Comments on: What language bases do Wiccan spells use?

By: Nightwind

Nightwind — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:03:13 +0000

I've never known a Wiccan to use Latin. Normally English-speaking Wiccans use English. In writing, a minority use the Theban alphabet, but the pronounciation remains the same. (it's a simple letter substitution cypher) However, there are plenty of people who use magic that are not Wiccans or witches. People who tend toward ceremonial magic may use Hebrew. I wouldn't be surprised if Latin was used as well by some of them.

From a Wiccan perspective, there is no such thing as a "real spell" versus as "fake spell." If it works, it's real. A particular phrasing may work for one person but not another, but never do we say "you can't work that spell unless you know the secret magic words."

Most of the stuff that happens in Harry Potter can't be done in the real world anyway, so regardless what language they are in, they are fake. (You can't fly, regardless what words you use, for example.)

So I would say that most HP spells are fake (because they are impossible), and HP in no way teaches you how to work real magic (because just having some words doesn't make it more likely for you to succeed at magic).

By: Glamorous

Glamorous — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:03:13 +0000

I think they do use Latin.

By: Tim O

Tim O — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:03:13 +0000

I think the spells are Dutch, but the Wiccans are Latin.

By: walletclan

walletclan — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:03:13 +0000

Dorkish

By: e13333

e13333 — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:03:13 +0000

We use Latin at times, and sometimes other languages.
Its not a normal things for every Wiccan though, although some Traditions use it more than others.

By: ~Live, Love and Blessed Be~

~*Live, Love and Blessed Be*~ — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:03:13 +0000

Spells can be many things- from simply affirmations to prayers to full-fledged rituals.

They do not follow a particular language. They come from you. This is why books of spells should only be used as a reference for constructing your own.

And no, Harry Potter spells aren't real. It's a story, hon. Nothing more, nothing less. J.K. Rowling does not associate herself with Wicca, Paganism, or magick- she's simply an author- a brilliant author, but an author, nonetheless. (and the debate about whether or not Harry Potter is evil leads to one thing: fear of fantasy and of the unknown. Tell your friend to put a sock in it and grow up…)

By: wendy_da_goodlil_witch

wendy_da_goodlil_witch — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:03:13 +0000

Harry Potter spells aren't real. they sound latin, but aren't really. I use English when I cast a spell or do a ritual. you can use any language you want. it's the emotion and energy you put into it that makes it succeed or fail. Harry Potter has as much to do with magik as Headless Nick.

By: Julius S

Julius S — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:03:13 +0000

Wicca was dreamt up by a very strange man called Gardner, who used to be in the civil service. He included bits of masonic ritual and imagery, (the masons use a lot of old testament Hebrew words) and odd chunks of medieval ritual magic, (Latin) to which he overlaid a layer of ' Folksiness'. This was done by converting everything into Ye Olde Englishe Tea~Shoppe english, such as is found at Renn-faires and other haunts of gnomes and pixies.

Where JK Rowlings got her spells from is anybody's business, but I think she wrote a lot of her early stuff in motorway service stations. This may mean she picked the funny words up from passing hippies hitching to magic mushroom festivals and things.

By: Keltasia

Keltasia — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:03:13 +0000

Harry Potter is a fantasy. Wiccans use their own language in spells. Some Catholics use Latin in their mass.

By: Bedel

Bedel — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:03:13 +0000

Most of the Wiccans I've encountered use English spells. You're thinking of Barbarous names, which aren't usually Latin, though I guess some could be. Although the whole point of how these words work sometimes depends upon the user not knowing their original meaning.

Wiccans don't usually use Barbarous names. I've used them in Chaos magic, and I think there are some other High magic traditions (like Thelema) that use those sort of words. Remember – not all magic users are Wiccan.