, page 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.